Cute and easy purse

I've started thinking about things to sell at craft fairs when they start again in March. I'm also going to add a shop to my website (www.alisoncouchman.co.uk) so new ideas that are quick and easy are what I'm on the lookout for.

I hand dye a lot of my own fabrics and have been thinking about block printing on them too. Zip purses would be a good way to showcase some unique fabrics. So I went trawling the internet to find ideas and patterns.

That's where I found this; 

This is a rather nice tutorial by Erin Erickson on her website called 'dog under my desk'
You can go straight HERE to get the tutorial.

I've had a go at making one of my own and am pretty pleased with it. I changed things up a bit in that I quilted my layers together before cutting the pieces out.

I'm going to try rubbing Markal paint sticks over the quilted areas to totally change the look of it too.

Here's the finished purse.

This is the back . . . . . .

And here it is, just like Erin's, with my headphones in.

I would really like to make a few of these and sell some but it's important to respect the copyright of another artist/author. Erin's pattern clearly says " For Personal Use" but I did find a couple of people selling these on Etsy. They credit the pattern to Erin but I wonder if they actually have permission or not? It really riles me when people spend ages photographing and writing tutorials only to have them ripped off - it's just not fair!!

I've emailed Erin to see if she'll give me permission to make and sell - hopefully she will as she is in the USA and I'm in the UK. Fingers crossed!

Finishing the diary

I've finally got round to finishing my new 2-year diary. The photos I posted last time had been taken a week or so before I got round to posting them here. As we're now nearly in the middle of January it's about time I had it in a usable condition!

I used double-sided tape to put all the pages together then folded a piece of thin card and glued it round the spine.

I seriously mucked up cutting the pages to make them all level! I got impatient and did them before gluing the card onto the spine so, of course, the pages all shifted around and ended up looking more hacked than cut. Bugger!

This is what the diary page looks like inside;

To finish off the cover I needed to make it a bit stiffer so I ironed some Pellon interfacing onto the front cover and also to the pelmet vilene that I used as a lining. Lining isn't really the right word, especially as it's pelmet vilene! I just wanted a nice colour on the inside and pelmet vilene adds some stiffness.  I used a few small pieces of Bondaweb to hold front and back together - a bit like tacking with an iron! The next step is simply to whizz round the sides with a zigzag stitch in an appropriate colour.

And this is the inside showing the pelmet vilene.

After that it is a simple matter of gluing the cover to the pages.

I decided to try some new glue. I recently bought some Pinflair glue gel to use for making cards. Specifically, to fix 3D elements to the front of cards so I have no idea if this is going to work although I can't see why it won't. The glue gel is spread along the spine of the cover and the pages put firmly in place. I use pegs to hold the whole lot together while it dries.

I'm not happy with some elements of the new diary - particularly the way I messed up trimming the pages - but it is far too much work to start again. I'm sure once I start using it I won't notice the mistakes and if I do . . . . .well, they will serve to remind me not to be so impatient!!

New Year - New Diary

Happy New Year to Everyone.

I know I'm a bit late saying it but I saw the New Year in with a lurgy of some kind. You know how you feel when you first start a bad cold? You feel really rough but have no apparent symptoms so you get absolutely NO sympathy!! Well. that's how I felt for about 4 days or so. Ugggh!!!

Every year I make my own diary to carry in my handbag.
I've never been able to find one that shows a month-to-a-view - if I can't see the whole month I get in a muddle and end up booking too many things in on consecutive days when I forget to look over the page. I know, I know . . . . . . .  if I can't do something as simple as turning the page in a diary then I must be a bit dim! It's true.
Well, we all have our little blind spots and diaries have always been one of mine.

I started making my own diary a good few years ago now. It means I get the format I want while also giving me a little project to play with - I've made the covers in all sorts of ways over the years.

Aren't these gimp threads delicious?

