A Mouse is ready for action ...

My Mouse Mat has been ordered ready for its use in the new studio ...

... & the new website can be found at:

stitcherydoodaa.co.uk

(click the above link if you want to find out more) & it's running well. I've also got some new ideas on paper & ready to begin the next phase!! ... As a result this blog will have no more entries, BUT as a result of Covid etc etc, & over 2 years later, I have decided to periodically use it for specific posts of interest.

New background from 'cells' ideas ...

Have just uploaded these latest computer-aided imagery (see other work here)  to use as the background of this blog - although it would also work up well for patchwork.

Use for odd Threads ...

I love patchwork, mosaics & other designs that are like this - smaller pieces making up a larger unit. I'm looking into this in the studio but also give thought whilst doing other things. For example, after I'd finished some unpicking (alterations for a customer), I found the above pile of thread 'bits' in front of me. Having thought of 'cells' in my head, I immediately saw their potential as 'cell structure' - they were saved & taken over to my 'design centre' (ie. large table across the other side of the studio) for next stages.

You can see the outcome here.

Sweet Wrappers Lady ...

Whilst finding out more about my tray, I came across this site for more info: BUTTERFLY WINGS

Reading this and looking at the tray, I was reminded of the early 20c. sweet wrapper pictures I have. Possibly, they were imitations of these 'butterfly arts' memorabilia as they could easily be copied using metallic sweet wrappers together with the same 'painting on glass' technique.

This one (left) is a favourite of mine from appx. 1930 & typical of the period. I'm hoping to get some more images later as my camera almost had a flat battery!

Butterfly Tray !

I've finally taken a photo of something that's always remained special to me & has been in my head for many years - since I was very young in fact. I remember initially seeing it in a relatives' house a long time ago and on occasional child visits, always found it fascinating. Growing up, I never saw it again and forgot about it. Until recently ... when after a relative died, it was given to me and it was just as I remembered!!

Now, looking retrospectively over my work, I've suddenly realised that it actually had an enormous impact on how I design ... my use of colour ... the imagery I like ... my interests. I believe the item to be a holiday memento from Brazil that shows Rio de Janeiro's Sugar Loaf Mountain and is a tray (at least 60 years old) - a label on the reverse states that it is an original hand painting and uses authentic butterfly wings from the area.

The tray (above) is solid mahogany with two handles and an inlaid wood marquetry border surrounding an inner recessed glass section. It measures appx. 52cm x 33cm / 20.5” x 13" with the main ‘picture’ section (38cm x 28.5cm / 15” x 11.25”) under glass. It depicts an evening scene in Rio de Janeiro at Sugarloaf Mountain - skillfully captured using reverse painting predominantly in black and gold with sea and sky (blue, green and white) irridescence from the butterfly wing background. The tray’s reverse is also of solid wood and is screwed onto the main body underneath. A small label states: “We guarantee that this article is handpainted and that the wings used are from genuine South American butterflies.”

I've now found out more about it:

It's an early/mid-20th Century hardwood wood tea tray with central landscape scene of (mainly) water and palm trees and titled 'Brasil'. Originally (& possibly purchased as a holiday memento from South America), these trays (plus other items) were often made specially for the tourist market using Morpho butterflies (left). Found in the South American rain forests, the butterflies are captured by natives & the iridescent wings then displayed under glass. Using a technique called reverse painting, a tint is painted directly onto the back of a piece of glass that is then placed over a butterfly wing background.

The notable mountain shown is a granite peak at the mouth of Guanabara Bay – it is said to resemble the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar! On a peninsula sticking out into the Atlantic Ocean, Sugarloaf Mountain rises 396 metres (1,299 ft) above the harbour and 2 cable car lines (the earliest built in 1912) take passengers to the mountain peaks. These 2 lines together with a cable car are clearly visible in the landscape scene on this tray.

Inspiration: Necessity is the mother of invention ...

Sometimes reading a book can provide inspiration. When very young, I remember seeing this pink booklet – it was only many years later (for a final assessment in a textile course) did it get remembered and provide an initial inspiration for a stitched ‘Make-Do-and-Mend’ project - World War II based.Whether it was the phrase ‘Make-Do-and-Mend’, the iconic doll and logo of ‘Mrs. Sew-and-Sew’ or just something within the contents of the booklet but something inspired research of the topic … and specifically the subject of textiles and fashion during World War II. Maybe because personal memories of ‘MAKING DO’ had always made me question ‘HOW, WHY or WHAT’ but I found the subject fascinating. And initial research soon highlighted something else of particular interest! So to discover more, a greater in-depth investigation and research was needed.

Conducting personal and group interviews (both historians and local residents who could remember what was done during the war ‘to make do’), I also read a variety of narrative and factual books and made samples. This continued with further research of documents and other actual samples in museums and it wasn’t long before a reasonable amount of useful facts, recollections and copies of samples had been collated. (Today I continue to collect snippets of additional information and add to that already recorded.) It also became gradually apparent that one main reason for the lack of previously detailed/recorded information (and samples) was that it had just been lost … burnt during wartime damage - given away (during and after the war) for re-cycling and/or charity events - or just disappeared through wear and tear ! Plus, during the war years 1939-45 or soon after in the 1950-60s rebuilding of the country/countries, it appears to have ‘just vanished’. Many records being swallowed into a variety of ‘lost and forgotten’ company archives – no doubt because it’s content appeared to be of little use in a post-war world.

