New start of a strory

 Ok so here it is the first bit of a tree inspired story. I was walking to work when I wandered past it and inspiration struck.

This is the first draft of the first paragraph so make of it what you will and feel free to comment. I still can't decide if it should be H or the phonetic spelling, so treat it as interchangeable, maybe I'll hold a pole to pick. It also needs a title but that will find itself in time...although suggestions are welcome.

The boughs of the cherry, laden heavy with blossom, indicated the imminent fecundity of the earth. Spring was well and truly here, which could mean only one thing, Sephie would be gone for the next eight months. Aitch sighed before moving away from the window on the world as he retreated back into his large office. Its grey walls were off set by the black wood work of the widows and the dark wood floor and celling a first it seamed small and compact it was only when Aitch sat down at his large reclaimed antique desk you got a sense of the true size of it. The imposing desk sat at the furthest point from the window on the world Aitch had been staring out of. Its equally large throne like chair lay against the far wall so who ever sat in it could easily survey the whole office.  Filling cabinets sat low against the majority of walls hiding the half dark painted wood panelling from view each one had draws that when pulled out seemed to be of infinite length and were jam packed with numerous files. The office had three windows running down one side, there were the two with a view of the gardens and the one with the view of the cherry tree.  In between these windows were the extra chairs and tables that many offices seemed to have that served no other purpose other than to seat those awaiting judgment or imparting important information. In front of the middle window on the glass toped table sat the obligatory vase of flowers; narcisi, his favourite; and a fruit bowl filled with oranges apples and most importantly pomegranates. High on the wall opposite the desk hung an old floor plan of the building its dull old golden frame ran from wall to wall and ceiling to the top of the filling cabinets halfway to the floor. Aitch leaned back in his chair his fingers arched in to a steeple resting on his perfectly waxed and trimmed moustache staring at the neatly framed picture on his desk. Everything had its place, an order and his job was to keep it that way.

Long time no blog

 So I found my old blog...... so to start I thought I'd quickly re work an old piece all ready on here before I begin to restart blogging/writing. So here it is,

Wolves 

There are wolves at the end of my street.

They pray for the old, and they pray for the weak.

They say they are helping, and aid those in need.

Yet it's them who benefit from every good deed.

If they are good it's not for goodness sake.

It's to gain a place beyond their heaven's gate.

People are preached to and taught, their so called truths.

But these are stories told by those with fervent views.

When people go in they are never the same,

You're helped into the pack or left out in the rain.

They treat us with contempt and with suspicion,

Because we don't believe in their superstition.

Their minds are closed to reason and fact,

For with imagined Gods they've made their pact.

There are wolves at the end of my street.

They prey on the old and prey on the weak.

And so it is done... my Khan costume is complete. I have altered the original design to make it suit my feminine shape i.e. shaped the jacket and lifted the open neckline to prevent...... well exposure (the original was designed to show off pectorals which would result in issues on a feminine form) and I've also made two pet ceti eels to add to the look now to channel Khan and find a convention to attend.

The creation of Disco Spangles

Ok so I've been busy again.......I saw the videos and pictures of the cutest little spiders, peacock spiders, and I wondered if I could make a plush or fluffy one. The answer as it turned out was yes,

This is Disco Spangles my plush poseable peacock spider.

And this blog is a description of his creation and my creative process.

 

 

It was one bored evening chatting with my husband staring at YouTube videos of things I like, you know cats, rats and erm peacock spiders mating dances, when the idea came. Wouldn't they make awesome fabric art like  a wall hanging or.....dum dum dum......a stuffed toy! That was it... why not make a furry peacock spider toy? After all they're so cute and I've never seen one; It wasn't until after I made him I Googled peacock spider plush and discovered lots of others also had similar ideas...In the words of the late great Terry Pratchett, bugger it.

 

First came the picture research. I would like to thank Jürgen Otto A.K.A. peacock spider man for his awesome photos and videos giving me reference material and inspiration. Initially I made the decision to try and make it as accurate as I could. I had reference photos I could measure to work out scale and colour to create the perfect copy. However the more I thought about that as a plan it seemed to lack something. The more images I looked at I found it harder and harder to single one type out to make, there are so many different ones. Also finding fabric to exactly match would take a very long time and when it comes to projects I sort of get a bee in my bonnet, I need to do it NOW!  

