MADELEINE'S HEP HERD

Stuff in my wardrobe I made in the 80s Originally uploaded by MadeleineS . The arrival of The Bag (see below) inspired me to also raid my wardrobe. When I gave up making for a living in t the 80s I had a pile of stuff left over - some of it even fitted me! Here are a few bits that are still with me. I've not worn any of it for ages. Apart from anything else I seem to feel the cold less than most folk so I just get too hot wearing them. So If the contents of The Bag make interesting cushions these might meet the same fate.

dissected sweater textures Originally uploaded by MadeleineS . This is what was in the bag in the last post. Two sleeves, two fronts and two back of sweaters made from a huge range of yarns and silk scarf offcuts - mostly from Joan Clifford but some from Diana Hand and Tessuti. The current plan is to stitch the pieces to support fabrics to create the front panel of the cushion. I'll need to think about shrinkage and stuff like that before choosing backing material. No timescale attached to this project!

bag of distraction Originally uploaded by MadeleineS . So on Friday night a bag of stuff I made in the 1980s arrived full of knitting and memories. It had been dropped off in Mike's shop by my old friend Fawns, who owns Fabhatrix. The bag had parts of two sweaters that I'd made in the 1980s for her and her mother. I probably swapped them for something she'd made but I cant remember what it was now. I'd seen parts of these sweaters turn up in her work a few years ago and had assumed that they'd all gone now. It was quite a surprise to see them again - a nice surprise. It's got me thinking about what I can make from them now. Hence "bag of distraction" but I think that a batch of cushions might be on the way. For some time I've been thinking about making domestic textiles (rugs and cushions) and this is probably the prompt I need.

landskin workshop Originally uploaded by MadeleineS . Finally got to do something last week that I'd wanted to do for well over a year - meet India Flint, see her dance costumes in action and attend one of her workshops. The first two happened in Edinburgh during the 2012 Festival. Then I headed off to London for two days of dying, stitching and felting with 16 other eager students, some of whom had travelled considerably further than I had. The workshop reinforced what I'd already learned from India's books and provided lots of fine detail you don't get in print. We covered eco-printing and the landskin concept - as scarf or wrap that travels with you and has prints, dyes, stitches etc added along the road. I now have a sample size landskin ready for the trail and a bigger one waiting to by dyed with leaves I've collected in London Zoo and RBGE. However I'm not sure I'll be transferring these techniques straight into my own practice right away. For o...