Exhibitions at Birmingham (part two) - Victorian Radicals

The other exhibition we saw while in Birmingham was Victorian Radicals at the City Museum and Gallery.  There are some really good stills of the exhibition on the site and much better photos than mine!  This exhibition again featured Pre-Raphaelite paintings and drawings, but also ceramics, sculpture, enamels, jewellery, stained glass, textiles and clothes, from the Victorian age. Above is Paolo and Francesca by Alexander Munro.

This small ink drawing is King Arthur and the Weeping Queens by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  Again, being able to get up close meant we could see so much detail.

This is a sketch for a textile design by William Morris and it was beautiful.  

One of William's daughters, May Morris, was a skilled embroiderer and ran the embroidery department at Morris and Co. for some time.  Her embroidery is featured on this dress.

You can see it a little more clearly here.

This necklace was much brighter in real life.

A sketch of a boy used in Rossetti's The Beloved.  The painting is in the Tate here.

'The Last of England' by Ford Madox Brown is full of details, from the cabbages hanging at the front, to the children with their mother behind the main couple and the child inside the mother's shawl.  Apparently the pink ribbons took the artist four weeks to paint.

Kate Bunce's 'The Keepsake' featured the most stunning dress materials although you can't really see them that well in my photo. 

I do like the Persian pottery of William de Morgan - all those lovely blues!  (The 'Medea' by his wife was featured in the Scent exhibition in my previous post).

Wouldn't these tiles look lovely in a bathroom or kitchen?

This exhibitions showcased some wonderful work by some very talented artists and craftspeople.  I was really pleased to have seen it and it was well worth the entrance price (£11.00).   The people we met in Birmingham were really helpful, (particularly when we had gone the wrong way to the train station) and were very friendly too.

Projects List for 2019 (and probably beyond)

Being a person who enjoys lots of hobbies, (some might say 'Jack of All Trades, Master of None' and there may be an element of truth in that, but I like to do different things, depending on my mood) I have many projects in my head that I would like to complete during this year (there may be too many for one year, so this may need to continue into 2020...).  I have written them in my hobbies book, but thought it would be a good idea to share them here too.
Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I'll begin (shades of Listen with Mother...theme music here (Berceuse from Faure's Dolly Suite) - I do remember listening to this, but not until the early 1970s.) After that little meander down memory lane, let's get started.

Sewing

• a proper patchwork quilt (my first ever and a small one to start with)
• a hexagon cushion cover in shades of blue (I have just got some hexagon templates to help with this)
• three more pinafores - denim, stars cord and cat material (which will need lining I think, so that is another challenge)
• stretch fabric tunic dresses (my first attempt at sewing with stretch fabric) 
• using jelly roll strips in some way (yet to be decided)
• Kantha embroidery kit
• four crewel embroidery kits (I seem to have quite a collection of these, but haven't actually got round to starting any of them!)

• mend toys - Panda bear and Gonga (he is the knitted rabbit pictured above in his new clothes). (Both 40+ years old and showing signs of neglect.  Panda bear had holes in him and is literally threadbare in places, but I have darned what I can and patched over the holes.  Poor Gonga also had many holes in him which I started to repair years ago, but got distracted by other things.  He now has new trousers and a new tie.  Both look much smarter and properly cared for now.)

• make a thread catcher basket (actually completed as I had the pieces all cut out, just needed to sew them up.  I do like making these little fabric baskets/boxes.  This is my favourite cats in glasses material, also destined to become a pinafore at some point)

Crafting

• seasonal hare decorations (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, with appropriate charms and gemstones)

• pompom wreath or two (I have actually started this and am enjoying making the pompoms.  I am also trying to secure the wool threads by stitching around the wool which ties the strands together).  Pompoms are such happy things - even the name sounds happy)
• polymer clay muse/icon figure (this is still forming in my mind, but it has to have jewel colours, silver, wings, positive words, a crown or halo and a serene face.  I am especially inspired by Laurie Mika's work and I have her book, which is lovely. I may start with a 2D plaque, but would like to make a 3D figure at some stage)
• make a canvas with favourite floral papers in a grid of squares
• keep working on current art journal
• begin another art journal
• Christmas leaf wreath using different papers and card

Jewellery

• bracelets with sterling silver spacers, either macrame or knotted cord
• multigem earrings
• multigem bracelet
• multigem kumihimo necklace
• rainbow moonstone bracelet with sterling silver spacers (and matching earrings)
• blue goldstone knotted/macrame necklace

There will also be gardening this year, naturally, and reading.  There will also be card making too. Looking at the list, perhaps it may be a little ambitious (!).  Still, it's always good to have things to aim for. I will post my progress now and again and see how I get on.