The thing that stood out in my research was that as a person who is not keen on spiders these little guys (and they are tiny tiny) are just, well, adorable balls of fluff. With their big forward facing eyes, large heads and little tiny feet (three checks on the list of things humans need to find things cute/baby like) the fact they disco for their ladies it made me want one. It was this cute factor I needed to make my underlying goal not necessarily the correct physiology of the arachnid. After all spiders are not the most popular things (the weird eight legged freaks as apposed to us weird two legged freaks) I wanted to make something I could show people without them freaking out and splatting it with a broom. This plan of action also opened up a whole wide variety of fabric choices as good quality fur fabric is not cheep nor easy to come by. As a kinaesthetic fabric purchaser I like to not just see but to touch and feel to learn how it moves and works I don't buy anything without touching, which meant I need samples from online retailers or to travel to local stores.
I found a lovely black and grey short pile fur in Truro fabrics and opted for felt to do the tail with a marabou trim. The short pile brown fur was a lucky find fur in the offcuts basket. I chose two sizes in flat round buttons for the eyes and for the smallest eyes I found small black spherical buttons. All of these were as close as I could find to the real thing or at least looked spidery.

With the fabric got I had to figure out a way of making it poseable. Teddy joints were a no no as I wanted to be able to move it like a spider and pull off those dance moves. I opted for an animation/sculpture solution to this problem a wire armature. Although this sacrificed the cuddly aspect it gave it the more fun and real aspect. To create the wire armature I used the only wire I could quickly obtain, garden wire. On the next one I will probably order 3-5mm aluminium wire from an animation supplier. To give the wire strength I twisted it together this also helped hold the legs in place. The body wire was approx. 8" long and each leg  was about 12" I also made a 5" separate strip of wire for the pedipalps.  To hold it all in place I wire wrapped them together please see photo

Then came the pattern making I draw out my prototype patterns on news paper as its flexible hard wearing and I can pin it together to get a good idea of how it will turn out from looking at the spider I noted the flat face and large head to body ratio I made a three piece pattern by drawing out a side free hand and then fitted a gusset for the head to that shape which tapered out see pic below. The head side is 16cm by 11cm dart is 4.5 cm deep and is the same from the front edge. The head gusset is 33cm by 11cm (taper starts at 9cm) for the tail I went with a four piece design to gain the shape I wanted.  I made an oval tapered piece more curved on one side than the other to make a sort of flatter rugby ball shape 17cm by 7cm. All pieces included a 1cm seam allowance. for the legs I made tubes 29cm long by 7cm and the pedipalps I had originally drawn  an oval shape but stuck with the simple tube 8cm by 6cm.

 I then laid the pattern out paying attention to the pile and ensuring it ran the same way and cut it out. I made a stripy piece for the head then stitched the head together leaving two small gape to feed the wire strip though for the pedipalps which I put on and stuffed in place before hand stitching 

HEAD

 

 

I then stitched together the abdomen which was deliberately smaller then the head (approx. half to one third the size of the head) then the legs. To fit the wire armature in the legs had to be place on stuffed then stitched in place before the head and finally the abdomen. all the stuffing had to be done whilst on the wire and then the pieces were all hand stitched.

 

After putting him together I then stitched on the eyes and sparkly marabou spinnerets before making the felt tail piece with trim.  

 

I zigzagged on the applique pattern to the tail and stitched in the marabou edge and covered the back in dark brown felt before hand sewing it to the base of the head/top of the abdomen and to the bottom of the abdomen and ta da! Disco Spangles was born.

Over all I know I could have made a more accurate spider but as I wanted the over all cute fuzziness I feel I have achieved what I set out to do which was create a poseable peacock spider plush.

The whole process of making him and the pattern was an afternoons work so by far the fastest make from scratch I've done in a while.



The making of Khan

Khan's Jacket The Wrath of Khan construction notes

Taken from photos from images of the original Paramount jackets as sold by the propstore.com, Hollywood auctions, and other photos from the film and star trek experience displays.

General observations

The jacket appears to be made form a knitted velour/velvet material  in an orange/mustard yellow. The colour is hard to determine in all of the images it appears to change dependant on lighting etc. As well as the fact it is has a heavily warn look.

Why I think it is a velvet or velveteen and not a suede or moleskin fabric.

