A Crafter At Sea

It's Springtime!

2012-05-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

The most recent Phat Quarter swap was themed around Spring. When I heard this I thought of only one thing - Zebedee!

For those who don't know, Zebedee is a character from a children's tv show called The Magic Roundabout. It was on tv in the 60s and 70s but was repeated when I was a child. It was great and groovy and Zebedee was a jack-in-the-box.

I decided to produce a piece in a hoop frame. I've not done this before and I just got given a bunch of wooden hoops exactly for this purpose. I think it suited this piece quite well, in fact my mum liked it so much I have to make her one as well :-)

This is a bit more twee than my usual pieces but it's bright and cheery which is exactly what spring time should be about!

Sea Gypsy

2012-04-11T02:59:00.000-07:00

You know those Home Sweet Home samplers that you see? You know how you expect to see them? Well, I decided to put my own spin on it. This was how Sea Gypsy was born. My home is not really bricks and mortar. My home, I suppose, is a cruise ship. It is a different one every time, but it is home for the space of time I am on it. When I am between contracts I go back to my parents house to visit, granted, but it's not really where I live anymore. I don't really live anywhere but the sea.

I took the Home Sweet Home concept and fit it to my lifestyle. Instead of using the usual house motif, I used a ship. Sprawling mountains range behind it and the sea swirls around the hull.

I used a verigated thread that reminded me of the art work on the side of the first ship I worked on (and, actually, the ship I just got off of). I experimented with waste canvas so that I could cross stitch the recognised phrase down the side of the ship, as if it were the art work itself. The rest of the piece is my usual embroidery, bringing myself and the traditional together.

This piece is simple in both it's style and execution, however, the meaning behind it is quite complex and full, particularly to me. And that's what art is really about.

In a War....

2012-03-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

A while back I saw this post on Mr X Stitch about Hanne Bang and her attempt to curate a collaborative piece around a quote she had heard. While slicking through the channels one night she caught sight of a news program where they were talking to an out of work African soldier who said when asked about death "In a war someone has to die". The quote resonated with Bang and she decided to get women all around the world to stitch the phrase one handkerchiefs and send them to her to create one huge piece.

I love the feelings and issues behind this idea. The combination on women stitching with hankies can mean so many things. Women loose their men to war, be it sons, brothers, husbands or lovers. Hankies are traditionally used to wave goodbye. I really like the juxtaposition between the harshness of the words and the softness of the materials used to convey it.

So here is my contribution to the piece. The hankie I used is from when I was a child so there is also a little bit of history with it.

I can't wait to see the whole thing which will be on display in Denmark later in the year.

Exhibition Report: Passing Reflections

2012-03-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Today I wandered over to Rochester to see Rosie James' latest exhibition Passing Reflections.

As always, Rosie's work is beautiful in its simplicity and impressive in it's scale. I am always excited by the way she chooses which lines to stitch and how these lines really capture the figures. On her larger pieces I like the smaller details she includes that really adds to the character and personality of the people.

Trafalgar Lunch

I particularly liked Trafalgar Lunch in this exhibition and Indian Ladies at the Gurdwara. James' use of not only line figures but also silhouettes in brightly coloured fabrics add to the sense of place and culture in these pieces.

Detail - Indian Ladies at the Gurdwara

I was very glad that I got to see Rosie's installation of hanging stitched figures. I had not yet been able to see these pieces in the flesh and being able to view them in this intimate setting was a joy.

The exhibition is open in Rochester until April 13th. If you are in the area I urge you to go see it. You can find out more info here:

Home...

2012-03-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

It's finished! Here is how my piece on rust dyed cotton came out!

This piece is based on a map of Kent, my home county. I was on my way home from a ship contract and was watching the movie Country Strong on the plane. One song, Coming Home, really resonated with me and I wanted to use one line from the song in a piece. Here it is...

This piece just reminds me where my home is while I travel wide and far. Kent will always be where I come back to eventually. I used stranded embroidery thread for the main outlines and then used perle cotton for the text and marker as I wanted it to stand out more and look like someone had written on the piece with a marker.

This is exactly how the piece looked in my head, I'm pretty happy with it! What do you think?

I don't think I've cross stitched for about 10-15 years...

2012-03-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

Goodness! I've got very behind in blog posting! However, you will be pleased to know that I have been working on lots of projects so there are several things that need writing about!

