what katie did next...

Mirror Mirror on the wall (well in the handbag actually)

I can make mirrors with my new badge making machine; they are about 6cm in diameter, quite difficult to make at first, but now it's a quicker process and I'm loving it!!
I made some last week, but they looked quite flat, so I thought I'd experiment a bit more.  At the moment, I'm not sure which ones I prefer, so I'll keep experimenting, but I like the overall idea! Perhaps it doesn't matter  if they're different, when they're grouped like this they look striking, and people can pick the one they prefer.

One thing I've learned, it's very difficult to sew buttons onto mirrors and badges that have already been assembled!!

Sugar and Spice and all things nice...

Perfect for a little girls bedroom, if I say so myself!

After many (MANY) hours of trying to photograph my pictures, I have discovered the trick... (suggested by my huband) "have you tried taking the glass out of the frame?"

Erm, no, hadn't thought of it!  It works, it really works!

 
So, you can see far more detail can't you? and without the glare! 

 
When I take close up photographs like this one, I know that everyone will be able to see the imperfections. Hopefully, you'll also see the little elements that I add to each one, like the heart on the right (above). It looked too plain, so I used two different coloured threads, a lighter one on top and a dark one on the bottom, and stitched into the heart, to give it depth.

I spend a long time planning the balance of colours, making the felt in the background and picking the colours to go on top.  One of the things I really like to do is use at least two colours to stitch the writing, thus creating more harmony.  I don't want these pieces to look too rigid, they are made by hand and therefore I want them to look like that. They are crafted with care, and although I might use the same colours as another, or the same theme, no two will look the same.

When I choose the buttons, I choose them for their size, colour and how well they balance the whole piece. I always try to make the button holes go in different directions, why? I'm not sure, but it is something that I can be quite pedantic about (I have been known to take a button back off and re-sew it if it doesn't look right).

Obsessed... moi???
   

I'm forever making badges, pretty badges everywhere...

So, I've been adding to the designs.  It seems there is no point making just one badge at a time, you need to make a few.  So each time I select the fabrics, thread the machine up, decide what to applique, trim them and then make them into badges, I have a group of them.

I love seeing them like this, I think they look really cute.  They measure 25mm (about an inch), so they are very small in real life.

I need to thin k about how I'm going to present them for sale;

I shall have some cards printed for them to go on, once my Logo has been decided upon, which should be the end of this coming week.  The card needs to be able to be displayed clearly within a shop, perhaps they will 'hang'?

For a badge this small, the designs need to be very simple, due to the nature of applique.  I have got some larger sizes, so I can make more complicated designs on those.  I can't wait to try!

Have a great weekend, the weather looks excellent! 

Making appliqued fabric covered button badges

See how I made these Good Luck - Four Leaf Clover badges, below:

I've sussed it!  Actually, I make that sound like there's an enormous amount of skill involved, but really it's all about patience. 

I've  found that if I applique the designs first, although it's still fiddly, it's much less so!

Then cut them out, and trim around the appliques.

Hey presto! Make them into badges (using a badge machine)

 
 
I'm giving one of these to a very special friend who starts her new job on Monday, although she won't need good luck because she'll be fabulous!

The Lovebirds

As I was reading a book about birds to my son the other day, we came across a picture of a couple of lovebirds.  I hadn't realised how tactile they are with each other, the way they lean in for a cuddle.  So I decided to use them as inspiration for one of my pictures.

It was really difficult to photograph this one as the sun has been so bright today, and the light was flooding into our house from all directions.

 
I love the colours, they make me feel really summery!

I deliberately placed the emphasis on the left, leaving enough space on the right if someone wanted to put names or dates...  perhaps for a very personal Engagement / Wedding / Anniversary gift?   

Young at Heart - fabric applique button badges

My new badge making machine is my new best friend! I love it!

It's taken a while to get the hang of making them because they are really fiddly when using fabric, especially because they are only 2.5cm in diameter. 

 
I know hearts are obvious, but I wanted to start with something that would be relatively simple to sew, and I think they look quite cute!

I thought these would be great if you were getting married, but didn't want to get dressed up for your Hen night.  All of the Hen's could wear a badge, and they would get to keep it as a keepsake.