I am aware that in some costumes of this polar fleece, moleskin and suede has been used which in my opinion is not as accurate as velvet/velveteen.  Looking at the drape and pile in the photos and closely looking at edges and seams it appears to be a knitted  velvet, like a draylon which was a popular fabric in the 1980's.  (see images below)

Also the label close up shows it is a knitted fabric with a pile (possibly looped)  fitting with a velvet/velveteen fabric. In its favour it is easy to work with and age/weather and is less expensive than leather or moleskin it also has a more modern/futuristic look compared to those fabrics; Velvet was also a sign of wealth and luxury in the past where as leather and suede were seen as more common natural working cloth not tying as well in to a futuristic aesthetic as velvet; Also artificial fibres and newer techniques made velvet cheaper at that time and was prominent in 80's fashion, there were a lot of velour tack/leisure suits around then which were the basis of the jacket design in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

For my jacket I was unable to get a knitted velvet that was not a crushed velvet and so for the raw edge hole to prevent fraying I will have to over stitch them.

Front View

It is well warm with heavy staining and wear (oil like on the right arm) general dirt and small burn makes (like tobacco /sparkler burns. It also has a darker thread edging hole in a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying to give it a well warn you cared for look as if it were all you had left after being abandoned/ post crash and had been warn since. Lots of parts are partially attached or look repurposed such as the tie look like salvaged ribbed edging from an original jacket design (see white ring). Note the main collar has stitched ribbing which is stitched before folding giving it a round edge unlike the arm and tie it is also attached only up to the collar bone or slightly past meaning items can be threaded thru back to front like the belt/bag/sash Khan wears. (see pink ring)

There is a strip of Velcro used to hold the arm ribbing on the right and main jacket shut (see yellow rings)

Also the piping is made separately and hand sewn on (see red ring)

There is also a machine straight stitch forming a curve to the front about two to three inches from the edge, the same can be seen around the large holes it is possibly decorative or maybe stay stitching to reinforce the fabric at these places (see green ring)

Large raw edges are zigzag stitched in a darker thread adding to the repaired threadbare look whilst preventing fraying/tearing see( blue ring)

The right arm cuff has a heavily warn frayed look to the  outer edge aging the item with realistic wear and tear see purple ring

The left arm has a different cuff design to the right above the elbow (see side view) and the piping appears to be tied below the elbow in to a circular cuff type design before wire attaches the 'communicator' wrist strap (see orange ring)

Close up of the bottom of the front of the jacket

Here the Velcro placement, hand sewn piping and stay stitching are more visible

Back View

 

Here we can clearly see the  collar is not attached to the main back and is zigzag edged to prevent fraying . The wear and tear is more visible here as the back is one whole piece. there is some fabric bleaching and what looks like rub off of dye or dirt from the belt and just above a belt. The detached piping is clearly seen here and it the fact it is hand stitched is shown from the lack of seam below the piping see yellow ring. This lack of seams also demonstrates the fact it is a one piece back.

The right arm cuff (three to four inches wide) has a Velcro closure (see green ring) and look at stitching there is a stitched oblong again near an obvious opening.

Side View

This shows the difference in cuff design and the piping and how it is tied/stitched. It also give us a good look at the communicator cuff.

We can see the side and front appear to be two pieces formed from the front and back of the arm pit. see yellow ring.  However when looking at all of the pictures closely this anomaly any is seen on this side and appears to be a combination of decorative stitching at the top and a repair near to the piping at the bottom as it does not extend to or thru the rolled lower hem. therefore this is a one piece front making this a three piece make for the main body two for the left and right front sides and one for the back.

Looking at the arm it's hard to see if it is a two piece arm but I have a feeling it is a single piece especially when looking at the right arm and overall design. The drape of the fabric in the arm and overall style fits with the single piece method of construction more so than a two piece method.

The communicator cuff necklace sash and belt buckle images. These are mostly made of old electronics and hardware parts sewn on to fabric or leather or for the belt sheet metal,  apart from the broken Starfleet buckle. the cuff fastens via Velcro the necklace appears to be a  clip an d ring although I have seen replicas using a male to female jack to close the necklace.

 Full Costume  images

 

The approach

Pattern construction

Using  shoulder, chest, waist and hip measurements including the length I created a basic paper pattern.  The pattern for the main body is in three parts two for the front and one for the back. There is a full one piece sleeve, a part sleeve and a cuff.

Starting with a basic straight pattern  I then shaped the sides etc to suit a female form. To help with the shaping and the curved front I will probably use part of a jacket pattern or a blouse to gain an even curve and more feminine shape before cutting.

The quilted collar will be made as a trapezoid shape pattern double width of fabric and wadding to be folded and stitched closed on the outside (wrong sides together) after stitching ribs at 1.5 to 2 inch spacing. The other ribbed bands will be made of double width straight pieces to be folded in half stitched inside out with a single layer of wadding then stitched with one inch ribs vertically or in the left arms pattern.

