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The Embroiderer’s Children Have No…

13 February, 2015 / Katy / 2 Comments

It occurred to me a few months ago that if I was going to get any quilts finished for our increasing menagerie, I was going to have to get cracking.

Unusually for me, I had the urge to finish a project I’d already started, so I’ve decided to give Little Lion the Shirt Quilt.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this long-term (ca. 2008) WIP, it’s made from my dad’s (forcibly) retired shirts. I’m paper piecing 1″ hexagons for both sides (I have quite a lot of shirts) in a fairly random pattern.

The palette is (as you will have noticed) fairly limited, so there may be some surface decoration, but I’m not quite sure what it will be yet.

If you’re interested in the process of going from shirt to hexagon I can write an explanatory post, but this is a good start for an overview.

Also, if anyone wants some shirt-skeletons – collars, cuffs, button plackets and French seams all still in shirt shape, please let me know.

It’s never what you think…

10 February, 2015 / Katy / 0 Comments

I was a little concerned that I’d be at a loose end when I started maternity leave next week.

Well, I needn’t have worried. My website seems to have been targeted by spam-bots (now under control, thanks to the Lovely Young Man), but it’s meant that large portions of the website will have to be recreated.

It was vaguely on my list to restructure some aspects of the website, but now it looks like I’m doing it sooner rather than later.

This includes the shop and bits of my portfolio, so if you have any questions or want to commission or buy anything please get in touch via the contact form.

Commission – Samuel William

6 February, 2015 / Katy / 0 Comments

Another baby present today, this one turned out as a bit of a surprise, even to me!

I was thinking of Fairisle knitting when I chose the colours (cream, burnt orange, royal blue and emerald green) but in the end it didn’t look anything like knitting.

If the colours don’t show up very brightly in the photo, it’s because I had a window of photographing opportunity between 8.00 and 8.30 one morning to get it shot. I thought I was being super-organised, I set everything up the night before, took a few preview shots and went to bed feeling like I’d cracked this photography thing.

Morning came, there was the usual endless discussion about what toys were or were not going to nursery and by the time I lifted my head from my cup of tea I realised that it was in fact still dark in Edinburgh on a January morning at 8.30! So I stopped right up and hoped for the best… I’m calling it atmospheric!

Commission – Imogen Ann

30 January, 2015 / Katy / 0 Comments

Sometimes I have a very strong idea for a commission, either the fonts, colours or both.

This was a hoop that just fell into place with almost no prevarication. The lady who commissioned it showed me a photo of the mum and baby (I love that, it’s so nice to picture the recipient as I work) and the nursery was a lovely combination of buff, cream and gold.

I’m not very good at sticking to a colour scheme in my own decorating, so it’s nice to be able to play at interior design with someone else’s scheme!

The Trials and Tribulations of a Nearsighted Photographer

23 January, 2015 / Katy / 0 Comments

When people ask me how I came to do a photography degree, I have to admit that the answer is ‘by accident’.

My intention was to do costuming or something textile-y, because that’s what I’d always been interested in. But as I worked my way through the first year (where we got a chance to try out different departments), I always seemed to have the most interesting conversations and projects in the photography department.

Once I started in the department properly it became apparent that I was at a bit of a disadvantage on the technical side. My eyesight hovers around -8.50 with an astigmatism and what my optician once apologetically called ‘pretty rubbish rods and cones’, so even when it’s corrected my manual focusing skills are a little patchy.

(My parents tell a story about the time when I was learning to read and they pointed to the side of a massive cargo ship and said ‘What’s the name of that ship?’ and I looked where they were pointing and said ‘What ship?’)

Embroidery makes some of this easier, I can go and bury my face in my work with relatively little difficulty, but when it comes to product photography, I have to make extra efforts to get my photos as crisp as they need to be.

Recently, I’ve started to use tethered shooting, which is where you take control of the camera through a computer. This makes it much easier to fine-tune the auto focus and check the results on a larger screen than comes on the the back of a camera.

The downside is that it takes a fair bit of time to set up a shoot – something I need to remember when working against the combined deadlines of Northern Hemisphere daylight and nursery pick up time.

It’s definitely improving my product photography, and even reminds me of shooting in large format with a black cloth over my head, the pleasing kthunk of the Polaroid back and the slightly terrifying frisson when taking the dark slide out of the back of the camera.

Plus ça change…

Sarigami – Commission

16 January, 2015 / Katy / 0 Comments

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.

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.

Happy 2015?

9 January, 2015 / Katy / 0 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time getting 2015 started.

Our goal over the holidays was to keep things simple, and we largely succeeded, thanks to a series of virulent colds which left us alternately in bed or collapsed on the sofa watching films.

I did manage to make the most obscene chocolate log (I should have read the recipe more carefully before I started) which was almost entirely butter and chocolate combined in ways I never knew were possible.

The best bit was the meringue mushrooms, the worst bit was the feeling of malaise and the guilt of Western excess that hung over you after you’d finished your slice. (Yes, that’s a massive Christmas cake in the background.)

When I wasn’t eating cake, I made a piece for the curator of Thrive Archive’s Away Being, and she very kindly hung it in the exhibition.

There was an awful lot of overambitious satin stitch, which was quite stressful at the time, but I’m very happy with the way it came out.

We went to the opening which had live music and lots of lovely responses to the themes of the exhibition.

I’ll be doing my best to maintain some sort of posting schedule over the next two months, but seeing as it’s taken me about two hours to write this piece (most of it spent staring vacantly at the spot where the Christmas tree used to be), I’m not making any grand promises. I hope you’ll forgive me if it slips a little.

In fact, in lieu of proper resolutions this year, I’m trying to make my goals a little less relentless. The last six months have been more of a slog than a challenge, so I’m trying to adjust my focus to allow for some gaps in the schedule. Wish me luck!

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

Last Posting Date Today!

19 December, 2014 / Katy / 0 Comments

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

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

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.

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)!

Backside of the Hoop – Guest Post

17 December, 2014 / Katy / 0 Comments

I’ve got a guest post on Random Acts of Amy called Backside of the Hoop.

Backside of the Hoop – Random Acts of Amy

Amy interviews stitchers and asks them some rather thought-provoking questions about their processes and inspirations. I had a great time writing the post and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Holiday Happenings

12 December, 2014 / Katy / 0 Comments

I think I’m slowly starting to embrace the festive atmosphere.

After last weekend’s slightly manic dash from craft fair to teaching night out to craft fair, Dragon and I decided that it was time to break out the Muppet Christmas films (we’re holding off on Muppet’s Christmas Carol for another week) and try to relax properly.

We’re having a rare holiday at home, which I’m really looking forward to, Dragon is at the age where traditions really start to stick, so I’m hoping we can create some good ones. (The Star Wars ornaments bode well, I think.)

Of course, I have four commissions to get through before I can really consider myself on holiday, and I should probably unpack the craft fair boxes and bags that are lurking at every turn, but I have a cunning plan on that front…

I’d like to offer you 20% off anything on the website until 31st December, just to save me putting everything away! Use the code ‘holiday’ at checkout and you’re away.

I’m making a concerted effort this year to buy exclusively from local or handmade sources for my gifts, and it would be lovely if everyone could at least buy one more thing from a friendly face than they did last year.

I hope you’re all managing to stay toasty wherever you are, I’m slowly adding layers of legwarmers, cowls and shawls as the weather dictates!