Working for Her Daily Bread

Finished and sent!

Working for Her Daily Bread ( Translation in to Hausa Aiki a kowace rana abinci)

I like how the side borders make it look like you are looking through a doorway.

And the statement -

I chose to depict an African girl at work. She can’t go to school, she is needed at home. Her family cannot afford the fees, uniform, or supplies she would need to go to school. And yet, if she could be educated, she could learn better ways of providing nourishing food, health care and education for more in her community.

I have several friends who work with the poor and marginalised in different African countries. I’ve begun developing ways to use my own sewing skills to benefit children like this girl. At the very least, thinking about them gives me a different perspective on the difficulty of my own day’s work!

Materials and Techniques: Indonesian and African batiks, felt, cotton wadding. Shapes developed and adapted from inspiration photo. Fused to felt and applied with blind hem stitch. Worked into with coloured pencil and felt tips. Double and wrap around binding combination.


This will be part of the Contemporary Quilt Suitcase collection - touring begins in the new year. If you live in the UK, you can get in touch with CQ to see if your group can hire the suitcase full of A3 size pieces on the topic 'All in a Day's Work'.

Laying it out

Next few steps on this piece...

layout

 

Background

I quilted the background before adding the edge pieces. This photo shows the edges pinned. The side edges are like wide binding. The extra from the background is wrapped over the edge to the back (on the top and bottom) and treated as binding.

and then the girl and the bowls are appliqued on. Actually I am stitching the binding on at this moment. Will get it in the post in the morning.

more in progress

Here is the little girl who will be in this piece.

 I am about ready to stitch the background, etc. But am fitting it around baking for a few different events at the weekend...and cleaning because a couple we know are coming to stay the night between flights.

There is still hopes this will get in the post!

Map no.11 - stitched

This past week at meetings and one or two evenings watching some telly with my husband, I have stitched the map for November.

Now to finish layering it, add a bit more stitch to hold the layers and then bind it. This one is about Reading and extends to the places where I taught for New Directions community college.

I am still working on the piece I gave you a glimpse of, but I'm not ready to show more of it yet.

in progress

I am hoping to get an A3 size piece done for the new CQ suitcase collection this week.

Some of the missing past few days have been more events and recovering from such a busy last week. But I have finally got a start on this. Just a glimpse for now of a small detail to be in the work.

The theme of the new collection is 'All in a Day's work'.
The current suitcase collection about Childhood Memories has my piece "Uncle Stan's Bicycle".

The deadline for this piece to be there is Monday! But if it doesn't make it, I will continue, because this is a follow on from ideas about issues in Third World countries that I began to explore with "Menina de Favela e Água". I have several ideas I want to explore. Not sure if I will continue with the A3 format, or larger like the previous one. If larger, they can be entered more easily into FOQ.

"And the Bead Goes On..." 18-24 Nov

2013 - Week 47 Daily Beads

A few bugle beads in these colours.
Normally I make stacks when I do bugle beads. But this time, as I had done loops for the rest of the month, I thought I would have a go at seeing how the loops would look using them.

no.232


no.233


no.234


no.235


no.236


no.237


no.238


I think they are good. Adding more dimension, but not so spidery/sea urchin-like as the stacks.

Something on Saturday

Another busy day - TVCT meeting. So, here is a wonderful carpet of cyclamen at RHS Wisley.

They just seemed to draw you closer

and closer.

and then very close.

Cyclamen are one of my favourite flowers. I love the way the petals turn back from a twisted point. It was the first flower my husband bought me when we were 'courting'.
I have some planted in my front garden. I started with about 5 corms and now they cover the whole area under the Mock Orange Blossom tree!

In fact, they have managed to reproduce all the way past these slabs into next door's garden!

Check the lower right corner!

Once I tried to catch the moment of the petals turning back. One moment the petals were still pointed forward. and not more than 5 minutes later, they were all flipped backward! This link takes you to a time lapse video of cyclamen opening.

