#twitterer

Well today has been a pretty long day, and i haven't really got much to show for it, haven't really done anything productive either, it's just been one of those days where i haven't felt like doing much. I had a night out for my best friends birthday last night and so was a bit tired and just spent all day browsing the internet (what's new there?) I'm becoming a massive twitter addict. My partner Dean spent one night on my twitter account connecting me to loads of people within the industry and it's really paid off, i now have nearly 200 followers!! It just allows me to be connected to people within the design industry, everyone's constantly updating on it, i can find out what's on, such as markets, fairs, exhibitions etc, Get to know different artists in various areas on expertise. I'm getting the hang of all these hash tags though and it's exciting!!

So i've been uploading loads of pictures on to my twitter account and a couple onto my Pinterest, i came across a few really really old pieces i had done as well that brought back old memories, some pieces went back as far as high school!

This was a project i did in college, it was basic on 'The expression of colour in music' It included lots of research, imagery and experimentation of techniques. The above piece is a small wall hanging and it is basically a patch work of many smaller samples, each patch has been died in a different way, including tiedye, batik and bleeding dry dye onto wet fabric. I have then added extra dimension by embroidering over the top or felting certain ones, also mono printing and lino printing has been used. Each patch is based on a music visualization for a different song like on windows media player.

Here was my final outcome for my exam i think it was if i remember rightly, i created a lampshade cover using the same techniques as above, In order to add depth and more complexity to my final i chose to use all of my favourite techniques onto the one piece. For the base i bled dry dye onto wet fabric, allowed  it to dry and then created a mono print over the top in contrasting colours. I then used my sewing machine and embroidered some designs into it. Once completed i then used a thick yarn in a bright pink and used blanket stitch to attach the cover to the frame of the lamp. I used blanket stitch as i wanted the seams to be on show in order to purposely put across the impression of it been handmade. 

The images of the lamps are obviously photographs of photographs and so full potential is not really seen, especially the image of it turned on.

Getting into a routine

Ok so i've now only got about 4 weeks until i return back to University for the first time in over a year, and i'm SO no ready! I'm so nervous and i haven't done nearly enough work, i panic too much about my work not been perfect or right and even when it comes down to mounting my work into sketchbooks and such  panic about the smallest of things such as whether or not things are in the right order and such. I emailed one of my tutors a few weeks back and mentioned my worries to her, told her that i'm worrying i have forgotten about how the system works etc and that what i take back isn't going to be right, however she sent me a lovely email back saying not to worry and to just get drawing!! Anything and everything, a drawing a day of anything that excites me whether they relate to each other or not, not to panic and to just jump into it and do as much as possible and it should all come together by the end.

And so here we are now, i have decided to really try my hardest to get into a routine, i have now moved back in with the mother until September when i will be moving back over to Huddersfield, and so whilst i've got the time on my hands i'm going to try and make a timetable and a weekly planner and stick to it, this will also include a blog a day even if it is a small one. I'm not sure how long it will last as i buy diary after diary and always either lose them, don't write in them or write in them but never look in them! I think  i already have about 3 diaries for this year somewhere. However i am feeling optimistic and positive, i have had a good ol' search around the tinternet, looking at other peoples blogs, last years graduates works and it's getting me in the creative spirit!

Just as a taster i am going to leave you with a few quick sketches that really aren't all that great but tomorrow i will explain my project a little bit more perhaps.

Here is the first original sketch, created using pastels, it is a drawing of a miniature statue that my mummy has n her shelf, i like the solidness to it and the fact she is holding her head. It's a long time since i have done any real drawings and with this one i tried very hard with the shading in order to create the sense of it been a solid object with a light reflective surface. I don't think i did too bad to be fair however i'm not too sure about the colour palette.

Well i've just got this snazzy new laptop and it has come with a family pack of programmes with it, luckily for me they were mosty all creative programmes such as Scrapbok Artst, Anime Studio which is obviously a programme used to create characters, Paint Shop Pro and a few others. At uni we use Photo Shop however, growing up as a teenager i used to use the original Paint Shop pro none stop and i became a pro at it, however i haven't been lucky enough to have a computer to hand for the last few months and so i've become a little rusty, here  was just experimenting with effects and what not, i can't remember which effect i finally settled on to create this, i think it was dual colour or something or another, however i really like it as it looks more ornamental, like the original statue. The mono-colour tones allow for the light to bounce off it a lot more.

