Still playing catchup!

Oooh, it's been two weeks since I posted here! I am sorry - I have been out and about, busy as a bee in this glorious sunny weather. I did manage to take my sewing with me yesterday to my Mother's house where we had a lovely high tea, with cousins and aunts and lots of small children. We drank copious amounts of tea, ate rather too much cake, and basked in the late afternoon sunshine while all the children raced around the garden. What more could you ask for on Mother's Day?

I also took the opportunity to try and tidy Piper up. She has been running wild all winter with the other youngsters, and is beginning to get a little too big for her boots. Her raggle taggle mane was down to her shoulders, and she looked very wild ( but rather elegant too). I trimmed her up, but have to own that I don't think I have done her any favours. With her forelock in a newly banged fringe, and her long fluttering eyelashes, she has a definate look of the 'Snork Maiden' about her. ( And, you know, the Snork Maiden was always my least favourite of Tove Jansson's characters - she was altogether too manipulative and simpering!)

I've also been working my scanner and printer hard. After all the moaning I did about the way my scanner picks up pencil lines, I have to give it credit for it's reproduction of watercolours. I have making prints of the two Hare studies, and they are just gorgeous! Rich in colour, and every line sharp and clear. I am off to list them in the Etsy shop now!
Finally, I have been lucky enough to be showered with blog awards in the last few weeks. Thankyou so much to everyone who gave me one, I am truly honoured, and I really do appreciate it. I simply have been running just to catch up with myself recently. I promise to get to the awards in the next post :)

Stook Deer

'Stook Deer' is finished! Apologies for the poor photograph - I want to mount it on a mustard coloured background, and then I will try and get some better pics.

Two stitched Hares

Half Term is nearing it's end, and sadly the children will have to return to school on Monday. It's been a busy week, with eldest daughter performing in the local pantomime. This is wonderful fun for her, but means that I have to sit up till late into the night in order to collect her after the performance has ended. As I am not a night owl, this is quite a chore! Still, it does mean that I have been working on 'Stook Deer', and it's very nearly finished. This one has two hares in it.

Middle daughter has spent the week getting to grips with her pony. We have finally found a replacement for Tishy, and are crossing our fingers that this is 'the one'! She is Squeak, a 12.1hh welsh pony, who is just the politest little mare I have ever handled. Unfortunately, I don't know much of her history, so we are taking things very slowly and getting to know her. Never-the-less, middle daughter is smitten!

Beetle and I took a stroll round the garden in the gaps between sleet showers this morning. My witch hazel is in full, glorious bloom, and I can see buds and new growth beginning to push through the ground. Spring is definately on it's way!

Edit: Squeak has a symbol clipped onto her quarters. It was suggested to me when I bought her that this was a warmblood brandmark that someone had decided to clip onto her, but it doesn't look like any I recognise. I thought it looked more like a japanese / kanji symbol, but if anyone recognises it , do let us know!

And The Winner is ....

Number 31, Melly Testa! A copy of Long Lugs will be winging it's way to you as soon as I have your address. ( UPDATE : I gave you the wrong link for Melly's blog - I have now changed it to the right one, do check it out)

"Stook Deer" progresses nicely, although I have had less time this week. There are more hare and fox paintings in the pipeline too, but I have seriously neglected my drawing so far this year, and need to go back to sketching a bit, just to remind myself !

Celebratory Giveaway!

OK, it's celebration time! I thought that reaching over 1000 hearts at my Etsy shop was something of a milestone, and deserved a big blog giveaway to celebrate. Plus, it's been a rather testing start to the year and I really need to do something cheery and fun! So, I am going to hold a draw here on the blog. The winner gets to choose their prize from my Etsy shop - 1 large print ( A4/ 8 x 12) or 2 small prints (A5/ 6 x 8). In order to enter, you need to leave a comment after THIS post, stating which print, or pair of prints, that you would like to receive if you win. You don't have to be a blogger, but if not, you need to leave me a way of contacting you should you win. It's open to anyone, anywhere in the world. I will close the comments next Friday 12th of February at 9 o'clock UK time, and draw a name at random.