Just a few 'pictures from the exhibition'

I knew I'd be rather out of it today after 2 long days, but I didn't really realise how much. So, I haven't done much photo processing.

However, here are one or two to tide you over to tomorrow.
This is Kate Findlay's piece Oars.

You could almost tell from the visitors who were locals by the way they connected to this piece. Henley, for those who may not know, is the home of Henley Regatta.

Kate was the curator of the exhibition. I mentioned that Just Hands TV had recorded Kate discussing each piece in the Exhibition. This photo shows Kate on the left and Valerie from Just Hands on the right.

Another piece I will mention is Pouring by Joanna O'Neill. Joanna used to be part of our TVCT group but has moved up north. She was down this way visiting her mother and arranged for me to deliver her work to Lady Sew and Sew when I took mine.

I really like the viewpoint of the pouring water. Often you see the side view of a jug pouring. But this view really focusses on the water.


*****
And...I must tell you a very happy thing.

For nearly 3 weeks I have been going back and forth with Parcel Force, Customs and Excise and UK Border Agency about my work being returned from America. Remember Swamp Dragon and Lady Sew-Forth had been to the PNQE show in September? Even though it was properly marked Exhibit return to Artist someone hadn't read that bit, and they were trying to charge me.

Eventually, last week sometime, the right person was given the right info and the charges were cleared. But I still hadn't got the parcel. So more contacting people in the ether ensued.
I think the Parcel man who came to the door today was very afraid he was going to get hugged for his appearance! But phew, I now have them in my 'hot hand' as it were.

menina de favela e água cards

Today was another very long day - I went to a meeting on the other side of Bath in South Gloucestershire. But there is just enough time to give a little surprise I found when I went to help steward the Water, Water exhibition in Henley yesterday.

TADA!

Kate Findlay, who curated the exhibition, had cards made of some of the pieces. and there was my little Brazilian girl! So, that was a fun thing to discover. So, of course I bought some for my 'archive'.

I tried to get photos of most of the rest of the work, although I think I missed some, but I am a bit shattered from being out and about for 2 long days running, so I will put some of the photos up tomorrow.

It was a great show though! and such a variety of ways to depict water. Just Hands TV were there most of the day. They filmed Kate talking about each piece in the exhibition. Poor girl! She must have been shattered by the end of the day. When I hear that they have put it on their site, I will let you know.

busy week trees

More trees I have recently met and enjoyed from RHS Wisley.

Another one with a wonderful shape. So much character!

And this one is caught in movement like the dancer in the ballet.

A busy week

The next few days are pretty busy. Different places to go and things to do. I hope to get some photos - especially the Water, Water exhibition at Henley. but in the meantime, rather than dash about posting late at night when I am exhausted, I will show you some trees I have recently met and enjoyed. Perhaps you will too. They were at RHS Wisley when we went last month.

Knobbly and Bobbly

Love the little flicks of bark!

Love the shape - like a wonderful candle pointing to the sky.

"And the Bead Goes On..." 11-17 Nov

2013 - Week 46 Daily Beads
As I have said before, these are similar because they use one or two beads as constant for the week and the same fabric for the month. However, there is always something different about each one. For these it is a different beads each day added to the constant beads.

no.315


no.316


no.317


no.318


no.319


no.320


no.321


no. 320 was 7/8ths of the way through the year!

Something on Saturday

Another tree down behind our back garden. This was a beautiful red maple.

The leaves were turning a beautiful russet Autumn colour.

We kind of knew it was going because the man whose house is there has complained it was too close...roots and branches causing damage. And so it was, but still, it was beautiful and now it is gone.

skirts 20 -26

I have some more skirts finished.

This photo includes 15-19 most of which were cut and sewn in August, but needed elastic. The greenish one with the ruffle is where I had stopped because the piece of fabric wasn't long enough and I needed to piece together the remnants to make it longer. So, I did that the other day.

