Kate Selene

Lady in Red

Well I decided to have a go a stenciling last night, I recieved a new book in the post and it got me feeling all excited! It was a stencil book with pre fabricated stencils, and the robot and the lady just looked too cool!! There was also a chandaleir and a paisley print that I have aslo done, but I really want to work into that that one this eveing!



I started going round the outline of her last night with some black stitching, but i think she needs some beads and a patch pocket! Nikkiee is comming down this weekend for a few days of full of crafting, its going to be so good, and we bith want to have a go at making our own stencils! oooh! the things we could make!
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My little softie!!!

I made this crazy little chap for Nikkie for Christmas,and I managed to get a photo of him whilst I was there for the weekend, he still looks cheekey mind you! I especially like his little bum patch!



And he looks like he was made to live on Niks bed, it's a shabby chic's dream!
Yesterday we left Niks to travell to my Mums in South Wales, it was her 50th Birthday last week and I had some gifts for her, all handmade of course! I made a bag, makeup bag, jewellery wrap and the long necklace that I posted as unfinished, but I did finish it before I gave it to her!



We also arranged for her to spend the day at The Celtic Mannor Hotel spa, its sounds amazing and she will be taking her friend with her! hows that for a birthday treat! I typed up what she would be getting and made a little fabric envalope so that she has something really nice to open! She was so surprised! Well, another day in the art uni for me, and this evening, i will be starting my dressmaking course!! Im so bloomin excited!!!!
x

Exhibition Fun!!

 

Yesterday I spent the morning helping Nikkiee put her exhibition up! It was fab! althought I did a bit more leg work than she did because the poor thing has managed to dislocate her knee. . . . . .dancing the night away in night club!! crazy lady! Her work Is very gorgeous, is very girly and I would like to have her work over my wall!

 

 

So now I am spending the weekend sewing, gossiping and eating a lot of food at Niks this weekend, catching up with my buddies! If you would like to see more of Niks work, have a look at her blog, its under ditsy designs on my blog list!! have a fab evening everyone!

xxx

Work in progress!

 

I am almost finished with this piece, Its for someone speceial so Im taking a risk blogging it, Im hoping she doesn't see it!! Its one of my new pieces, Its a really long oxidised chain with 3 double sided pendants!

 

 

 

It needs pickling, sanding and cleaning, and then it just needs to be oxidised and then I will mount the pendants!! I love these pieces and I wear a different one every day. They are not available to buy yet but will be shortly! This is the one Im wearing today!!

 

Im just in LOVE with the tiny blue rose prints, they are so country living!! plus, these colours go with most of my clothes and bags . . . . . Im starting to sound really sad now arnt I !!

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Its been a good day!!

It really has been a good day! I have taken the plunge and signed up do do two new courses, and I can't wait! Im going to be doing dressmaking and upholstry and they both start next week in the evenings!! it will solve a bit of a dilema that we have in the household at the moment. . . . . . Jon (aka husband) has a lot of homework do do for his maths teaching course, which is great, but not when the person you are living with (aka Me ) likes to relax by spending the whole evening rmmaging around in her fabric stash and sewing bags and patchwork quilts. . . . . in the same room! So getting me out of the house for two nights a week to do sewing might work well! I have been thinking about what I have made recently, I don't blog hardly anything I make apart from jewellery (mostly because I think people may think they are naff) so i thought I would show you one of my bags! with my patchwork quilt!




This is my other patchwork quilt, the first one I made with Jon, and its in our room as I think the colours are perfect for de-stressing. . . . . . . and since our room is for de-stressing, I have also made some jackets for my books!



At the moment im reading Bleak house, but he cover wasn't really making me want to pick it up, and since books are about habving an experience, it does have to feel right! so I used some of my butterfly print fabric to make a cover!



It also matches my new bag I made on Sunday! I like thinds that match! Im sad like that! I seem to be wearing jewellery that matches my bags, made from the same fabric, wearing cardies that iv customised to match my clothes! I swear my students are thinking that Im loosing it!!
x

Spending some time in ye old workshop!

I spent some time in the workshop yesterday afternoon, cooking up some new pieces. I really do love my job, I am very lucky! I get to spend time teaching what I love, and then I also get to make my own work, and I much prefere working in the workshops whilst my students are around because I really enjoy nattering away to them whilst Im sanding or soldering, it really is compleatly differnt to being stuck in a workshop on your own, where you only have a tv or radio to keep you company! I would never go back to that, and If I decided that teaching was no longer an option, I would probably try and roope some of my students into setting up a communal workshop with me!