And here is a peek at the first stages of the third hare quilt.
"Stook Deer"

Race The Wind

Race The Wind is finished, bar the hanging rod. Not a machine stitch in the piece! I need some time to source / make hanging rods for both this piece and Long Lugs, as I have a pretty specific idea of how I want them to be hung.

In the photos, the greenish edge fringe contrasts very strongly with the piece, but in reality it works a lot better. What is tricky to see in the pictures is that a lot of the stitching over the blue and turquoise background is in gold thread, and this gives it a very greenish gold feel.

The next piece is already taking shape in my head. It will be simpler, and use some of my new found scraps. I'll show you soon!

Things never seem to run smoothly!

It's been a tough couple of weeks here, in many ways. The hardest part has been to do with Tishy. I kind of feel that it is my fault, that I tempted fate by proudly posting here 'Look at out lovely new pony!' Tishy has not been well, she had a nasty bout of colic about 10 days ago. I am pleased to say she is fine now, but there was a very worrying night, with several visits from the vet, and several sleepless nights following as I worried about her. We couldn't pinpoint the reason, and we suspect that she had had a very minor bout of colic a couple of weeks previously to this. Because of this, and the fact that she had never had colic before, I think it is likely that there is something here, either in her environment, or in her routine, that may have caused it, and so, with a lot of soul searching, we decided that she was better off back with her owner. Thankfully, she has an owner who adores her, and simply wants her pony to be safe and well, and though I have grown extremely fond of her in the last six weeks, I really think this is the best decision for her. Middle daughter is, understandably, struggling to see the wisdom of this decision, particularly as Tishy is well again now. So , we'll have to see how things go. I will be more cautious about tempting fate by feeling smug about life from now on. In an effort to cheer her up, I let her have a ride around the block on Red.

I've also spent a couple of days helping sort the textiles recycling at Proper Job, which gave me a chance to earmark some clothes from the scrap bin that will work nicely with my current project! The creamy coloured fabric above is a beautiful linen with a pale indigo thread running through it. As trousers, they are worn through, but there is plenty of good fabric left for patchwork.

Race the Wind continues apace, and still I am happy, stitching, stitching away.

The Thankyou post!

Here is the promised post – thankyou for waiting, and I apologise that it is such a long one!

I felt completely overwhelmed by the wonderful response to my foray into textiles, and felt that after receiving such positive comments, I really ought to give credit where it is due. So I will embark on an explanation of my sewing background, and how I got to this point today.

The first person to introduce me to sewing was my mother. She had always sewn when we when young, and then , when I was around nine or ten years old she began to do a City and Guilds embroidery course, travelling to Stitch Design on the Isle of Dogs, London, once a week. The course was run by Barbara Marriot and tutored by Julia Caprara,, an exceptional textile artist and inspirational teacher. If I was off school, I used to go with her, rather than her miss her college day, and I often contrived to be ill on a Friday, just so that I could go too. Docklands was undeveloped then, and it was an interesting place to hang out, but most of all I got to sit in on the classes, and joined in the practical work with great enthusiasm. Later on, while doing the Part II course, my mother also taught workshops and evening classes locally, all of which I used to tag along to. So sewing became second nature to both myself and my sister, something for which I am eternally grateful, and which I am endeavouring to teach my girls.

As time passed, and I went off to art college, I felt rather suffocated by my textiles background, and rebelliously strode off in another direction. Ceramics was new and exciting ( and the tutor was rather attractive) and I decided this was my path. Unfortunately, by the time I left Uni, I had realised that I had chosen the wrong path. Illustration was my one love, and that is the direction I have pursued ever since.

I continued to sew all through this time, making or customising clothes, practical sewing, making do and mending, which was simply a part of my upbringing.