From information I’ve seen, read and been told … from personal recollections to museum exhibits … from wartime archives to narrative books …I discovered that this particular period of 1939-45 was one of immense imagination and inventiveness. Indeed, “Necessity was the mother of invention” - many people's aims were to brighten up a drab and indefinite wartime existence as well as ensuring all rations lasted for far longer than required. I also discovered that many ideas issued for this war’s use were not new but had also existed during 1914-18 in World War I … they had just been reissued or redesigned!

Inspiration: Phrases …

(above imagery is from Kaffe Fasset exhibition bear Bath)

The exhibition was very inspirational - so too are some of my favourite phrases that I’ve noted for further reference etc - author’s unknown but my thanks to them for inspiration they've given me for work completed or will be!

“Life is a circle, I’m sure we’ll meet one another again” 

“I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” (click for link to artwork)

“Leave the moon alone, it’s not hurting you” (click for link to design)

“Eyes are gateways to your soul” (click for link to design concept)

“Wrap in cotton wool & it will soon become a straight-jacket” (click for link to design concept)

Colour : If at first you don't succeed ...

Any colour can be inspirational - it just depends on the mood you're in and whether you really like the colour you're using. Over time, I've come to learn two important factors: (a) don't use a colour that make you feel 'negative' and (b) don't continue to work on a project if it starts to go wrong as that produces yet another negative vibe ! BUT ... you can often 'swing the scales' in your favour should either of these things occur ....

If a particular colour feels wrong or gives you negative thoughts, consider using a slightly different shade especially if it's a project for yourself or a client can be persuaded. And if things should start going from bad to worse, wait a while and come back to the project later or even another day. Unless you feel positive and relaxed, inspiration and ideas usually don't flow !

Here's a personal example:
I started initial sketches for a patchwork/embroidery project in black pen and it wasn't long before subsequent ideas started leaping from the page in colour. I selected yellow, orange and brown felt tip pens as they were immediately to hand - the colours I'm not to fond of but represented the fabric and thread I was intending to use. As I put colour to paper, ideas became slow and difficult to expand - the chosen colours appeared to 'jump off' the brilliant white page in their intensity and didn't appear to co-ordinate well together. The paper that normally faded into the background looked wrong with the yellow appearing too bright and strong as it vied for position with its orange counterpart. The shades of brown, in comparison, looked bland and more like a shade of orange - some black edges (to represent machine stitching) appearing dark blue. I glanced again at those initial black and white pen sketches for inspiration but ideas faded fast! I tried sketching a few more times before I gave up. I then remembered one of my favourite phrases "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" - but did so a while later ! With renewed energy and different colour medium, I selected a range of coloured inks in place of the felt tip pens. As I started to use them on the same white paper as before, the ideas just started to flow ... yellow looked bright and transparent, orange glistened when next to it and brown enhanced the other two. Finally after a few pages and with the addition of some black, a final sketch and design idea was complete.


I looked over at those initial felt tip ideas and wondered what had happened other than using the different colouring medium. The answer was obvious ... the colours, although similar, were actually very different. Here's the result (samples shown as fabric) - ink shades on the left, felt tips on the right - the colours at right are more yellow based and have less blue in them and are less like those colours I personally prefer.

COLOUR: Rainbows …

I’ve always believed that colour is central to any piece of work whatever it is … choosing an outfit … embroidering a wallhanging … selecting curtains … or just planting a tree in the garden. Correct choice & shade of COLOUR is vitally important … it carries meaning & also has a psychological effect.

The colours found in a rainbow are: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.


Here are 4 sets of 'rainbows' – each one slightly different in its colour depth & intensity. Can you see the subtle differences?

INSPIRATION: Twinkling Raindrops ...

I often use my camera to act like a 'reminder' of something instead of making notes - it's often quicker & easier. If time is limited, resulting imagery can be taken a stage further at a later date or (as in this instance), a 'chance image' can immediately show a desired effect. Here, both photos were taken using one of the camera’s auto features - the shot left without it & right, with the facility switched on.

Several years ago, I'd bought a new camera & was getting used to using it - many auto features I hadn't come across before. Out for the day, I found myself sitting in a car in the pouring rain next to a tree & not having much to do, I decided to read the camera instructions. I wondered what would happen if I photographed raindrops on the window & used one of the novelty special effect features ... twinkling raindrops! This photo has now become a reference for stitching raindrops as well as future development for lacemaking & crochet.

Colour: Looking up at the sky …

Here are 2 fabulous skies - again I’m glad the camera (at the time, auto but non-digital) was in my bag …

COLOUR: What is the meaning of a season …

Whenever I’m out and about, I try to remember to take my camera with me ...











... you never know when it will be needed.









Here, I took some sky shots at each season ...








... now, every time I look at the images I can recapture what I felt at the time.






The imagery is also useful if or when I need to verify colours!