This is a great way of recycling fabrics that would otherwise be thrown away because they are too small.  I've bought a badge-making machine that makes various sizes, so I will be trialling a range of things over the forthcoming weeks.

 

Love is in the air...

 
So, the season of Weddings has begun! I love a good wedding, but it hasn't always been that way. I wasn't the type of little girl who planned what I might wear, in fact I didn't contemplate marriage seriously until I met my husband.  Before I began planning my our wedding, I didn't realise the emotion you pour into your planning, the hopes and dreams that are tied up in the colours, the flowers, the dress, the invitations...   

In the years that have followed I have often reflected on the promises we made, and one of my favourite parts of the service is this.

This is another of the smaller sized pictures, and again, I've used another piece of antique lace needle felted onto a cream felt background.  I've tried to create a balance between the pearls, the silk hearts and the buttons, and added a bit of glitz with the silver thread that I used to stitch the hearts.

 
Have a good day!   

Little Boy Blue

The little boys have been a bit left out over the last week with all the pink orders, so in an effort to readdress the balance I've made a blue one.

 
This is a more traditional boys picture than I've made previously, but I've had lots of people asking me about  'Baby' pictures. 

I've used a range of checks and ginghams, incorporating a number of different blues to avoid it looking flat.

 
This is the last in the series of pictures I'm putting up at The Chalet today!  I managed to finish them all just in time for my new best friend to arrive today - well in the form of a Badge Making Machine! I am so excited!   

On a gloriously sunny day, what could be better than 'Home sweet home"?

I had a really positive response from the 'Home is where the heart is' picture, so I decided to make a smaller version to put up at The Chalet.

It's another small one, the piece itself is about 9cm x 9cm (frame is 16cm x 16cm).  You would think that it would be a lot quicker to make these, but in fact it takes almost as long because they are really intricate.  That said, I love making them because it's a challenge - how can I fit it all in?

 
I picture this as a moving in gift for someone (that's what the last one was for), and initially I was going to write 'Home is where the heart is', but I realised quite quickly that I couldn't fit this on.  Luckily for me it fits perfectly!

 I'm really pleased with the little flowers down the side of the house, I had such fun making those.  Also, the tree, when I showed it to my son he said it had a face, but I like to think of the buttons as apples or another fruit.

Of course, no house would be a home without a heart, or is that a bit cheesy??? Do I care? We all know it's true!

Enjoy the sun!

A Christening commission...

Morning! What a lovely day!

Well, it's been a really busy week for me.   On the back of all the 'pink' pictures I've been posting, I've had lots of interest and enquiries, and I've been busily making commissions.  The first of which is this Christening picture...

The brief was simply "something pink and girly, with her name and the date of the Christening" - so I went for it!

 I think it's pink enough, don't you?? 

Have a lovely weekend, enjoy the sunshine!

It's not all Hearts and Flowers...

but it is for now! 

I've been busily making, so I have enough to put into The Chalet, the gorgeous local bakery / cafe who have agreed to have my work up, and still have enough stock to sell. 

As I enjoyed making the lovely girly pink ones for M and O, I wanted to make one in a similar vein to put up.  I decided not to put a letter up as that immediately narrows the customer, so I chose the good old heart. 

I used silk, some antique lace (that I've been hoarding for YEARS), buttons and pearl beads, creating a VERY girly piece.  
I think you can just about see where I've used three different colour threads, each of them picking out other elements within the piece.

When I put up the girls pictures yesterday, I had the highest number of hits ever, so lets see if this one has the same impact!

Pretty little things...

I have been promising to make some pink pictures for two very lovely twin girls I know, who love very girly things! 

     

 
 
 
I decided to try out letters!  It's something I've been thinking about for a while, and as this is a time for developing new ideas, I need to try out as many diff as I can. I REALLY liked making these, probably because they're so pink and different to anything I would make for my boys, it made a real change. 

 
I tried to make them similar, using a range of silks and natural fibres felted onto the background.  To avoid them looking too flat I used my usual selection of buttons, and also added some tiny pearl beads.

Hope they like them!!

Small, but perfectly formed - the beginning of a new range...