For this next image i again used Paint Shop pro to create an outline version of my drawing using the pen tool, i then overlayed several of the same outline and altered the positioning slightly every time, i was trying to get the impression of movement within my stationary statue. I like the effect this gives of with all the lines as i am a big fan of line drawings and layering, a simple  line drawing i feel can be turned into something special with a certain amount of layering, this is just a 1st attempt and i feel it needs a bit more depth to it, however for a 1st attempt at simply trying out new ideas i think it's not too bad!

And lastly but by certainly no means least this is the final one  have done so far with this image, all i did with this one is go over the previous image with a blurring brush, i think it gives off a slightly better impression of motion and it softens the harsh lines also.

Right bed for me now! That's all until next time!!

My return to Uni!

So i might have come to a bit of a stand still again! Always the case, one good thing however is i have now fully got the hang of Pinterest and i love it, it's a fantastic place to find inspiration for future products, however it tends to just fill me with pure jealousy at all the amazing and original ideas that i wish i was constantly having. I think i have been mainly trying to focus too hard on trying to produce a piece of knitting, i really miss fine art, drawing and painting, and other techniques such as illustration, graphics and print. However i have been drilling it into myself that i need to be knitting as much as possible to make sure that i am up to scratch when i return to University, i have been scared that when i return i am going to be at a poorer standard.

I finally managed to get into Uni last week though and it has actually done me the world of good! I caught the train to Huddersfield with Dean and we went into Uni, i collected the work that i had done for my final exam, they had been keeping it there for me since i left last year. Ive just had so much going on i haven't really had chance, i managed to have a chat with a load of tutors though which was what i really needed to do and i have gathered lots of information about my return in September. It made me feel slightly more confident about going back. I got told i don't have to focus on just knit if i don't want to and that final year is about finding my own passion so i will be able to carry on with drawing and print or embroidery if i wanted to. This is VERY good news for me! :) I do enjoy knit however it wasn't really what i intended on doing when i first started University.

If you haven't already tried Pinterest i recommend it to anybody, the link to my page is http://pinterest.com/vickipoem/ or alternatively click "follow me on Pinterest" to the left of this page.
Another App i am addicted to which is only available on smart phones at the moment as far as i am aware is Instagram, it is another site a little bit like twitter and Pinterest, again like Pinterest it is specifically for uploading images but there are options to add different effects and filters to your images to give them special effects such as greyscale and many more interesting looks, i like it as i love photography however i wouldn't really consider myself a professional, however some of the filters and borders give the images that bit more professional appearance. The image of the knitted coasters below was taken with Instagram.

Knitted coasters

Here is a photograph of one of my knitted coasters, it was created using a small circular loom with recycled floral fabric as the yarn. The photograph was taken on the app instagram, it is my new found love! :) I have no idea how it's going to come out on here once uploaded though as I have used my mobile to post this again, I am getting very high tech these days! Ha I must say though I feel I am keeping very connected with designers and it is keeping me on form with more frequent posts which is a bonus.

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Mother and Daughter

I have always involved my mum with my work  right back since I was at GCSE level, staying up all night trying to finish art course work for 8:30 am hand ins the following morning. She would stay up with me all night making me coffee to keep me awake, she would cut images out I had printed ready for me to mount them all. Then again through 2 years of sixth form and another year of college.

Now im older and don't live at home she still loves to ring me with ideas, inspiration and new techniques she thinks I might like. She is so helpful. My mum suffers from cerebellar degeneration which means she is disabled, she struggles to get out on her own and though this be the case she doesn't let that stop her.

My mum has recently taken up knitting again along with me, she enjoys me taking my products to show her and decided to try herself, after many years of no practise and in her own words "her hands not working properly anymore" she has bought many shapes and sizes of looms from Ebay (another new for my Mum! The new found tech geek) and has also passed a couple onto me.

Bless her my Mum is now whipping pieces out faster than me, she has made hats, legwarmers and lots more. I like it because we exchange skills and try and solve each others problems where we can. For instance the other day I made some coasters using a circular knitting loom, I struggle to use circular needles and thanks to my Mum I thought the loom may be easier. It was my first time making a coaster and I was just practising however my Mum loved them as I had used recycled floral fabric as my yarn, Mum has only been making tubular items and she asked me how I had created a flat object from the circular loom. I then needed her help casting off with a chain edge rather than a pulled drawstring finish like the top of a hat.

