This Week at The Torpedo Factory

I have been sewing, well drawing with my sewing machine on fabric and

on net. I should have photographed this on a clean bit of wall!

But I am delighted with the quality of line on the net.

I have also had a go at reworking some old pictures. 

Puppet Progress

My 'Puppet Challenge' puppet is taking shape. I am now hoping that the ogre's head will eventually fit in the girls head!

I couldn't resist making various ogre features 3D. 

After working out the best position, parts were tacked into place before machining.

I used some iron on adhesive to position 2D features.

I have a rough plan of how I want the ogre to look but as I went along I positioned each feature in relation to the ones already in place.

So here is the almost finished result. 

The little girl may need big hair!

I have carved the girl's face in wood to give it a mask like quality.

Nasty Ravioli Cushion

I did a quick little embroidered character which was a bit disappointing, so I thought I would add him to my odd cushions. I thought that a triangle flag edging would be in keeping with a circus theme but unintentionally made a nasty ravioli!

Eric the Cat

I have just come across a photo of a embroidered work that I sold a while back and have realised that this was the perfect scale to make my stitched images. I now need to try and figure out what size it was and get back on track.

Large Embroidery Finished - Nip from a Cat

After an epic battle with my sewing machine (most of the problems could have been solved by oiling and cleaning) I have finally finished another large picture. I still need to stretch it as this one is far to big to become a cushion but I am so thankful to be able to move on. I am trying to be very disciplined and not start a new work until I have finished the one I'm working on, I have to do this because I would never finish anything!

 It has sparked ideas and ways to move forward with many technical problems solved. I stopped the unstitched areas of the picture from distorting by bonding white fabric onto the back of the work, this kept the fabric weight and stitch tension fairly even throughout the embroidered images. So where on each figure there isn't coloured applique on the front there is white applique on the back. I am still trying to work out the perfect scale to make the image so I can retain the detail of the stitched drawing, this scale is a bit large as a lot of the stitched line detail blends away as you move back to view it but I am getting there.

Free Machine Embroidery Sketching Again

I have designed the most enormous impossible automaton which I have no idea how to make. So while I'm puzzling and suffering I have gone back to drawing with my sewing machine to keep myself sane. Still trying to replicate biro sketches and I still haven't bought myself a fineline pen. Here is the latest effort.

He is fairly large 50x100cm and needs an iron (sorry). I am intending to stretch him on a frame as a canvas although he will most likely end up adding to my growing collection of strange cushions featuring bad drawings. I am so tempted to make one of Rod Hull and Emu or/and Keith Harris and Orville.