I've sourced some smaller frames, so I can make similar Textiles pieces, but on a smaller scale.  So, due to the popularity of the recent new baby picture, I've made this one to start off.

Due to it being smaller than the others, I couldn't fit 'little one' on, but I don't think it looks like it's missing out.  Again, I've used the antique lace which has been felted into the background with a lovely silk dupion. 

I used three colours of thread, silver laid over brown and white, to create depth.

And once again, I chose the buttons really carefully to pick out the accent colours in the rest of the piece.  Actually, it takes a long (but very enjoyable) time to pick out the buttons, it's one of the last things I do, but I always try to balance the size, shape, number of holes and colours.

This frame doesn't have a mount, so in actual fact the piece took nearly as long to make as some of the others!   Now I need to make some gender specific ones - especially a couple of pink ones, to please a lovely friend of mine!

The Family Tree - beginning to blossom

Ok, so it's still in a very rough state as I'm still experimenting.  I'm one of those people who can't plan - I prefer to do, then make adaptations. So one of the adaptations I will make when I make the 'real' one is to shorten the trunk of the tree, in order to fit more room for leaves and names, as I've had to squash them all in here (there are roots at the base of the trunk but for some reason I didn't photograph them).

I will continue to work on this piece, as I want to embellish it with stitching, beads, sequins and buttons to see what works best!

 
I hadn't actually planned it out, but I soon discovered that I need to for future reference.  I hadn't allowed enough room for all of the branches and leaves  needed for our family.  I also need to plan out where people will go in advance, thus to make sure I have adequate male and female fabrics / leaves.

So, it's a work in progress, but I'm getting there...

Growing the family tree...

My name is Katie, and I am a hoarder.  I've been hoarding all my life.  I stop for a while, then it gets a grip of me again, and I start hoarding anything, everything ...

I've been experimenting with my Family Tree idea.  I found some of the clothes I have been 'collecting'  from when I was little, that have just been sitting in a bag in the loft for years. I also rescued a shirt that my husband nearly threw out some time ago, he was wearing it the first time we went out together. I then found clothes of George and Oscars.

So, although it almost broke my heart to do it, I began chopping away at these garments! Actually, once I got into it I found it quite theraputic, and MANY memories resurfaced that I thought I'd forgotten.

I then used a needle felting method to attach the tree trunk and leaf shapes to the background fabric, as a base for the embroidery.

I tried to balance the colours and styles of fabric without it looking too contrived.  My intention is to put all of the names of our family members, using freehand embroidery.  I did toy with doing a traditional style family tree (but upside down), but I felt it would look too rigid, so I will try to put people into family groups.

I need to work out whether to put the embroidery on top or around the leaves. I also want to embroider and embellish the leaves and tree.

 
It looks a bit rough at the moment, and whilst a lot of that is intended, I want to make it look more finished.  I'm still really excited about this idea, and can't wait to put the children to bed tonight!

Boys Rock!!

It's really easy to make things for girls but as a mummy to two boys I have found it quite difficult to buy 'cool' (George's new word) things for the boys rooms.  All too often there are baby blue things, or beige, but my boys like colour!

George loves skull and crossbones, he loves anything about Pirates but skull and crossbones in particular.  I used bright colours because I know they appeal to lots of other boys too!

I used exactly the same processes, and all of the appliqued parts are made from recycled materials, so I'm feeling very virtuous about that! 

 Recently I've noticed lots of people's faces drop when they know I have two boys, and when I visited my osteopath recently he called himself a SFOG (smug father of girls!)

I want to formally stick up for the boys - I think they're great, so that's why I chose to call this one "Boys Rock!"    Of course I would have loved to have had a girl to dress up and play dolls with, but actually I have three beautiful nieces whom I can do that with when I see them.

I am really pleased because, as predicted, George asked if we could keep this one in his room as he thinks it's really 'cool'.  Also, a friend came round for coffee this morning and asked me to make two for her son's, so I've obviously pitched this one right!!  

All is revealed!

This is what I have been working on this week, but of course I had to keep it secret because...

My husband has three lovely triplet sisters, and it was their birthday yesterday.  So I made them each a brooch on a card.  I had to make them different, but kept them quite similar in the colours I used and the style. 

