Back to black!

Cuff bracelet, black with grey & white embroidery

Before when I lived in England I used to wear exclusively black clothes.  I suppose on the one hand it was almost a uniform among arty types.  But it also made deciding what to where extremely easy.  I lost the habit while living in Cyprus.  It didn't seem to suit the hot Mediterranean climate and in any case the village widows had pretty much cornered the market on black fashions, so I left them to it and the wardrobe became vastly more vivid.

Now I'm back in England black is making a return, but not exclusively.  White, cream, grey and beige are also part of the mix and today I made a new cuff bracelet to enhance my new look.  This one together with full details is now in my Etsy shop, so I'm going to have to make another one for myself.

Bonnie Boon is back!

To say I've been away longer than I imagined is putting it mildly!  But the move did happen and we're now happily established deep the heart of Shakespeare county and loving our life in England.  

My studio is smaller than I had in Cyprus, but perfectly functional and the daylight job as a painter is continuing as before.  In the evenings I'm in relaxed mode with thread, yarn, fabric, beads, needles and hooks again and I have early signs of a new wearable art collection to show.

I'm being inspired by my love of cuff bracelets.  On the left is an example of one I made way back.  It's quite wide and warm to wear which is why I think this style is most suited to colder weather.  

But I also feel I want a style of cuff bracelet I can wear any time of the year whatever the weather.  So I'm aiming for a lighter, leaner feel and a chic, cool look!  And hope you like what you see.

 

These new cuffs are hand stitched and embroidered using stranded cotton threads on even weave linen fabrics.  They will fit a variety of wrist sizes by means of a clasp which fastens at any place along the chain extension.  They have individual characteristics and embellishments which are fully shown with photos and descriptions in my Etsy shop.

Sea glass hand embroidered pendant necklace

Sea glass embroidered pendant

The sun is shining and the beach is calling me to go collect more seaglass.  Some people call them 'mermaids tears' and aptly the pendant necklace I've just made features a teardrop shaped sea glass gem. 

I've mounted the gem on some of my art canvas, which I've painted abstractly and embellished with red and green hand embroidery.  It is hand-stitched to a matching red felt backing and hangs from a leather thong with silvery accessories and fastenings.  Full details here in my Etsy shop.

Purple Blue Mulberry Seaglass wearable art brooch

Here's another painted canvas and embroidered wearable-art brooch featuring a piece of my sea glass collection.  This time I've used shades of purple and blue on a deep mulberry felt background to frame the piece.

I love these colours, and the different textures of the brushed paint on canvas, the delicateness of the stitching and soft richness of the felt. My favourite so far I think.

This particular brooch is now SOLD.  Each brooch I make is unique.  But if you would like me you something similar, please let me know.  

Blue & pink sea glass art brooch

I'm experimenting with different ways to make jewelry featuring the sea glass I collect from the beach.  It seems obvious now, but till now, I hadn't thought of combining painted artwork and hand-stitched embroidery.  So this is a first!

For this wearable art seaglass brooch I used acrylic paint on canvas, which I snipped to a random shape, then applied a cloudy white sea glass gem and embroidered in pink and blue cotton thread inspired by colours in the painting.  I hand-stitched pink felt to the reverse with a safety fastener.

Email me for more information, or see my Etsy Shop.

Crochet Big Bead necklace

Time does fly! I've been so engrossed in making pictures with my painting hat on, that I clean forgot to post about my latest one-of-a-kind textile jewelry necklace. As you can see it features large chunky bead shapes, completely hand crocheted in bright Pink, Green, Turquoise, Yellow, Orange, Purple and cool Grey cotton yarns. I made a padded bobble to slip through a loop to fasten. It is light to wear and measures approx 22 inches.(56 cms).

I just love the process of making hand crochet or knitted jewelry in this way. I let it evolve with only the merest plan when I start, and give myself the freedom to let the colours and yarn take me in any direction...pretty much the same way my paintings take shape :)

Crochet & knit necklace - Blues & Pinks

I made this one-of-a-kind necklace combining knitting, crochet and handmade fabric beads in cotton, wool and bamboo yarn.


The soft blues, pinks, purple and cool grey look so pretty together. I stitched the fabric beads from 3 different printed cottons from my quilting stash, then applied a medium so they are firm and have a satin finish. They, and the crochet beads can be moved along the necklace to create different looks. A softly padded a bobble is made to slip through a loop to fasten the necklace, which is altogether light as a feather to wear.

Spring is in the air and I'm loving my recent concentration on textile jewelry. The more I make, the more ideas are crowding in queuing for attention.

Beach gems and textile jewellery

Went to the beach earlier than usual today so it was still quite cool, especially as the sun was well hidden by cloud.

Teddy was very patient while I combed the sand for interesting pebbles and wave-smoothed glass gems. At home I popped them in water and their colours gleam again like they did wet from the sea. I shall choose one or two to combine with crochet and knitting to make a necklace.

In the meantime, here's a pretty pale pastel, one of a kind piece of textile wearable art jewelry, which can be worn as a necklace or wrapped double around your wrist as a bracelet. It's hand knitted and crocheted in soft Mauve, Green, cool Pink, Peach, warm / cool Greys and pale Lemon yarn. The button-embellished flower slips through a loop to fasten, which can be worn at the back of the neck or the front. The soft beads can be moved and rearranged along the necklace to create different looks. Light to wear it measures approx 18 inches.(46 cms).

Hand knit and crochet bracelet for Spring

This morning Teddy and I went down to the beach and walked the coastal path for an hour or so. She's not too keen on walking in the hills where we normally go, but this morning both she and I seemed energised by the waves crashing on the pebbles and the winter sunshine was doing it's best to cheer us on. We could have gone on for hours .... but the thought of breakfast and studio work called us back.

I've got an overwhelming need to work with Spring in mind. The weather is still low compared with normal and the skies are grey, but I detect a slight raise in temperature as the week goes on. I finished making this hand knit and crochet bracelet today. It makes me think of fresh spring crocus flowers and the wild iris that will be blooming on our mountain quite soon.

Slipper socks and OOAK wearable art!

Just finished another pair of snuggly slipper socks, but not sure how long they'll be available. I need an extra pair to take with me to chilly old England for our Christmas visit. So if I don't get time to make another pair ... these are MINE! Let it snow, I won't feel a thing in these flame red, hot pink, lavendar and purple heather Beauties!   

See my Etsy shop.



This particular pair is now SOLD.  I continue to make this style in a variety of colours.  Please contact me by email for more information.


Here's a blast from the past... I'd almost forgotten. Old Indigoblah blog friends may remember this wearable art brooch? I took it out of it's tissue paper nest, gave it a stroke.