My sister, Angharad, however, followed the textiles route through, first doing a degree in costume at the London College of Fashion, and eventually ending up with a clothing business, making fabulous clothes out of recycled and vintage fabrics. She is currently exhibiting at Princetown and Haldon forest as part of a sustainable fashion initiative.

photos (c) Angharad Barlow / Blow-pipe


I cut and sew for her sometimes when she has a big order, but aside from that, and occasional alterations and curtain making for money ( which I loathe doing I’m afraid, but there are times when I can’t really afford to turn it down!) I haven’t sewn as art for years.

BUT, inklings of ideas began to ferment about a year ago. At a friends house I had been admiring a couple of quilts she had, by an artist called Janet Bolton. Because I had admired them so much, Edie gave me a copy of Janet’s book, “Patchwork folk Art” that Christmas. Oh, and it was a book to drool over! I kept it by my bed, to browse through in those rare quiet moments with a cup of tea, after everyone else was asleep, imagining things I could do. Then, after a burst of painting earlier last year, I suddenly decided to translate one of the illustrations into a quilt. Those of you who have been following me for a while will have already seen this piece.

I was pleased with the outcome, but what thrilled me most was the sheer enjoyment of doing it. Yes, it was slow and painstaking, and I had thought I might get bored doing miles of running stitch – after all, I am bored out of my brain when making curtains! But I didn’t – I was happy. Every line of stitching made me smile, and I realised that actually, the finished piece was of secondary importance, it was the pleasure of making every stitch that mattered most. This was a bit of a revelation, a Eureka moment, and I realised I wanted more. Time was short, and spare bits of time had to be spent drawing and painting, but all the while I kept going back to Janet’s book for inspiration, and began to browse the blogosphere looking at textile artists. There are many wonderful people out there – I am surprised by how many I have found, and by how many have found me since I first mentioned my little quilt. You can find links to many of these people on my sidebar, and they are too numerous to mention here, but there has been one person who has inspired me more than anyone ( and I know she inspires a lot of you!) and that is Jude Hill from Spirit Cloth. I discovered her blog last autumn, and found myself returning again and again, to learn from her and be inspired. Through her I heard of the slow cloth movement, and realised that this is exactly the way I feel about my work. It’s exciting and I’m proud to be a part of it in a tiny way.

So, my thanks are due to all these people who have encouraged and inspired me, but I have to say that it is to Jude I owe thanks for that final little creative nudge, for stopping me from dreaming about what I’d like to do, and making me actually pick up the fabric and start working. The result was Long Lugs, but he is the first of many! Race the Wind is continuing, stitch by stitch, becoming slightly freer as I let myself go a bit, but I envisage this as a slow process – letting go does not come naturally to me!

'Long Lugs' is finished.

Here is the first one finished! My head is just bursting with ideas for more, and I'm already beginning on the next.

Ginger Miu thinks this sewing lark is a great idea. It's so much more comfortable to sit on a piece of embroidery than on a wet painting.

Stitched words

Just a quick post to show you how 'Long Lugs' progresses. We are still snowed in, and I am happily sewing my fingers off!

Little hands are busy.

It's been a whirlwind of activity at the kitchen table today! The girls have been busy making peg dolly lavender bags as christmas gifts. These were great fun to do, and only require basic sewing, yet look really effective. They managed to make half a dozen each.
I got the dried lavender from Herbmoon Hollow, a fabulous shop selling all manner of herbal goodies. It's a huge bag, and smells divine. I am forever trying to grow lavender in my gardener, but though I do have good sandy soil, we live in a frost pocket on the shady side of a wood, and the air is so full of rain that lavender justs rots away over the winter. It's a real dissappointment - I even grew about 100 plants from cuttings last year, most of which the girls sold at the school fair, but I just can't overwinter them in a presentable state.

These are the finished pockets - perfect! Now we have some bath salts to try and make! Smallest son, not to be outdone in the creativity stakes, made himself a great set of alien eyes using paper muffin cases, which he has been wearing all day. It is just me who is way behind with my christmas gift making. Tonight, I'll make a start on the knitting, and perhaps we can start the christmas cards tomorrow!