I was given these for Christmas 'cos I want to do some more of my water-inspired pieces with them. I decided I would start off with a new diary cover so going with the watery theme I  used some water-soluble crayons on a piece of Evolon. The crayons I used are Caran D'Ache NeoColour II. I've used them on fabric before and when you add water you get a lovely texture where the pigment is pushed around. They aren't wash-fast but hopefully I'm never going to wash my diary!

I drew the crayons onto the Evolon and added water with a water brush.

Vaguely watery background so that the more definite lines could be put in with the gimp threads. I thought about couching them down by hand but couldn't face the idea of how long that would take so I machine stitched them with invisible thread.

I wasn't very keen on invisible thread until someone recommended Superior Threads to me. Previously, the ones I'd tried had been a little thicker than I liked and they also tended to stretch a bit - my own fault for using cheap stuff! The Superior monofilament thread is much better quality - I get some slight texture showing where the thread lays over the gimp and the Evolon shows where the needle pierces the fabric but overall I'm reasonably pleased with it.

Detail of monofilament machine-couched over gimp thread

And this is where I've got to so far . . . . . .



One of the ladies at TAGS suggested that I make a 2-year version of my diary and I can't believe that I've never thought of that before!!

So the next step is to decide how to finish the edges and to put a lining to hide the stitching on what will become the inside front cover. I might just add a few beads here and there too.

If anyone wants a copy of the diary page template then drop me a line.

Thanks for reading!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

I should probably say what a difference a  month makes!
I did the December Hoxne Artisan Market on Saturday and it couldn't have been any more differerent to the one in November.

I think several things were in play - firstly that in this rotten economic climate everyone has been hanging on to their money until nearer Christmas.

But I also wonder if it's because I simplified the amount of different items I was selling and also laid the table out differently.

Here's the table in November . . . .

I'd put out EVERYTHING (well almost!). And hanging behind were my new machine embroidered pictures. I noticed that no-one was looking above the level of the table so they became virtually invisible. I'd also put out the last few of this and the last few of that so it was quite jumbled. We'd been asked to make the stalls Christmassy and after this photo was taken I added some sparkly silver stuff around the top.

This is the table on Saturday . . . 

I move the embroidered pics down to the table and put art quilts on the wall so they could be seen from a distance.

I also restricted what I had to sell - I had the pictures, 3 kinds of brooches, Kumihimo bracelets, Christmas cards and some beaded angels hanging on a wire tree. Much, much simpler and I think it was less distracting.

It could simply be that we are now very close to Christmas. People were so decisive - they either moved on without lingering or they stopped, looked and bought.

But who knows . . .  .?

Trying to earn an honest crust

I've been away from my blog for a while as I've been busy with my usual work of writing resources for teachers. I've also been trying to supplement my income by doing some local craft fairs.

The Hoxne one wasn't as lucrative for me as I'd hoped - apparently it was a real mixed bag for people. Those who usually do well had a not-so-great day and others had a brilliant day.
I wish I knew the magic formula for getting people to buy what I make.
It's definitely about venue in some cases - my kumihimo bracelets sold incredibly well at Snape Maltings in July, as did my brooches. They don't seem to do so well at the smaller fairs though.

I set about making some new stock - small machine embroidered pictures which I was really please with. They are done by printing a photo onto inkjet printable silk - purchased from Crafty Computer Paper.

Once the ink has dried, the backing is peeled off and away I go with the sewing machine!

 . . . . and yes, you have see this image before!

This is much smaller than the last one though - about 5 x 7 inches.

I decided some machine embroidered images would be good because they reflect one of my main areas of textiles. Plus I haven't seen anyone else selling them.

So, I agonised long and hard over the price and decided on £22 which is probably not high enough. BUT . . . and it's a big but . . .I need to make some money so there's no point pricing them too high.

But no-one bought any!!! (imagine me wailing and gnashing my teeth here please).

Another textile-ey lady at the craft fair suggested the cream mount was too stark a contrast, especially for this one of the leaf . . .

The more I looked at it the more I thought she had a point.

I tried colour-washing the mounts on some scrap card to begin with but the only one I did in the end was the leaf. With all the others I just couldn't make up my mind what colour to do it! I was having a particularly dithery sort of day I think.