Once again, like the larger pieces I've been making, I used a limited palette of two or three colours, but tried to use a variety of shades within those.

I didn't have any idea which one should go to which sister, so I let my husband choose!

I finished the back of the brooches with one of my labels, and a brooch pin, I really wanted to put silver ones on but they didn't come in time, so I had to go to our local habidashery to get some.  It's not like you see the pin when you wear them anyway!

And of course, I had to take some obligatory shots for leaflets etc in the future!

 

I wish them all a very Happy Birthday - and look forward to seeing them next weekend! x

One for the babies...

Lots of people have been interested in buying pictures for babies;  I offer a bespoke service, where colours, theme and personalisation can all be chosen, but I thought I would post one that could be suitable to buy 'off the shelf'.

I have deliberately used neutral colours, so it's suitable for either sex, and I know many people decorate using neutral colours when expecting a baby.

I have used 'Little one' for this piece, but of course this is interchangeable with a name or two!  I could also insert a date of birth. 

To avoid the picture looking flat, I've used a range of white, cream and beige tones, both in the felting of the background and the embellishment on the surface.  The background consists of felting a mixture of silk and linen fabrics, mixing different textures and weaves.  The buttons were carefully chosen to create a range of textures and colours too.

 I've used three colours of thread on the text, again to avoid it looking flat.  I used a topstitch of silver thread that includes real silver, which achieves a really lovely sparkle in the light.   

 Overall, I think this one has a really delicate feel, almost fragile - and isn't this exactly how we think of babies?

Exciting news!

I am nearly beside myself with excitement because a GORGEOUS local 'cafe' has said I can display my work in there for sale, and they won't charge commission! 

Le Chalet in Tadworth is such a lovely, family run bakery / cafe; the decor is very 'Living Etc', with Farrow and Ball colour schemes and a mixture of great design and funky, quirky details.  My friends and I like to enjoy some of their fantastic food and great coffee, probably more regularly than we should. The great thing is, so do lots of other 'mummy's', so the audience is already there!

The owner has asked me to keep the walls in tact, so this is the one problem... how can I hang the pictures without damaging the walls?  I'm sure someone very clever will come back to me with the answer to that one!

How exciting! Now I just need to make some more pieces to hang!  Watch this space...

SOLD!! First online sale since What Katie did next... went into business this week!

I've made my first online sale since starting up"What Katie did next..." and it feels very good!  I'm really glad I spent time making sure the photography was clear and informative.

Want to see which one has sold???

It's one of the more recent ones, and it's going to be a Wedding present!!

 

Unfortunately George and I have been very ill this weekend, so we haven't celebrated, but we will, WE WILL!

I can't tell you how good it feels to know it's going to a good home!

Growing the family tree idea...

My idea of incorporating memorable fabrics into is growing into fruition; my plan is to use the same process as I have for the other pieces with the felted background, the contrasting fabrics and buttons, but forming the shape of a tree, using the special fabrics to create the branches and leaves. I will stitch the names and birthdays into the picture, so that they are completely bespoke.  See the little sketch below...

I am so excited about this, I am going to start making ours as soon as I can to use as an example.

Paperwork and tying up the loose ends...

I've just spent much of the morning (well during Oscar's nap) setting up a business bank account and making sure all of my paperwork is in order! Yuk, I would much rather make lovely pretty things.  The good news is "We'll be very happy to accept you" and we're off!!  Now to set up a website to trade from... 

I need to make a 'Business Mood Board' with images depicting how I see "What Katie did next..." with regard to customer profile and market place.  I think I'll spend time this afternoon finding images for that to make up for the nasty paperwork!!

Button obsession - is there a name for it???

When I said I love buttons, I mean I really LOVE buttons! I don't care whether they are old (in fact the older the better in this case), they can be battered and a little bit weathered and I'll still love them. The more unique they are the better, especially if they look like they can tell a story or two of where they've been.

 
I bought a HUGE bag of buttons the other day, all secondhand and muddled up with pieces of junk that George calls 'Treasure'.  George and I have been slowly sorting through them and putting them into coloured jars.  Child labour? I think not, he positively asked if we could do it!  So here's the result so far...

