Thursday 23 October 2008

Sewing Machine Days

"Queen of The Pumpkin Patch" - the only little ACEO I've had a chance to paint this week, mainly because I've been busy sewing for my sister. She has a fab kids clothes company, Blow-Pipe, which uses vintage and recycled fabrics to make great jackets and hats. I occasionally help out at times like this when she has more orders to complete than she can manage. I quite like it - it makes a nice change for me, and keeps my hand in cutting and piecing. We are both lucky that our mother was a textile artist and dressmaker, and we were taught to sew almost from the cradle, and were both making or adapting our clothes from our teens. It is one of the most useful and versatile skills I have, and I am extremely grateful for it. My sister went on to study and get a degree from the London College of Fashion, while I opted for ceramics, but that early grounding has left me confident cutting patterns and making clothes ( or curtains , or costumes, or anything else that might need creating!)

This weeks it has been hats - dozens of them in beautifully soft coloured fleece. The best part is going through the huge vintage fabric collection, and choosing linings for each individual hat. It's great - no two are the same, and I get to put together all sorts of beautiful combinations.

This is my all time favourite jacket - those vintage poppies are sumptuous. If there had been enough fabric for an adult jacket I would have been swiping it!



The finished collection! Most of these ones are intended for Wonderworks, a really exciting annual craft exhibition / sale in Chagford, on Saturday the 22nd and Sunday 23rd of November.







3 comments:

Linda said...

Goodness they are just wonderful, such a talented family.

Unknown said...

Clever you!
I want a poppy coat too please, size 14, thank you!!!!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Danielle this is a wonderful illustration ... I loved to see that you are a sewer too. Beautiful work!! I use to make all my clothes when I was teen .. Our mother would come home with a huge bag of hand me downs and we though it must have been christmas.. the fun we had making new things from these old clothes.. I loved it so much I still do it.. I don't like to waste anything..

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