Graduation Weekend!

Well!!! Myself, Elvis and The Family have had a very interesting last few days!! We drove up to Leicester on Sunday morning and settled into our hotel. It was very nice although the view wasn't amazing- you could just about see the Empire church peeping over the rooftops.

Elvis and I had our own room which was lovely. After a family meal we settled down together for some crochet and CSI. Mentally preparing ourselves for the day ahead!

 This morning we all had to get up incredibly early as it was...

  GRADUATION DAY!!!! 

It all reminded me very much of Harry Potter, with the long flowing robes. I was imagining whipping out a wand and casting spells at people (nice ones, obviously). 

The photos were plentiful and there was so much smiling for the camera I seem to have hurt my jaw!!
The ceremony itself was very theatrical (well, it was in a theatre). There were curtains and dramatic music, lines of VIPs in their golden robes, a big red chair with Dumbledore in... Tee hee, maybe not Dumbledore exactly but the Chancellor did sound a lot like him and does seem to be attempting the beard! There was a great moment at the beginning when the VIPs were all on stage and the parents were just wondering where all of the graduates were, and the wall between us and them was lifted to reveal us cheering and clapping!!

So there we go. I am a now a fully fledged, official graduate of De Montfort University!!! Sadly I didn't get to keep the cape...uh hum...sorry, ceremonial robes... and hat so can't swish around and do my Hermione impression (unless I make myself a robe....) anymore, but it was a fantastic day that I think everyone enjoyed. Wooo! Go DMU Graduates!! 

Strolling Down Memory Lane

I have packed my imaginary picnic basket (wicker with red gingham fabric lining) and am taking a walk down memory lane. Would you like to join me?
I have been thinking about my journey through university, and all of the various projects that I have had to do. Some have been quite bizarre- like the Chrysalis project in the first year (photo above), but others I have quite liked. The best bit about having a blog is that I get to revisit all of these projects and see how I have progressed and grown, so here we go!!

First year was very random, with lots of strange drawing projects that were supposed to get the creative juices flowing. I quite liked the still life painting one, called Vivid Voyage.

My first trial roundabout was Construct, where we learnt weaving and knitting on the machine. Ah, I remember my first few attempts- weaving was definitely the stronger of the two for me!! Knitting was ok, although I do remember it kept falling off and getting ladders, eurgh so annoying.

I was quite relieved when we handed in. I think I knew then that I was not destined to be either a weaver or a knitter. I had my beady eye on the final samples of those lucky ones who had been doing the Mixed Media Roundabout.

In between the roundabouts we had more drawing projects, so my next drawing project, based on birds and feathers came (somehow) from the theme, Obsessions.

I drew an awful lot of peacock feathers!

The feathers turned into English garden birds and the beginning of the Print Roundabout was born! Print was definitely not my forte- all that faff with exposing the screen, getting the ink ready, taping off the screen, squeege-ing through the ink, washing it out, waiting for it to dry, repeating the process from the taping off, over and over and over. Nope, definitely not for me!

The final hand in for this project was such a relief. Although really we had two hand ins for this project as we had started a CAD class alongside it.

Ooh, I've just come across a really random project- Innovative Thinking!

It did sort of lead into my favourite project of the first year-- the Mixed Media Roundabout!! Ah, now we're talking!! We learnt how to heat press, and do pin tucks on the machine....fab stuff.

We also had lessons in hand stitch, and applique...

I was very sorry to see this project end. So here endith the first year of university!! A mixed bag, saving the best until last.

The beginning of second year started quite well, with a project I enjoyed. The summer project we were given was on the theme of Multiples, so I went straight to The Brother's bug collection and began to draw.

We had a technical block that ran alongside the Multiples project, which basically taught us how to use the machines and tools in the workshop. We learnt the princess pleater, machine shirring, button holes...all sorts of things.

I thought this was quite an innovative project- using the ends of cotton buds as beads, and crocheting circles then hardening them with Paverpol and forming them into little cups. I made lots of samples for this project and was very pleased with the final hand in.

The next project however, really took a turn for the worse. I don't know if it was the change in tutors, or that the project theme didn't inspire me, but I got some really quite low marks for my Eden project, and struggled through it from start to finish. Another one I was glad to see the back of.

After such a low from the previous project, I was determined to do much better on the next one and put my absolute all into it. I think it was generally because I couldn't cope with the abstract theme, I like to play with textures and surfaces that are found in nature, so when my mouldy mushroom project came along, it was a sigh of relief!

The brief was based on a competition for a company called Purvaai, who were interior based, and I could make my first cushions!!