Just a nice tribute to my mummy and any other mums and daughters that enjoy crafting together :) I will post pics of my coasters later.

This post was created on my new Android blogger app! It took a hell of a long time to write up! Not like a normal laptop and keyboard =/ think my mums more technologically advanced than me nowadays!

Peace! :)

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My nearly finished pin board/memory board.

I love memories, and i love preserving memories, especially family moments, moments with friends of times of happiness.

Here I have created a fabric pin board that is wadded to allow for pins to be inserted. I have used pale and pastel colours to allow for whatever is to be pinned in the foreground to stand out and not get lost within the background. The ribbons have been placed in adjacent and parallel lines creating diamonds that have been secured down where each ribbon crosses over with drawing pins, these will soon be replaced with pearlescent buttons and beads to reduce the brassiness and co ordinate with the pastels.

As well as simply pinning images and notes to the board they can also be simply slotted underneath the ribbon   to protect it from been constantly pricked with the pins, it will effectively allow it to last that little bit longer.

Image board with photographs attached.

In the future i am going to look into making different shapes and sizes, with different coloured and patterned fabrics. Making to order for different occasions, events or even fashions. Suited entirely for the purchaser.

WILL BE FINISHED SOON!

Click on all images to enlarge

Just because I'm a complete Fruitcake!

Things are gradually getting there =/ ish.

A few things have been checked off my list now anyway (at least they would be if i could find my list and my diary!! typical me!).

I finally found the complexed mishap of Etsy, i found out where my shop had disappeared to (turned out it never actually disappeared anywhere and it was actually just me and my blondness which sounds about right anyway.) It turned out that i had actually created two different Etsy accounts without even realising and noticing, one account with a shop open and the other without. I had been signing in and out correctly for at least the last two months then all of a sudden i decide to log in to my other account with DIFFERENT log in details without even realising anything was any different to normal. I login and there we have an account with no shop and i think it has just magically vanished cos i don't know I'm on another account.

Just because I'm a complete fruit cake!!

I've also managed to get Pinterest working a bit better now, i still have no idea what was wrong with it and why it wouldn't let me upload my own pictures, however now it is and every things fine so I'm not questioning it!  I think it has something to do with the size or file of the photograph, i don't think it is meant for too high quality images. Who knows, i love it anyways, it is such a good idea, i can find inspiration from anywhere, all over the world. i can see what work my uni mates are getting up to, i can create wish lists with images for absolutely anything imaginable, products, designs, interior ideas for my own home or projects. I would recommend it to anyone in the creative industry no matter what your forte.

Family

A fabric, wadded photo frame with photograph sewn into it, this was inspired again by the button project, my inspiration was all memories and trapping them forever, i feel it's very different and unique but also really effective. The image is of my mum and her brother when they were younger, i used old floral fabric from an old bed cover and a small collection of buttons. The images was transferred onto fabric and the edges simply wadded and sewn up. It was very simple to make. 

I'm thinking about making them to order in any kind of colours and fabrics desired, only one way to find out if they will sell or not though really.

Granny's button box Part 2

My Granny's Button Box.

Dedicated to anyone who has/had a Granny that collected buttons :)

Here is the final version i created, after a lot of course work and changes i decided to create a book that was usable, instead of putting everything on the inside i gave it a front cover which i felt worked best as the title page rather than having it inside like the first draft. 

Here is the inside of the book, it is a lot similar to the first draft inside with a couple of the same photographs as they were my favorite, however it allowed for more content, a couple more images and better spacing within. Included is a miniature diary which can be opened and read and to the bottom right hand corner the page has been curled and held with a jeweled button to give the effect of more pages.

Close up of the front cover, image of the very tin of Granny's, and a handmade button created by myself in the style of a Dorset Button. The colour palette doesn't really help with the crappy quality of my camera however for anybody interested in Dorset buttons research them in Google they are really easy to make and look really cool.