There are several bits of piping which I will make in long strips of fabric 2 -3 inches wide turned inside out to form long tubes I may stitch several lengths together to attain the lengths required to go from front to back and for the left arm.

After cutting the main pieces they will be sewn in the order of shoulder to shoulder, arms to shoulder then sides together and right arm cuff then the collar will be part attached. this is when the weather the main body and roughing up of the edges needs to be done, replicating the holes over stitching, straight stitching and zigzagging where needed. also this is when I will

 Next is hand stitching on the piping as per images before adding the ribbed parts

Visions of control part 2

 

They say to protect us they must control us

Freedom is just a state of mind

They say the best form of defence is offence

War is our only sacrifice.

 

They say to help us they’ll control all our lives

Inflexible they bend it till it suits them

Rising like a phoenix consuming all in their path

Climbing on the backs of others we feel their wrath

 

And we live our lives just like our fathers

Working for something we cannot attain.

And we live our lives like our mothers

sacrificing all in vain.

 

They say that thought is dangerous

The only way is to comply,

Our lives are expendable,

There is no choice.

 

They say our freedom comes with a price,

That we must forsake our liberty.

To keep us safe they must see everything we do or think.

Difference is to be feared

 

And we live our lives just like our fathers

Working for someone else’s gain,

And we live our lives just like our mothers

Forgiving and forgetting our own pain.

 

They say that ignorance is bliss,

But it’s no excuse not to change.

They can’t see there’s another way,

Blinded by their arrogance.

 

They say we can choose the life we lead,

As long as they provide the catalogue.

They say they are here to save us from ourselves,

Whilst sacrificing us to their false idols.

Visions of control part 1

Sometimes it feels like I have a thousand voices in my head each one demanding it own space its own time.

Sometimes the people around me are merely mirrors echoing myself, distorted but reflecting.
My life feels like a dream sometimes I wish it were sometimes I fear it is.

 

Life is an illusion

Where fear is a weapon,
Knowledge is a key
And death is a release.

My Day Out

I was surrounded, trapped in a forest of legs. All day I have felt them shoving, pulling and pushing past me.  See that’s the problem with being small, no one ever notices you. Adults are always too busy, always rushing, they miss so much. They squashed me between their bags just like in a game of sardines before I fell over.

We had stopped at the corner near the blue paper sellers hut. Do you know he’s so noisy you can hear him all the way back in the shopping centre? It’s true.

‘City final, City final.’ He cried waving his papers around.

            It was wet and noisy there were people everywhere. Some were running down the street trying to keep dry, some had lots of bags.  You could hear the cars splashing down the street honking at each other.  The ppsssst sound of a bus stopping made me jump and made me turn around.  I looked towards the road but it was like looking though trees there were so many people. I saw a shiny red car in between the moving legs; red is my favourite colour; it matches my wellingtons and raincoat.  I tried to tell Dad about the car but he wasn’t listening. He was busy, he’s always busy. Today was supposed to be our day but we haven’t done anything I want to do, like feed the ducks. So I moved forward in to the crowd to see the car better, it was really pretty and had shiny silver bumpers.

            My hands stung when I hit the floor, I wasn’t wearing my gloves. I felt alone as I looked up. All I could see was a blur of feet and legs splashing past me. No one stopped to help. I sat up and looked at my hands they were dirty and grazed. I could feel them ache all the way up my arms, it was really sore. All I wanted was my Dad but I couldn’t see him. My hands were bleeding and I couldn’t see my Dad. I was all alone sat on the wet pavement and no one noticed me. Everyone was too busy. I felt the tears come running down my cheeks like rivers. All I could think of what was I going to do without him? How would I get home? Would Mum and Dad miss me? I hadn’t noticed the crowd moving away from me or the desperate cry of my father as he came towards me. I only felt his arms pick me up and hold me tight as he spoke softly to me.

‘Danny, oh Danny!  It’s ok sweetheart! Thank God are you ok. Where did you go? Don’t ever do that again!..You must stay close to me... I thought I’d lost you... You really scared me; I don’t know what I’d do without you! Come on lets go home son.’

Empty hope and empty promises, nothing changes and nothing will. Retail lies seen with real eyes. empty inside, dead and long gone, lost to an imaginary world they won't come back from. Bitter like coffee grid in the base of a cup an opinion forms. shapeless at first  it gathers form and pace, then like an avalanche the truth hits and it hurts.

beginings

The street was awash as the rain fell, cars appeared to sail like ships past the restaurant window where Cadence sat. Surrounded by friends she was alone, still isolated. Today was her birthday hence her current situation. Her wide eyed smile disguised the inner turmoil.