The Old Reader, RSS feeds and links

The Old Reader is closing its doors, turning to become private and for people who are more likely to pay for it. I wouldn't mind at all except having already had to move from Google Reader to The Old Reader only a good few months ago and then getting used to (that didn't take long actually) the look, layout and workings of The Old Reader (I've grown to really like it).

At the moment I think I'll stay away from RSS feed applications and maybe experiment with other ones (both website built ins/extensions/stand-alone software) in the far future.

In the meanwhile some really interesting posts concerning patterns and surfaces found on the various blogs I have bookmarked:

Patternobserver.com
Michelle FifisStreet Patterns: Embroidery Details
This post is particularly interesting for me at the moment as I have been practising with hand stitched embroidery on various scraps of fabric, generally trying to work with different tensions to create textures as well as forming embroidered patterns or motifs.

Street Patterns Mexican Embroidery
Links in with the above post but whilst the above post was looking at contemporary or very geometric shapes, this one looks to the past, traditional floral motifs and vines and shapes used on ethnic embroidery of the past. I'm really liking the use of colour, very bold and striking, whilst the shapes themselves are large and blocky/like simple flower drawings.

iseepattern.com
Whitney Catarella
Buffalo Exchange Spring 203 Trends Part 1 
The first image/print is beautiful! The tulips look magnificent against the dark star lit sky, and the lines on their petals look particularly fascinating (these lines originally come form a virus or some kind of bacteria/illness the plant has - at first bred because they looked distinguished and pretty - later found to be a weakness in the plant). The subsequent images are just as interesting, but the tulips really stand out for me.

beelah.com
Beelah'Crazy prints:) long modest pakistani dress'
This blogger/fashion blogger often highlights beautiful fabrics and textures, particularly modest dress which is an important thing within Islamic society and culture. Known for the spectacular colours, prints and embroidery, this blogger presents a brilliant collection of the fashion of Asia and the Middle East - well any where that modest beautiful fashion exists :D 

Trend Tablet
Lidewig EdelkoortBloom  
Press Ctrl F (use the text search bar) and then look up the following:
'Tools for peace'
The photos are beautiful and sweet, as is the idea of using flowers as tools to create emotional stability, peace and a kind of prosperity.
Also have a look down the page, lots of photographs - sharp and crisp with excellent visuals and colours.

Black, yellow and flowers

I've recently been going through my sack of textile remnants and pieces and have found that these pieces in particular seem quite odd. Normally I tend to stay clear of black or really dark colours, seeing them as tones or colours to be wary of - as if they are predators. But here I utilised them in a scheme to create interesting contrasts between dullish but bright yellows and creams and the dark blues and blacks of the fabric backgrounds - even taking pieces of suit trousers (worn out) to add to the long rectangular piece.  

A fabric piece I have already blogged about here. It is one of my favourite pieces just because of the way the print is, colours used and the way it tiles in places - where the error of the overlap of the pattern/tile makes the piece all the more memorable. 

White, cream and pink and orange

The merger of paper, fabric and stitch.

Just some old work.

Book cover all Stitched

I found this book in the library recently.
Didn't have a chance to look inside so
I went and judged it by its cover instead.
I think it's brilliant!

Book reference:
Campana, F., Campana, H. (2010) Campana Brothers: Complete Works (So Far). Brazil: Rizzoli International Publications

The use of machine stitch is what really works well,
upon this forest green and the simple, but bold, dark blue lettering
its not surprising that reviews on amazon show it to be
an excellent book on the furniture design brothers.

It harnesses the machine running stitch.

One that is simple, but in it is a pattern

of one stitch then a group of thin stitches overlaid upon each other.

Sometimes simple works best when mixed with a little detail -

if it had just been a running stitch I may not have been as impressed by it

and nor would it hasve been as innovative.

Its like they have created a new stitch pattern -

or brought back an old one for a viewing.

Denim Special

If you've been there form the start you will know of an entry on denim (Quilted Arcs) in which I touched on the environmental issues of denim itself. I decided that as the last post in September 2011, I'd look more into what can be done with cotton,
how it could be customised, reused or recycled.

Below are photos by Liz, a fellow student artist and friend:

Showing thick cotton stitch above,
of which Liz isn't a fan of - but personally
I think the thick cotton used is quite interesting.
Need to find and buy a roll of it myself to try out on my sewing machine.

Amazing macro skills here.
Liz tells me she ripped the jeans
and then stitched the lace/net onto the reverse side of the jeans.
A round of applause for the fashion guru folks.

Ah nice ragged effects.
Never gets old.

This is a great example of what can be done with old raggedy jeans,
in a way that utilises simple stitch skills (like the running stitch).

The above are the little metal studs that

are used in the corners or borders of pockets on jeans

to reinforce the corner areas, known as copper rivets.

The use of green thread here is quite different,
I've yet to see another pair of jeans using green thread.

Also the idea of tie dye being a way of stopping dye

getting to parts of fabric was also used on this pair of jeans.
Though this process industrially often involves more energy being used up.
It can also be done to jeans at home with bleach (here a link to a tutorial on the process),
however their are precautions you should take,
wearing gloves is just one of them.

Just something I've been working on very slowly,
looking at stitching scraps onto old denim using a brightish cyan like blue.

A better photo of what I'm working on.

Ending on an idea:
why not put words on jeans?