The emergency chairs

The Archive of errors

Sometimes I spend HOURS making things that fail; piece by piece dismantling furniture, spelling a sewn word wrong mid sentence, but, not noticing till i've finished and forgetting I own a quick un pick,  throw the entire thing away and start again. In my haste to succeed I will not measure twice, and cut once wrong. I methodically mix paint for the better part of 45 minutes to achieve the desired colour, paint the furniture once, twice, wait for it to dry, take the entire thing outside to photograph and realise the colour is naff. ..and have to re paint it all again in a nicer colour. I never think to mix the paint in a better light to begin with...until...just....now. So, i guess reflecting on failure is how we evolve and learn, and sometimes failure is just as important as our successes. But only if we don't make the same mistake twice that is. 

    ( part one )

The cat nap.

I never really understood why people wear those masks over their eyes whilst sleeping. When your eyes are shut its as dark as night time anyway. I guess aeroplanes are an exception because sometimes you have to sleep with the lights on. But if you can't afford to go on an aeroplane, and if you have a sleeping problem you can be practical whilst looking fabulous catching some extra zzzzz's in your house, or in the bus station or whilst grabbing your morning coffee because there is nothing wrong with being pretentious.  

                                            ( Also available in pink/fox/face/fluff/rabbit )

The three part problem

I have a friend who is slightly obsessed with space invaders. One day he asked me to put my talent to good use and make him a space invader cushion. I agreed, so dug out my graph paper and drew my favourite space invader (the one with his mouth like a pincer). I translated said drawing onto calico using a continuous sewn line with cut out fabric squares for eyes. But i decided this attempt wasn't good enough. I did some more thinking, and some more cutting up of fabric, and eventually decided to applique the entire space invader outline using faux leather onto three joined pieces of my favourite fabric. I liked this outcome enough to want to keep it for myself. But I didn't. 

The one line drawing.

I have started applying a technique with sewing I learnt at Art college during life drawing lessons, called 'the one line drawing'. Basically the idea is to not let your drawing implement leave the paper whilst you draw. Often these exercises were timed so you had thirty seconds for example, or a minute and a half to commit as much to paper as possible. More often than not it was the lack of detail that created the point of interest. Plus you draw less with your brain and more with your hand. 

The Method

(Just incase anyone forgets how to bake a cake as often as I do.)

The Tea Bag

I no longer have to faff with my faulty tea strainer that allows little chunks of annoying

loose leaf through. Using a coffee filter, embroidery thread, scraps of paper and a lot of 

patience I can turn loose leaf tea into the more conventional bag. All my friends drink 

tea so when I send them a letter (because i'm old fashioned) the bag is a perfect size for 

travelling through the mail. 

The New Wardrobe

My parents bought me my first ever wardrobe when I was a child, perhaps nine years old. It was situated underneath my cabin bed. I moved the majority of my possessions into it and even made a number seventy three sign with my colouring pencils. In this wardrobe I passed many happy hours, reading borrowed books about architecture and organising my teddy bears lives. I always felt secure and nicely contained. Eventually I grew too tall to dwell inside and had to move out of my number seventy three makeshift house.  I remember crying my eyes out when I saw the broken pieces of wood propped up against the driveway. I had felt loss for the first time and grew up emotionally ever so slightly. I didn’t own another wardrobe until my twenty fourth year.  

My new wardrobe was a gift. I had already tried to get into Narnia through it, but it wasn’t that kind of wardrobe. This particular wardrobe was old and ugly and brown. For days I toyed with potential colours; and finally decided on a pure white. And then for days again I painted and painted and painted but it always turned a funny dirty old cream colour. I applied so much paint three entire rooms could have been brilliantly white and then perhaps one more room.  But this wardrobe remained grubby so eventually I gave up. Instead I adorned its walls with frames of beautiful images of cats and nature and a sideways man from the late seventeenth century, and finally a heart shaped scented decoration with a lace frill around the edges.  And yet it still wasn’t pretty and never smelt of anything but stale wet wood.

The Deadline

On Saturday 2nd June I will be finally taking my craft items into the big wide world. I am attempting to create some form of continuity within the items I have selected to exhibit. Creating a 'collection' is an idea I wish to investigate further for the future.

The Social Life

Once upon a time... I used to have a social life. But recently, a typical Saturday night for me is spent in my house drinking cups of tea, an episode of Poirot playing on my laptop, and surrounded by lots of fabric and tools. For now I am okay with this. I enjoy working hard making things, and get no greater satisfaction than knowing that in the space of 5 hours I can transform an ugly chair into something beautiful. I like watching paint dry and time is precious.

