Life after NEWI!!

Unique, personal cushion commission

vickywilliams — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:09:20 +0000

'Lily the dog' cushion

Just before Christmas, I completed an excellent cushion commission which I was very happy with the results!
As well as designing and making cushions with hand printed repeat patterns, I love to design unique cushions with colourful, personal illustrations that are created from information gathered from my clients. I preliminary do a number of hand drawn sketches on paper which are then transferred onto the computer to make a final design that can be printed onto fabric via the printer. This design is then used as a base drawing for the rest of the work. The fun starts I think, when I add colour with thousands of stitches, made by ‘drawing’ with the sewing machine needle like a pencil using the ‘free machine embroidery’ technique and a number of different coloured threads to make shades and textures.

Close up of cushion

Although this design was very complicated and detailed, it was very satisfying to get it completed in time for Christmas, and my client was also very happy with the results!

Wedding Cushion Design

vickywilliams — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:53:31 +0000

Before Christmas I was extremely busy completing cushions to be sold in a local Textile Fair and also had a tight deadline for two commissions. Luckily, all went to plan and I was very happy with the completed work. The two commission pieces were very interesting to do, being so different from each other, in subject matter and techniques involved.

Wedding Cushion

The first of the two commissions was designed especially for a wedding and I found it very interesting to take on. As my client wanted flowers on the final cushion, I thought a design of delicate bluebells would be very appropriate. I transferred my hand drawn design onto water soluable fabric which was then built up with layers of many stitches made from free machine embroidery. This is an excellent way of making an individual ‘fabric’ which can then be transferred onto any fabric you like. (especially suitable if the base fabric is difficult to sew on.)After washing away the surrounding excess ‘soluable fabric base’ in hot water I ended up with a flimsy delicate bluebell ‘fabric’ made entirely of stitches which was then attached to a linen background.

Close up of design

I then added free machine embroidered lettering giving details of the wedding and finally constructed the cushion with pretty lace.

Autumn Views

vickywilliams — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:22:17 +0000

Down in the glen

View in the woods

autumn light

Here are three photographs (out of many!!) I took recently whilst out visiting Bodnant Gardens in North Wales. This National Trust garden is beautiful at all times of the year and also very tranquil and peaceful. The gardens are now shut until next March.

Copyright Vicky williams, Vickywilliams(2011) Unauthorized use and duplication of images without express or written permission from this blog’s author is strictly forbidden.

Autumn leaves

vickywilliams — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:55:16 +0000

Copyright Vicky williams, Vickywilliams(2011) Unauthorized use and duplication of images without express or written permission from this blog’s author is strictly forbidden.

At Last!! Selling my cushions at Conwy Honey Fair

vickywilliams — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:29:37 +0000

My stall at the Conwy Honey Fair

After many months of hard work and also set backs, I finally managed to have a stall at the Conwy Honey Fair in Conwy North Wales on September 13th. I had been waiting for this momemt for over a year, having just before the Fair last year managing to break two bones in my lower leg, meaning months of keeping my foot off the ground and then a lot of phsyio! Luckily, thanks to the doctors and having started going to the gym, I’m glad to say I’m very happy to be walking well and back to normal!
In all this time, I had a lot of sitting around, but was determined to continue making my cushion designs and made the Honey Fair one of my BIG AIMS for the future of being a textile artist.
Although the weather conditions at the Fair (and also the fact that most people were just coming to buy honey) were going against me, I felt very pleased that I sold a few of my cushions and had a great deal of interest in my work. One of the ladies from the local Towns Woman’s Guild was interested in me giving a talk to their ladies about how I designed and made my cushions, which I am very interested to follow up.
I very much want to go in the direction of now making individual commissioned cushions, and would be willing to post them, without an inner cushion pad.
If you do have an interest, please feel free to contact me through details shown on my website – http://www.vickywilliams.net

Examples of my cushions and publicity material

More examples of cushions

‘Hit and Run’ Arts and Crafts Show 13th June 2010 Ellesmere, Shropshire.

vickywilliams — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:58:09 +0000

Vicky and Fi's stall at the Craft Fayre

Went to my very first Arts and Crafts show where I was actually exhibiting my cushions and cards with my friend Fi, her daughter and the taxi driver, my husband Glyn in the beautiful gardens next to the Mere in Ellesmere.
Felt very disappointed as didn’t managed to sell anything!!!
Was told not to take this too personally as it seemed that most of the people viewing were coming along just for a good peruse…with no money in their pockets and it poured with rain halfway through the day!
Although no sales happened, I was still given some wonderful feedback where people commented how much they loved my designs and which designs they liked the best.
Was also encouraged by the fact that I’ve been invited to do another Fayre (this time in Oswestry towncentre) on October 31st so hoped to produce more designs and artwork by then.
Also hope to do the Conwy Honey Fayre sometime in September.

View of 'Mere' at Ellesmere Shropshire.

Cushion Designs : Handprinted and machine embroidery

vickywilliams — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:30:33 +0000

Onion Cushion

I have been very busy over the last few months making cushions that I hope to sell in future Arts and Crafts Shows. My cushion designs all contain my own illustrations and designs and have been made with linoprints, digital prints on fabric or ‘actual’ fruit and veg prints!! (These being a variation of the potato print!) With the Linoprint designs I used ‘Linotex’ Fabric Paint that is especially suitable for Lino printing having a creamy consistance and thickness and was very pleased to see that even after a wash in the washing machine ….the design still survived!!!
To add more depth and greater texture, I also added machine embroidered stitching onto of the designs and some extra padding.
At present, I am producing a number of different styles of artwork and designs in order to test the market, but will have to see how it goes!
I’ve included a few images here but will be showing more in my website www. vickywilliams.net in the near future.
I’d love to hear which designs you think you like best.

Orange Dahlia Cushion

Sheepy Cushion

Piggy Cushion Design

New Photographic Image on my Website (http://www.vickywilliams.net)

vickywilliams — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:54:28 +0000

Fern macro image

I’ve just added this new image to my website (http://www.vickywilliams.net) on the newly named ‘Flora’ page.
As I am in the process of designing and making soft furnishings, I think there will be a lot of new images and pages to come on the site. (watch this space!)

Latest Picture in the Pioneer (March 4th 2010)

vickywilliams — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:33:57 +0000

Crocus blooming in the sunshine at Trefriw, North Wales

Was very pleased to see the first signs of Spring when I went for a lovely walk with my husband Glyn a couple of Saturdays ago. The fields around this little mound of flowers still had snow on them.
Sent this JPG into our local paper and where it was published last week.
(Image taken with Pentax K10, 35mm macro lens)

Peg Bag Designs

vickywilliams — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:31:04 +0000

Four remaining peg bags!

Every year at Christmas I like to make something by hand for friends and relatives and this year it was the turn of the Peg Bag!! I found a very good design for the shape and construction of a bag from the excellent soft furnishing book called ‘Sewing in No Time’ by Emma Hardy and decided to adapt parts of the general design. After making twelve bags that had all very different decorative designs, the week before Christmas I only had four more bags to wrap up. (As seen in the above photograph).
My favourite bag turned out to be the most complex one, that was made from handmade dyed fabric and added applique with machine embroidery.

Favourite Design!

Having completed this design, it has inspired me to carry on producing soft furnishing that are based around this concept. I am hoping to develop this idea by hand dyeing fabrics for a general background that will be decorated with prints from lino prints and extra stitching.
In March 2010 I hope to be selling my craft work with my friend Fiona Shaw at the Spring Craft Show in Conwy North Wales, (where I live nearby).
Looks like a very busy time ahead!!!