I have also tried to increase my creativity so that I am doing something every day, even though it might only be something small, like sewing a button on, or wrapping wool to make a pom pom.  I can watch the TV and still be making/doing/thinking about creative projects and I am really enjoying that.

Reassessing...

Before I continue with my post, I would just like to say how saddened I was about what happened in London yesterday.  We should be very proud of the emergency services, as well as all the people who did their best to help the injured.  In the midst of horror, there is good.

*****

It seems a little inappropriate to continue with a post about jewellery, but I had planned to do that today, so I shall carry on as normal.  I have been making (well, constructing) jewellery for a few years now and have enjoyed learning new skills such as macrame, kumihimo and using polymer clay. Initially, I made jewellery using larger sizes of bead/gemstones, around 10mm or 12mm.  However, as time has gone on, I have reassessed what I like and realised that I actually prefer smaller stones/beads, so I have been making a few simple elasticated bracelets for myself using those smaller stones.  Above is a beryl bracelet, in pastel shades, using 6mm gemstones with sterling silver spacer beads.

Then there is a Burmese jadeite 6mm bracelet, again using sterling silver spacers. Simple, but pretty and very easy to wear.

I was looking at some bracelet designs on the internet (as you do) and saw one made with memory wire and seed beads,  I didn't think I was that keen on seed beads (as I had become a bit of a gemstone snob - only the real thing, thank you) but when I searched some of the bead shops, I was impressed by the colours and prices. So, I placed an order and made up a couple of bracelets in my favourite colours.  I am really pleased with how they have turned out.

They are easy to wear - you just coil the memory wire around your wrist - and there they sit.  I made some little charms just to finish off the ends nicely.  The one above is my favourite as it looks like a stacker bracelet when it is on, but is all one piece in reality.  I have since order more seed beads, and feel that several more of these bracelets will be created very soon!

Easter celebrations

Easter has come to my seasonal tree now, and the multitude of eggs have arrived!  I do like this time of year when the clocks go forward and the light is with us for longer.  If we get a bit of sunshine, it's even better!

 I baked some biscuits in the shape of chicks and rabbits.

 I also received my Easter swap from Amanda at Graham's Landing.  The swap was organised by Kimberley at Creative Chaos  and was another lovely swap to be part of.  Amanda had wrapped the parcels in pretty pastel tissue paper.

 Here's what was inside:  rabbit chocolates, pastel ribbon, Easter stickers, Easter chicks, egg decorations, eggs in nests, a Happy Easter decoration and a knitted chick.

 The knitted chick was really sweet...

 ...and it also held rather a yummy surprise!

 Here's what I sent to Amanda: cupcake cases and decorations, mini eggs, Easter cutters, cosmos seeds, ribbon, a chick decoration and a felt decoration with some jewellery (of course!).  A Huge Thank You to Amanda for her generosity and for being such a great swap partner and thanks also to Kimberley for organising the swap.

I think this says it all - for those who celebrate it, have a very Happy Easter.

Send a Little Love Swap 2016

I recently took part in the Send a Little Love Swap organised by  Tracy at Mad about Bags .  I have taken part in this swap for a few years now and 'met' some lovely people. This year, I was partnered up with Lyn from Australia, who, serendipitously, I had been partnered up with for this same swap last year.  I emailed her to find out whether she was happy to swap with me again, and luckily, she said she was.  This gave us a challenge - to find some different things to send each other.  We did our shopping and making and sent off our parcels on the same day.  Her parcel arrived with me last Tuesday but mine didn't get to her until today!  (I managed not to open my parcels until I knew she had received hers). A lovely scent came from the parcels - tea tree? eucalyptus? All would be revealed...