We started off with more variation in colours, but soon realised that we didn't have enough jars.  We've had such a good time talking about the buttons, and it's helped me sort them out so it's easier to work.

Mark doesn't quite understand my obsessiveness over buttons, but I'm sure there are others who do... aren't there???

I'm not sure whether to start on the other boxes yet or not...

My Mothers day gift for my lovely mum...

I have been thinking about expanding into brooches / corsages for some time, so I thought the ideal opportunity would be to make a gift for my lovely mum on mothers day.  I used the same techniques as I have been with the pictures, but of course the brooch was smaller and a lot more fiddly.  I used my mum's favourite colours, praying that she would be wearing them today (she was!)

It started off larger than this, but I trimmed it down, as I didn't want it to look like a rosette.

And I finished it all off with a little label - well there's nothing wrong with self-promotion is there?

Totally handcrafted, and made with lots of love!  Happy mothers day mum! x  

For the passionate people...

I've really enjoyed making this one, I love the colours, and the memories that the words conjure up. All the time whilst making this, I've had the song in my head, and little clips keep springing up from the film.  This is a bit odd, as if you know me, you know I forget a film as soon as I've seen it, often not remembering if I've seen it at all.

I'm not sure whether it's clear from the photographs but I used a beautiful purple glittery thread to highlight the writing; I wanted to make it stand out whilst remaining quite subtle, and it's worked.  As with all of my latest pieces, I've layered colours on top of each other to create depth and texture, I've done this with the fabrics and threads. 

I really enjoyed using a limited palette, where I used tones and shades of a couple of colours, rather than lots of different colours.

Very excited!!

I'm very excited because I've just booked my 'Marketing / Branding' meeting with George at Flourish Studio's (flourishstudios.co.uk) in April.

I met Fiona Humberston at a business link course in February, and having been impressed with what she did / said at the event, I then went to Guildford a few weeks ago for a preliminary meeting / audit with George.   I really enjoyed the meeting, and have had so many ideas buzzing around in my head since then!

Really looking forward to taking this big step - it really is 'what Katie did next...!'

To have and to hold...

I've had so much positive feedback about the last piece I made using neutral colours, I wanted to make more!

I've had a beautiful piece of antique lace for some years now, not quite knowing what I should do with it, until I had an idea a few days ago.  So I used it as the base for this piece, felting it with silk chiffon and silk threads.  I used freehand embroidery to write the words "To have and to hold from this day forward". I feel that so much of a wedding day is about the day, but these words are about looking forward, about the future.  Of course, I couldn't use ' to love, honour and obey'!

I purposely chose a variety of different coloured buttons to go on this piece as I think they lend themselves to the 'vintage' feel of it, and I used a base of brown for the writing, then layered silver on top, to create a 'rusted' look. 

I've left plenty of space, so if someone wanted this personalised with names and / or dates then this would be possible, but equally, it could be left just like this.

The Ladybug is finished!

I have really enjoyed making this ladybug, I think due to the fact I have used some of my favourite colours to help bring her to life. Here's how it looks on the wall...

I've grown quite fond of her, with her big smiling face and now I've embellished her with beads and sequins to 'glam' her up a bit.

 

I've purposely left some space at the top to enable me to personalise it if someone wants a name or a message there.  I felt there needed to be something else in the picture, so I grew a flower out of buttons, well, you know I have an obsession with buttons by now!! 

 The Ladybug is now looking for a new home...

I think I may have an obsession about 'bugs'...

Having made Oscar's bug picture, I think I may have developed a bit of an obsession about them, I keep thinking of how I can layer and develop the little creepy crawlies into objects that people would like to own.   I have a book at school which has page after page of beautiful beetles of different types and colours, which I pour over again and again for inspiration. 

So, I have begun what I would imagine is going to be a series of bugs, in varying colours and styles, all of which will develop different personalities I am sure.  This is the beginning of my latest one, I think she is a she, probably due to the background colours. She needs to be adorned and embellished yet, watch this space...

 

New, totally bespoke, personal offerings...

