Yorkshire Tales

 

A few days relaxing in the Yorkshire Dales last weekend was just the ticket.  We stayed in a tiny cottage in the village of Bainbridge.  The weather forecast was not favourable but the rain stayed away and the sun came out on Saturday.  We pottered around all the little villages in the area, stopping for a cuppa here and there and buying some gorgeous treats from the lovely Askrigg Village Kitchen (Mr T loves the caramel shortcake). We were very surprised when the bakery was featured on Countryfile on Sunday evening.  One of our outings took us to Bedale where I spotted this amazing clematis standing outside a florist's shop.

 

I took a small selection of making bits and bobs and enjoyed sitting in the cottage sewing.  Show and tell coming up! 

 

 Pale blue and chocolate linen & lace brooch

 

 

 natural linen with a smoke mother of pearl button

 

 

 Shades of Ochre kilt pin - lace and linen embellished with hand embroidery

 

 

 Tiny hexi brooch

 

 

Broderie anglaise, lace and linen kilt pin - pale blue with an accent of chocolate

 

We always visit Farfield Mill near Sedbergh when we are in the Dales.  Four floors of inspiration await you in this vibrant arts and heritage centre.  Housed in a restored Victorian woollen mill on the edge of Cumbria and Yorkshire - now the leading venue for textile arts in the North West. An exhibition by the British Tapestry Group entitled Metamorphosis was fascinating, as was a lace making demonstration.  The lady had over 135 pairs of lace bobbins on her knee to create a piece four inches in diameter.  I was fascinated to watch her create such an intricate piece of lace, the skill required simply to keep track of the pattern and bobbins is unbelievable.  It will take her over six weeks to complete the work.  The thread was Egyptian cotton and so fine it was hard to see it.  There were some exquisite example of antique hand made lace.  A meander around Sedbergh's many bookshops was the perfect end to our short break.

 

 

Until next time.....  hope you are all well. Jayne

 



 

The light at the end of the tunnel

I must apologise for my absence.  The last few months have been extremely hectic in this household. Lots of new and exciting things, and some not so.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel thank goodness, so I am back and must say I have missed all my blogging friends. 

One of the things that has kept me occupied is the opening of my Etsy shop, the Inspiration Packs sold so well my days were spent dyeing, washing and sorting fragments of lace, fabric, trims etc.

The new Vintage Eclectic packs have proved popular too.

vintage bits and bobs

 

I have been sourcing lace and fabrics at my favourite flea market.  This weekend I met a lovely lady who was selling some of her grandmother's linens.  I bought some gorgeous pieces that she had made.

 

 lovely daisies

beautiful hand worked doilies

 

I have spent some lovely making days with my friends Gill P and Gill W, on Monday we had a day at my house, lots of tea drinking, home made turkey broth accompanied by a pain blanc from Castle Bakery and for pudding apple, blueberry and plum crumble and cream. ( well girls' need sustenance whilst creating).

 

 

 

 

 

Gill P was making her garden flower brooches, Gill W was sorting her boxes of beads, papers and general card making supplies.  Lots of tea was involved, oh and some Cadbury Giant Buttons!!!

A surprise visit from Emily and baby Thomas (my li'l tuppence) just rounded the day off nicely.









 I have been trying to develop some new work and this is what I made on Monday

 duck egg blue kilt pin embellished with tiny trinkets

 details

 tiny star and leaf with a lovely old linen button

 

 

ruby red embellished with a selection of vintage decorative buttons

 

I find myself looking for old and interesting books to buy (not sure why) and I did pick up a couple on Sunday at the flea market...

 



The Children's Pilgrim's Progress

Philips' Handy Volume Atlas of the World

 

Gill P and I are having a stall at Kirkley Hall Christmas Fair so as it is in November, we better get cracking.  I have been trying to keep up with facebook, Etsy, pinterest and blogging but there are only so many hours in a day.  If I haven't commented lately, please forgive me.  Until next time.... Jayne x

 



 

 



 

 



Obsessions revisited.....