The final project of the second year, was a self set, Consolidation project. I decided to try and bring back the crochet that had worked quite well for me in the first project, although it ended up going downhill and being very uninspiring. The best bit about this project for me was the chance to really practice my drawn thread work, although because it took so long to do I wasn't encouraged to do any more as they wanted speedy samples.

So second year ended in a bit of a slump for me. I was very upset that only two out of four projects had been awarded good marks- they do say that second year is the hardest!

Again, I felt I had to make up for the failings of the previous project, so the summer task for the third year was a bit of a relief as I absolutely loved doing it!! The stitched cows were a favourite of mine, and Dad's too, even though the actual Pre-Collection project changed so dramatically to poppies!

I was very pleased with this hand in. I had created my own technique using fabric and sequin tape, played with textures and experimented with digital designs and digital printing, I had 3D and 2D samples, and experimented with dyeing my own fabrics. Lots learnt in this project, which set me up nicely for the Final Major!

Of course, you've seen these photos hundreds of times. This is major in more ways than one. I really feel that this project has set me up nicely for the future, I have finally clicked!! The tutors all say that you will eventually click and know what you want to do and where your strengths lie, and I never believed them until I began to stitch these chimney photos. I have so many ideas for different kinds of stitched photos, different houses, colours I could use, techniques I could play with- maybe taking commissions to stitch client's houses! I was very proud at the final hand in for this project- and it turned out to be a fantastic FiRsT!!! The only practical project I was awarded a first in.

So there we have it, my wander down memory lane. Of course, the projects I have mentioned are only about half of the projects in total as there were promotional projects, essays, research projects, CAD projects, websites..even Facebook projects!! Haha, but if I went through all of those we would be here all day! So thank you for coming along with me, I hope you enjoyed the walk- it is certainly a beautiful day for it!! And hopefully we can wander along together for many more days to come. xx

Aaaand...Relax...

June is over, thank goodness!!! I usually like June, there are lots of birthdays, it's the start of summer and glorious weather...but this year June has just been too hectic. What with the end of my final project, the degree show, then New Designers, followed by moving out of the studio and my university house (lots of cleaning, packing, travelling, recycling, more cleaning...), there has barely been a minute to sit down! Now that it is all over though, I can sit and relax for a bit- before something else comes along that is.

The garden is looking supremely lovely (although it doesn't have fresh raspberries- strawberries will have to do), with the pink rose bush in full bloom. I love that as the flowers age, the shade of pink changes so the bush in its entirety has several shades of pink, really beautiful.

The birds planted a sunflower in one of the pots and we have watched it grow, waiting with baited breath for the flower head to open. They are such fantastic flowers aren't they?

And my Hydrangea is also in full swing. The pink matches the roses!

The lilies smell absolutely divine in the evenings, especially when there isn't a very strong wind so the sweet scent just lingers over the garden. Such a lovely thing to come home too.

I have some very fantastic, fantabulous news to share with you all before I go. This morning I checked my university Internet site and discovered that I have been awarded a Second Class Honours, Upper Level Degree- or a 2:1!!! I am over the moon as it is a great achievement and just what I wanted. I was allowed to see the marks given for the last set of hand-ins, and I was given a first for my final major project which I am very happy about- it being the first, first given to me for a practical project. So that definitely started the end of my university time with a bang!! Quick, get out the champers! x

Getting Ready For ND

I have been a bit preoccupied of late, writing mental lists of everything I have to do to get ready for New Designers (the tutors kind of gloss over all the hard work that you have to do when encouraging you to pitch to go!). However, as of this morning, I can cross off another job to do- making my promotional packs!! These packs are for important people (possibly those offering jobs or work experience) and include my CV, personal profile, postcard, business cards, a page of images of my work and a compliment slip. I'm not entirely sure how many we have to make, so I might have gone a little overboard in my attempt to not be caught out- not that I'm expecting many business/industry type people to want me- so have made 20.

The envelopes are called pouchettes, and have been adapted from a design I found on the internet, then hand cut, scored and folded by me. The text on the front was printed last night using my little letter stamps that The Mother gave me, and all of the contents were hand cut or hand folded, with the final flourish being a sticker on the back and tied like a present with different weights and widths of ribbon. So really hand made!! (I think subconsciously I am trying to portray that I have the patience to sit and make 20 of these little parcels, and also to show how I like to do as much as I can by hand.

They are actually quite heavy so it should be fun getting them to London on Monday. The plan of action is to transport everyone's work and the display items on the Monday, set everything up on the Tuesday, Wednesday is for the judges and the private view and then Thursday to Saturday it is open to the public. Would you like to come? It is cheaper to pre-book online although you will have to get your skates on for that! The website is here, and it would be fantastic to see you!!