I have been brewing an idea for a long time, due to the persistant and ever expanding pile of clothes I HAVE to keep even though George AND Oscar have grown out of them!  You see, they evoke lots of emotions, the first smile, the first laugh, the first meal, etc etc.

So what to do with them??? Well, this is where my idea has come from.  I have decided to offer and make bespoke pictures, I think I shall call them 'Memory pictures', or something similar, that side of it is still to be decided. 

To make the pictures, I will use a given range of fabrics, cut from old clothes, blankets etc that people give me.  I will make a totally bespoke and unique picture from these fabrics, including any names and dates to make it that bit more personal.  I can work along themes, such as 'Nautical', 'Space' and 'Fairies' or any other, and work to colour schemes, if required.

I am so excited about this idea, I'm going to make one for my two! Watch this space!

If anyone is interested in this, please feel free to contact me...

For anyone who's crafty, family orientated and would love to be somewhere warm and sunny, you might like to read this blog, it's one of my favourites: http://neststudio.typepad.com/moopy_me/

Home sweet home

I have a friend who is about to buy a new home, and as she has everything she needs, and nearly everything she wants, I decided to make her one of my pictures as a moving in gift.

 I've used colours I know she's going to love, I always think of them as her colours.  I've purposely made the house look a bit rickety, but hope it still comes across as welcoming. I'm really pleased with the tree (George said it has a face), and the flower beds beside the house, I wish my flower beds looked like that!

A way to personalise this for someone / other people would be to place their names and the moving in day at the bottom.

I've really enjoyed making this, and I wish I could keep it as it would go really well in my hallway!

Twittering...

I've succummed to the world of Twitter, as I feel I might miss out on opportunities if I don't! You can Tweet me if you search for KatieLevett. 

I'm following a few people, including FionaHumberston of Flourish Studios http://www.flourishstudios.co.uk/blog/, who's company is a young and vibrant Marketing / Branding company with whom I want to work with in the near future. 

I am also following DesignSponge http://www.designspongeonline.com/ who's blog I have read daily for a few years. She finds spectacular examples of beauty within the Art, Craft and Design world. 

Kirstie Allsop is also included as I know she has a love of the handcrafted and recycled. 

I'm still trying to figure out what I have to do, and the best way to use it to my advantage, but at present I am feeling very proud of myself, 'thoroughly modern Katie'!

Oscars picture

When I first became a mummy I felt strongly that I would not follow stereotypes for gender, but soon came to realise that they make their own minds up about what they like and don't like, and really all I could do was offer alternatives.

As I'd made a picture for George, I wanted to make one for Oscar too.  I chose similar colours, but I changed the subject to Bugs.  I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Oscar is going to like bugs too when he is older. I am sure, like we did with his older brother, we will spend hours looking for bugs and creepy crawlies, catching them and letting them escape.

I have sourced some new frames, so I've put Oscar's picture in one of these; I really like the fact it's wooden and has a wider frame, it feels more substantial, but it works out quite expensive, so I think I may offer both types (the original ones I've been using are  IKEA ).

Although I am really pleased with it overall, I need to experiment more with writing with light coloured thread on a darker background, as I think I've overworked this too much to enable it to be more visible. Perhaps I could embellish a lighter background where I want the writing to go. 

Having said that, I am extremely pleased with the bugs!

I'm feeling inspired!

The new copy of 'embroidery' magazine dropped through my letterbox this morning, and I've only just had a chance to sit down with a cup of coffee to leaf through it. 

mmm, Abigail Brown's work! I've seen it lots of times before, but having just read the article on her I felt inspired to go onto her website.  http://www.abigail-brown.co.uk/home WOW! I absolutely love her work, it's so beautiful.  It makes me want more time, so I can really get going with my work.  I also really like the design of her website, it's given me lots of ideas for mine. I love the illustrated look, the mix of contemporary and retro fonts, and the use of pattern and space.  When I get around to designing my website, (when I find the money to pay someone) I will come back to this for inspiration.

What is Katie going to do next???