So all the ones on the left, including the red ones, were from the good parts of the sheets my friend gave me. I used some already fused fabric to create a bit of decoration because they were a bit plain.
There are 3 greyish ones - they actually still need elastic...I will do that tomorrow. as well as the black one with yellow speckles printed on it...donated remnants from another friend.

So, all those together should just come up to the 2kg limit - around £26. It goes up astronomically once it is over 2kg. I will try to get them posted next week, but it is a very full week, so it might have to wait til the following week.

Postcard 29

Another scrap turned postcard which I have drawn into with Triplus Fineliner pens... Now in the post.

4 more skirts for Ethiopia

So, now that I have caught up with the blouses I had cut out, I am taking time out to do some more skirts for the girls in the orphan village where my friend works. This is the sneak peek. Most of these are already sewn...just need to put elastic in the waist. I won't count them til I do that though!

I didn't put the computer on til about 5pm, so I was able to keep going without distractions.

Some of these were from duvet covers a friend gave me. I cut round the stains from the leak in their airing cupboard. The rest of those covers aren't good enough for clothing, so ('shock') I will have to toss them. But it is better to get 1 or 2 skirts out of them beforehand.
Another positive... it has also meant more space in my room!

Creamy Bright Blouse finished

And here it is!

You can see that the cream layer has really subdued the bright fabric.

Because of the 2 layers, it doesn't have as much give as one layer would, so it feels a bit snug. This is the same bodice pattern as the blouses I have recently shown you. So I am just going to let it out a bit more in the waist darts. Maybe do away with them altogether in the front after seeing the photo!

The cream fabric needed to be pieced in a few places because I hadn't got enough length for sleeves, button stand and collar. So I put the piecing in random places - stitched with a French seam - before I laid it together with the bright fabric. Then it looks like a design purpose rather than an oops.

I also used a sort of lightning zigzag on the seam. Here you can see the right side button stand where the piecing is a short way down from the collar.

and the right side of the collar. The piecing on the collar is off centre in the back on purpose.

I have arranged this to show the piecing on the button stand...the right side as mentioned. top of the photo,

and the left side of the button stand which has the piecing a short way up from the hem. bottom of photo.

And a bit of a scrunched photo to show all of the pieced detailing, including across the 3/4 length sleeve.

Each of the sleeve piecing is in the same place. If I did it again, I would stagger those as well, but I already had the sleeves cut to be pieced in that place for both sides before I thought of it.

*****************
I also had good word that my Ramshackle piece for the SAQA Auction was sold! I hope it gives the new owners great pleasure.

sneak peek again

Nearly finished with another blouse. This one is a bit of an experiment. I had a skirt I made in herringbone tweed. The colours were red and cream. But it has been hard to find a blouse to match. Solid colours just seemed too much. and the skirt reads more of a coral from a distance.

So, I had a somewhat sheer cream windowpane check fabric and the bright, bright coral fabric. (I made the bright blouse from the remnant after I had cut this one out)

By using the 2 together, it created the light coral colour which would go with the skirt. It is a winter skirt, so the double layer won't be an issue with getting too hot.

I didn't have enough of the sheer fabric so there have been some interesting design features going on! When I get it finished, I will try to describe what I ended up doing.

I am just planning the buttonholes so stitching them out and sewing on the buttons will happen tomorrow.

Just a little glimpse of the blouse with the skirt. You can compare with the swatches above...the bright coral would be too much. A cream could possibly work, but I'm not so good with wearing a cream colour - white is better, but too much contrast with the skirt. This combination works just right.

I did later find another just right fabric when we went to the Goldhawk Road shops, but I haven't cut it out yet.

"And the Bead Goes On..." 4-10 Nov

2013 - Week 45 Daily Beads

Continuing with the brown theme. When these little beads are altogether, they look quite like little bits of treasure!

no.308


no.309


no.310


no.311


no.312


no.313


no.314