Time

While we're here, on holiday (hooray!), I have a couple of projects I brought with me to start on. One is the embroidered firescreen! Urban Cross Stitch sent me my fantastic customised design (complete with canvas, pattern and all the threads I will need) a little while ago but I was busy finishing some knitted commissions so put it to one side to bring with me. And if I'm honest I wanted to be able to at least start it using my full and undivided attention.

I can't wait to begin it but am aware it will be an enormous project! The pattern does strike some fear into me (I'm an embroidery beginner) but Phil from UCS has assured me he is on email happy to help with any pickles I may get myself into.  Plus The Big One's mum is a much celebrated patchwork quilt artist so I'm sure she'll be of invaluable help.

My plan this holiday is to simply relax and absorb. I want to return to London with a clearer head, shake off this fatigue which has been muddling me and return to form.

It's been an intense couple of months and I look forward to just stitching and reading, digesting everything in my own time.

“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”

- Sarah Caldwell

All Fired Up

I found the firescreen design I wanted to be amended!

After trawling through embroidery websites, google images and eBay I finally found a Home Sweet Home Sampler pattern that with a little adapting will be the finishing touch to our mock fireplace.

The text I want is a quote from Fahrenheit 451, the cult sci-fi book about a world where books are illegal and the fireman routinely seek them out and burn them.
Guy Montag, one such fireman starts to question the logic and morality of this and the book follows his journey of self discovery.

'If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you'll never learn.' - Fahrenheit 451

I want the borders to be flames and the house removed and instead a bonfire on the top.

So next I had to find someone who could amend the pattern for me, I started calling embroidery companies, posting comments on embroidery online forums and just when I started to despair I went to the BUST craft fair and saw the Urban Cross Stitch stall!

Urban Cross Stitch design and sell contemporary patterns (and even full kits with the pattern, canvas, threads and needles) so you can create your own urban embroidery pieces.

I went straight over and met Phil, explained what I was looking for and he wasn't phased at all.  A few emails later and I should be able to see what Phil's come up early next week. How exciting!

So watch this space....

"It destroys the craft not to learn it"
- Irish proverb

Urban Poetry So Far

As previously blogged I have a design concept for our new flat - Urban Poetry and it's starting to come together.

So the idea is to mix vintage and urban styles creating 'urban poetry'.

I particularly love the black swallows I found in Urban Outfitters. The postcards in the frames are of people that The Big One and I find inspiring - mine so far are Debbie Harry, Frida Kahlo and Virginia Woolf is about to be replaced with Vivienne Leigh.

The week before last we found and bought a beatiful 1930's mirror - something I have always wanted.

Just below the mirror is a fireplace which has been boarded up, in a rather ugly/obvious way so I bought a wooden fireplace surround from Ebay which I am priming and painting eggshell white tomorrow.

I am now on the hunt for vintage tiles which I will lay on the floor inside the suround and put candles on making our own contemporary fireplace.

As the piece de resistance I am going to embroider a fire screen but in keeping with my design concept I had decided that I wanted to embroider an urban design rather then the traditional flowers/home is where the heart is sampler.

The search began, I wanted to find a traditional style design which I thought I could then find someone to adapt for me....

'It is easily overlooked that what is now called vintage was once brand new.'

- Tony Visconti