What Did I Make With It?

In a previous post, I was debating what I should make from my lovely piece of vintage 'Marakesh' fabric by Flair - should it be a bag or cushions? Well, as you can see, I made both!

The simple, sling bag is lined with a toning plain green fabric. It has a long strap (so it can be worn comfortably across the body) and a couple of handy internal pockets. It fastens with a magnetic clasp and can hold quite a lot - it's about 40 cm wide and 30 cm high (about 16 x 12 inches). It's a real head-turner!

The cushion covers have plain black fabric on the back, and a neat zip closure. They measure about 42 cm/17" square and are shown with 45 cm/18" cushion inners. They'd look great in a retro style room - they're very 70s! - and would really add a pop of colour to a plain sofa.

I even had some fabric left over...so I'm planning another bag. A different design this time, but just as eye-catching!

Making Memories 4

I didn't think I'd ever find a copy of this pattern online! Early 70's again - I made the zipped jacket in a sky blue wool suiting, with a purple/blue wool plaid fabric on the yoke and collar (and maybe the cuffs & waistband too). I don't think I bothered with the hotpants!

I used the pattern again later, making another jacket in mustard wool suiting, this time with a matching flared mini-skirt. It was for work, my first job in the City. I remember wearing it for my interview, travelling up on the train, and feeling very grown-up.

Next Sewing Project

So this is my next project, but I really can't decide whether this fabulous vintage fabric should be a boho-style shoulder bag or a couple of cushions! I can actually visualise it as either, but only have a limited amount, so I doubt there'll be enough for both.

Anyone have a preference?

It's always a dilemma cutting into a lovely piece of fabric, I don't want to get it wrong. I'm edging towards the bag, because it would be more interesting to make, but I know this fabric would make a gorgeous pair of cushions for someone. I could try to squeeze both from it - maybe use a plain fabric for the cushion backs....

I'll sit and look at it for a day or two...my mind will eventually settle on something!

Felt-Making 1

I finally got back to felt-making again today, after a break of several months....and my back and shoulders are not too happy about it! I only made a couple of pieces - need to break myself in gently - and they're now drying off before being pressed, steamed and decorated.

I used three different British breed wools today - Exmoor Hornfleece, Dark Grey Suffolk and Black Welsh Mountain. The Exmoor fleece came from a small farm in Cornwall, picked up while on holiday, but it's a devil to felt! The other two came from Fibrecrafts and are much easier to work with.

I wanted to have another go at 3D work, so I made a small felted vessel that I intend to decorate once it's completely dry. If it turns out ok, I'll have a go at something bigger or more ambitious. I also made a sheet of felt, which will eventually become a book cover. I'm a flat-felter usually, preferring to make sheets of felt to use as 'fabric', but it's good to try something different.

They don't look very exciting at the moment...they're a work-in-progress, so let's see how they turn out!

I've got a few other British breed fleeces in my collection, and I plan to create a selection of items to show the variety we have here - they're all undyed, natural colours, so they'll look very different to my usual brightly coloured pieces. Hopefully, they'll appeal to someone!

Contemporary Textiles Fair 2018

The Contemporary Textiles Fair at Landmark Arts Centre features some of the best contemporary textiles designers & makers in the UK, with over 70 stands in a great venue near Teddington Lock. There are no suppliers, no other craft disciplines - it is purely textiles, but what a variety of textiles there was! I was so impressed by the breadth of work on display and the diversity of materials, techniques and ideas used by the talented creatives there.

There were so many fantastic stands, but I wanted to highlight a few that stood out for me. Like most art forms, it's very personal and subjective. I narrowed them down to six:


Freyelli Textiles - "a collection of original painted and freehand machine embroidered textile art, and beautiful homeware" by Ellie Hipkin, a fellow Sussex-based artist. Ellie's work captures life on the Sussex coast beautifully, with all the colours of the sea and sky, while the clever use of freehand machine embroidery adds the detail of coastal plants and objects.





Karen Rao, Felt Artist - another Brighton-based artist, Karen "hand felts animal inspired headwear, clip-on ears and other fun and primitive felted accessories." I've seen Karen's work before, at events we've both exhibited at, and I just love it! Her felt-making skills are amazing, and the designs are totally mad and unique, but actually very wearable.













