"2021" K-)

Look Up!

It is a good idea to look where one goes. It is a good idea to look around when walking too. Just looking up or turning around can introduce new understanding of a given scene...

And that is what I did when I went for a walk after we were let out after three months of lockdown.  I simply looked up to see this lovely spring scene... (Of course, this is what ended up as an inspirational picture for my next project :- )

Deciding on the colours was simple. Working on the weave is simple too.

Monotonous, yes. Time consuming, yes. But also rewarding when one sees the progress...

A rough sketch of a section of the chain (colours to be precise) was made which would describe my vision. Comparing it to the actual weave in making would convince me further to go on weaving...

Half way through the monotonous process when the chain is long enough could be the time to shape the chain (form it and made thinner) after which I can just cut and cut and cut the desired length and assemble to earrings, a bracelet and...

More is to come but this is what I have so far...

...a pair of earrings (that are as light as feather) and a bracelet that sits beautifully on this orange stone.

In this project one can weave on and on to make jewellery pieces of a specific look and various sizes adding more length to the core chain. The flexibility is what suits me here and it also suits the design. So let's go on and on and on weaving...

Have a great time, keep safe and see you next time. K-)

'Celtic Motif' necklace and earrings

I was not sure if I should share this with you but at the end am doing it. Why? Because again something unexpected came out of work I thought was 'doomed'.

The idea was to incorporate beads (here and there) into the knitting process and end up with a necklace. A necklace it is and by shaping the weave with hand it extended to quite a long chain (surprise, surprise :-).

The question is what to do with it now. What I had was a looong chain. By playing with some possibilities a Celtic motif was created leaving me with still quite a long necklace.

Long indeed. It is approximately 27cm long when worn (which is unusually long for me)

And it was even longer but I cut off both ends and made them into earring. Quiet small and extremely light, blue and fun to wear.



And so here comes my trusted friend Elena to model and show off the 'Celtic Motif' necklace. How much I like such surprises. What do you think?

Have a good time and see you next time. K-)

Sunset...

What an amazing sunset captured one evening in October two years ago. The colours here are to be picked up on and...

My image was brought to my attention again after seeing 'Sunset sketch' by Pierre Bonnard at an exhibition at Tate Modern some three month later...

Is this a coincidence? I don't think so. This is asking to be developed further to a design. Which is just the way a like it...

Sometimes I wish my sketches (if there are any) were a bit more understandable. To others, I mean. But since this is for me only I can start and see what is going to happen...

...here I am, looking at sky during sunset hence blue colour is the beginning. Having that as a backdrop all I have to do is to fill it with other sunset colours, in this case beads, to pull it all together.

I have a confession to make. After taking the shot I actually sourced relevant colourful beads to complete my design of sunset there and then. It only had to turn to time like this, a complete lockdown, when the design started to take shape...

...being it beads on crochet chain or beads threaded on a wire waiting to be processed further...

Whichever way the outcome is here. One subtle sunset necklace (Blue) with touch of fire streaks or a fire necklace (Orange) with subtle tones of sunset sky.

I can see this worn separately or both necklaces together. What do you think?

With this I will leave you, stay safe and see you next time. K-)

'Floating Leaves A' - bracelet

Time to make a bracelet for a necklace ('Floating Leaves A) I made two years ago. That time, I was inspired by a picture of pigeons on a railing. A necklace was the answer to that. And now I was asked to make a bracelet...

Picking up on the colours I mainly noticed the chain from the necklace hoping to make a caff that would have mini versions of 'pigeons' spread around it. That was the idea...

But of course, my ideas evolve as I go along and one thing to remember is that simplicity adds very often more to the design...




To cut the story short, the idea of single 'pigeons' dissolved and a simple crochet piece to represent a body of pigeons emerged. This links it back to the necklace and the process I used when displaying them. Simple crocheted strip to add a pigeon body sitting on the 'railings'...

What I have omitted here is the fact that I made the bracelet so large that I had to make a fold to make it smaller and covered it with the strip representing the pigeons. This is exactly what I love about the process. One has to listen what is happening around and if something does not work there is a reason for it. Do it differently, change the idea a bit and do not stop. There is always a way...

For more on the process, visit my Instagram account @kp_crochetive.

K-)

Alice Kettle - textile artist

"I do no hand-stitching. I draw with the needle and fabric as though I am moving the paper under the pen. By repeatedly stitching over the same spot the build-up of thread contorts the fabric and I can achieve a three-dimensional effect."

I remember how mesmerised I was when seeing these three large embroidered panels. Their title is 'Three Caryatids' and are on display in 'Unbound' exhibition at 'Two Temple Place', London. I was lucky to visit just before the lockdown due to Corona Virus. It is such a shame the exhibition was closed as well as other shows around...