This photo doesn't really show the difference very clearly does it? (I blame the photographer)

And now I think the mount just looks grubby!!
It's actually got a light, watery brown wash over it but to be honest I'm just not sure. You can see it better in real life.

I ended up a bit grumpy and packed up in a bit of a huff in the end!!

Hoxne Artisan Market - 12th November

Having got thoroughly fed up with craft fairs that always prove to be a disappointment I was really chuffed earlier this year to discover the Hoxne Artisan Market. It's a lovely market full of genuinely original, high quality things.

You know what it's like when you go to some craft fairs . . . . . . .you go in full of expectation only to have your heart sink when you see the same old people selling the same old stuff. And not all of it is that well made sometimes.

That's why Hoxne is such a treat. So much so, that I have taken a table there a couple of times already. The big Christmas market is on Saturday 12th November from 10am till 4pm at the village hall.

Among other things I will be selling . . . . .

Fabric Bead Brooches

All beads made by hand then turned into brooches. Here's a close up . . . . .

Then there are silk viscose velvet brooches. There will be a few more in other colours.

I've had some beaded charms that I made a while back so I have finally put these onto cards so they are displayed properly. (the flash has made the photo a bit over-exposed)

I will also sell a few vessels - I have some nice wave shaped ones. They look lovely but people don't seem to get the fact that they are decorate - they always ask what they are for.

The piece de resistance (or they will be if I get a few more done!) will be some machine-embroidered pictures. Each one is unique as they never get stitched the same way twice. This is an embroidered leaf.

While this, is a poppy.

If it looks familiar, that's because it is a much smaller version of the piece I put into the TAGs exhibition last year and sold, along with it's counterpart, the pansy.

If anyone who reads this is local enough then I would urge you to come to the Hoxne Christmas Artisan Market. It is sooooooo much  better than other events I've been to in the past. You will get the chance to buy original and unusual work that you won't find anywhere else. The refreshments are great too!

Don't forget your chequebook!
(now that's something you hear less and less these days )



Water - Part 2

I remembered to take photos before 'Ripples' went off to an exhibition in Ipswich - I ended up dashing round the house in my dressing gown but I did remember!!



These photos show the free-motion quilting. It all nearly went horribly wrong when I dithered a bit - I couldn't decide whether to follow the shapes of the fused pieces or to quilt all over with general, ripply shapes. I did one section following the shape but it looked wrong so I did it all over. Luckily, the different bit doesn't show.

I added a few beads here and there - trying to suggest the way the light catches ripples on the water sometimes. I had to keep taking them out and redoing them though - I was after something subtle and the beads I tried first just weren't right.

These tiny turquoise beads are prefect. They are much smaller than normal seed beads and they're fairly transparent. I got a bit carried away at first but took most of them out - this is a case of less being more.

Apart from being short of time where the binding is concerned I didn't want to have the overall image 'framed' by a traditional binding. I knew I'd seen something on alternative bindings on the internet somewhere and found just the right thing on Judy Coates-Perez's blog  - here.

The photo is a bit on the wonk but shows the back - it's far from perfect but I really like the fact that it finishes the edges properly but doesn't intrude visually like a traditional binding would.

I felt really pleased that I'd remembered to take these photos but while writing this I've realised the one thing I forgot . . . . . . . . . . to take a shot of the finished piece from the front!!!

'Ripples' is now hanging in an exhibition at the gallery above Memorable Cheeses in Dial Lane, Ipswich. If it sells, I won't be able to take any more photos. Now that's a hard one -  do I want it to sell or do I want to take another photo? I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out so I'd like pictures but then I do need to earn a few pennies so . . . . . . . . .hhmmmmm.



Water, Water Everywhere

After the success of my 'Ripples and Reflections' piece at the TAGS exhibition in July I've decided to continue working on watery imagery. I'd like to do a series based on water, ripples, waves and such.

