Anatomy of a Tea Cosy commission, March, Stage 2

Last evening as I was stitching away on the other side of the cosy I had the uneasy feeling that something wasn't quite right...



And then this morning when I checked the instructions and ideas from the client I found I'd put the wrong purple silk on the cosy, and also on the cushions, so this morning I've been unpicking the cushions and re-stitching the correct purple silk, and with the cosy I've added the darker purple silk over the top of the paler purple to get it right.



I love that with textiles, its possible to layer and hide areas and thus create rich layers of built-up texture and weight...

So now I'm about to start freehand machine embroidering the Peony flower, to then be hand embroidered to 'colour' it in, and I'll add the three blue wren silhouettes which are to represent the client's three children, which I think is such a lovely metaphor!

The next images will be of this embroidery and I'll start the Mercedes car on the Union Jack side tomorrow morning....I still have to confirm with the client what sort of imagery will be above the car, as this piece is for the client's wedding anniversary and the Union Jack side reflects aspects of her English husband's personality and passions.

Teacosy* Number 12; Molker Milch Leibling at the Dairy, 2009

I finished this tea cosy last night to deliver to the Great Western Tiers Visitor's Centre in Deloraine today. They asked me to lend them a tea cosy because a few people travelling through the area have come in and asked for 'the young woman who makes tea cosies', and they want to be able to give people some information about local artists like myself!

The Deloraine area is becoming well known for its English-style hard cheeses and Dairy industry in general, and so this little tea cosy is a quaint honouring of this industry...and uses Swiss cotton checked fabric I bought at a flea market in Zurich last winter, and the cow's neck collar has the Swiss flag on it (my favourite Gruyere cheese is made locally by a Swiss émigré called Frank Marchant who started Heidi Farm Cheese and who now works for Lactos, a big cheese producing company in the north west of Tasmania (his cheese is the best though!)

Hand embroidered Swiss cotton, with applique silk and old fabric name tags 'Mrs Westbrook', silk, Tasmanian wool interlining, Japanese cotton, brass bell.

Dimensions: 30 x 38cm
Collection: Great Western Tiers Visitor Centre, Deloraine
Photos: The Artist

My Newest Delivery...

Last night I finished stitching this tea cosy which some friends commissioned late last year! Time flies when one isn't looking!

The brief from my client friends was to include their dog, Coco, a peony flower and then the rest was up to me...so knowing my friends as I do, I decided to include Tim's vintage Bugatti as well as something a bit silly and English- the rubber duckie with a crown a la 'Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' record cover...Tim is English and has a great sense of humour and works in special effects for film as well as being an artist.

His partner Carolyn I haven't known for as long. She's an artist also and so I hope I've included enough that is 'her' on the side with the flower (there wasn't enough 'comfortable' room for Coco on the Bugatti side)?!

I'll see what they think when they come to collect it!

Hand and freehand machine embroidery on silk, mangle cloth, Tasmanian wool, Japanese cotton lining.

This cosy has an additional removable woollen interlining in case the cosy isn't snug enough on the teapot...and where my friends live it gets very cold in winter!

Dimensions: 47 x 44cm
Collection: Tim Whiteley & Carolyn Edgecombe, Tasmania
Photos: The Artist