The Appreciation

My Aunt said to me recently "Don't despise the day of small beginnings". I would like to say a very big thank you to all the friends and family who have been supporting me on my craft journey to date. Kind words, critique, bags of scraps, magazines to flick through and cut up; nothing goes un appreciated and I am truly grateful. One day i'll get there. 

The Safety Glasses

I learnt the unfortunate way the importance of safety goggles even when doing simple 

tasks whilst using a staple gun. The metal chamber back fired and the spring loaded

mechanism launched itself strait into my eye.  Although I lost three days of my life

to sleeping, I did not loose my sight. LESSON LEARNT! So please make sure when 

using equipment that is potentially dangerous, read all labels, instructions, etc and follow them. 

The Seed Garden

 On bad days when I struggle to make anything remotely decent and all i seem to be doing is wasting good fabric; I have temporarily learnt to toss in the towel. Instead, I focus my attentions on doing other things that allow me thinking space until my inspiration returns. This way I still feel productive but avoid ripping out my hair. (painting furniture, drawing, collage, planning, reading, organising, taking photographs and indoor gardening) 

The Coin Purse

Once upon a time, when I first got my very own sewing machine, I went doo-lally

making little zipped pouches. Since then I have developed and refined the aesthetics 

and have gone crazy making small purses for coins or "my lipstick" or if it fits in a

purse I'll label it with the text idea. 

The Pie Chart

I was recently having a conversation with one of my close friends regarding the development

of my business plans. I explained the new concepts I learnt from my Business studies revision 

guide and my failings to get my head around mode, median and mean. When thinking back

to my time spent in education, I explained that in my maths lessons, my pie charts and bar 

graphs were beautifully coloured in with pretty patterns and lovely shading. It was just a 

shame that the information they were representing was most likely inaccurate. If I were to 

create a pie chart now to show the most items sold, the largest slice of pie would be my sewn wall 

hangings. This time round the pie chart would be pretty and accurate. 

The party

Bunting is a fabulous way to brighten up any dull room; however to make it extra special, 

personalised bunting works best. Be it an 'I love you' message or a child's name for their 

playroom. Having bunting on hand for that impromptu garden party is a must. 

The story

The Plant Pot

"Caution"-

I learnt this the hard way, only use tins with ring pulls, the tins you manually open will 

rip your fingers to shreds."

A good way to recycle food tins is to transform them into plant pots. Wash your tin out 

and peel off the label. Carefully drill a hole in the base of your tin, (for water drainage)

measure up the circumference and choose your desired covering. (Old books with large 

pictures from charity shops or car boots works wonders for craft projects) Finally, in a 

well ventilated area cover the tin with spray mount and affix paper. Once dry, add soil

and pot your plant. 

Alternatively you could use the tins for storing pencils, makeup brushes or utensils in 

your kitchen.  (no drilled hole in bottom of tin necessary)

The sewing book

Making an apron is probably the closest to any clothes item I will ever attempt. Unfortunately

my brain struggles to understand the concept of tailoring; even though my Readers Digest 

complete guide to sewing demonstrates all the techniques required. For my birthday this 

year my mother wrote on the sleeve of a new sewing book; 'Dearest Lilly, never give 

up on that bolster cushion. All our love Mum and Dad.' The day I successfully make a 

bolster cushion is the day I will start making clothes. 

The Washing Machine

I recently inherited a pair of full length white linen curtains. As much as it pained me to cut them up, the material was better suited for little craft projects. I gathered up some trimmings and set to making a drawstring bag. The beauty of a drawstring bag is its timeless appeal and versatility. Size, shape and embellishment can be altered for limitless requirements and a handy storage solution; be it a shoe bag, dirty sock bag or a place to store loose ribbons. 

The Gallery

I have recently submitted work for the International Postcard show 2012 at The Surface Gallery, Nottingham. Artists; local, national and international can submit up to three pieces of original work providing they fit the specified dimensions of a postcard. (4"x6") I exploited my love of craft by sewing the simple postcard format onto canvas material and stitched samples of text. I then stretched them onto 3mm MDF and attached a ribbon to create the wall hanging. The exhibition is taking place from the 25th January - 11th February. A simple approach to constructing, with a sprinkle of imagination can result in some beautiful creations. 

The Cushion Cover

My first attempt at making a cushion cover was for a textiles project at school. The outcome was a beautiful disaster. Eight years later and a lot of practise..they are not so much a disaster. I cathartically make cushion covers as a method of exploring new sewing techniques or concepts; and view them more as 'sculptures' or 'drawings' and less as household objects or the attractive accessories that they are.

The Gadget

Since the evolution of portable electronic devices, the need for protective coverings has increased. A customised hand sewn "insert text here" case in appropriate sizes would keep your iphone or kindle (for example) dust free, safe from dangerous keys and fashionably cosy.