Let's start with my new iPhone cover.... and my new iPhone! I had an HTC but didn't like it much so I've got myself an iPhone 3G now instead. I know it's not the newest one but I wanted one that uses regular sim cards, not the micro ones for when I am in the US. I LOVE it! I am definitely a Mac! Along with all the amazing things you can do with a iPhone, another draw were the cross stitch-able cases I had seen. I went looking for them online and found this awesome tutorial on making your own on Wee Little Stitches blog. This blog is awesome and I encourage you to check it out. They also have an Etsy shop where they sell cross stitch patterns of Pixel People. They have a great range but they didn't quite have ones that I really wanted to use.... so I designed my own!

Jareth the Goblin King

Jem from Jem and the Hologram and She-Ra

I played around with some graph paper and, even though I haven't cross stitched in about 10-15 years or used a cross stitch pattern in that time, I came up with these. I quite like both so might have to stitch up both and rotate them!

Wish me luck!!

More Work In Progress

2012-02-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted - sorry my dears, I have been traveling back home from the end of my current ship contract and settling in. Finally I have had the chance this week to start work on some pieces for an exhibition in LA in June called Home is where the Needle Marks. Find out more information about it here

I have two pieces in mind, here is a WIP of the first one:

I haven't started stitching yet, the background has taken some time, but keep an eye out for more progress reports soon!

It's Not The End Of The World - Phat Quarter Swap

2012-01-26T15:35:00.000-08:00

Continuing with the hearts theme this post, here is my latest swap piece for the Phat Quarter.

December had a fifth friday so that means a swap over at the Phat Quarter Flickr group. This time the theme was It's Not The End Of The World.... and my mind went to musical theatre! The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Tell Me On A Sunday has a song in it called exactly that. Apparently I'm a little bit obsessed with hearts at the moment so this image came to mind.

I wanted to experiment with using my own hand writing in a piece and to use a different stitch than usual. I went with a long and short stitch for the heart mixing metallic thread with regular thread to give it an interesting texture.

I quite like the way the writing came out. At first I thought it was too messy, but after I slept on it I think it puts across the emotion of this piece quite well.

In case you were wondering the background of this piece is rust dyed - it is one of my favourite techniques of late and meant that I finally got to use one of my pre-dyed backgrounds in a piece.

I like the simplicity of this piece but the weight of emotion that it brings. I think I need to investigate this interest in the heart shape as well and see where it takes me..... keep an eye on the blog to see!

Valentines....

2012-01-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

There seems to be a lot of talk about Valentine's Day around me at the moment and it made me realise something.... some of my prints would make great Valentine's cards or anti-Valentine's day cards!

Check out my print account here to see these embroideries as greetings cards - go on, you know you want to!!

A Very Royal Wedding....?

2012-01-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

Um, yeah.... not very stitchey but quite funny! I was in Grand Cayman the other day (as you do...) and found this photo of William and Kate where you could be in the picture and just had to take one :-)

There was also this amazing sweet shop where the window display had dresses decorated with sweets in it - awesome!

I ♥ my job!!!

Sketchbook Project 2012

2012-01-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

My Sketchbook project is finally finished! After four months I have finished my sampler with 70 different stitches on it!

My theme this year was Stitches and Folds which gave me the chance to experiment with shibori dyeing and new stitches. I set myself the goal of trying out all the stitches for fabric in Betty Barnden's Embroidery Stitch Bible. I think I did pretty much every one and then a few more I found online. Some I like and think I will use again and others don't really work with my style.

My one challenge this year was the new restriction that the sketchbook could only be 1 inch thick when finished. This is because the sketchbooks are touring to Canada, the UK and Australia this year, but it meant I had to think really hard about my presentation. No quilted pages for me this year! Instead I decided on a fold-out sampler (because of folds, right?!) attached inside the cover. I'm pretty impressed with how this came out in the end, I didn't think it was going to work for a while!

I'm proud of the work, but I'm also very glad it's finished and I can move on to something else now. Usually my projects are pretty short or varied so this one took a lot of effort for me to keep going on!

More photos can be seen on my Flickr page here

A Cheeky Christmas

2011-12-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a little Christmas gift for your eyes. I stitched his scarf for my friend Elvy Rose with patterns from Sublime Stitching and French Knot.