For as far back as I can remember I have been making things; out of anything I could get my hands on. When I was at primary school I can remember a teacher telling me I was 'good at art' which basically translated as good at drawing. This spurred me on to become better and better, I spent hours trying to perfect my drawings.  When I got to senior school, the only subject I really liked was Art, so I spent much of my time in the art rooms.  I decided I wanted to be a Fashion Designer.  I drew out design after design, and started to experiment (badly) with making my own clothes, and altering (more successfully) clothes I already owned. I studied Fashion at Art college at 16, then did a degree in Fashion. I worked in the Fashion industry in various aspects for a few years but it wasn't what I had envisaged, didn't fulfil me, and I hated commutin. So, I decided to become an Art teacher after enjoying a stint of teaching at my old college.

So here I am 10 years later, still teaching, still really enjoying it, but thinking I'd like to do more making. I've been toying with the idea of making things to sell for so long, but time wasn't my friend. Now on maternity leave, with a 4yr old and a 7 month old, time is still not my friend, but I've got a feeling it won't be for some time, so I've decided to take the plunge and do it anyway.

I've approached my Headteacher about going back part-time, and he is supportive, but I will need to supplement my loss of income, so this seems the ideal time to launch my own little venture. 

I've had the name "What Katie did next..." in my mind for MANY years, partly because it was one of my favourite books when I was small, and partly because it is about the next chapter.  I like the 'hand-crafted' feeling it evokes, of memories, and the element of the unknown - what did Katie do next???

Follow my journey...

Sugar and spice...

As I've made a boys picture (the original one I made for my eldest son), I thought I should try one for a girl.  I didn't want to make one in pastel colours, instead I have chosen colours that I think my nieces (and their mummy's) would like.  Again I started by making a background, having a set of colours in mind. I rummage through my scraps box and find some lovely printed fabrics that I want to include.

When I sat down to start this I kept thinking of the nursery rhyme 'Sugar and spice and all things nice, that's what little girls are made of'. I think this came into my mind because I kept questionning what to do, so I decided to use these words...

I don't know many little (or big) girls who don't like a heart or two, but I purposely made these A-symmetrical and offkey.  I didn't go with baby pink, as I felt it would be too contrived.

The photo looks a bit darker than it is in real life, but I found if I brightened it I lost some of the colour, despite using the contrast levels to try to even it out.

I think if I had a little girl, this is just the kind of picture I would want in her room! but maybe I'm a bit biased.
   

My new venture

 I took a Textiles and Embroidery course a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed the 'making' element of it. I like things to evolve, to happen organically, so found the City and Guilds planning tedious.  Of all the things I made on the course, the picture below is one of my favourites.  So many people have commented on it, asking me to make them something similar that it got me thinking...perhaps this could be the project to get me started.

I came up with the idea when I made a picture based on the work of Hundertwasser (one of my favourite artists) for my eldest son George's room. Here's the picture in situ, (in the white frame on the right).

As a mummy to a pretty funky little man, I wanted his room to reflect him and his personality, so wanted bright colours and textures. I used many techniques such as felting with an embellishing machine, machine stitching, hand embroidery and many different textile techniques.  I used a range of fabrics, found objects and recycled buttons on it, and tried to make it as fun as I could, just like George himself!

It took many hours, so I decided to experiment with some smaller pieces to see how long they would take. I have come up with a range of themes / occasions for which I think there is a market for handmade goods, and think I can personalise them. 

So, here goes, I'm going to track my journey!

My first idea is to make a gift for a Wedding, Engagement or Anniversary present.  For this one I have chosen very traditional colours.  I have started by making a textured background for the design to be put onto.

 

Using my embellishing machine I begin to embed hearts onto the fabric, but feel I need to make them stand out more.

So, using my sewing machine, I begin using freehand embroidery to write and work into the piece to develop it.

I'm using a range of threads, layering different colour top threads and bobbins.  I'm really enjoying it because it's much like drawing with my sewing machine.  I have in my mind what I'm doing, but I haven't planned it out as a drawing, I'm letting it develop as I go along.

I collect buttons, well actually I collect everything! But buttons are a passion of mine, particularly old / used ones that have a history.  I decided to add some onto the piece to add texture, juxtaposing the warm texture of the natural fibres with the cool / shiny feel of the buttons.

When I frame it I am really pleased, it is exactly the type of piece I wanted to produce.