Close up of each of the pages inside

My Granny's Button Box

Dedicated to everyone who has/had a Granny who collected buttons :)

A project i did whilst at sixth form, it is still to this point one of my favorite projects as it is the most personal, dedicated to family and memories. I created a series of fabric books inspired by old family photo albums and scrapbooks combined with the history of where all the buttons my Grandma kept came from such as old school uniforms and work uniforms etc, some were even considered antique. This book was my first draft before my final piece, it was designed to be seen as a book that would be left open as though at a favorite page of a photo album, it is embellished with old photographs printed onto fabric,   old looking fabrics and lace to keep the theme of Vintage and many buttons including ones handmade by myself.

Modelling

Print Screen of my Tumblr,

My little cousin Elle modelling my headband, the backlight was a bit bright and reflected off the white of the headband and so i stuck the photos in Photoshop and gave them a few effects each. I really find these images effective, i like the innocence in it and the angle of her looking away from the camera. 

The images are not ideal for advertising my Headband however i like the images.

If it's not one thing...

...It's another.

If it's  not one bloody thing it's another, all the time with me, just constantly there is something that is standing in my way of doing something... ANYTHING. It doesn't even matter what it is could be the smallest of things.

Take today for example, i have come online for the first time in a couple of weeks, to finally try and get Vicki Poem into action. I have been creating some products in my spare time, building my collection up. I took some photographs of them and then logged into Etsy in order to post them up into my shop when BANG.... my shop has dissapeared! POOF! simply vanished from the face of the earth. My shop no longer exists on Etsy, completely dissapeared as though it never existed! I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS CAN HAPPEN!!! how how how???

It is extremely annoying and frustrating as it took me so long to open the shop in the first place as i didn't have the required amount in my bank account to verify my account and identity and now as i have gone on to it, it is  asking me for my bank details yet again... and yet again i no longer have the required amount in my bank again so i am going to  have to wait AGAIN until i have got paid! It is so annoying and i feel it is blatently unfair i've already been charged once and now they are asking me again and i can't sell anything if i want to until i have done this.

I have sent an email to Etsy asking what is going on, i'm not sure if it is because i had nothing for sale in my shop so i don't know if it gets automatically closed down if this is the case i have no idea, if this is the case i think i may have to have a look at Folksy.co.uk and take my business elsewhere as i think this is ridiculous. However i will hopefully find out eventually when and if they ever reply to me.

Another problem is i now cannot for the life of me get Pinterest to work, my account is all set up and working, im following people, people are following me i have pinned images from other people on the site but it is not letting me upload my own images of my own work and it is driving me crazy!! It's like my work wasn't meant to be on display! :/ hmph!!! It's not exactly a mentality boost :(

Pin it

So, i haven't been up to much since my last post... well nothing creatively productive anyways.
I have been speaking to a lady through email who has her own blog on here, i will not name, however she is a very talented textile designer whom creates all kinds of accessories. I have been getting little bits of advice on how she set up her shop and such. She didn't really seem to want to give anything away which is obvious really as why would anyone give away the secret to their success. However she was really helpful on reminding me of the website Folksy - a site the same as Etsy but based in England rather than worldwide. I had been on it once before and forgotten about it and so when i returned i created an account and opened a shop up on there (even though i still have nothing to put on it) .

Anyways whilst on Folksy i noticed a 'pin it' button, im all in for all these snazzy new connecting sites like facebook and twitter, i try and keep them all as up to date and connected as i can, i have my facebook linked with tumblr, twitter, flickr, my blog and Etsy so everythings constantly updating. However i have never seen this 'pin it' button and so i thought i'd take a look. I am amazed! i think it is such an amazing idea!! an online pinboard. There is a similar version called WGSN however this is only a website i can get on through my university log in details as it is a premium fashion website.

Im not quite down with this website yet however, i will get there though, i used to be a big computer geek but it seems that as you get older, the times move even faster! Anyway as i went to register my account it turned out that you have to request to be invited to be a member which was a bit strange. You have to be invited to become a member however you can ask to be invited by simply entering your email address. So in i popped my email address and then i waited for a reply email, and waited, and waited, and waited.. until about an hour ago at 10:30pm i was finally accepted. Now im on and im searching there are some amazing images and reference materials, im just still trying to figure out how to use it, i understand that where ever there is a 'pin it' button it will bookmark the image back to your board, however i haven't quite worked out anything else about it, which is what i am figuring out as we speak, i dunno how to add pictures that are not already on the website such as uploading my own pictures or generally other peoples where there isn't a 'pin it' button.

