#VintagePledge 2016

Behold - a new challenge for a new year of blogging.

What a brilliant idea! The #VintagePledge gives you the opportunity to plough the pattern stash and pledge to make something from vintage or repro vintage patterns in 2016.

A Stitching Odyssey is hosting the pledge - take a good look at the rules (they're fun) and sign up with me.

Now, I have three boxes of vintage patterns on top of the wardrobe - surely I can find something to make, especially as I never find clothes I would actually like to wear from the high street.I also have a ton of vintage knitting patterns and these can form part of the pledge too, so I may have something to post soon as I've almost finished a vintage sweater I started .. oh about a year ago ..

So here's my  #VintagePledge:

During 2016, I pledge to make at least 3 items of clothing from my vintage pattern stash - something knitted, something swish and something to swing dance in.
Abi.

Why don't you join in - I'd love to hear about your makes.

Les Soeurs Anglaises

A couple of months ago I had the good fortune to be invited to an event held in the fabulous haberdashers that is Raystitch on behalf of Les Soeurs Anglaises, an outfit who run high end textile workshops in a stunning location in France.

I drooled over their workshop programme and accommodation set out in their lovely brochure and chatted with fellow crafters. I met the lovely Lottie from Lotts and Lots who wore an amazing necklace she'd crafted herself - do hop over to her blog to get an eyeful of handmade jewellery loveliness. 

LSA were also hosting a Textile Jigsaw of Words competition: the brief was to embellish a piece of fabric in the shape of a jigsaw with a quote of your choice. LSA would then combine all the pieces into a quilt which would be auctioned off for the Cambodian Children's Fund.

I'm always up for a challenge and as the prize was a place on one of their wonderful workshops abroad, I set to work ...

My jigsaw was one of many entries that day and the standard was awesome ...

Sadly I didn't win, but my piece did get a 'best of the rest' mention on Les Soeurs Anglaises website later that month. Here's the winning piece crafted by Claire Sounes -

Wonderful.

Quick Make - Folk Art Toilet Sign

I started out with a hunk of floorboard I found in the bin and some buttons (natch).

I painted the wood in Farrow and Ball, sanded it back when it was dry and highlighted the edges by 'dry brushing' some gold paint across the woodgrain.

I decoupaged the male and female symbols with decorators PVA and glued the button dividing line in place.

Tada!

I am posting this on the Handmade Monday Linky Party - pop over and see what other people are making this week.

Loo Makeover and Utility Footstool

I have been busy in the Button Shop at Red Door sorting stash and checking the sewing machine is running - CHECK

Next 

I turned my attention to the toilet facilities which although freshly painted, are a little bare. It was decided that the Loo would become the Red Door Hall Of Fame so that once 'seated and relaxed' there would be a wealth of stuff to look at!
This is where the old flyers, posters and inspirational paper ephemera will end up - so if you've gigged at Red Door or had an exhibition, you may may be preserved on the walls.

I lined up a few posters to get me started ...

... then simply went at it with the wallpaper paste.

There's still plenty of room for updates too.

Now 

I've turned my attention to the furniture stash - quite a few chairs will be sanded and painted RED by Johnny the Red Door Handyguy, to be used at the studio for events.

Other chairs I hope re-paint and re-cover and I'm starting small by tackling this humble Utility Stool first.

From wiki - Utility Furniture refers to furniture produced in the United Kingdom during and just after World War II, under a Government scheme which was designed to cope with shortages of raw materials and rationing of consumption. Introduced in 1942, the Utility Furniture Scheme continued into post-war austerity and lasted until 1952.

How do I know it's a Utility stool? It had this symbol stamped on the underside (and I didn't photograph it!)

Here she is with the baggy old furnishing fabric removed and the legs sanded and painted with stashed F&B match pots. 

Yes one leg is grey. 

No it's not an undercoat. 

Bear with me.

An interesting fact I learned on my Goodlife Centre course (see previous post) is that match pots contain pigment and carrier only - no 'fixative' or 'varnish' so the legs will have to be sealed with a matt varnish when it's done.

It is my intention as Red Door Craft Wrangler to try and use stashed or thrifted materials wherever possible, so this week I'll look for a chunk of foam and some upholstery fabric to make the stool beautiful once more. 

Finally

My digging unearthed this lovely square of timber.

Guess what I'm going to make from it?

Yee Haw! Craft Wrangling at Red Door Studios

I have taken on a new role – I am now Resident Craft Wrangler at Red Door Studios in E6.

Craft Wrangler

• Someone employed to handle crafts professionally.
• A professional who transforms raw materials in artefacts (balls of wool to jumper or if highly skilled, sheared sheepskin to jumper).
• A craft-wrangler is a maker-guide who takes people on creative craft journeys to learn new skills, downsize their stash and widen their horizons.

The ‘Button Shop’ is my temporary ranch whilst the Creative Director travels further afield (to Kazakhstan) in search of new challenges and a bigger sewing room. I have at my disposal a stash to beat all stashes – boxes of fabrics, buttons, bits, bobs, bric-a-brac and above the Button Shop in Granny’s Attic, many chairs in various stages of disrepair.

This is a truly wonderful opportunity, I am that kid in the candy store – or should I say general store … if you’ve ever seen Little House On The Prairie and have visited the Button Shop at Red Door you’ll know what I mean.

Pic

I will post regular despatches from the Button Shop as I corral the stash into workable projects and set about re-purposing stock; up-cycling, re-cycling and down-cycling the items that have found their way into the Studio – much of which has been donated by kind supporters over the years. We thank you.

The aim of my Craft Wrangling is to free up much needed space at the Studio by using up the stash but also to act as a catalyst for Creativity Workshops that I plan to run in the Autumn.

There is so much satisfaction to be gained in making something with your own hands and the popularity of crafting can be seen as a reaction to the explosion of systems where everything is slowly becoming virtual – reading, communicating, writing, shopping.

So I will be inviting you in to exercise your creative muscle, respond to the variety of materials we have at the Studio (I came across a basket full of vintage zips in their packets today) and play.

Playing, the unfinished project problem … and Lizard brains

An evening spent playing on an iPad pinning ‘ideas for makes’ is no substitute for working with scissors, glue, words and intentions then moving forward to finishing something.

Being in a state of perpetual research and idea collecting fools our intellectual brain into thinking it has done the work, our Lizard brain knows otherwise and is frustrated at not being allowed to make a mess and play til bedtime – the creative urge has been redirected which can lead to that angsty, unsettled feeling.

Unsettled and still needing our creative fix, we are seduced by the ‘buzz’ of coming across a new project to research, pin and ponder over. This means we often don’t finish stuff because we’re forever chasing the novelty of the next crafty ‘thing’. Or we watch Kirstie instead and get our crafty fix by proxy.

I would like to help you get stuff started … and finished.

Making something new, something from nothing is hard work. It can be frustrating, messy, eat time and rarely fits into a handy evening slot. But exercising the creativity muscle is crucial for our wellbeing, our ability to problem solve and hence and the wellbeing of the planet. There you can’t get better than that.

Red Door + crafting + you = wellbeing of the planet

Watch this space 

In the meantime Red Door Studios is still running its usual Arts events – visit the Facebook Page to find out what's on.

Bookmark this blog to find out what Craft Wrangling adventures I’m having.

Yee Haw.

copyright Abi Bown