The first piece - actually, second piece  - started as what I tend to think of as a play piece. If I haven't got anything else on the go I sometimes start a piece that doesn't matter - just to play around and try things out. I find if I think about a piece as being for an exhibition or as being even remotely important in some way I get all locked up and hesitant. So, if I start out working on a play piece I already have it in my head that it may not work, but it just doesn't matter. Quite often a play piece turns out OK but sometimes I abandon it if it isn't working. The main thing is that I don't put any PRESSURE on myself with these pieces.

So here is the start of the second piece in my water series, called 'Ripples'.

It is a piece of fused applique on some hand-dyed cotton. I did they dyeing ages ago and have been waiting for the right idea to use it on as it's not that big - roughly 45 x 35cm.

The fabrics fused on top are mostly commercial cottons apart from the turquoise.

Since taking this picture I've done the free-motion quilting (and boy did that nearly go horribly wrong!) and added a few tiny beads - quite subtle (had to take them out a few times till I got it right) and just to emphasise the movement of the water.

My next post will have show where I've got with the next stage

Lovely People at the day school

Well, I taught the 'V is for Vessels' day school for the Suffolk East Embroiderers Guild near Ipswich and what a lovely bunch they were!!

I taught a different class there about a year or so ago and they were lovely then too. Only two of the students were the same as last time but as a group they are very dynamic and it makes a great day for me as the tutor. I can't put my finger on what it is that makes this group so different from others but they are very experimental and happy to just try things out and see what happens. Even the beginners!!

I forgot to take photos while they were overprinting the dyed vilene - we were all so busy it didn't enter my head. I eventually remembered once they started cutting out their pieces - probably 'cos they didn't need me so much!

This piece was dyed by Clive and it is so gorgeous I wanted it for myself! I wouldn't have overprinted this one but thought some chunky machine stitched lines would look good. Isn't it great??

I managed to get photos of these two before they were cut out too.

Having done all the printing before lunch we then got on with cutting out. Some people used my templates and others adapted them to make their own vessel shape.
Once cut out, each piece had to have zigzag stitch all the way round. The last stitching has to be done by hand and if the zigzag stitching isn't there the vilene can tear.

So after the zigzag stitching the base can be attached with a nice wide zigzag stitch.

That's the only bit of construction you can do with the machine though.

Once it is at this stage you can do a bit of machine work if you want - too much and the vilene starts to degrade if you stitch over and over in the same place.

Alternatively you can put beads on like Liz did on this one . . . . . .

She did this SOOOooooo fast!! My beading is pitifully slow in comparison - sad really.

Nobody got completely finished by the time 4pm rolled round but a good few of them were well on the way.I had a lovely time and they said they did too.

I haven't been looking for teaching work but will probably start doing so - I'm open to invitations locally but do need to let groups know that I'm back in circulation again.

Give me a shout if you are interested in a course.

xx

Dyeing - me and the vilene!

I have been invited back to the Suffolk East Embroiderers Guild next week (17th Sept) and will be teaching them to make vessels from pelmet vilene. I first taught them last year and they are a lovely, sparky bunch who were great fun to work with for the day. I'm looking forward to spending another day with them very much.

As not everyone has time or inclination to dye up a load of pelmet vilene I've done it for them and they will give me a few pennies for it. This is where I really notice the lack of a studio!! In fact, I tend to feel very hard done by and have to keep reminding myself that I traded my studio for an easier financial committment.

I ended up dyeing the pelmet vilene in the garden yesterday using a garden hose and a sprayer. The sprayer was very cheap as I wanted to try it out and I nearly regretted it - I hadn't realised that there was a lock feature on the spray button and had to hurl it away from me as the dye just POURED out and I couldn't stop it!!!!!

Once I got the kit under control (turquoise arms and feet!) I was able to spray it all up really easily. Today it got left on the lawn to dry off in the very windy weather.

Lumps of flint really came in handy today.

As it was so windy the puss cats were quite skittish anyway and this one was very warily watching a piece of dyed vilene that had blown across the garden and was twitching in the flower bed.



This is Ruffin and he wouldn't walk any further until I'd retrieved my errant vilene and got it firmly back under control - can't blame him really!