At first glance, they are absolutely beautiful. The colours, their richness, the scale of each work. Every bit of fabric is filled with stitches. There is not any printing just thread and stitches...

Alice adds silver thread to create spark and richness that also adds three-dimensional effect.



This was the first time I came across the artist. And so when a few weeks later I spotted an article entitled 'Painting in thread' in Crafts magazine my memory was triggered by my experience from the exhibition.

Here I found out more about Alice Kettle. There are two stages in her work, the exploratory (intro image came from her trip to Eastern and Central Turkey) and collaborative one...

In collaboration with Pakistani community and with refugees and asylum seekers, the embroidery becomes storytelling.

In 'Ground', there are figures, trees, flowers and other depicted on the large scale fabric (we are talking in metres here, eight metres for this piece - right). Her largest embroidery piece is about 40 metres long.



Refugees and other communities add their personalities and their own embroidery skills to the pieces. It is indeed the drawing with thread that I can relate to. Unconventional drawing...

This is just a touch on Alice Kettle's work. I have googled and listen to interviews and introductions to her shows and there is more, I am sure. I just cannot wait to go out and visit the shows... (all in good time, of course).

And as for all of you out there, keep on going and keep safe. There is still a lot we can do when inside...

K-)

Happy Easter/Veselé Velikonoce

K-)

'Flower Buds' family

These pinky flower buds were beckoning to me one February morning. And with my usual approach to designs, this would stand at a beginning of my next projects...

Even though I am not a lover of pink, this pink, a wine (deep dark pink/purple) colour in connection with white framed with green (which I may or not use here) talked to me.

And so I started with viking weave (a left over activity from 'Stump' necklace), trying to match three flower buds colours: wine, white and pink.

And so, here I was going round and round creating a chain that I could work with later...

First, a pair of earrings that I later extended to what I call 'Hoop in Hoop' earrings emerged from the chain...

I must say, I feel elegant when I wear this pair. They are 4cm long when in my ears and very light. On top of that I felt that I actually liked the colour combination too. All this made me feel happier and lighter.

I wanted to wear them all the time but the length would not work for my usual days...

This is why I decided to make a smaller pair that would be more for a day to day wear...

Honestly, I love wearing these. They are just under 1.5cm long covering nicely my earlobes which is 'just the way I like it'; very light, practical and cheerful.

Next candidate on my list was a necklace. Again it is very light and of the same colour scheme, winding around my neck and is hard not to notice...

It is not possible to see on the photographs but the necklace is thicker than the earrings. Somehow, I did not feel that thinner circle around a neck is what I wanted here.

However, a thinner version works very well for bracelets.

Seen here are two bracelets, big and small. The latter is what I wear on my wrist from mornings till evenings. I absolutely love it. In general, I cannot see the earrings in my ears but I can see my wrist. It brightens up my days...








Last addition to my 'Flower Buds' family is a brooch.

I have not worn the brooch yet simply because more tweaking needs to be done but already I like the look of it and cannot wait to take it out for a walk...

I can see that there are numerous possibilities a viking weave technique offers. I believe I just touched what can keep me busy for quite a while.


With light design and cheerful and energetic colours I will finish this post. Have a good time, see you next time and keep safe. K-)

'Stump' necklace

This is a rather high stump I walked past for years. It was the texture and earthy colours that I always believed could be stretched and made more visible.

Beginning this project in autumn I just knew it will take me some time...

After selecting possible colours  a long process followed. But I must say it was fun watching TV when relaxing and doing monotonous task working with viking weave...

What I love about this specific weave is that it always leaves me with some leftover bits. And that is what I used here to bring my design to life. In the summer I worked on a replacement strap for another of my watches. For that I made a long orange chain that I cut to desired lengths. I was left with quite a chain of orange colour after I completed the watch strap.

And that is exactly what I see in my intro picture, shades of orange.

Another plus side of the weave (and any other work connected to process) is what else comes out of it. When making this chain I noticed how it can be made alive, as if breathing, pumping life into it when in making, how I can translate it. Oh, how much I love this...

I realised that this is what I needed to suggest a tree trunk making it a great connection to the design...

This piece also gives me an idea connected to another picture I took recently. Yes, it is time to investigate and see into the next project. But for now let's come back to my 'Stump' necklace...

How amazing to see that it takes one colour out of the range but still within the spectrum to lighten up and lift my design. I do like the outcome. Don't you?

Have a great time and see you next time. K-)

Magical New Year 2020

Have a Happy New Year. May 2020 make your wishes come true...

K-)