Dragons spotted

just a few dragons I saw at the Festival of Quilts.


The Kiss of Gaudi by Isabel Munoz

Fabric I didn’t quite have the money for.

White Dragon by Lena Meszaros
Took me a while to work out why it was awkwardly positioned.
Can you see what this dragon is doing?

And then finally a cow!

Mad Cow by Teresa Summerfield.

Dragon spotting

While they were plastering the other day, I went to my friend Gabrielle's for lunch. We had a lovely tomato and veg soup!!
It was so nice out that we sat in the garden and stitched. I was stitching down bindings and Gabrielle was knitting.

And that's when I spotted the dragon. Cool! I think he is a very wild dragon.

Hard to take a photo when you can't see what you are looking at. My phone screen was very dark, so I couldn't tell if I got him in focus.

along with my exhibition

Apparently (meaning I only have limited details of what this was about), the Cloud Puppy might have got some exposure this week... and may be in the Henley Standard at some point.
Jon from Lady Sew and Sew asked to take him to a meeting in Henley on Monday night where a photographer from the Henley Standard was going to photograph a group of people standing around each holding up a piece of art. He wanted to take something that would stand out a bit more in such a setting.

So, yes! That would be great! But rather unclear, as to the whys and wherefores! Maybe a meeting looking ahead at the Henley Art Trail in the beginning of May? As I am not in that area or county, I am unsure when any such photo will be published so I can get a copy. I should ask Jon.

Who also asked please could I have something in the Henley Art Trail. Motivation for another Fire Creature perhaps?

Also, the Dragon Gown.
Still somehow the dummies might be thin in the waist, but are too busty for it! I still can't get it zipped right up! It worked on my dummy, because I draped it right on the dummy. ??😕
So, this time I have folded in the zip at the top.

It works quite well and since I pinned the edges of the sip with brown-headed pins, the result looks as if it were meant. Well, sort of.

I will have to get a photo of the Heat and the Flame dress because I put a net petticoat underneath. It looks really good with the skirt standing out to show the embellishment.

and so the Net

I have mentioned the net a few times this week. The reason I wanted it was to pin my small pieces to, so it would be easier to hang them for my exhibition.
The idea being that it would blend against the wall.

It took some effort on my table to lay them out in a decent order, but I got them done just a short time after the boiler men left this morning from their finishings off.

Mr Thoughtful came with me to do the climbing. When we got to Lady Sew and Sew, the ladies had a different idea. Rather than hanging them in the front entry room, they wanted them hung within the shop floor so more people would look at them and so they could talk with visitors about the work. It took me a while to see how that could work, having prepared for the original plan. But we soon worked out a system.

So, here are the pieces hung on the net.

Dragons

Tudors

A few pieces I didn't want to leave out.

So, it wasn't what I had in mind, but it works ok. Because you can see through the net, you can pretend it isn't there easier. There is a lot going on behind it, but you can stand close to look at detail.

And then we hung some other work as well. These are just quick photos. All these are hung from dowels which are hung from metal beams.
You can see the backs of work, but there is enough space between the beams that it isn't reading as a surround, which can happen if you hang different sized work back to back.

Captured Butterflies  (not as dark in real life!) next to Dragons

Some of my work with unusual materials included.

Cloud Puppy

Rainforest Dragon and D is for Dragon

in the centre area at one end will be the table with Lady Sew-Forth and leaflets about the exhibition.

And at the other end will be the dragon gown. And I have been asked to also bring the Heat and the Flame to display as well.

I will get better photos on Monday. I didn't get the labels done, and as it is Small Stories,  there has to be some reference to the stories! So, that is the job for the weekend.

Gathering and Gathering small things.

12-30 March. Imagination in Detail: Small Stories.

I have been gathering my small works together so I can figure out which small ones will be best to hang at Lady Sew and Sew next week.

Wow, I didn't realise I had so many.

Well, I knew about each set, but I haven't got them all out together before...en masse, as it were.

Dragons to suit the weather -

Tudors - or part of that family

Maps - though I think I will hold these as 'just in case'

My experiments to teach myself Free Motion embroidery

maybe, but I need to have something for samples for the classes I am teaching.

