Elephants

 

Good Afternoon Blog Readers!! (Ok, well I realise that it is no longer afternoon, but I had intended to write a post this afternoon and got sidetracked so we will just pretend, all right?) There are 2 things I am wishing to discuss with you today:
Thing 1: My new reading material
Thing 2: Elephants!

So then, starting with thing 1, my new copy of Stitch magazine arrived this morning, ploppity plopping through the letter box. It has some really nice stories about the Embroiderers Guild Archives- this issue was about gloves- as well as fantastic projects to make and lots on making felt. My favourite artist interview was of Moy Mackay. She uses merino wool and felts as if she is painting (not sure that makes sense- if you read the article it makes sense. She also has a book out called Art in Felt & Stitch which looks quite interesting.
Plus(!) my Karen Nicol book arrived quite unexpectedly yesterday (you may remember I talked about Karen in a post a few months ago?) and I have to admit it surpasses all expectations. Not only is it just a really nice book with numerous thick glossy pages and high quality photos, but the inspiration and ideas in it are also fabulous!! I have tried to take a few photos of my favourite pages but obviously the standards and lighting aren't that great and I thoroughly recommend buying the book yourselves! (Find it on Amazon here)

 

 

 

 

 

Do you see what I mean about nice pages (even with the horrible photos)? They aren't overcrowded and show where bits of inspiration may have been taken from along with the final piece or sample. Karen talks about being subconsciously influenced by her magpie hoard in the studio, saying that until she had to write the book she never really realised how much her pieces looked like a group of random objects that may be lurking in the corner of the room. The book is split into several chapters- starting with some pieces made of vintage bits and bobs and then focusing on just seven different techniques that she often uses in her work; the sewn strip, tufts, foldover, fagotting, sequins, pleats and cut work- all of which are exquisite!!

Moving on to thing two- are you still with me? I made some carrot cake this morning, would you like a piece to keep you going through thing two?
Inspired by a project in this month's Mollie Makes Magazine, I have been making little elephants. Now the originals were intended to be tiny broaches, either 4.5cm or 6.5cm long- a little too small for me, so I doubled the size to 13cm long which was much better. Then the Madre commented that she didn't really like the trunk of the elephant so I changed that as well, leaving me with sort of my own design, heavily inspired by the MM crew. So this is what I have come up with...

 

 

I have already given a few away as birthday presents which went down very well, and have tentative plans to make them even bigger. Apparently the current issue (brought to light by the Madre- again!) is that the front leg is too far forwards, so I am going to take it back and see what it looks like. They are really quick and easy to make- I might do a tutorial on them once I have the pattern looking acceptable to Mummy dearest (shouldn't really say things like that, she reads the blog- Mum I very much appreciate your help and guidance on all my projects =D).

 

......................................................................................................................................................................

 

Edit to add: I have finally FINALLY made and written a tutorial for the felt elephants, you can find it here or on the left hand side of the the blog with all the other tutorials. Have fun!