WW1 Sawdust Hearts Project-The Idea and Art Work

It's finally finished. This is the secret piece that has kept me busy for the whole of July. A piece I feel very emotional about, and one that truly captured my heart. 

This is my contribution to the Untangled Threads Sawdust Hearts Project. My piece will form part of the Sawdust and Calico Heart Exhibition at Woodend Scarborough from the 3rd to the 30th of November 2018. This is a commemorative exhibition and public event to be held on the centenary of Armistice Day 2018. My heart is one of 1568 handcrafted hearts commemorating 100 years since the armistice. It represents day 218 of the 1568 days of the war; the date the 2nd of March 1915. On this day the British Battleship HMS Canopus joined in the assault missions on the Dardanelles.

The History of the Sawdust Heart

"During WW1 thousands of commercially produced kits were made and distributed to soldiers and civilians.  The hearts were pre-stuffed (with sawdust) ready to be decorated.  The kit contained a template-cut cardboard box, which was ideal for holding collected fabrics, beads, pins and sequins.

The therapeutic effect a wounded soldier gained by making and sending one of these sawdust hearts was immense, and indeed the practice of Occupational Therapy in the UK can be traced back to this time in history.

5% of the proceeds from the sales related to this project will be donated to Combatstress, a charity which supports former servicemen and women to deal with issues like trauma, anxiety, depression and PTSD."
                (source: Untangled Threads Sawdust Hearts project 2018 leaflet by Helen Birmingham)

  
Some information about my piece:

Title: Hope Soars on the Wings of a Lark.

Medium: Acrylic Paint on Canvas with black embroidery silk. The piece is adorned with beads and pins.

Inspiration:The vivid red colour used in my piece forms the memory of how I imagined the poet's world looked on hearing the words to Wilfred Owen's poem Dulce et Decorum Est, at the age of 14. A piece I studied in English and one that I can still recite to this day.

The bird depicted in my piece comes from the poem by the English poet George Meredith, and the piece composed by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams; The Lark Ascending, this piece is often interpreted as a piece about the war.
 

 

This piece is dedicated to my Great Grandfather William Rae (1888-1951). He served as a fireman for the Merchant Navy aboard the SS Lady Salisbury.

P.S. the embroidery and beadwork can be found on my sewing blog Made by Sun Rae .

Bumblebee Top

 

Boy, this material has been sitting in my stash for what seems like forever (actually only a year, but that's long enough).  So why was it sitting so long? Well, sometimes I go through this rigmarole of loving a print too much, that I then become scared of cutting into it because I think I'm going to muck it up. I know, stupid right? Well, this very fabric had that effect on me, hence why it stayed out of harm's way until a suitable pattern came along. So, a year later that pattern did indeed come along! Say hello to the perfect pattern the Gypsy Swing-top by Annie of Sew This Pattern. I knew as soon as I saw the pattern that the bumblebee fabric would be ideal.  So armed with the pattern and my one metre of fabric, yes, I was going to try and squeeze this pattern out of one metre, and I nearly got away with it.  I even dropped down a dress size; well, I need to lose weight anyway was my thinking. But even dropping the dress size, I just couldn't squeeze the bias out of the length for the armholes or the ties at the back. I did think about using navy bias binding (shop bought) except, I think deep down I knew that was going to look naff.  Now, I didn't buy this material it was gifted to me through a swap.  I wasn't even sure the print was still available, and yes, I had cut out all the other pieces.  So, I thought why don't I do a search online and see what comes up.  First half an hour I felt deflated, everywhere I tried it came up 'NOT AVAILABLE'.  I was ready to give up and go down the road of shop bought bias when I thought why not try eBay and see what that brings up.  Well, I found one lone seller with cream, pale blue and a grey version and then I saw a navy version. They had one metre of the navy in stock, so I snapped it up. I wasn't even sure if that was going to be enough (I just felt smug that I'd actually found some, go me!) we are talking about cutting something on the bias here, weird angle and all.  Anyway, to stop me stalking the postman, I set about sewing up to the point where I would need to put in the bias (the whole time I'm sewing, I'm thinking please let the metre be enough, please let it be enough, please). Well, as you can see from the pictures the metre of fabric was indeed enough.  Looking at the top now I think using the same material instead of shop bought bias was the way to go. And, do you know I was also pleasantly surprised when I pulled the top over my head to try it on, because even though I dropped down a dress size the top does fit me, perfectly, and it will look even better when I lose some weight.  It was fate I tell you, fate. It was meant to be!