I'd wanted to use that dancer for a while! I think it came out pretty well and she loved it.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Introducing Frankie!

2011-12-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

One of our Guest Entertainers is a good friend of mine and bought me an early Christmas present. We were walking around Walmart and saw in the toy department a set of fashion dolls based on movie monsters. When I wasn't looking she went through them and found me the perfect one....

Please meet Frankie Stein!

Not only is she based on Frankenstein's monster (ie awesome) but she takes Home Ick class at Monster High! How funny is that?! She has scissor earrings and came with a tiny reel of cotton and a needle - she's a mini me! We have decided that Frankie is now coming everywhere with us - she even has her own Facebook page with photos of her travels.

In my free time I'm making her some new outfits and already she has admirers following her around! It doesn't matter how old you are, toys are still fun to play with!!

More adventures with Frankie to come!!

Elephants on Parade

2011-12-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

While my ship was out of Copenhagen this summer I was lucky enough to see a couple of outdoor art exhibitions dotted around the city. Elephant Parade was an open air art exhibit in which proceeds from the sales of the pieces were donated to charity in aid of the Asian elephant. The painted elephants flaunted many different styles and colours and were certainly eye catching. They were not around for long but I managed to get a fair few on camera to share with you here...

Aren't they beautiful? I hope they all went to great homes and lots of money was raised for the cause.

This one is for the ladies....

2011-12-01T07:56:00.000-08:00

Over the summer I purchased a needle felting attachment for my beloved Bernina. I also found out about the Capture Cure charity auction which was accepting donated works of art to auction off in aid of breast cancer. My mother and best friend from high school are both recovering from breast cancer so this was a cause near to my heart.

I created a needle felted and embellished wall hanging that is a tribute to the strength of women. It uses skills taught to me by the women in my family and the new techniques I have learned after being inspired by them. Only 40 pieces were accepted into the auction, mine being one of them. I am fiercely proud of this and hope it went to a good home.

I am also about to start a little cross stitch I downloaded, designed by Emily Peacock. It is a pink breast cancer ribbon which I am going to make for myself and my mother. I haven't followed a cross stitch pattern in a while so it will be interesting to try that out again! I encourage you to go and get the pattern yourself and donate to breast cancer research in the process. Check out the Mr X Stitch post about it here

They took lots of honey, and plenty of money...

2011-11-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

Next week two of my friends have their birthday on the same day. It's going to be lots of fun, especially as we are in St Thomas that day and there's a crew party! For each person I have crafted a very personal present based on who they are and what they like/do. This is the first, for my friend Jonny Danger (yep, that's his real name) who we all call Tuxedo... he works with the kids, ok!

Tux is a poetry major and particularly likes Edward Lear so I stitched him a tie to go with one of his suits. He better like it, is all I can say because I had to use metallic thread. And we all know how difficult that is :-)

Thank the Goddess for thread heaven!

I'll post the other present for my friend Karlene next....

No Food For You!

2011-11-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

It's here! It's here! My swap piece from Cocoaeyes is finally here!! I got Cocoaeyes as my swap partner for the Phat Quarter Food Swap and my piece from her arrived this weekend. It was a total surprise - I thought it was a box of t-shirts and then I dipped my hand in to find a lovely stitchery!!!

Cocoaeyes is obsessed with hazard signs so stitched me one up as you can see above. Girl, you would be so inspired by my ship - there are warning signs and mandatory signs and hazard signs EVERYWHERE!! Here's a shot of it on my cabin wall next to our no smoking in bed hazard sign, just for fun!!

She also sent me a lovely card full of compliments which was very much appreciated - you rock Olisa!!

Check out Cocoaeyes' blog here at Stitch, Stab & Scrawl, I highly recommend it :-)

Work In Progress

2011-11-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Everything is a little hectic around here at the moment, but I thought I'd show you what I'm working on right now. Here's a sneak peek at my Sketchbook Project 2012 - enjoy!

Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! Some Sweden!!

2011-10-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

.... did you see what I did there?! I used a Abba song while talking about Sweden..... no? Just me then? ok.....

Anyway! I only got to go to Sweden once while we were there, but we made our way to Stockholm and saw, as always, awesomeness on the streets there. Take a gander!

Fun shaped buildings in interesting colours

I love the spikey-ness of this statue

And here it is on fabric... stitching idea maybe?

Swedish fountain gargoyle!

