From this.........

to this.........

I am in the process of embellishing a man's jacket or "womanising" it as a workshop student said last night!

Greetings from....

Suffolk puff sample made from old souvenir handkerchiefs. The back is as interesting as the front. I've run out of hankies now but am looking forward to finding more on Saturday at the Ilkley Vintage Fair.

and this shapely mannequin

I also found this old mannequin at the back of a shop. She has a very shapely bottom and there are lovely stitch details. 

Some new old threads purchased in Lewes at the weekend.

To take one spool out of the box would just spoil the perfect symmetry. I admit to buying these for the packaging.

Fabrication

This is a detail of the piece I have submitted to "Fabrication" which opens this Saturday 5th September at The Bridge Gallery in Gateshead. The project was initiated by Clare Satow at the Bill Quay Fabric Workshop . She asked the 20 or so participants to either incorporate a piece of her printed fabric into their work or come up with an original design to be printed. Many of us chose to work with leftovers and scraps and I particularly liked this Nine Star Design which reminded me of American block patchwork designs.The exhibition is on until Friday 18th September and ends with an auction. To see the work of the other contributors have a look on Clare's web site (www.billquayfabricworkshop.co.uk).

Tools of the Trade at Woodhorn

Don't miss "Tools of the Trade" at Woodhorn (www.experiencewoodhorn.com) which closes on September 6th 2009. This exhibition by Designed and Made members focuses on textile artists who use traditional tools within contemporary practice. It features work by Cia Bosanquet (weave), Susan Chaplin (knit), Jane Frazer (weave), Ali Rhind ( mat making) and myself. I choose a seam ripper as my tool. I have been using one to painstakingly unpick a utility quilt to reveal layers of textile history. The dull wools, cottons, tweeds and flannels may once have been garments but they have a new life when the quilting stitches are removed to create a delicate tracery of another woman's craft skills. I have reassembled some elements to create new juxtapositions of colour and texture.

remnant, residue, fragment, trace, scrap, vestige, evidence, vintage, leftover, shadow, dulled, frayed, threadbare, bruised, rubbed, tarnished, discoloured, faded, ragged,unravelled, tattered, torn, worn to shreds