birdface.net

Bristol Affordable Arts Fair 2012

birdface — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:04:28 +0000

Just to let y’all know that I will have a large selection of work up for grabs all this weekend at the Bristol Affordable Arts Fair.
The show starts with the private view this Thursday evening and then continues until 5pm on Sunday 20th.
All the info you may need on the show can be found here.

Frida Kahlo embroidery

birdface — Thu, 03 May 2012 08:22:43 +0000

It is a very rare treat these days when I get to crafty up something just for the sheer hell of it…
Here are some pics of an embroidery I made of Frida Kahlo a few months back. It came about from the urge to do something/anything using an embroidery hoop and a primal need to embroider a moustache and monobrow onto someone’s face (pregnancy related craving?).

It was fun to make.

There are vague plans for a David Bowie next – but with the impending arrival of smalls number 2 arriving in just over a month, I can’t see that actually happening for a while now, eh…?

Grand Designs Live 2012

birdface — Thu, 03 May 2012 08:02:30 +0000

Just a quicky to say that I will have work on a stand for Cube Gallery at the 2012 Grand Designs Live show starting in London this weekend. The show is being held at Excel and will run from the 5th – 13th May.

More info can be found here.
Looks like it’s going to be a good show…

Affordable Arts Fair – NYC 2012

birdface — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:11:55 +0000

Look lively y’all – I’ve got work up for sale all this weekend at the New York Affordable Arts Fair, Spring Edition.

The show will be held at 7 West 34th (near 5th Ave.) and starts on the 18th for the press preview and the private view. It will then be open to the general public from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening (with free admission to the show available from 5-9 on the 19th!).

Have a looky here for all the info.

Brillo!

Little and Littler – personalised kids t-shirts

birdface — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:59:24 +0000

Hurray, hurray!!

I have a new nephew, little Dylan – he’s a proper cutie-pants
I made these matching t-shirts for him and my other nephew Tom, the Big Brother, using special t-shirt transfer paper. Always such a brills way to come up with original presents!

Cloud baby mobile: knitted raindrops pattern

birdface — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:42:28 +0000

I LOVES a baby, me!

Some very close old friends of ours had a new smalls a few weeks ago. Mmmmmm, sniff his baby head – I can’t get enough of the wee chap!

Here are some pics of a mobile I made to go in his room. We had helped paint the walls of the nursery with clouds, so it seemed very fitting to have something like this for his mobile. I started making the raindrops in all different rainbow colours. Then as soon as he was born and we knew he was a little man, that didn’t seem quite right and I worried that it may end up looking a bit too girly. I ended up sticking with just blues and purple, which I think was the right decision.

It was fun working out the knitting pattern for the droplets (only very simple, but quite enough cerebral effort for my tiny mind).
I have listed the instructions for how to make them below.

here’s a bit of cloudy wallage for context:

Here’s how to knit a raindrop:

Yarn: DK scraps
Needles: 4mm DPNs

Pattern:
CO 3

Row 1: icord

Row 2: icord 2 sts, m1 (4)

Divide stitches around 3 needles

Row 3: k2 m1 k1 (5)

Row 4: k4 m1 (6)

Row 5: [k1, m1] to end (9)

Row 6: [k2, m1] to end (12)

Row 7: [k3, m1] to end (15)

Row 8: [k4, m1] to end (18)

Row 9: [k5 , m1] to end (21)

Row 10: k

Row 11: k

Sew in end from CO

Row 12: [k5 k2tog] to end (18)

Row 13: [k2 k2tog] to end
Row 14: [k2tog, k1] to end (9)

Stuff with yarn scraps or fibre fill

Row 15: [k2tog, k1] to end (6)

Cut yarn, thread through remaining stitches and secure, hiding the end in the middle of the droplet.

As with all knitting patterns that I have ever written, this may be wrong. It’s probably nearly right…

…your best bet is to just bumble through it and hope for the best!

Let me know how you get on if you decide to have a go

Glasgow Art Show 2012

birdface — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:25:21 +0000

Och! I have some work up for sale in a show this weekend called the Glasgow Art Show. This is a brand new international art fair which is being held in The Grand Ballroom, Thistle Glasgow located on Renfrew Street in the centre of Glasgow.

The show opens for a private view tonight from 18.30 – 21.30, and then will be open to the public as follows:

Friday 23rd March 2012: 11.00 – 18.00 – £6 Concessions £4
Saturday 24th March 2012: 11.00 – 18.00 – £6 Concessions £4
Sunday 25th March 2012: 11.00 – 17.00 – £6 Concessions £4

More info on the event can be found here.

As seen in Homes and Antiques magazine… (again!)

birdface — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:09:41 +0000

Randomly, I would appear to be on a roll with Homes and Antiques magazine as they have featured my work in their magazine AGAIN this month – huzzah!
I had one of my images in the March issue on one of the shopping pages, but this month I have a piece of work and a bit of a mention in one of the featured homes – I am so pleased!

The lovely home belongs to Ellie and Dan Hudson who live in Clifton, Bristol. Nice

MA progress: screen printing onto fabrics

birdface — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:27:23 +0000

Here are some pics of the stuff I came up with at my ‘screen printing onto fabrics’ workshop a couple of weeks ago. I decided to stick with a simple chevron design which I’d intended to use as a repeat pattern…
…then I learnt how actually do screen printing onto fabric and quickly realised that this was a ridiculous thing to try and do! The results came out pretty nicely all the same, so I was chuffed.

Tests onto different fabrics:

Then I got all over excited and used the jersey fabric I’d printed on to make this dress:

As I have mentioned on here before, I have pretty much no knowledge about different fabrics. I have about 1% skill and patience when it comes to pattern cutting and machine sewing too, so it’s not a great combo when it comes to couture fashion design. That said, I did wear this dress for an entire day and it did not fall apart, nor expose any embarrassing parts to the general public, so I am happy with that!
It has quelled my need for a chevron print top and only cost me about £2.50 to produce, so you can’t argue with those sums. I took the pattern from this American Apparel dress which I have already in three different colours and wear continually.

The file I created to make the print looked like this:

Hand cut rubber stamps

birdface — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 22:53:51 +0000

It’s always such a great feeling when you FINALLY get round to doing something that you’ve been thinking about for ages…

Here are some stamps I carved out of some old erasers for making patterns.