So, anyway, plenty of decisions to make.

hidden dragon

I was trimming up a quilt when I spotted this sneaky dragon hiding in the fabric markings.

Cool!
I will definitely have do use that for inspiration!

Dragon Gown Finished

In September, one of the things I finally finished was the Dragon Gown. I delivered it to Lady Sew and Sew in Henley when I went up to teach the Beginner Machine Embroidery.

I had forgotten to get photos of the finished product here. But remembered when we had displayed it up there. Unfortunately, the dummy has a patterned cover and has a bigger bosom than my dummy! So, a bit of strain in the front and is gaping at the top of the zip in the back. Made straps for it from the lining fabric...mainly because I thought it might be displayed on one of the dummies that is much smaller than mine!

Anyway, This view shows the back.

This view shows the front and the placement for display next to the rolls of fabric where this pleather fabric can be found.

Fabrics

On Friday last week I went to Bristol with my friend Pat, to the West Country Quilt and Textile show.
SAQA Made in Europe II was on show in one of the gallery spaces.

The show is a bit small, but it was lovely to see work from people who aren't on the Big Stage, so to speak, yet are producing great work.

I have a few photos, but the first and best thing is that I had time to stop and look at Val Bennett's stand - I generally only see her to wave or just to say a few words at the Festival of Quilts. This time my head was not so full of things and I was able to have a look through the hand-dyed fabrics they sell. Farne Designs I was just about fully out of the pieces I had from her in the past.

I love the fabrics as they have such a range of colour in one piece. The patterning is wonderful - I see all sorts of dragons and other stories in them!

Remember 'The Heat and the Flame' ? ...

the bright oranges are fabrics Val did especially for me.

beading the dragon gown still

Last weekend I finished the beading on the dragon gown.

Front

It needs hemming, and because it is rather heavy and might be displayed on a thin dummy, I want to make some sort of straps. Which may possibly get some more beading.

Back

I was glad for the increased nerve/pain calming medicine starting to work. It has taken me a long time to get this done. I usually have spent the good part of a day at this sort of thing. This time I could just about manage 2 hours and that was not straight through either.

I have started working on some other commitments, so I would really like to have this totally done!

The zip

The zip is stitched in using a little set of 3 beads at regular intervals.

I am colouring the metal zip orange with a permanent pen so it will blend with the rest of the work. You can see the difference between the pull and above with the lower portion.

Beading the dragon

So, I have finally got the bulk of the beading done on the dragon gown. Because the fabric is heavy, and I draped the gown on the stand, I was not getting the fabric to lay right for the zip.

So, with the beads holding the folds, I could at last pin the zip pretty much where it wanted to go. (I am doing an exposed zip).

And then trim away the extra fabric.

Next, turn under the edge and stitch it down using more beads.
Yes, I could have stitched with machine, but I didn't want the extra line showing. and also, because of the awkwardness of layers, I need the flexibility that hand stitching the zip will give. Some of the folds have 4 or more layers if the underneath part of a fold below extends up past it.

When the zip is properly in, I will sort out the bottom of the seam. It may/probably get a godet, which is why I haven't trimmed away the extra there until I work out what I want to do.

Back to beading a dragon

So, now that I have cleared the decks from most things, and before I say I will do even more. (!) I am back to working on the dragon gown.

Having a lot of back complaint...which is not usually part of sitting. But because it is there to work on, I can do it between stretches.

or something...

Teaching Beginner's Machine Embroidery tomorrow!

Slow Progress

But at least it is progress.

I am using the opened top drawer of one desk set to hold the weight of the gown. And the other set to hold the beads closer for picking up.

Close-up

The beginning of the beading.

Also gives a close-up of the pattern on the leather-like fabric.

bead options

Some of the possible combinations of beads for embellishment on the dragon gown.

Though I did a red lining and had hoped to do red beads, it really wanted orange. So, orange it is!

the dragon gown

And so, from the pinning, I still found it hard for the folds to stay in place because of the weight.
So I threw caution to the wind and used my beefy pins.

