Tag: commissions

Done and Done

An unexpected feeling of accomplishment is filling the air.

Hoop back - Misericordia

I’ve finished my last commission (no photos, the usual gift embargo applies until the New Year) and I’m ready to set myself some impossible crafting goals for the holidays.

As an aside, I tried a new method of finishing the back and I can’t decide what I think about it.

Here we have the makings of Little Lion’s Hebrew name embroidery, her name means queen, so I pondering something regal and ornate.

Gold and turquoise embroidery thread - Misericordia

I’ve also promised Dragon some work on his quilt, so here’s hoping for a few quiet moments (and possibly a slightly more seasonal chill in the air) to make good on my promise!

I hope you make it through the last week before the holiday, don’t forget the odd deep breath and solitary outdoor walk may make all the difference.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Hello Friday, are you here already?

Matches and candles - Misericordia

It feels like I’ve hardly turned around and this week had disappeared in a puff of sulphurous smoke and a rustle of wrapping paper.

Brass menorah and blue and white ware - Misericordia

Hanukkah started on Sunday evening, and Dragon announced he wanted latkes every night (shortly before deciding he didn’t like latkes). I gamely carried on for four nights, but after suffering intense salad cravings, I’m letting it slide.

The craft fairs were successful, I sold some things and got quite a few enthusiastic commission possibilities, so I’m looking forward to seeing how those shape up.

Scissors and embroidery hoop - Misericordia

I have one piece to finish up and then I’m going to devote my holiday to regaining a bit of making inspiration. I’ve been finding myself aimlessly scrolling through the moderately entertaining dross of the Interwebz instead of making, so I’m going to pull out some family projects that have been neglected of late to see if I can get my needles dancing.

Knitting and Bunhilda - Misericordia

N+S Wedding Commission

I got just about the perfect email the other week.

N & S hand embroidered wedding hoop - Misericordia 2015

It was from a lady that had seen my work at Out of the Blue Arts Market in December and talked to me about her sister’s wedding. She wanted me to make a piece based on the wedding invitation, and was very organised in sending me some photos of the invitation to look at.

N & S hand embroidered wedding hoop - Misericordia 2015

It was nice to be able to work directly from something the couple had designed themselves, and being the font geek I am, I had to modify one of the fonts to match the rather unusual Western/Art Nouveau font used on the invitation (even though the really interesting letters don’t appear in the hoop text).

N & S hand embroidered wedding hoop - Misericordia 2015

I also got to use a new 20cm sized hoop, which is nice and big for pieces with a lot of detail or that need some space around different elements.

I want to start to tweak my craft fair stands to show more of the commissioning process. Given the other constraints on my time, I need to start to concentrate on that part of my work. Do you think I should recreate the mess on the table next to my side of the sofa?

Commission – Ladybug

This commission has a sad story behind it, but I wanted to share it with you.

Ladybug Commission - Misericordia 2015

It’s a memorial piece for a wee girl who recently passed away after battling serious health problems for most of her life.

Her nickname was Ladybug, and while the obvious thing to do was incorporate that into the piece, I wanted to make sure that there was a little more to it than just an illustration.

Ladybug Commission - Misericordia 2015

Once I’d decided that the ladybird should be about to fly away, the rest of the colour choices fell into place.

The leaves are birch, which has symbolic meanings of youth, regeneration and the bridging the gap between this world and the next in several cultures.

Ladybug Commission - Misericordia 2015

Sarigami – Commission

I don’t know if this is universal amongst people who work on commission, but I have a very loose mental wish list of things I want to make.

For instance, I’ve never been commissioned to sew anything rude or sweary (Dragon is very close to starting to read, so if you’ve been pondering any embroidered profanity, please do it soon!) or marriage proposals, both of which I quite fancy.

However, I have now embroidered a logo for a fellow maker, which I’ve been desperate to do for ages.

Sarigami logo - hand embroidered hoop by Misericordia 2014

This rather lovely purple is the logo of a French artist who goes by the same of Sarigami and creates gorgeous origami jewellery and decorative objects. She’s based in Paris and is in the midst of some exciting changes, but do have a look on her website and Facebook page for more information.

Last Posting Date Today!

Today is the last order date for guaranteed UK Christmas delivery!

Hand embroidered punctuation badge - Misericordia 2014

My plan was to (re)shoot some work between the last round of craft fairs and today, but as I’d failed to allow for
a) the relatively narrow window of suitable light at this time of year and latitude
b) the fact that I’m teaching during much of the available daylight
and c) the fact that concentration and energy are evading my grasp as rapidly as my feet
and so, I can only show you a few pieces.

If you’re still looking for those last few gifts (or need something to reward yourself for all your hard work), I’d be happy to help!

Pendants - b, D, e, f, h, k, R Badges - C, N, t

Pendants – b, D, e, f, h, k, R Badges – C, N, t

In the absence of individual portraits, here’s a group photo – if you would like any of them, please let me know and I’ll make things all official-like.

There are also initial necklaces, initial badges and punctuation badges in their more official homes.

Hand embroidered necklace - Misericordia

I’ve got a few custom orders in various stages of completion, I’ll post photos when it’s safe to do so.

Hope you’re managing to stay calm, healthy and rested (we’re managing about one in three of those between the three of us)!

Avast, Me Hearties!

If you yearn for adventure on the high seas, I might have just the thing for you.

Evie 's Treasure Map - hand painted and stitched - Misericordia 2014

I’ve been mulling this idea over for ages, but when I was spurred on by the need to create a really good first birthday present, it all came together.

This piece is even more personalised than usual, the Sea Monsters feature Steve the Octopus (a present to Dragon from the birthday girl’s parents) and Hugo the whale (childhood toy of her dad) and Jolly’s Cove, apart from being a truly awful pun, was named after her mum’s giraffe toy.

Evie 's Treasure Map - hand painted and stitched - Misericordia 2014

I really want to do some more of these, so I’m trying to think of ways to encourage more people to commission them from me. You can see more photos here and be sure to tell your scurvy crew!

Nolan – Commission

Nolan - hand embroidery by Misericordia 2014

There are two ways to approach a name commission; one is to start with the name and find some history, meaning or aesthetic in it that inspires the rest of the piece.

Nolan - hand embroidery by Misericordia 2014

Another is to start with the shape of the letters, find a font that seems to make the shape sing and then see if that suggests the next step.

Nolan - hand embroidery by Misericordia 2014

This commission was definitely the latter approach, I felt really stuck with it until I hit upon a rather lovely font which then instantly suggested the Book of Kells.

Nolan - hand embroidery by Misericordia 2014

After that, it was just a case of finding my most jewel-like colours and setting to work!

Nothing to Report?

There are lots of reasons to blog – to reach out to other like-minded people, to carve a space in the vastness of t’Internet or just to have a place to express yourself.

Why do I blog?

Guilt.

I may not have thousands of followers hanging on my latest post but part of me refuses to acknowledge that fact. So as the week rolls on and I contemplate what to write about, there’s a certain element of deadline guilt that sets in if I haven’t quite managed all I set out to do.

This week has been particularly frustrating because I’ve got several projects in hand that I desperately want to talk about but haven’t quite got to the point where I can share them.

There’s this one, that I’m trying to finish up while experimenting with some in-progress shots which render most of my Hovel inaccessible.

There’s this one which is still very much sloshing around in the rinse cycle of my creative washing machine.

I’m hoping some communing with artists past might gain me some ground.

Finally, there’s this one which is very exciting… but I can’t reveal anything about it until Sunday.

So how about it, do I get a passing mark for this week?

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