Tuesday 13 January 2015

Chosen Fabric

 Gingham! I love gingham, I find it to be really sweet and it envokes feelings of comfort and warmth. This fabric can be look awesome when tied with a vintage home style, I have decided that I want to use gingham for all of the cushions to keep them looking like a proper series but then they will have an individual feel to each cushions
I have chosen to use the Red, Navy Blue, Sky Blue and Green for my cushions as I think these colours will go best with the images that I am making.
I have also bought matching zips and trimmings and also a load of calico in which I will paint my illustrations on to.
I want to paint my images on as I feel this will give it more home made quality and make each individual and special.

Looking at fabrics.

I want to look for a fabric that will portray a homely and comfortable feel, so preferably quite a sweet fabric and a different colour to match each different animal or bird on each cushion. I went to http://www.cheapfabrics.co.uk to find the fabrics that would suit.
I really liked the fabric above, especially the Rust, Purple, Wine and Brown. I found them to be quite homely and recon that they might fit the cushions I am planning to make. 
 I love gingham, it brings back loads of random memories that bring me comfort and remind me of home. So I think something like this would fit, and this website has a selection of different colours to order the fabric in. So, I could have them all in the same fabric but different colours to go with each different one.
I also have a massive love for anything and everything tartan, so I am considering using tartan for all of the pieces but possible trying to find different colours and tones of tartan to use for each cushion.



Liberty cushions

I wanted to look at different cushions that Liberty sell at the moment to get a feel of what is popular and what they like. I also want to look at price ranges as I am not sure on how to price my cushions. 
When looking at the range available at Liberty's website I found that most of them if not all of them are nature based and very colourful. My cushion is all based around nature and old vintage cottage home so I think it would definitely fit in with what the customers want. 

All of the cushions are pricey and come from well known designers, but obviously the open day is about discovering new designers. My cushion will be completely hand made, so I want to work out a good price that fits the amount of time and money that I put in to the cushion. 







Friday 9 January 2015

Cushions

I have decided what I want to illustrate on each cushion from the ideas I have thought that relate to memories of mine.

The first will be a Heron; I have chosen this because I have a memory of me and my twin seeing one for the first time fly through the garden. After we saw the heron we freaked out not knowing that there were birds that big around and we called our Dad for help and he had to calm us and explain that it was only a harmless Heron that must have been eyeing up the koi pond and flown off when it saw us. Since then I have formed a love for Herons, I love how long and graceful they are and the soft colours.

The second will be a pig; I have chosen pigs because my Dads favourite animals are pigs and I love them also. I have so many fond memories of talking to my Dad about pigs and different breeds and about how he's worked with them and loads of crazy stories about them.
For this cushion I will use ares gingham and trimming that would work well, I am still deciding which colour ribbon and so on.

The third will be a swan; swans remind me of going to the lake with my Mum, twin and baby sister. I want to do a pillow based on a memory with my Mum because she is also a huge hero of mine. My real mother abandoned me at a young age so I thought I may never have a mother until my Mum came along and bought us up as her own. I have huge appreciation and admiration that she has done this for me and my sister, so I would like to do one for my Mum to show her that I am thankful of everything she has done for me. Swans remind me of my Mum because she would take me and my twin to the lake to see them with our baby sister Molly so see them and we would keep an eye of the signets and watch them grow.

The fourth will be a pheasant; I used to sit and watch through the window of our farmhouse with my Dad as a group of pheasants would walk up and down the fields and to the garden. My Dad would always keep binoculars by the window and help me find them and tell me names of other birds we would see.

The final will be a pigeon; My Dad used to home pigeons and I would spend a lot of time with him and learn loads about the pigeons and how to look after them or tell apart different breeds. Whenever I see pigeons it reminds me of the time and I love their beauty, I have the negative stigma attached to pigeons and think people should recognise their grace and beauty.

Monday 5 January 2015

Cushions!

I have decided I want to make some cushions with my designs on. I want a vintage and home feel to the cushions so I have been looking at all sorts of different materials to find out which sort of ones I would like to use. The ones that come to mind are fabrics like tartan or gingham, I want to make the cushions myself with the drawings printed on to the centre.
I want all of the cushions to look like a collection or a series so I have decided to go for one material and find it in different colours to suit the pieces.