This is my next step...

Product ONE!

So this is the first of one of my many products i plan to create/post up on here, like i say i haven't got a decent camera at the moment so these were simply taken on my phone, pretty bad quality but hopefully you will get the idea.

Here is my head band, created from two different types of Garter lace with pastel pink ribbon and rose embellishments. It comprises of two big bows made out of the Garter lace with embellishments in the middle. I got the inspiration from Valentines day which is in 2 weeks (there abouts!) i feel it has a very romantic feel to it, the pastel colours with the lace and the roses look very elegant.

On the Up...

Ok so i have finally managed to get my Etsy shop created, I have had an Etsy account for so long now and i love going on it and looking at every ones work, (although i have never had any money to actually buy anything from it i can always be envious!) However i finally managed to get a pound in my bank account that i could LEAVE in my bank account in order for Etsy to verify my identity!! YAY so i am now the proud owner of the beginnings of a shop:)


There's always something though isn't there? Even though i knew i hadn't got much to put into my store, i knew that once i had it created i could change the appearance of it and design the page give it 'The Vicki Poem Touch' lol. However my banner (the one at the top of this page) wasn't the right size and so i have to adjust it so it will fit in the space. But its not just as easy as that for me is it? Because i got burgled not long back i no longer have a laptop, no longer have a camera (which are two of the staples i need in my life!) So i can only do things when i visit family that have Computers and internet access, however my Mother wouldn't know what to do with Photoshop and so it's not a programme she really has on her laptop, so even editing a banner is proving difficult at the moment. I need to start making more effort and going to the library more often though to be fair. Also as i no longer have a decent enough camera i have realised i cannot take high quality photographs of my products i am wanting to put onto Etsy. And so for me the perfectionist i will NOT put bad quality photographs in my shop to promote work!!

On the plus side i am getting there!! i have my shop now, i won't give the link until i actually have items!

Kolorcraft & The Design Foundry

Kolorcraft & The Design Foundry, a set on Flickr.

Have a look at this i did Christmas 2010, i entered a competition at uni through the company Kolorcraft to create a Christmas card, won it, and got it printed professionally by Kolorcraft and then sent to all their reputable clients. For winning i got an iPad, went to a photography studio to re-photograph my model in a higher resolution, i then got to look around the the design studio and the print studio watch it been printed which was fascinating. I also got my face in the Huddersfield Examiner!!

Just a little something i am proud of and a bit of an ego boost and a reminder that my work is worth it! =)

check out the companies websites if you like

thedesignfoundry

kolorcraft

On the up, up and awaaaay!

HOWEVER... hopefully things will be looking up for me soon, me and my partner have finally moved back into our own place, however it isn't a homely home it is a nice City Centre apartment with on suite which i really can't complain at!! I have spent the last week keeping myself busy by sorting through my spare bedroom of messiness! Where ever we have ever lived, if we have had a spare bedroom this has been my domain, where all my 'messy' stuff is kept, like my Art equipment, sewing machine, knitting machines, past projects i have done, collections of fabrics and basically to my partner...my 'baggage' - apparently i come with lots of baggage!. But he knows he is not aloud in there or to touch any of it as although it may look like junk to him, none of it is junk to me and all of it can be recycled and reused.

BUT.. like i say i am  not one for organisation and so things are basically shoved in lots of different carrier bags and boxes, none of which are in any kind of order, i had balls of yarn in the same boxes as drawing pencils and collections of fabrics with stuffed bears and my collections of fancy papers with SHOES of all things. A lot of it is to do with all the moving we have had to do (that's what i put it down to anyway.)

Anyways, we have a friend who is temporarily moving into our spare bedroom and so i had no choice but to sort through it and move everything out of there, which gave me the chance to sort through it all anyway which i had been meaning to do for months anyway. It has taken along time but now everything is in order and i have boxes full of magazines and research books. A bag specifically for my yarns and needles etc, near enough a SACK for my fabric supply and a box devoted to my Art supplies. It is amazing at how compact it all is now and instead of it taking up a full room it is now compressed into my walk in wardrobe. It is also impressive with how much rubbish i actually did have, i finally parted with 2 bin bags full of rubbish. However the problem i don't like with everything been in my wardrobe is that i have to pull things out as and when i want them, which is probably going to mean its not all going to be tidy and in order for long, i want my own studio where i can leave my machines out and not have to go get them every time i need to use something. I suppose everyone would ideally like a studio and probably most people actually DON'T have a studio.

