The English Romantic

Hello to all my lovely followers and apologies for my long absence. As you may know I started a BAHons degree in design last September. I have to say it has filled every waking moment (and often given me sleepless nights,) but I am loving every minute. I have been pushed way out of my comfort zone more times than I can count, learning new techniques and developing ones that I already knew. I have spent the summer break working on my sketchbook, visiting galleries, and researching many artists and designers. What a treat it's been. This is a piece of work on trees that I've been working on, the medium is ink on paper. I've also worked the piece on linen fabric using procion dyes and bleach the finishing with hand stitching. In between I've allowed myself the luxury of a little hand stitching inspired the Kantha work of the women in Bangladesh and Bengal. Some of these have added to my Etsy shop. I've really missed my b...

I love little things to stitch and spent a pleasant afternoon stitching these little brooches. The back is some beautiful Irish tweed that I bought at The Festival Quilts back in the summer. I've built up the layers with different fabrics then added buttons and bits. A quick and easy project and It,s a fun way to brighten up my coat!! xox Angela

I've given my blog a new simpler look and hope you like it. I've been 'awol' for so long so it's good to say Hello… I'm loving my course at Somerset College of Art and Design, it's hard work and very time consuming but it's wonderful to be part of such a inspiring and creative environment. My stitching has taken a back seat to painting and drawing but as it's the holidays I gave myself a little treat . I designed and embroidered this little Etui.  It took a while to decide on how to work on the construction, but then came the real pleasure of  stitching the design. The pearls make the edges look pretty too The pockets are to hold your stitching needs and the centre is a little pincushion. 2014 will be busy for me but I'm looking forward to it. Happy New year to you all too. xox Angela.

I love to stitch little things for stitcher's, so here are my latest creations ready to go in my Etsy shop. I always stitch where ever I go so it,s nice to have a little set of my needfuls to quickly pick up.                                            First my hoop, all ready to go in its own pocket. There's a place on the back for scissors, they are held in with a button and a loop. The pocket holds a 6 1/2 " hoop just the right size for work on the move.                                     The matching sewing roll has all those essential notions.                               Pockets for a pack of needles and  buttons, a needle case               ...

I love to use these pretty velvet flowers in my work, often added as they are to journals, fabric boxes and collages. Today I've been using them in embroidery and stitched onto some vintage linens. I needed to pull the Viola apart and peel the paper backing from the back.   The bullion stitch has been worked with two strands of thread and the French knots with six strands. I added a few seed beads to give a little sparkle     On the single Hydrangea flower I've used silk perle for the bullion stitch and the central French knots  then a normal Perle for the woven flower.     These are a wonderful addition to crazy quilting, embroidery, collages, journals, the list is endless.                                      I have lots of these flower for sale in beautiful vintage shades They will be in my Etsy shop soon, meanwhile...

I'm working on embellishing my journal so here is my progress so far... The hexagons are cut from pieces of vintage linens and I've added some hand stitching...   there will be more added to the cover later...  The first page had a pocket and a lace motif. These roses are my version of 'broderie perse' except the roses aren't sew down but are standing away from the lace to give a 3D effect. The green velvet leaves just add a finishing touch. Here's a little sewing roll ''Make do and Mend'' just to keep a few bits and pieces...   just right for stitching on the go... and lastly .... this pretty Japanese silk fabric was lying at the bottom of my work box, it's been there for a long time. Today along came a little inspiration and here we have a selection of flower pins, I'm pleased with these, that little piece of fabric has turned into something useful...   The green buttons are from the 1950's the colo...

I like the idea of a very basic journal with fabric and paper pages. I just love this fabric with it's pretty Old English roses, I can almost smell the scent in a beautiful walled garden...the cover is ready for embellishing so that's where I'll start.  Inside the front cover is a double layer of wadding overlaid with a piece of vintage linen. this will be my mini design wall where I can pin some ideas. Next is a pocket page with a piece of lace.. what can I do with this?  add a piece of lace to the edge? stitch some beads to the lace motive? hide something special in the pocket??  the paper pages will be my design sketchbook for all things pale pink, think pretty flowers, soft petals, exquisite threads...  I'm starting at the front and working through the book , it will be a wonderful source of inspiration. I also made a pretty pouch to keep my bits and pieces before they are added to the book, simple folding and a little hand embroidery, all th...