I realise I have been neglecting my blog lately, in fact I didn't realise that so much time has slipped by.  My latest (in a long list) obsession has definitely taken over.  I decided to make some 'Inspiration Packs' using hand-dyed fragments of lace, crochet trims, fabrics and motifs.  I am so delighted to say that they sold extremely well and lots of different colours were requested....

Yellow Ochre

 

Every container that would hold a dye bath was utilised, washing machine full of net bags containing varying shades, ironing board (yes I did say ironing board!) was permanently on stand by to iron each and every piece once it had dried.  Our kitchen table was littered with fragments to be sorted, pressed and displayed before being photographed.

 

Rich Teal

 

Housework ignored, a last minute dash to buy new boxes of dye before the store closed, the array of colours went on and on... my obsession was taking over!  Ashes of Roses, Shades of Grey, Purple Haze, Green Earth, Raspberry Crush, Sea Foam, Sugar Almond, the list was growing by the minute.

 

Sugar Almond

 

The hoover was working overtime as I was cutting, ripping and tearing fabrics, trims and lace in preparation for dyeing.  My Etsy shop was left to its' own devices, not even checked as my dyeing gained momentum. 

 

Shades of Grey

 

and then - I came to my senses, having dyed enough fragments to stretch from here to California I decided enough was enough!  Time to get back to the real world and actually make something with some of these fragments.  There was a gorgeous set called Bitter Chocolate which was a duck egg blue tinged with chocolate edges.  I had dyed a small amount of velvet which I was particularly pleased with so I decided to make a couple of corsages with it.

 

 

 

 

 

the finished corsages

 

Normal service has been resumed although I do have a confession to make.  At my local flea market I did buy some lovely bits and bobs which are just dyeing (excuse the pun) for a dye pot!

 



trims and tablecloths 

 

Until next time, hope the sun is shining where you are...... Jayne

 

p.s. I have to admit I have an ochre and brown dye bath on the go tonight - ooops, well you have to wean yourself off slowly...



 





 





 





Dipping my toe into the water - again.......

After the excitement of the last few weeks, it is time to return to the task in hand.  To sell online or not to sell online!  A dilemma which has caused me many a sleepless night. I decided to ask my new blog and facebook friends their opinion.  I do not know what is making me hesitate, the world of the internet seems to unnerve me a little, I am sure it is an age thing!  I have had a few sales through my blog (thank you, you know who you are).  I am going to do what I have seen other people do which is link their blog and facebook page and post about their work for sale.  Here goes!!

 new - inspiration packs

 

 

 shades of grey

 

 

 my favourite ashes of roses and grey

 

 

rose & wine

 

 

I have been dyeing lots of lace, linens, silks, organza, crochet trims, old curtain tape and ribbons to create little packs of inspiration for embellishment, scrapbooking, applique etc.  It has actually taken me quite a while to sort, iron (I know I don't 'do' ironing normally) arrange a complimentary colour palette that I am happy with for each little collection of fragments.  I have been working on a range of necklaces, dip dyed and very delicate - sneak preview below.....

 

 

faded pinks, browns and greys (yes I know it's those colours again)

 

Next task is a trip to the post office with a mock up pack to get it weighed.  I got a template from the post office which has the appropriate slots to identify the method you can send your parcel depending upon the size and wouldn't you know it - the pack will not fit through the letter slot (you would be hard pushed to get a thick piece of paper through this).  So as not to overcharge folks, I am doing a dummy run with said finished pack, oh and then there is sending abroad!!!!!!!

 

 

I look forward to your comments.... until next time I will leave you with a little updated picture of our little treasure Thomas...

 





 

 



Lady in Waiting.......

I have been neglectful of my blog over the last few weeks.  My excuse is helping my daughter Emily to prepare for the birth of her baby boy.  He is now overdue so we are all on tenterhooks awaiting his arrival. 

