I do like pigeons!

I like pigeons a lot. We sometimes hand feed the ones near the RSPB reserve here in Weymouth. Look at those feathers. That sheen. Could I make one? 

So I gathered together an old (clean) sock, toy filling, string and wool, duct tape and pipe cleaners, and cobbled together this maquette. It’s a bit of a mess. But my daughter Mary adopted it after I’d finished using it to make patterns. 

Made my first pigeon using felted woollens cut without a seam allowance and oversewed with wool thread. Wings are added after the body is complete. The legs are wire covered in small pink woollen pieces and over stitched. I used beads from my stash for the eyes. 

Pigeon number 2 is made using dyed wool cloth, and embroidered thread to hint at those shimmers of magenta and green. 

I feel like their shape is better than the maquette form, and also surprisingly slightly larger. I was really pleased with them. 

This lead to a commission, to make Angus. A bit of a character by all accounts …

The wing markings were created using small fabric shapes and needle felting them. Needle Felting is like magic. 

And just so you know, here is the real Angus. 

Two drawings and a chunky rat

An ink and pencil sketch I made recently from a photograph seen on Facebook. I doodled this spontaneously and gifted it, this lovely girl was saved from the meat trade. 

This detailed pencil drawing became a Christmas present, to the now grown up girl sitting with her beloved dog. Sadly in 2022 he crossed the rainbow bridge. 

And a rat made from a chunky cardigan and some denim off cuts that I gifted to a friend who is a self confessed lab rat, taking part in medical research. I think the rats face turned out well, his body is rather rotund. 

Fixing things

During lockdown you can perhaps do some house keeping. This is because it’s not easy to replace everything at this time. So Mary and took apart a toy pirate gun that wouldn’t fire, saw how it worked and promptly fixed it. Bang bang! 

My friend’s daughter tore a very pretty dress while trampolining (PE at home), and I agreed it was just too nice to throw away. It tore right across the front in two places, and stitches were just about holding the other side under the bodice. 

It was fairly easy to rejoin the skirt part to the top, then to repair the long rip in the fine fabric I opted to stitch it to the lining using two lines of zig zag in both pink and green. There’s a visible repair but in use on a child playing doesn’t really stand out. 

The dress dips lower at the back and you can see it in all it’s repaired glory here modelled beautifully by Vienna, who gave me permission to share this happy picture with you. The post wasn’t too bad either, first class only too two days. 

Keep smiling, and see what you can fix! 

Looks like fun at home!

I love it when the blog looks like Home Education. Projects which came from the hearts and minds of happy Children always make me stop and take photographs!

Mary made this doll in a few stages and with lots of different textures and colours. It began as just a face. 

And here, some drawings in one colour that explore pattern and shape very effectively. I have seen how very different this is from work done at school!

Charity brooch making ...

I am currently raising money for The Weymouth Carnival Charities, supporting Julia's House. That's the reason behind these colourful button-and-felt flowers ....

I was delighted when my children asked if they could help too, and we had a few family sessions around the dining table!

Sewing on a button is also a most useful life skill. Why Matty's school cardi had long been missing a button...

I wanted to make something that people could have, and keep if they wanted to. I'm not too ambitious and couldn't think of a sponsored activity either! Also we get asked to support so many things these days that I wanted to give a small gift in return. Mary is 7 and did very well making a pile of neat flowers ...

I used three hand drawn templates to create the felt petals, and we all dug through the four-hole-buttons leaving out the brown and grey ones to keep our designs bright!

We made 98 fun brooches, and Mummy glued all the backs on to them and pinned them to a pillow case! 

I will let you know how sales go, and also the reason why I'm lending my support in a different way this year. Would you like one?

Lining a basket ...

I found a small but sturdy basket to help me bring logs from the garage to the house. The only problem was, that the bits of wood and bark, came through the weave and went all over the floor!

So I determined to line it with fabric, on the same day that Topsy determined to stay in it, no matter what I did, because it was really her best bed!

Eventually and only when the lining was fully sewn, I forcefully removed the cat and tied in the pretty fabric. 

Now I'm all ready for when the wind-swept, early autumn feeling shifts towards the nip-in-the oar that has me reaching for a wooly cardy!

Creative family time ...

Sew proud of these scissor-sisters!

They have really got the bug this time! Quite probably from me. It's been really exciting watching things develop and the dining room fill with creation!

These teddies are really impressive! 

Daisy also made a fantastic sock rabbit too. 

The Princess and Picasso!

Did a bit of glittery embroidery, which will be part of some wearable art :-)

also working on this plush-team challenge piece ... lots of flat work today! Then I remember how much I like drawing, too!

Brownie Points!

Sometimes you just have to sew on badges! These are rainbows ones, that my two little rainbows finally remembered to bring down their tabards for sewing! I have explained that asking me to sew them when we are about to leave for rainbow guides wont work, and tonight they took that on board! Tabards and colourful badges appeared folded by my sewing machine, as if by magic ...



Then I worked on the tail of something ...

What is this?

Some lovely texture!

can you tell what it is yet?

whatever it is, I'm making four of them xxx

The right tools ...

Today I made a handmade card, for a special man ...



And did some lovely, chunky textual embroidery!


And we went out quite a bit, too!

All things are new ...

After digging out a 16MB smart memory card I am able to show you the last thing i made in 2011, this colourful cross for a friend, which is inspired by Mexican alter tables ...



It has an alternative side which might fit in with autumnal times which my special friend so loves :-)



I cleared the kitchen windowsill yesterday, to let in more winter light, and to help give that lovely calm feeling that only a good de-clutter can do! Here is a boat I made at pottery, where me and the girls hung out this autumn, learning about clay!



My girls made all kinds of small sculptures and vessels which the potter showed them how to make, and even though they are quite young, they achieved successfully! We even had a glazing session just before Christmas ... On the bottom shelf is a Marble-run which I made in my foundation year, many moons ago. Would you like to see it working?



Finally at tea time yesterday I dug into a black bag of clothing that we have been blessed with and tightened up some trousers for my petite 5 year olds by sewing in extra elastic, and this chunky heart was cut from a very special but old cardigan of mine to repair a jumper for daisy!


When Mary saw me take up the scissors she said, can you cut knitting? Good question for a 3-year-old! It has been partially felted :-)

Yesterday we went to the Library ...

and you can go too if you like ...



An Artwey community project for 2012 is getting a bit of a preview, with workshops and inspiration ... So here is a portrait by Matty to inspire others!



The giant wall will be made up of textile pictures of inspiring people such as these, Daisy made this image, of her inspiring Home-Educated friend!



And even Mary too tried her hand at free-machining and hand stitching, along with the fabric pastels we used too.



You can see our work on the washing line, and find out more about The Giant Wall ...



And we also contributed to the visitors book, and chatted with clare, stewarding!