Cornflower

Stuff and nonsense

    Having written most enthusiastically here about Harris Tweed (posts 1, 2 and 3) I couldn't let the somewhat crass, shortsighted remarks of Scottish politician Roseanna Cunningham pass without comment. This article will tell you what she had to say on the subject of wearing tweed, but pay no attention, people - wear your tweed with style and pride!

Recycling

    Following on from yesterday's talk of recycling pullovers, here's a very early Cornflower post (probably read by around three people at the time it appeared) which is partly about turning an old sweater into a bag. I followed the instructions given in an ancient copy of Country Living, and here they are for anyone who wants to have a go:

First, felt your woollen jumper by washing on a hot cycle. Turn it inside out and sew up both armholes. Use the bottom edge of the jumper as the bag opening and sew across the top of the garment under the neckline. Cut off the arms and excess from the neck area and turn the right way out. Line with satin. Turn an arm inside out and sew 3cm in from each side seam. Trim close to the seams and turn both tubes the right way out to form two handles. Cut to required length and hand sew them to the outside of the bag [I fixed mine to the inside, between bag and lining]. Add decorative detail such as beads or a brooch - I used some of the offcuts to make leaves/petals which I stitched on and embellished with french knots.

    This was fun to do and rather quicker than the other one in that post (second, chunkier version here) which was knitted from scratch and then felted (pattern in this book).

Pantries, pianos and pretty things

    Some links today to things interesting, sad and inspiring.

Over at The Runcible Bin, Mrs. Lear is talking about pantries (you should see my pantry - no, really you shouldn't as it needs a proper sort out and is not a pretty sight just now, so perhaps I should get that book!).

Today sees the closure of Britain's last piano factory - how times have changed from the days when pianos were almost as ubiquitous as televisions are now. If you are at all interested in piano music (or in Paris) I thoroughly recommend T. E. Carhart's The Piano Shop on the Left Bank (and Dark Puss, you'll be pleased to know that I was playing the other day, and the Poulenc was fairly respectable).

Lastly, while flicking through an old magazine yesterday I found an article about this treasure-house of trimmings, ribbons, buttons and other pretty things, and I know there are a lot of us who enjoy a virtual browse of this kind!

Searching the collections

 

       The V&A website now includes a comprehensive collection search facility by which you can access one million object records. Click here to find it, and then refine your search as you wish - I put in 'cornflower' and all these came up (and coincidentally, the bottom right hand picture on that page is the late 18th. century version of our dinner service and I'd never realised those were cornflowers).

I'd better put a warning here, though: visit these collections at your own risk as serious time-wasting can result; just look at the knitting pages, for example, or textiles...

The PhD of clothes

    While looking for something else, I came across this article (though its advice must now be so last year...) which says that if you've cracked the pashmina you can graduate on to other scarves, "successful scarf-wearing being the PhD of clothes" - though it helps to be Debo or Marilyn Monroe!

 

Natural textiles

 

Rowan berries in real life,

and as the textile designer renders them (more information here).

My mushroom caps are seen from above,

while these are shown from below.

And leaves,

 

or the world as seen by a bird in the treetops!

You can find more Marimekko fabrics here.

Camouflage

Tweed: nothing better for blending in!

Jacket: made for Mr. C. some years ago, now worn with some style by Mr.William.

Trees: locally grown.

Trouble looms

    If I have a child at hand to show me how to get BBC4 on the television I'll be watching this programme tonight (the first in a series).

Thanks to Dark Puss for alerting me to this or I wouldn't have known about it - at the moment all I watch is Dragons' Den, although I'd certainly have switched on for the new Nigel Slater series except that apparently it isn't being shown in Scotland!!! (Have to make do with this meanwhile).

Tapestries and tweeds

 

     On show at An Lanntair, the Stornoway Arts Centre when I was there the other day was this exhibition of miniature tapestries, all sketches or samples for larger pieces, (some by famous names whose work I saw here in Edinburgh last year).

Also on display was this locally made quilt or wall-hanging:

an unusual but attractive use for tweed.

Harris Tweed - 3

     You've seen the sheep, you've seen the weaver, now go and visit the 'live' website (and look at those gorgeous landscape colours interpreted in the tweed on the homepage)!

Harris Tweed - 2

    Snippets of tweed! Coasters - currently in use on my desk, among other places - and a heart which I might scent with lavender oil and hang in the linen cupboard, or I could dangle it from the arm of Monty Mouse, in which case I'd see it all the time!
    You might like to have a look at this clip of tweed on the catwalk, or this article about the show, or visit the industry's main website. The future looks exciting, whether for the traditional colours and patterns or the innovative new designs, in interiors as well as clothes.

Harris Tweed - 1

The raw material! This little fellow is hand-reared and responds to a call.

 

The work in progress - all 1400 plus warp threads are tied individually by hand.

 

A close-up of the twill on the loom. It is checked throughout the weaving process for any thread breakages.

 

And the man himself: Mr. John MacLean of Garynahine Harris Tweed who very kindly welcomed us into his weaving shed and took the time to explain the whole tweed-making process to us, even letting us have a go on the loom (so a tiny area of that cloth was made by me!). These are his lambs, by the way, as he is a crofter as well as a weaver.

Mr. MacLean sells to Savile Row, but his tweed is also available through a local co-operative, where a bouquet of tweed flowers [see the end of that article] was recently made for Her Majesty the Queen.

(More of the finished product later).

Zewing - 2

    Well, the first project from Zakka Sewing is complete. Made by Harriet with just a little guidance from me, this is her potholder:

Here's the front.

  This is all hand sewn, and follows the spirit of the book's instructions rather than the letter. The dogs fabric is linen/cotton, while the composition of the pale blue stuff is unknown (we went easy on the ironing just in case of any man-made content, but it looks pretty cottony).
   All the appliquéd detail is from scraps of the front and back fabrics or ribbons I'd salvaged from the handles of carrier bags (East and Joules, if I remember correctly) - I knew they would come in handy some time!

This is the back, with single dog applied and ribbon to match the front - the bottom edge has been deliberately left not stitched down.

Harriet really enjoyed making this and is keen to move on to the next item - there are several she has her eye on.

This has been a fun introduction to sewing for a novice, and something to inspire her rather more experienced but by no means expert mother, too!

Zewing

    This is the book I was waiting for the other day, Zakka Sewing by Therese Laskey and Chika Mori. I had seen it on various sites and thought its mix of simplicity and Japanese style looked appealing, and with a daughter keen to start sewing, this seemed just the thing for us.
According to the book, "zakka" means " 'household goods' referring specifically to hand-sewn items for domestic use ..." so examples of the projects included are the excellent squirrel tea cosy on the cover, a linen basket, bags, coasters, an apron, a cushion - you get the idea.

    As I write this, Harriet is about half way through making an appliquéd potholder (pictures soon, I hope), and I have plans to hide any less-than-acceptable book covers in a version of this:

We've bought material specially for the purpose, but neither John Lewis nor our local fabric shop had a very inspiring range of the linens and cottons the book recommends. Does anyone know of a good online source of these? - often it is only very small quantities which are required so offcuts and remnants would be fine, but a wider selection of quality linen would be a useful resource.

Pattern books

    

     The V&A are launching a new series of books on pattern, each with a CD of images from which you can redraw or rework the designs.
The first lot comprises:

William Morris

Indian Florals

Digital Pioneers

The Fifties 

and you can get the lot as a boxed set.

There's more on the pattern theme in the V&A Shop including this intriguing necklace!