It’s not just all about me, 1

I am happily employed as an Art Technician at a local Secondary School. I love it! I have survived for 8 years, still pinching myself that I get paid for doing something so enjoyable.
Textiles is my first love but I also dabble in art and photography, supporting students and teachers in GCSE classes. I am often referred to as ‘The Oracle’ for all the stuff I know or find out about. My head is stuffed full with an amazing array of ‘stuff’…….
Recently I have had the privilege of inspiring a young man from Eritrea who had never studied an art based subject.
He joined us after an amazing journey and is the politest most willing student who is excelling in everything he does. He had never drawn a picture in his life, but boy can he sew!

The project was for an Alice in Wonderland inspired apron. After scanning and printing his drawings onto heat transfer paper we applied them to his chosen fabric background.

After learning the basic stitches in the previous ‘Beetle Workshops project’ each week he came back to lesson to show us his latest achievement often from tutorials on You Tube, sometimes from embroidery books I had lent, each element of the apron adopting a more complicated technique.

He may well have used up an entire years Art Department budget on embroidery thread already!
Towards the end of term it became apparent that he was making gifts for myself and the lovely Ms Hurst. At this point he did not know Ms Hurst was leaving us for a new life in Australia so this made a beautiful reminder of a perfect student. Identical pieces of a bird and a basket of daisies were each handed to us on the last day of school. I immediately knew what mine was destined to become – my first project of the summer holidays. The Gabs/Jackson Collaboration piece……

The very neat and intricate stitches had been completed on a simple piece of white fabric. I backed them with Bondaweb, cut them out and ironed them onto a beautiful ditzy print vintage apron I have been saving in my drawers for some time. To incorporate the motifs into the floral print background I ‘doodle stitched’ a meandering pattern of simple stitches to blend the stark white fabric and soften the cut edges. I am rather pleased with the result!

Tools of the trade

I have a long history of rummaging around markets and junk shops with my good friend Helena-Queen of all things vintage. I have a number of favourite haunts I visit regularly and a great one is on my doorstep. It used to be housed in my former Butchers shop once the aged owner retired after something like 60 years of trading. It has since relocated to the other side of Roseberrys Auction House but has retained the name.

I have this fabulous establishment to thank for the day I bought a tin of threads for the unbelievable bargain of 15 quid!!

I guess this was the start of my embroidery obsession and I have never looked back.

There were an awful lot of threads in there and wherever possible I add from vintage sources but occasionally have to succumb to the delights of Liberty up in town.

The doilys are a little bit more difficult to source, but hey, where there’s a will there’s a way! Regular trips over to Shoreditch and Brick Lane are usually fruitful as are trips up the road to Crystal Palace.
I will maybe do a special on all these places when I can get round them and take some decent photos.

The dolls collection began with thanks to my absolute favourite Brixton shop in The Village called Brixty. I will save her story for another time……. This little lady is my latest and was found at The Feast, a monthly happening in my home town of West Norwood. I think she is a ‘Marion’ not sure why!

I am still working on her but will show you at some point the finished piece.
Although I am not enamoured by the tin my first threads came in I have felt obliged to keep it as a mark of respect to their previous owners. One tin I am especially proud of is my ‘Tit Tin’ given to me on a significant birthday by my dear friend Kat, who also happens to be a huge fan of my work!!

I sometimes use buttons especially when I incorporate hand made embroidered flowers. Often I can’t bare to part with them as I get so much enjoyment rifling through the tin and unearthing the treasures within. Reminds me of my Nana who did have a tin of buttons but never seemed to use them……..

Hello world!

My first attempt to share a passion for all things that I love. Everything eventually becomes textile related because that is what I do. Embroidery and fabric is my world and here I show what I create, am inspired by and let you into the world I inhabit…………..

A recent obsession for inspiration is vintage dolls. This brings me to a second obsession – charity shops, vintage markets and junk shops. I have my favourites but will save that for another time.

It’s a pleasurable process finding the most beautiful, adorable girls that will live happily in my home. A sketch follows in my current old battered Moleskin book followed by drawing the guidelines onto fabric with my trusty old New Home sewing machine.

China Doll is worked from a tiny 10 cm beauty that my lovely ex neighbours brought back from a home visit to China several years ago. She lives on my kitchen window and watches over me whilst I do the washing up!
The embroidery will soon move to her new home in Edwardsville, USA.

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A strange thing happens between sketch and thread which I can’t quite explain. The dolls are often young child like creatures but when I transform them to fabric they take on a more worldly wise characteristic with complete personalities of their own.
I also give them names then forget and re-name them and that gets a bit confusing! As here in the sketchbook I clearly thought she looked like an Ethel………..
She then transformed into Florence Flower Girl and became all grown up surrounded by hand made and embroidered flowers with a beautiful pre-loved black vintage frame.

At this point I should mention, as if you may not have noticed, my love of lace doilys. The regular trawl of vintage shops yields many treasures, passions and obsessions. There are more, you will learn this as I master the art of blogging!
The very first embroidery that incorporated the doily touch was of my beautiful daughter at aged around 1 year, a piece I will never part with titled: Golden Child.