 Well, goodness gracious, Lyn had been so generous again.  There was: (take a deep breath!) a lovely hand made bag with the loveliest happiest sheep embroidery on it, some wool for felting, a Felting magazine, a Welcome sign with hanging hearts, a wildflower calendar, some flower seeds, some ginger teddy bear sweets, an embroidered heart, a seedpod perfumed oil container (more about this in a minute) a teabag/tea strainer stand, a heart cutter and a card with a heart brooch on it.

 The teabag/tea strainer stand is already in use.

I shall have a go with the seeds this summer - that will be an interesting experiment.

 The perfume container is actually made from a Banksia seed pod, and had been hand turned by a local craftsman.  It has some eucalyptus essential oil in it and smells lovely.

You can see a hairy texture on some parts of this fascinating container.

 The little embroidered heart is beautifully made - just stunning!

 As is the sheep bag.

 I love the happy sheep and again, the embroidery is superb.  A HUGE thank you to Lyn, who has again been so generous and has sent me the most wonderful gifts.

 And what did I send her, you may be thinking?  Some ribbon and material (as she does lots of sewing), a mug and some lovely English Breakfast tea from a very nice tea shop in the city, a Lincolnshire Plum Bread tea towel, a little ceramic 'L' tile made by a local ceramicist, and a black and white stripy felt heart, some earrings, and two bracelets made by me.

 The mug says I 'heart' Lincoln.

There were also some magnets, a hanging heart decoration with little bells and some heart pegs.

 There's a closeup of the memory wire bracelet, with pearls and black and white gemstone chips...

 And the macrame bracelet.

Here are my parcels ready to be put in the box.  I have put a few more photos of what I sent as Lyn doesn't have a blog, so this is for both of us.  Thanks to Tracy for organising the swap and to Lyn for being the most amazing swap partner for the second time!

Learning something new - Kumihimo

This year, one of the things I really wanted to do was to learn kumihimo, which is a Japanese braiding technique.  I have taken the plunge and found a basic eight strand braid to be remarkably easy to learn.  A disc is vital, as is a kumihimo weight which helps with the tension of the braid,  

 This pink and purple satin cord braid was my first attempt and I was really delighted with how it took shape.  It is a meditative process - top right to bottom right, bottom left to top left and turn - but this is only the beginning and there is a lot more that can be made.

 I used organza ribbon for the blue braid, but it wasn't as smooth a finish as the satin cord and was a bit scratchy.  However, it was a good experiment.

This one used rainbow satin cord with black and worked really well.  However, as you can see, none of these have been made into jewellery.  This is because I am considering how to finish a braid off.  You can buy kumihimo ends, you can make your own using wire, you can use ribbon cord ends... A bit of experimentation and practise may be in order.
Of course, apart from all the patterns you can create using different colours, different numbers of cords and different disks, there is the excitement of being able to braid beads and gemstones into the braid as you go.  Now that is something I definitely would like to try!

Golden Autumn Blog Swap

I really enjoy taking part in blog swaps now and again and this is one of my favourites.  It is run by Blueberry Heart and this is the third year I have joined in.  I was partnered with Amanda from Crafty in the Med and after emailing a few times and doing some research about likes and dislikes, we started gathering and making.  We swapped parcels last week and goodness me, what a wonderful selection of goodies I unwrapped.

Here they all are, waiting to be unwrapped.

 Here is everything once unwrapped.  I was so lucky as Amanda had been very generous.

Saffron (I know, I need to find some special recipes to use this in), watermelon seeds, hazelnut chocolate and a notebook.

 Some gorgeous crochet including a doily, a crochet bracelet (which is really light and comfortable to wear), a crochet purse containing another surprise and a beautiful crocheted collar.

 The surprise was a lovely ceramic magnet which is at the top of the picture and there was also a beautifully decorated bowl and a brochure about a traditional Spanish costume.

 More things kept appearing - badges, ribbons, charms, buttons, needles and pins.

I loved this badge - very appropriate indeed!  A huge thank you to Amanda, who was an amazing swap partner.

Here's what I sent to Amanda - lots of autumnal coloured bits and pieces, including felt and jewellery (of course). She said she liked orange, so as you can see, that colour featured quite a bit! Her post about my parcel can be found here.

Here are my parcels ready to be wrapped and sent off.  Thanks to Blueberry Heart for organising the swap, thanks to Amanda and here's to the Autumn swap next year!