Tessa Jane - "a Fine Art Textile Artist, who loves to explore colour and surface". I was completely blown away by her work. Best described in the artist's own words: "My work is conceptual and focuses on that moment as you catch a glimpse of something fantastic; light on water; filtering through trees or the luminosity of an object. When you catch your breath because you have seen something (or someone) at their most glorious. Yet it is functional and like that of William Morris has a use." Beautiful and useful.









Sara Harris (jelliclebuttons) -  "Sara's work derives from a love of the quirky, oddball and otherwise unusual." This sums up her pieces perfectly! I fell in love with her soft sculpures, which are eccentric and so full of character, as well as being incredibly cleverly made. Her textile art pieces are also a joy - small treasure troves of found and pieced objects, fabrics and oddments. Wonderful.












Emily Sladen - Emily's work is "influenced by the wild and rugged environment of her island home." Based in the Scilly Isles, her work beautifully displays the colours and textures of the coastal area, and has a soft, delicate, harmonious quality that would work well in a contemporary setting. The lampshades are especially gorgeous...and very tempting!











Caroline Hyde-Brown - "A beautiful and atmospheric collection of embroidered landscapes using a variety of materials including felt, natural dyes & thread." Caroline's work has a wonderful depth to it, and is a clever combination of paint, stitch and natural materials.






The Contemporary Textiles Fair is well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in textile art and design.

Is it a good fair to exhibit at? It's hard to judge based on this weekend alone, as the weather hasn't been kind, and probably did affect the number of visitors to the fair. It didn't seem very crowded yesterday, and Saturdays are usually the busiest days, so I would guess most exhibitors didn't sell well. Exhibiting isn't just about sales, I know, but most fairs are a big investment - in time and money - for artists, so sales do help enormously!

If most visitors are, like me, going along to view other artists' work, or the venue, rather than as a potential buyer, then it might not be the best venue to exhibit at for selling. Having said that, there are no supply sellers there, so it might not attract other makers as much as some other shows. It felt more like a gallery show, with more textile art than I expected to see. That could attract buyers.

Organisers need to draw in potential buyers, and lots of them, for a fair to be successful long-term and to attract and retain high quality exhibitors year after year. Are there enough textile art buyers to sustain it, especially in challenging times for retail generally? I don't know, but I hope so, as it's a great event and I want to go back again next year!

Making Memories 3

Back to the beginning of the '70s again with this one - this was a Butterick pattern (#3035).

I made the maxi dress in a lovely blue and white check cotton. The frills on the shoulders and around the armholes were cut as small spirals, which were then straightened out to form the frills, but without any gathering - very clever! I remember I had to bind the edges of each frill with blue bias-binding first, which wasn't easy, but did look very neat.

The dress had a seam under the bust, and princess seams in the skirt to give a fitted & flared shape. It had a long back zip, and square neckline, back and front. It was lovely to wear, and I wish I still had it....not that I could still fit into it - it was probably a size 10/12, which would have been much smaller than the 10/12 you get now.

A word on pattern sizes - even now, I think, they still use pretty much the same measurements as they did back then. I was mostly a size 12 - which fitted a 34-inch bust - but nearer a size 10 on the waist and hips. A size 10 waist was about 25 inches. Today, I can buy size 12 clothes that fit a 38-inch bust - that would have been a pattern size 16. So, if you're using patterns, especially vintage patterns, be sure to check the measurements very carefully before making them up, as you may need to use a bigger size than you think!

New 'Kimono' Fabrics

I've recently added a couple of new fabrics to my range of 'Kimono' A5 planner covers (suitable for the Hobonichi Cousin planner, or similar).

The first one is a very pretty floral print on a bluebell blue background - it's lovely for Spring, with pink, yellow and white flowers scattered across it. The lining and trim are in a blue geometric print and the cover is finished, as usual, with gold satin ribbon around the middle and gold satin ribbon page-markers.

The other new fabric is a lovely print featuring geisha, temples, mount Fuji and other traditional motifs on a grey background with lots of sakura (cherry blossom) flowers in pink, red and white. This cover is lined and trimmed with a pretty pink cotton with red and white flowers. Gold ribbons finish it perfectly.

These two new designs are available now in my Etsy shop. I have one of each in stock, but can take orders for more if they're sold.

You can see the whole range of A5 planner covers that are currently in-stock here:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ChristineShephardUK?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=21175265

And A6 covers, to fit the Hobonichi Techo Original planner, can be found here:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ChristineShephardUK?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=15862550