The point i am getting to anyways (i always seem to go off track with whatever I'm doing!) is that whilst sorting through everything i managed to find things that i had forgotten i had and i began to get ideas of things to be creating and designing as i was finding certain fabrics and certain images etc, so hopefully i can get my boots into gear and get cracking with some work. I have so many good ideas in my head however like i said i don't feel i am good enough to put these ideas into action however hopefully things are on the up from this point onwards, i have decided to force my self into motivation!!

I am in the process of setting up an Etsy account at the moment  and i am aiming to have some products on it in time for Valentines day, even if it is about 2 weeks away!! i can always put them on sale afterwards. If not my next goal is Easter!

Crash Blogging

Crash blogging... I'm not sure if this is a real thing, however if not i have now officially made up - Crash Blogging, trying to get as many posts as possible in one day =) i have some serious catching up to do.

First things first, about myself, when i first created this blog i was studying Textile Crafts at Huddersfield University, I specialise in knit however, unfortunately this was not necessarily by choice, however i dabbled in many other techniques such as embroidery, surface design, photography, print and many more. I love to take photographs and i also love to draw and paint. Anyways i'm going slightly off course here, my point is, my life has completely changed now. I have finished my second year at University now however i have gone on leave for a year now due to medical reasons, i have recently been diagnosed with Epilepsy i have been finding it hard to get it under control with my medication and to get used to having these fits. When they first began happening i began to lack at Uni my work started to get affected and so i thought the best thing to do would be to take some time out to get some rest bite, give myself a bit of 'me time' and to gradually get back into the flow of creativity.

However as i say things never seem to go to plan for me, i had a lot of trouble with finances during the period i left Uni, which was when the course finished in about July up until September, i was signed of from University in July/August time, so i was no longer a part of the Uni, however in the Governments eyes i was still 'technically' classed as a Student until the September (which in my eyes is completely ridiculous!) and so for about 3 months i was receiving no money what so ever and had to rely on my partners income. Obviously this put massive stress on us financially and even emotional, the lack of money meant sometimes we were so stressed we would argue quite frequently. We had to leave our lovely country home in Huddersfield and move back to our hometown Leeds and share a house with some of our old friends in order to save on things such as rent.

Since October i have now been 'on the sick' and receiving sickness benefit, which is hardly anything at all, this is the first time i have ever been on benefits and it has been a massive change, i now understand why people are complaining that people do not receive enough benefit, there is literally no help out there for people, particularly those who have been left with no funds for reasons beyond their control like me with health problems.

Anyway this downward spiral has not yet ended, the stress and the tension has led to me becoming seriously depressed, i have completely lost my 'mojo' for my work, i no longer feel i/my work is not good enough, i don't feel like myself anymore, i dont enjoy doing the things i used to enjoy anymore. This has meant that i haven't done nearly as much work as i planned to do this year as i haven't felt up to it which isn't going to help me when i return to University, i believe creativity is well practised and if the artist does not keep up with it then certain aspects will lack in perfection.

Well!

Here i go again, this is about to be my third attempt at a blog! Its just typical and my bad luck, i'm no good at doing these blooming things anyways!! i can buy a diary but never write anything in it, or write things in them but never stick to the schedules. To say im creative and i make things i have no sense of organization or keeping up to date with things.

I created a blog on here previously about a year ago and it was going really well, i did about 3 months worth of writing in it, and at the time i had a load of really good and positive things to write and talk about, there were plenty of pictures to look through. However me been me, i accidentally deleted all of my posts!! Surely a bloggers worst nightmare!! I couldn't find any way of recovering them either, im so silly sometimes and obviously i tried to carry on from where i left off but i couldn't remember what i had already written to try and replace bits and bobs! A complete nightmare. So here i am again...

Fingers crossed this time!! I have a lot of spare time on my hands at the moment so hopefully i will be able to get lots and lots posted on here.