I have neglected my Blog for a long time now. So long in fact, I was shamed by my log-in to the Blogger site that informed me that the last time I posted a blog was August. *blush*
I had started out with such good intentions of posting weekly, thoughtful and perhaps even inspiring blogs. And then they fell the way of January diets and pledges of thrice weekly gym sessions.
Well, I must make amends. And if I do it now, it won't seem like a 'New Years Guilt Effort'. Ha!
Project: Christmas Gifts for Special Friends
I really want to share pictures of a project I am very proud of. Ta - Da!!!
I made these cushions with my three girlfriends in mind, as handmade Christmas gifts that I hope conveys my love of each of them.
They were loving crafted from quality cotton drill, embellished on the bottom panel with a penguin made from cotton fabric and appliquéd onto the orange drill. Quite a fiddly job as the penguin is only 3 inches tall, but worth it as he really brings the piece to life.
The middle panel bears the text - title and authors (or recipients names). After a week of practising with free motion embroidery and various fonts, I came to the conclusion that my hand is not quite skilled enough to pull off the specifics of this font which I think is essential in getting the look of the vintage text. So, I printed the text on using photo transfer paper which I think looks ok.
I hope to expand my skill set in the new year and re-visit my brief exploration into silk screen printing. I love this craft and the freedom it lends to textile work, in offering an unlimited palette of prints and colours to fabric. I didn't spend nearly enough time at college exploring this media, so I am hoping this year will afford me some opportunity to 'faff about with inks'.
The top panel is adorned with a variation on the shape featured on the paperbacks of penguin - this reads Peartree Press.
As with all my work, the finish has to be clean and neat. The hems pressed, buttonholes neat and inside seams over-locked to prevent fraying and to ensure the inside is as pleasing to the eye as possible.
I was very lucky to have been given a tin of vintage sewing thread last year and this is where I found the perfect shade of orange for the cotton drill. I think I would describe it as 60's orange! The hem seams on the envelope opening blend in with the fabric, thus not detracting from the clean, unfussy look I wanted to achieve.
The design is instantly recognisable as being inspired by Vintage Penguin Paperbacks and one for me that evokes nostalgia of a summer break spent running around fields, climbing trees, playing lawn games and delving into bookshelves crammed with penguin books, for a paperback treat to while away an early waking in a strange house.
Reading totally eclipsed my youth. I was reading independently by the age of three and my appetite for books was insatiable. Thankfully I had access to many at home and my wonderful Mum would supply me with a mountain of stories to read in bed, made endless trips to the local library and encouraged my thirst for words by any means she could.
I hope to pass on my love of reading to my three boys, along with a slight 'incline' towards a fabulous vintage style!
Clearly my eldest son already has the reading bug. Christmas has seen him holed up in his teen bedroom of red and black with a stack of young adult novels, boxes of biscuits and sweets and some new cd's of rock/metal persuasion. I confess to being quite jealous of all those care-free hours, whilst I have been cooking, cleaning and generally slogging away at Christmas.
My youngest two cannot yet read for themselves, although they do try. I sometimes hear them telling each other an abridged version of stories we have read together, always ending in a flourish of 'THE END. Shallwereadanotherone?' Too cute!
Although I will always try to encourage my children to read the books I have loved, I know they will probably see my choices as old, unfashionable or out of touch and prefer to chose their own.
I will perhaps leave a few books just 'lying around' in the hope that they will find some appeal in the cover or title. Just as I did when faced with a boring early morning and shelves crammed full of seemingly identical orange and white covers of musty smelling papers containing a few of the words that have shaped my world.
