January Moon 2016

This is part of what I'm working on for this year. I'm making a fabric collage for each month; later on this year, I'll be exhibiting them as part of Wakefield ArtWalk.
I'm using a mix of fabrics; but trying to use a lot of the fabric/s I've dyed using plants.
Each piece will have this circle; the same size; for the full moon. I've almost completed the March Moon; just a few final touches.

I got a lovely pile of fabric sample books the other week. They were in a skip, about to be thrown away, so I did a bit of skip-dipping, and brought some home. Amongst them, was a book of silks.......now you might know that I try not to use purchased silk. I shop around for second hand silks; clothes; remnants etc. So this sample book is an absolute treasure. 
A deep pile of silk, in different colours, even though they're quite small in diameter. Some of these will find their way into this current series. And the couple of pieces that are white/cream, have been popped into the pomegranate dye-pot.   

'bandaged heart'

 Close up; the 'heart' with loose threads.

 The complete piece. It's turned out like a small cushion.....so for the exhibition in November, I'm thinking to put it onto a chair, and just hope no-one sits on it!

I printed onto a bandage, and stitched the fabric/s together.

Layers; and stuffed with quilting fibre.

Then stitched onto denim, as the background fabric. 

This was one day in spring, in the very early stages of making, when the sun shone in through the studio door, and illuminated the procian dyed polyester! You can see the texture of the bandage more clearly in this photo.

'hands' #2

The stitched hands.
Used 2 different thicknesses of thread.

samples.......

Fragment of one of my small samplers. Top right, some tweed from my dad; top left black cotton discharged with bleach; bottom; a lovely old hankerchief which has original embroidery on it that I've embellished. It was put into an avocado, and put into the compost heap last year. The blotches come from that process. This is one more work in progress........ 

fragments......

 One of the samples I'm working on. Tweed. Curtain fabric. Silk threads.

Silk fabrics. Spirals of threads. Muted colours. The gathering of the fabric as one layer is stitched to the other. Textures.

No print included in this one......