Funny how sorting and organising is contagious, I have been delving into cupboards, drawers, stacking boxes - making a complete mess into the bargain.  I have unearthed some real treasures in the process which I am delighted about.

I found all my College work, spent a little time with a cuppa perusing the pages of my sketchbooks - anyone who knows me, knows I do love a sketchbook, oooh and a mood board, and a concept board which is why I have a lot of them  It was so nice to revisit the process in which I created the work I made at Cleveland College.  Very happy days, it has made me think about starting a new book, it always creates inspiration as a starting point for new work.  It is increasingly hard when you are out of your creative environment to keep the momentum going!

I digress, (well it is called the ramblings of.....) I also found some newer pieces I created which I had not managed to photograph as the light has been so poor of late.  A sunny day spurred me on to take images on my favourite prop the lovely old book.  Here are a few of the pieces, definitely still in my grey phase....

 teeny tiny felt, lace & crochet corsages

 

 

 Slate grey corsage

 

 

 muted tones embellished with vintage tiny button

 

 

 my favourite linen button centre

 

 

 shades of grey, accents of duck-egg blue, crochet, lace, tatting embellished with crochet pansy

 

 

natural merino wool hand-made felt with tiny mother of pearl button centres

 

I am working on some necklaces using vintage crochet and lace, dip dyed and embellished with trims, lace and of course mother of pearl buttons....

 

Until next time....... Jayne x

Done and Dusted!

Sometimes orders take you much longer than anticipated for no particular reason.  On Tuesday I finally posted my completed order and ridiculously could have skipped all the way home.  There was a lot of extra dyeing to be done, so maybe that is how time ran away with me.  Here are a few images taken using my new 'props'....

large cream corsage using vintage lace and crochet

 

 

large black corsage incorporating fabrics and centrepiece from the Victorian bodice

 

 

browns and taupes embellished with a daisy and smoke mother-of-pearl button

 

 

shades of pistachio

 

 

seven shades of grey

 

I am pleased the way my book enhances the corsages, what do you think?  I have been making another corsage for a 50th birthday present and the lady loved it so much she has asked me to make her a one with a matching wristcuff all in shades of reds and corals.  They dye pot beckons.....

 

My next post will be entitled - Back to the very beginning.....

 

Until next time, spring is just around the corner, I saw the first snowdrops in Northumberland at the weekend.  Jayne x



 

 

 

 

Looking for Lace......

I am in the middle of making corsages for an order to be completed by the end of January.  I decided that I needed to find some of my more precious pieces of lace to dye.  Easier said than done, and thereby hangs a tale!  Looking through my various boxes, hampers and suitcases led me to waffle away an afternoon.  However, sorting through my stash of gorgeous crochet trims, doilleys, traycloths, lace etc etc.. I came across many unexpected treasures that I had forgotten about.  Sorting does have an upside, although there is always that moment when surrounded by all the debris that you wished you have never started!  I knew I had a few pieces of very fragmented exquisite lace and boy were they elusive!  Why is it always the last box you look in?  The upside I suppose is that you organise (try to) while you search hence this very, very smart box of trims....

a little box of beauty

Whilst sorting I came across my degree show pieces which I sorted into a lovely old suitcase given to me by my friend Elaine's mother...

a lovely tattered and battered case

gorgeous interior paper design

I found a beautiful vintage collar which I had temporarily misplaced (along with another dozen things!)  I bought this in The Kasbah (no not in Morocco) a local furniture emporium.  I found this in the bottom of a banana box amongst crochet doilleys and tablecloths.  My heart skipped a beat when I found this little gem and it was purchased along with a few little other pieces and I knew immediately that I would never part with it.  I am thinking of keeping it the natural colour but maybe dip-dyeing it a little darker on the edges to give it a more time worn appearance.  Apologies for the quality of the images, the light is so poor at the moment.

Betty volunteered to wear the collar

I think I will just make some simple ties to fasten the collar

my favourite detail - the little circles

Better get back to the dye pot, my lovely treasured fragments are soaking.....  until next time Jayne x