And it worked. And the fabric still sealed up behind the holes when it was pulled out.
The fabric is pulling some because of the weight and how I have had to pin it. But it will get adjusted before it gets set in place.

In the meantime...I have decided to do away with the waterfall/wing effect because the lining is different to the fabric and it just won't behave together.

So, I have got the zip properly in to the lining. I have sewn the darts of the lining (yeah, I should have done it sooner, but I had the zip thing going on.) And I have sewn the inside of each fold to try to keep it in place.
Now I am working on beading...not just for the sake of beading or even for the decoration, (but you knew I would be doing something like that anyway)...but also for the simply practical reason to keep the folds even more secure and stop them unfolding from the weight of the fabric.

I still haven't dared trim the fabric by the zip and stitch it in place. But I am at that point now where I have to do that before doing anymore. (wish me luck)

slow and steady - or not

I have really struggled to work more than about 2 1/2 hours a day on the gown. Too many pains.

And suddenly, here is another week. But I am making progress slowly.
I wanted an exposed zip and had one in brown with metal teeth. Cool.
I tacked it into the lining. And after a bit of inside out, unpick and redo sort of thing, I got it in there.

At this stage I was thinking of doing something wing-like with the extra waterfall parts hanging by the zip. the previous photo shows them held open.

So, the fabric I am using is a leather-like fabric. It has a sort of alligator texture embossed into the thin plastic layer on top. The backing is a knit fabric. It is so soft and very drapey. and has a bit of stretch to it.
However, it is also very heavy. So, when I started doing the draping, I had to work out some issues.

I wanted folds like overlapping scales. But because it was heavy, I needed to work out distances of folds (I didn't want them regular all the way down) without a lot of holding up, putting down.

So, I took a flexible measuring tape and folded out lengths on it, adjusting as I went along. Besides, I wanted to know how long a piece to cut off.

So, then I marked the folds on the fabric with chalk, folded them out.
Most leathery fabric has to be handled carefully because pin holes don't seal over. So, I started with masking tape to hold the folds in place.

But the fabric was too heavy to hold when I was manipulating sections of fabric into the folds and taking round to the back.

So, I tried somewhat fine pins. No problems, the marks sealed over.

But the front was taking a bit too much pulling for the fine pins to stay stuck in the dummy. So I went ahead with just pinning the folds in place.

However, I did have to use a stool to rest the bottom portion of the fabric on, because this stuff loves gravity!

and from there it was getting everything in place.

Stay tuned.

a bit more on the gown

I have been taking photos of processes as I go along, but have had a bad head for a couple days, so didn't get anything posted. (*oh! and then this didn't get posted either!)

Anyway...I tacked the zip in, trying to think where it would be if I wanted the waterfall section to be on the outside so it could line any potential waterfall of the main fabric. (keeping in mind that the outside of the lining draped - right side - would then be the inside.)

oh. well, the waterfall bits are now on the inside. You can tell when it is zipped.

OK. untack zip, untack the centre back fold.

Turn and press fold and pin zip in place.
Tack

zip inside

zip outside

good. Next step, begin to drape main fabric.

*I started draping the main fabric yesterday - not a bad head, but still fragile. Today I have been at a conference in London. So, I will tell you more on Monday. and hurrah I didn't have a bad head!

new gown

I have been developing a new gown. I draped the lining a few weeks ago, but have been getting my head around the rest of it.
Today I got the thread tracing/tacking done for the darts and shaping. About ready to go for it with the main fabric, which is a bit special!

This is sort of a commission, but I am not ready to go into detail yet. However, there may be something dragonish about it!

Oh, and there will be something to hold it up...it does look like it is rather low, doesn't it?

Today is a paperwork day

So, I have been paperworking.

The TVCT meeting is next Saturday, so plans and newsletters and things.
But here are a few photos - a reminder of what we did in November, which I didn't post because of going back and forth to York.

Mavis Walker talked about her award winning chess set.

apologies for the blur

And we had a wonderful talk by Birgitta Debenham, who is a plant physiologist. She told us about a variety of plant fibres which can be used for textiles and thread.

There were a variety of pieces in which she used different types of fibres. But I had to be sure to get a photo of this one!

Just wonderful!