Blue Whales and Spanish Quinces

More mad sewing this week! I have been turning out my hoarded fabric, and making some winter clothes for the kids ready to go on holiday to the windy Cornish clifftops. I LOVE doing this sort of sewing ( especially when I can use my sisters industrial overlocker - it is so quick!). These are fleece lined clothes - so soft against the skin, and snug and warm on the beach. The outer layer is patchwork fabric. These sorts of cottons are gorgeous and pretty tough and hardwearing. I am lucky that old friends run Strawberry Fayre, a mail order patchwork and quilting business, so I get to rummage through their stores of beautiful fabric. The blue whale on this jumper was a special request from my son - I appliqued it on at the end.



My youngest son chose this fabric - everyone else looked askance at this, and suggested it was a bit 'girlie', but he was adamant that it was the only thing he wanted a jacket made out of. I think it's great - and not girly at all!

This is the 'piece de resistance' - a reversible gilet for my middle daughter - the glamour queen. You can't see the richness very well in this picture, but it is a piece of Designers guild fabric I had in my stash. It has a satiny pink background, and the red print is a wonderful velvety flock. We will be able to see her for miles on the beach! ( I have washed it well before making it up, so it should be able to stand up to the rigours of rockclimbing!)


And finally, my quinces are ripening on the tree. I am facing the dilemma of wether to get a ladder and try and pick them before we leave tomorrow, or to leave them on the tree to finish ripening. The latter would be a better option, but if the weather is rough while we are gone for a week , and they drop, the slugs will make short work of them.
They are one of my favourite fruits for cooking, and I am hoping to make quince marmalade when we return.

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.

Prizes, a Poppy, and Painted Shoes

Okay, first things first! The Blog Giveaway was drawn tonight, and the first name out of the pumpkin bowl was Maggie Summers! Check out her great blog A Latte A Day . Maggie, you need to let me know your snail mail address. You can email me at dbarlowart@aol.com

Congratulations! You know, that was really good fun to do - though I feel terribly guilty about people who didn't win. Thankyou so much everyone for taking the time to leave a comment. I think I will make this a regular thing, maybe monthly?

Secondly, here is a quick ACEO for this week, entitled Luna Hare. Up for auction on ebay later tonight.



And finally - the real reason I haven't done much work this week! I'd been having one of 'those' weeks - you know the sort, where everything that can go wrong does, culminating in a shopping trip to Exeter. I haven't been shopping for about six months, partly because there is never a penny to spare, and partly because I hate shopping, with a passion. Nevertheless, the girls REALLY needed some tights for school, so I steeled myself for a trip. Once tights were sorted, I wandered round a bit, as I have had a burning desire for a pair of red shoes for a couple of years. I saw a couple of pairs, just the shade I wanted, but at £60 each, I just couldn't justify it. I got steadily grumpier throughout the day, and came home and threw everything out of my wardrobe, all the old clothes that I don't wear because they no longer fit, or I just don't like them, and then Da Da! I found a pair of handmade shoes that I no longer wear because they were a rather unpleasant shade of yellow. Well, a trip to Bowdens ( the best shop in the world - but that must wait for another post) turned up a cherry red pot of shoe polish, and an hour later, with as much shoe polish on my hands as on my shoes , I have a pair in just the shade I want! This has led to a flurry of mending and making do, and upcycling old clothes.

A rummage through my fabric boxes has provided a gorgeous selection of fabrics, and I have added a strip of this beautiful striped fabric to the bottom of a red knee length skirt (which made me look even shorter and squatter than usual) to make a great full length skirt. I also dyed a nasty grey parka a lovely chocolate brown ( had to boil it up in my enamel bread bin as none of my pans were big enough), and I'm now going to jazz it up with these fabrics. My absolute favourite is the printed needlecord in the centre which I got at a garage sale in the village. So this might mean not much painting for a few days. But you know, there are times when a girl's just GOT to have some new clothes!