I loved this embroidery store window display, unfortunately it was Sunday so it was closed :-(

Interesting shutters

I loved the tapestry in the back of this store that was based on carnivorous plants

Just really interesting window displays in Sweden!

Love it! ♥

Phat Quarter Swap! Food

2011-10-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's share some stitchery! I made this piece for the August Phat Quarter swap.... I know it's a bit late but I've been busy :-) Finally, I have a decent internet connection where I can upload the photos - yay!! The theme was food so stitched a design based around one of my fave David and Goliath t-shirts...

The cheese is not the mother of the sad little nachos.... in case you didn't get it!

yes, that is a french knot pepper border!

I felt brave and used an orange background.

Personally I think this is super cute!! And I know Disobedient Child, who was my swap partner loved it!! Yay stitching! My Sketchbook Project is taking a long time to finish, hence why there is a lack of stitchery on the blog right now. But soon, my pretties - I promise!

Medieval Tallinn

2011-10-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Visting Tallinn, Estonia made me want to sew. The medieval town had such gorgeous colour combinations and styles that I just want to depict it in stitch. Estonia has a love of wool, so while there I bought some hand dyed wool which will undoubtedly make its way into my pieces. Here are some of my favourite sights...

Winding streets passed castles and inns

A page showing the way

The handmade guild - I saw some gorgeous stuff in here

Random graffiti

A shadowy figure creeping down the street

Such gorgeous colours!!

Only a few more places to report on in my Europe round-up, then we'll get back to some sewing - promise!!

Ra Ra Rasputin!

2011-10-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

Wow - that was a long break! Sorry about that! I had the cast change over from hell on my boat and just when we thought we were done a new show was introduced so I have to fit and alter 25 costumes in 24 hours.... got it done in 17 because I'm a rock star though! Anyway, here's the post about Russia I promised so long ago and hopefully posts will be more regular from now on *blush*

I think I've taken the most photos in St. Petersburg. There are so many beautiful buildings to see. The whole place is full of palaces, more than you can see in just one trip. When I was at school I remember doing a history project about Rasputin and his strange involvement with the last Tsar family and his even stranger death. I was lucky enough to go to an exhibit about this event and learn more whilst in Russia. If you don't know the story of Rasputin, look it up - it's a really weird tale!

The Winter Palace, now the Hermitage Museum

The Summer Palace

St. Isaac's Cathedral - that's real gold up there!

Random painting hanging in the street that's been... um.... added to...

Outside the Church of the Spilled Blood

Inside, the Church is decorated entirely with glass mosaics

Inside one of the coppolas

I feel some art coming on.... :-)

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside... in Germany

2011-09-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

Our second port is Warnemunde, Germany. Warnemunde is a cute seaside town, and of course there is lots of beer! Here are a few of my favourite shots:

I love these fold out beach chairs, they look amazing lined up along the beach

The lighthouse and Teepot building

They like to build fancy sand castles here!

Next post we'll travel to St Petersburg and some of the amazing sights I have seen there!

The Delights of Copenhagen

2011-08-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

Let's begin my travel posts from my time in Europe - starting with Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is our home port, which means this is where we pick up new passengers at the beginning of the cruise and crop them off at when it ends. Here are some of my favourite sights...

I want to take this guy home with me!

Whenever I go into Copenhagen with my Production Manager we are on a mission to find flowers - like these, gorgeous!

I found this sign outside a shop - I think it needs stitching up sometime soon

The one thing I wanted to see in Copenhagen was the statue of the Little Mermaid - here she is!

Copenhagen has some beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets, but it also has a gorgeous arty feel. I saw two outdoor art exhibitions here in one day - posts about those to come!

Next post we will visit Germany!

Oh The Things I Have Seen... In Europe!

2011-08-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have only been on this European run on my cruise ship for two cruises now, but I have already seen so much! I have blog posts planned for each of the places I am visiting - here are a few of my favourite photos so far from those places!

Copenhagen, Denmark

Warnemunde, Germany

Tallinn, Estonia

St. Petersburg, Russia

Helsinki, Finland

I know, I'm mean keeping you in suspense like this :-) But I still need to see more. Plus I have a few posts about some amazing art I saw in Copenhagen for you as well - you are such lucky readers!

My internet still sucks though.... but I get to see this and share it with you!
More soon when a connection can be found :-)