 
Im always battling the issue that is a messy tool bag, and since I am trying to constantly trying to reduce the amount of tools I keep at Uni, I decided to make a tool wrap.Over the years I have been reducing my tool beg simply because I only use a small percentage of what was in my workshop, and when im working I really don't like have to hunt around the inside of all three, very large toolbags, to find what I need, and the tool wrap has solved all my problems. All of my essential stuff is in her, although, as you can see from my desk space, Im still not very tidy!



Im still not decided about whether or not to sell my fabric stuff, although I seem to be giving them all away left right and center! its is brilliant though, Im pretty much a walking advertisment for my work, my bags, jewellery, pencilcase, wallets, toolwraps. . . . .  .I have made myself! Its so rewarding to be surrounded by things you have made, and I would reccomend it to anyone!
Im going to get some sewing in today too, along with a few other things, and reading a few of the amazing books that I have had through the post this week that I havent had the chance to read!
have a lovely saturday
x

Its Friday!! woohooho!

 

I thought you may like to see some of my doodles! I have been doodleing ideas down for my jewellery in my work journal, and I have been thinking of framing the prints in my fabric in much the same way as you frame a picture. I think it could work, it may not! any thoughts?

and although its my work journal, you never can tell when an idea strikes, and I always make sure I get it down on something! I have been making a lot of fabric stuff lately, and this was about a week ago when I was in a meeting (shhhhhhh) and I was really trying to work out the shape I wanted my bag to take on! who said meetings are dull?

 

 

And this lovely foot belongs to the life model Jon! I love life drawing and I run the life drawing workshops on a friday in the University, and there is nothing that beats spending the morning in the life modeling class with a group of enthusiastic students. This mornings session was brilliant, I didn't get a moment to sit down (secretly I like this ) and there was so much work going on!!

 

Wel, thats a little sneak at my daily journal, Im off to spend a bit of time in the workshop before the day dissapears!

x

 

Sewing!! and migraines!! ggggrrrr!!!!

Well, I have had one of those days where half of it dissapears, and the other half is taken up with a migraine!! what a bummer! I have had it all day, and it got towards 3pm and the whole left side of my face was completly numb!! and I must admit i was looking a bit on the wiered side, I almost wish I had an eye patch! seriously! I couldn't take it anymore so when I got in I took some tablets, but it took hours to go, which is a real pain because I had some fabulous books turn up this morning,and I really wanted to read them!! maybe when im snuggled up in bed. So, when my face had recovered enough I decided (and I was a little bit bit inspired by my new books) to get on my sewing machine and make some makeup bags and things .. . . . .. it was ace! these are my name tags that I keep in a beautiful little antique dorcas pin tin that I picked up from a car boot sale last summer.



I have been trying different ways to attach them to my work, Im not sure what my favourite way is yet. This is one of my wristlets, I love it because I am terrible at remember to pick up my bag at the end of the night, and at least with this, its attached to me! plus, I can make one to match every outfit!!



Whilst moving the bedroom around, we managed to dedicate an space to the blanket box, and even though I have ousted most of the soft toys (it was so hard to do, how do you pick a favourite!!) and decided that these two looked just right, plus, they are the first two that I made, and they remind me of the propper soft toys you have when your a child!
well, im going to have a look through my new books, stick the heated blanket on and snugle up in bed!
night night
x

It has been a while

  It really has been a long time!! Im sorry for keeping it so long, I have just had sooo much to do! I thought I would give you a sneaky peak at the new wedding collection that I am working on. I have found myself a new best friend, she used to make and sell wedding dresses for a living, and since she works from home now, she has a cray stockpile of silkes and beautiful fabrics!! So, I am in the process of cataloging all of the different samples, so that I have an solid chunk of sample work to show prospective clients! Other than working on that, I have also been moving a lot of furniture round, and have re-decorated the bedroom! yippee!

 

I have used this beautiful (i think its beautiful anyway!) antique throw as a curtain, and it looks lovely when the morning light is creeping in ! well it certainly gets me out of bed . . . . . that and having two cats running around!! I have also been working on some new jewellery, double sided pieces so that there is pattern on both side, they are scrummy!! Im wearing them every day more or less to work, that and all of the new bags I have been making!! honestly, at one point I was making a bag a night!! and matching my outfits with my new bag!! I bought 300 . . . .. yes I did say 300! zips about a week ago, and now evrything has a zip!!

 

 

I have been pinning all of sewing samples on my work board t home. Its hard work trying to rescuse some of it from the cats mouth!!! Well, thats a little bit of what I have been up too, I shall get the pictures of the new work and the bags (although Im not selling the bags ) up soon, and low and behold, I have been busy developing my new website, and it just looks so exciting!!!

see you sooon

Kate

x