Sunny Solfest!

3x3m Backdrop

Along with my friend and colleague Helen Tuck I was asked to make a stage backdrop and 12 music stand covers for Solfest this year. It sounded like a fun project so we said yes. Unfortunately due to timing and fabric issues it ended up being a little more stressful then we intended but it was still a lot of fun. We spent Sunday, along with the lovely Susan, dying and colouring the fabric, Monday I spent screen printing with a couple of the guys we support at The Heathlands Project and then Helen, Susan and I spent last night and today pinning and sewing like demons to get the backdrop finished. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. It's one of those rare projects where I've had a vision of how something is going to look and it's actually turned out that way. If I say so myself it's rather marvellous. So, if you're at Solfest this weekend keep an eye out for all our hard work!

Dyed Fabrics

Screen printed logo

Pinning the first piece. We projected the image onto the cloth so we knew where to pin!

Building up the layers

Detail

Almost there...

Pinning at height

Fully pinned and partially sewn!

Detail of finished banner

Spheres!

Two of the completed spheres

Later this month a torch connected with certain happenings in the capital is passing through Carlisle (not once but twice!) I've managed to get myself entangled, sorry involved, with three different groups taking part in the celebrations. On the day I'll be involved with a street theatre performance with Prism Arts, I'm making a banner with Rockcliffe C of E Primary School (more on both of these in other posts coming soon!) and the other group is my 'day job' The Heathlands Project. For the parade we're putting up a marquee so my colleague Helen Tuck and I have been busy making a covering and decorations for the marquee. I thought instead of Olympic rings I would make spheres using fabric so that if it rains they can just get wet and drip dry afterwards. They will also be re-usable for other events. They're really simple to make, just circles of fabric and a bit of stitching. Stiffer fabrics work better and it takes quite a bit of fabric so I've been scrabbling around trying to find as many pieces as possible in all the relevant colours!

Thinner fabrics bunch up

Stiffer fabrics hold their shape better

Detail

Detail

View from above

Blooming Great Tea Party!

Some of the decorations on the wall

Embroidered bunting

Yesterday at The Heathlands Project we held a tea party to raise money for Marie Curie. It was great fun, we raised £371 and we didn't get rained upon! I'd spent the week making decorations with the guys and they looked great, we made bunting and big cut-outs of teapots and cups. We ran a little craft stall selling things the guys had made and that was really popular. Unfortunately, I was so busy on the day that I didn't have time to take pictures of the decorations once they were up but they looked fab.

Decorations cut out and being mounted

Decorations

More decorations!