A Lifetime Trio

 Hello and Welcome!

Today we have a brand new challenge over at A Vintage Journey where we are sharing with you Pairs, Trios and Sets. I hadn't intended to be part of this challenge but then hey presto there I was creating a trio of little collages to decorate a book I was making. More about that later, but here are the details of the challenge.

Toni is challenging us to create a set that works together. It could be ATCs, tags, a triptych or any grouping. Just remember to create in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journalling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk.

Many of you will know that I do a fair amount of knitting and spinning of wool. Just lately I have been designing my own cardigan with my handspun wool and it has taken a lot of maths and calculations to get everything right. So ... yes I needed a book to write up all my notes properly and in one place where I will hopefully be able to build on the design created so far. 

As I started to make the book I realised I had been knitting for at least 60 years! My grandmother and mother taught me when I was six (apparently!) and I picked it up very quickly and was soon making dolls clothes and blankets. Despite knitting taking a bit of a back seat in terms of fashion during the 70s I still knitted colourful fair isle tank tops and shawls.  Coming to Shetland meant my knitting experience exploded and since moving here in 1979 I have knitted all manner of garments using techniques learnt in lace and fair isle and of course spinning my own wool. 

The three collages are very similar. I needed to keep them flat and so have used layers of favourite Tim Holtz papers and rub ons. I was experimenting recently with embossing powder and inks and so had these  three small bookplate frames to use as well.

I love layering the rub ons over the adhered papers - they are just so perfect. A stamp would not be able to to do that!

A slightly different colour palette for my "early 20s" period ......

Again creative use of rub ons but also adding the stitching around the edges of the pieces creates a more cohesive look.

And then finally the "older woman" .........

..... again using some of my favourite scraps and little pieces.

And so to the book -  using Eileen Hull's Pocket Notebook Die as the base, which has been covered in Calico and then another collage using Tim Holtz papers and ephemera. The Fair Isle heart is from a jumper I knitted in 1980 for Terry which was lovingly worn for many years and has now been felted and made into a Bear. But this little piece was still left. 

Shetland wool felts very readily being a short staple, so although this looks fragile it should wear well.

The three signatures look great with their collaged covers and by keeping them reasonably flat they have not made the book too bulky. I am keeping the signatures loose at the moment so I can write up the notes easily.

And the cardigan ..... 

.... a sneek peak of the first fitting on the dummy. I have handspun all the wool and dyed about 50% myself. It is a mixture of Merino and Shetland but all hanks had 30% of silk blended in, so it is beautifully soft and light.

The colourwork patterns are Norwegian as I thought it suited the wool better and you will note that it is not yet a cardigan! It  has been knitted in the round and now I have to cut up the front (known as steeking) after I have added the front bands. It needs a good press but I am very pleased with it and it does fit well.

This post has been a little bit of a journey for you all ..... but sometimes it is good to see why people create and what has prompted the creativity. My little set of three collages certainly have a purpose as you have now been able to see.

As always thank you for joining me and I hope you will be able to join in our fabulous challenge as I am sure you may find you are already creating a pair or a set or a trio! If you need inspiration there is plenty on our blog from the other Creative Guides, so do hop on over and take a look HERE.

Have a happy weekend whatever you are creating!

Jennie x