Oh! Before I forget here is a quirky little piece of information about me.  When I'm sewing, I nearly always tack or baste hems and other pieces together first before machining.  The weird part though; I have to use red thread, no other colour will do.  It has to be red (did you spot it, in the photographs?)

Celebrate!

It's been nearly two weeks since I came off on holiday for Easter. Where has the time gone? I haven't really done much; I've just lazed around, crafted a bit, went out for lunch a few times with my mum or Paul.  Oh! And I also celebrated my birthday on Good Friday. We (Paul and I) thought my gifts should be practical this year; bits for the garden and as I'm in the process of re-organising my craft room, some pieces for that too. Paul bought me one of the cool frogs in a half tree yoga pose. I've had my eye on one of these for a long time, the one in the photo is the biggest one. I think there's two other poses in the range.  Paul also found some cool wicker baskets to go on my new shelves; they are a good size, sturdy and deep, so I think they will be great for storing fabric or wool. I also received a quirky little gift, a Tina Belcher keyring (Bob's Burgers) and some tasty Lindt Orange Chocolates; I've been craving another box of these since Christmas time (I think it really shows willpower that I've held out until April). Lol!

New subscription came this month in the form of a medium sewing box kit by Sew Hayley Jane . The theme for this month was France. I have to say I'm very impressed by the goodies; it includes: 2.5 metres of dressmaking fabric a floral georgette,  4 fat quarters and a selection of haberdashery items and sewing gifts. I also received new sewing machine needles size 70/100, 4 covered buttons, 1 metre of spaghetti cord by Frou Frou, a matching reel of Gutermann thread and two lollipops. Not quite sure what I'm going to make with the georgette, I may leave the box until my summer holidays (only 10 weeks away, not that I'm counting down or anything). That way I'm not rushing into things and I've got plenty of time to find a pattern. The fat quarters, I may use one for a crochet hook case and save the others for another project.

All in all it's been a good month. I've finally caught up with my Scheepjes Hygge Cal shawls,  after crushing my fingers in my garden door and I've made a respectable start on my little garden too.

Until next time, take care and be good to yourself.

xoxoxo

Shop Update and Competition

Another month and another post but this time one with a difference. As promised in my previous blog post I have been busy and have stocked up my Folksy store with some cracking bags; some old fabric designs and some new fabric designs. I'm not going to tell you how long it took me to photograph them (lying on my stomach in the garden) or how exasperated my other half got as I confessed that 'I like this one and this one and oh I like this one.'  Since the photos have been made public I've had a lot of interest on social media; The Brother Sewing machine company wanted to feature them on their Instagram site and friends have been oohing and ahhing over them on Facebook.  At the moment my Folksy site is stocking the pyramid bags and stitch markers, there are still more different designs to come and other products too (not just fabric makes).

So on with the competition.  To be in with a chance of winning one of these beautiful bags, there are more designs on my Folksy website just click the link or the colour banner above this text. Just leave a comment on my blog of what bag you would like, why you like the design (not a requirement) along with either your Ravelry ID or your email, in the format of  see example "username at ymail dotcom."  The competition is not just open to British visitors but overseas as well. The closing date for this competition will be midnight GMT on the 3rd of September 2016 and the winner will be announced on the 4th of September 2016.

 Goodluck and happy choosing.

xoxoxoxo