Machine mbroidered map for Lincoln A-Z exhibition

I currently have one of my pieces in an exhibition in the Collection in Lincoln if any of you would like to go and see it there’s a link to the exhibition details, the museum/gallery and(the museum itself is well worth a look, there’s a fantastic dinosaur skeleton they found under my old school)

The piece and corresponding poem are hopefully self explanatory, what people looking at the picture don’t know is how the piece ended up there. A month ago I started planning out how to make the piece and began searching around for old maps of Lincoln for reference in the embroidery. 

I think the lighting made it a little hard to photograph things so just incase you can't read all the poem it says

"Dear Tom, my dear Bear,

I want to stitch our story, sew our love on the machine,

all calico and cotton, framed for all to see.

Thin silver pin reminders

of where we've been and where we'll be."

 It was while looking around on the internet for old maps of Lincoln for reference I saw an advert calling out for a last minute piece for an exhibition by a local radio show. When I looked into it it was for A-Z Lincoln, a radio show where the presenters put a pin in a map of Lincoln and do the weekly show from that location (think more community project/ installation than cheesy radio roadshow, go check them out.)I messaged them telling them about the piece I was working on and that I’d love to surprise my partner and about his history in radio, luckily they liked the idea and said yes. 

Luckily Bear loved it and I hope he doesn’t mind me saying that he welled up when he saw it, he even seems ok with the fact that he can’t have his christmas present here in the house until the end of January. I felt like I botched proposing to my bear a bit last year (something he assures me wouldn’t have been very us without 2 engagement rings disappearing in the post, running across castle square in full steampunk getup to get a stand-in ring on the day and having to rip open the organza bag with my teeth to get the ring out while on one knee) so this was my big romantic gesture. 

All photos are by my good friend Spy Mistress General

Cake and hugs
Frocktopus
xxx

midnight moon and rust

I thought I'd go hunting yellows and oranges with my new camera, as they show up so bright in the lovely blue grey light we've had today, plus it doesn't hurt that yellow is my very favourite colour.

I'm very much enjoying photography at the moment but I'm trying to sketch more, I was going to attempt a sketch a day for the year but crochet got in the way. Here's last weeks sketch.

We had a christmas party the day after boxing day this year, we usually have one on christmas day but with health and seeing both families this year we thought we'd give ourselves a days recuperation first. I got all my sketching stuff into a sneaky corner so when my fatigue hit I could sit and sketch people but I was too busy catching up, cuddling and being hypnotised by the fire, so my first sketch this year is of the fire, burned out and smelling of smoke and bbq, like most of us the next morning. oh and bear proposed back at the party, pruuuuuu.

Did you all have a merry Yule or Christmas?

Love and hugs

Frocktopus

xxx

Christmas tree light-painting tutorial

I had great fun playing with long exposure on a point and click digital camera, the room wasn't really bright enough for most photography, especially with my unsteady hands, which turned out to be the perfect way to get some great effects with light painting. All you need is a camera, a dimly lit room and a christmas tree full of fairy lights and reflective baubles.

I've been getting festive the last few weeks, the house is full of baubles and fake plastic trees, present making is well underway so the house is strewn with wool (no change there) and last night we finally cracked out the lebruchen and the pink plastic tree all of my very own. 

To get these pictures I experimented mainly by taking a shot while moving, sometimes round in circles like the one above, sometimes while shaking the camera up and down or side to side, sometimes forwards and backwards. They all made different effects.

It helps to have a lot of different reflective textures and lights as these all produce different results, which a christmas tree full of baubles is perfect for.

These would make fantastic Christmas or Yule cards, christmas trees are nearly always beautiful and I love the pagan history behind them, but I've seen so many pictures of sparkling trees with a pile of pressies under them they can sometimes blur into one and it's not everyones style (I personally love me some traditional christmas stuff though.)

This technique doesn't need a christmas tree though, you could probably get some great effects with any reflective material or light source, there's some amazing light artists out there, just pop it into google or pinterest and get inspired.

Thanks for reading and I'll hopefully have a new camera of my very own again soon.

Happy yule and Merry Mince pie season

Frocktopus

xxx

Winter in the cottage garden

Snow in the woods at Ducky Cuddles cottage