Beauty's Rose a weaving project for Stevie Nicks

A dear friend brought to my attention recently a competition on Talent House (collective of artists and competitions for artists to show off their work). The competition was to design a shawl for Stevie Nicks. Never have I been more excited to start a project!  So I did some research and pinned some ideas on Pinterest. Then I got going.

After I wove the main piece of the sample I decided on I took it off the loom and started planning out the details of the embellishments I planned on making to the main body of the scarf.

lace roses I tried out to see if I would like them

I planned one thing and then another... then tried something else and then something else again...
Time was getting short and finally I changed my mind one last time and decided to embroider using stumpwork techniques (which was nearly back to my original plan of needlelace work).

From there is all started falling into place.

These are so picture of the finished sample:

The following is the write up I did for the piece:

Beauty’s Rose

This shawl is inspired by fairy tales, dreams and enchantment. I imagined this piece after reading how much Stevie Nicks was inspired by fairy tales. I decided to take our common love of the tales and create a unique piece using my additional passion for traditional cottage crafts like weaving and embroidery, which often play an important role in fairy tales.
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite stories as I love the romance and purity of the message in the story. The idea that beauty can be found in everything really was a theme I took to heart.
The shawl catches the dark mystery of Beast in the handwoven black cotton threads. The soft and voluptuous threads are woven in stripes of alternating weaves. In between the woven horizontal stripes the threads are loose and open, this gives the shawl freedom of movement. Not only does the piece flutter like a crow’s wing, but the occasional glimpse of flesh (or color) as sections open and whisper across the arm and back hints of a great secret beneath.
The delicate beauty of the rose Beauty requested from her father in the fairytale has been recreated and hand detailed with rich deep red and green embroidery threads. The vibrant lush colors of the embroidered roses and leaves are the visual foil to the darkness of the shawl. They soften the darkness while making it all that much more imposing.

As a whole the piece weaves a picture of romance and love and  which I think is what Stevie Nicks embodies.

The piece if created will be 18” x 66” woven in black cotton with horizontal woven stripes alternating with ‘open’ sections of vertical threads. There will be three lines of hand embroidery running the length of the 66 inches: one half inch line of rose buds and vine; and two one-inch wide lines of roses and vine with leaves.

If you'd like to vote for my submission and to see the other submissions please do.

Other pieces of my finished work can be found in my Etsy shop or join me on FB if you want a chat or to see more process photos.

Transitions: Autumn Equinox walk

So life has been winding along... and the seasons are on the change...

 

I hope you're having a little time to enjoy the transitions

Getting Ready for a Strawberry Tea... (Preparing for special auction to benefit Breast Cancer awareness)

A group of us are making up a few items to auction off to benefit Breast Cancer Care.

So many of us have been touched by cancer of one kind or another. As we all know it's important to do a little something now and again to help those in need. After chatting with a few of my friends who also create beautiful items we decided to run a little auction. Link to the online event.

This is one of the items that I have made for the auction....

A woven jute square with crocheted edges.

I tied the corners up with bright red coarse wool and added a heart.

White spotty heart as made by JellyBean Home Gifts

 This is the finished basket. 

5x5x1.25inches. 

Ideal for keys, buttons, change, and other small bits and bobs.

Finished little basket.

 If you'd like to see other trinket baskets and scarves I've been making pop over to LoomyBin. I have lots of lovely woven items to inspire and delight.

In the Silence I've Been Gathering... (flowers and textures)

(all of these pictures are currently on sale 3for2 at LoomyBin)

In the silence I've been gathering... 

Flowers from a woodland walk...

Lovely textures from Caerphilly castle.

To check out more of the prints for sale check out 'Photos for Sale' album on LoomyBin. 

With every purchase made this weekend also receive a voucher for 10% off a handwoven item.

June 7th: Bright

One of the best things about weaving is being able to work with color. I love bright beautiful colors.

In this picture are some of the cones I recently pulled out for planning stages of projects.
The Aqua and Cream cone closest is a one of a kind mix of wool and super soft soya proteins. It is one of the last few cones of a lot I bought which were a special trial. I will be sad to see it all go because it's wonderful to work with it.
The cone behind that is a Royal Blue and Black cotton and linen mix. I am a sucker for linen and cotton mixes because the designs they can create are so pristine.
The cone behind that is a super fine bright green lambswool. The cone laying down in a lovely deep yellow orange fine cotton.
Colors and the fibres associated are key for me and what I do. They shape the pieces I make in subtle and not so subtle ways (i.e. the certain patterns do not look good with certain fibres, likewise certain color combinations are best kept simple in design while others love to be intricately mixed).

Some of the patterns and colors I've woven over the year.

If you'd like to see more of what I'm working on pop over to LoomyBin. I always love to meet new people and find out what they think. I also have an Etsy shop.

June 5th Environment: Surround yourself in love.

en·vi·ron·ment [en-vahy-ruhn-muhnt, -vahy-ern-]
1.the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu.
2.Ecology . the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.
3.the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.
4.Computers. the hardware or software configuration, or the mode of operation, of a computer system: In a time-sharing environment, transactions are processed as they occur.
5.an indoor or outdoor setting that is characterized by the presence of environmental art that is itself designed to be site-specific (dictionary.com)

Life is a crazy thing. It is and is not what you plan. It is and is not about what you hope and dream. It has limitations which sometimes you can break through and sometimes you cannot. You have to make from life what you can of it while imagining an ideal which may or may not be achievable without a Transporter or a Replicator. The best thing I can suggest to you is to surround yourself with as many things as you love. There will be bits you'll learn along the way (like not to get so distracted that the spaghetti burns)...but as long as the majority of the things surrounding you are loved then life will be good too.

June 2nd A Moment (after the rain and before the last drop falls)

So the other evening the girls went to bed before it was properly dark (yeah!). I was sitting weaving listening to the rain and then suddenly the view out the window brightened...

One of my favorite moments is when rain clouds break at dusk... the light is always amazing and since it's the early Summer with everything growing the colors are even richer giving everything a lush Art Nouveau feeling.

May 22nd Change

A wish for change

Every penny can help

It does not always happen by itself

May 20th Light

This picture is a picture about light in so many ways.
If I had not met my husband...
moved to Wales...
I never would had found Tintern Abbey...
in the beautiful Wye Valley...
(where the light always seems to bend a certain way and seems to caress the cheek...)
I also never would have had that dancer of light and laughter...
And then there is the glorious sun, again, pouring across time and space...
This picture is the essence of light for me; it fills me with a glowing that brims and overflows.


Please feel free to pop over to LoomyBin and have a look at the weaving I also do.

May 18th Want (to learn to Spin)

So this morning everyone was up early so we got dressed and went for a walk up Y Garth. This wool was caught on one of the fences and it made me wish I really knew how to spin.

I'd love to dye and spin my own fibres for some really unique and 'completely' handmade by me scarves.

Have a look at what else caught my eye and fills my mind with inspiration...

To have a peek at my weaving pop into LoomyBin.