I've just finished a single throw for a customer using fabric leftovers from all her cotton blouses & kimonos. It's semi "crazy patchwork" & square + rectangular pieces all stitched together by pre-programmed machine embroidery using my latest Janome 8200 machine. An absolute dream machine to work with - the best bits of the machine (for this particular job) being having finger touch control instead of foot control & a very slow stitching speed when needed. This was the first large item stitched with the machine & I was very impressed with its ease of use & the width of the longer than normal arm. If you click on the above picture of the " Summer Gardens " cover, you will be able to see details of its construction.
" Painting the eye of a dragon " is a machine embroidered panel made several years ago. It started its life before that as a sample of tie dyed silk for a colour workshop & was then developed further from what I saw in the randomly dyed piece of (original) cream habotai silk. At a Cardiff museum a few years ago, there was a Japanese interactive exhibit of the 'The Night Parade of 100 Demons" - & it reminded me of my panel. I mention all this now, because earlier in 2020, I was commissioned to make a panel about Anger & if you click the above image, you'll be able to see how I am making & resolving issues I come across whilst working on this piece of work & discover the thought processes that are involved.
The image above was another one I computer created via Photoshop. Finished (along with several others) it reminded me of a cell structure so decided to make a large textile cell to portray me - I suppose you could call it a "self-portrait". To see & read more about it, click the image above, where it forms a section of one of my blogs. It remains unfinished as like many of my pieces, there is a "sticking point" whereby you just have to wait for the next bit to come along!!
Many years ago, I had a small "dress shop" & sold special occasion clothing that I had designed & made. I had my own label "CiCi" which has been used for a variety of different ideas over the years. In 2014, as a result of making an unusual wedding dress, I started another on-line presence entitled "CiCi Designs" (click image above to read them) that highlights a variety of criteria that I use in my design work. Primarily aimed at special occasion clothing, its intention was to assist any students or dressmakers I came across.
Back in the 1990s, I was involved in promoting dressmaking, knitting & fashion & wrote several knitting articles for a paper pattern company's magazine. I also wrote short dressmaking articles for other companies & department stores for specific promotional events. In August 2013, now living in Somerset I was asked to write an article for a stitchery/textile magazine. I called it "Patterns in My Life" & it really just reiterated what creatively I did - turning patterns in my head into creative & tactile objects (click the image above if you want to see some).
Here are some tassels that were made for a textile workshop that involved trims (for furnishings & clothing), colour & "scraps". Again, many of my initial ideas involve re-using or re-working other pieces of textiles or other mediums (click the image above if you want to read about some of them). I believe I have always done this for as long as I can remember - is it just being creative or is there another reason? One of my interests that was finally produced as a textile, was a variety of information on "Make Do & Mend" from research of WWII. This had in it many samples I re-created using either original materials or those that were similar & I wanted to re-create this digitally for my own work.
A stitched book made several years before recorded a selection of "Make Do & Mend" techniques researched from WWII. Now, apart from detailing its making in a previous blog ( ), further information about it was added in CiCi Creations &. as a flip book, could also bring it to life with its pages being turned. Additionally I added some haunting music in a YouTube video. Because the book is rather large & heavy, it is housed in an embroidered & personalised carry bag showing St. Pauls Cathedral on the front of it.