10 Years of this Blog!!

Ten years of this blog- wow, that’s a pretty big milestone, so it wouldn’t be true to form if I didn’t create a post about it! As part of conducting my research for this (yes, really) I went back to read my first post ten years ago this month. Which I have linked, so if you too want to share the same pleasure of reading a younger, more pretentious, less mature version of myself, with a similar level of bad jokes and self-deprecation, then please go ahead.

Beginning this was my third attempt at keeping a blog, the previous ones I’ve since unpublished. Though, I’m not too sure why, because I just had a cheeky read over them and they aren’t that dissimilar to this current one. They are heavily related to whatever film/ animation projects I was working on at the time and followed a similar format in sharing progress images/ behind the scenes style goodies. I think it was probably more to do with the stage of my life when I was writing them, rather than the actual content: I was struggling severely with my mental health at the time and I think when I started this blog, I had got to a point where I was well enough to (and understandably so) want to disassociate with that version of me. Over ten years have passed now and I’m able to look back on that time in a more reasonable light, but I can empathise with my past self for wanting to put those memories completely behind me. Perhaps I’ll republish them at some point…

Anyway, I have digressed as per. In essence, the reason I started the blog has stayed the same throughout, which was to share my creative works and analyse my practise. As well as being a creative record to look back on over the years and see what I’ve accomplished and see how I’ve grown and developed as an artist/ filmmaker and as a person (spoiler alert: a lot). From time to time, especially at moments when I’m finding it hard to appreciate how far I’ve come over the years, I do look back on my older work as a reminder of all the creative stuff I’ve done. Sometimes I get in a slump and think ‘I’m not very ‘good’’, or not very creative. Which is a load of rubbish! So this blog has been a huge help in that way.

I rarely advertise this blog on what little social media I do use, because I like the idea of it being just for me. I think if I publicised it in a wider way, then I might be more conscious of my writing style or things I post about/ amount I post. I don’t mind that it’s public, in fact, it would be nice if someone told me that they’re a reader and find what I put out here interesting or educational (or even somewhat entertaining), but I think if it was more outwardly publicly facing, such as my Instagram, I’d probably not be so much ‘me’ on here and tie myself up in knots over the content of the blog. And I don’t really want this tainted in that same way. I like it as an outlet where I can be my authentic self without worrying what others might think.

Due to the amount of posts there is and the length of some of said posts (most easily go over the 1,000 word count without even trying), this blog is clearly something I love doing. It’s an enjoyable way of acknowledging the closure of whatever project I’m working on, as well as giving me a space to evaluate my work and through that, learn and grow as an artist. As I go into a lot of detail in most of the posts, it’s also super useful to look back on when trying to emulate a similar technique or process and see how I did something and what worked/ what didn’t.

Not really sure where I’m going with this post if I’m honest! I just sort of wanted to celebrate the milestone of ten years and get a bit gooey over how much I enjoy this thing! But yeah, maybe I’ll leave it at that. Also if you are a regular reader here, then a massive thank you for reading and taking an interest- it is greatly appreciated <3

I'm the one on the right

More serious- for balance

Handmade Bag

This was 100% the hardest thing I have ever sewn! No contest. It started because I wanted a bag smaller than an A4 piece of paper which is the standard size allowed to take into large sports stadiums. As well as for times when I didn’t want to carry my ‘big’ bag around, but didn’t have the adequate pocket space to carry the essentials with me, such as my phone, notebook, mirror/ hair brush, hand gel and so on. I had a bit of a look around the shops and I either didn’t like any of the bags or they were too pricey for the budget I had in mind for this particular item. Plus I’m also on a bit of an environmental guilt vibe at the moment and therefore dislike purchasing a load of new stuff. Basically everything new I buy, I need to justify about a million times over and then still feel bad, even if I couldn’t have done without said item. Yep, I’m no fun at parties.

So, being as I’m getting back into sewing at the moment, I thought, well you know what, what don’t I try making one? I likely have all the materials I need around the house, as well as the skills to be able to pull this off. And after a quick scour of YouTube, there were plenty of tutorials to show me how to do it, so I thought ‘yeah, go on then, why not’. I used a combination of three videos to create my bag: here, here and here.

Like I said at the top of this post, it wasn’t easy. I wouldn’t say I’m the most experienced sewer, so perhaps to try and pull this off was one of those biting off more than I can chew moments. But I bit it, and I chewed it and it chewed back at me, but it was finally done!

And I am extremely proud of it, for a couple of reasons: firstly, for pushing through such a difficult task, and secondly, for the finished piece. I can’t lie, I do think it looks really good and has a quite professional finish- at least from the outside!

And everything was sourced from existing items I had round the house, besides some fusible interfacing, which I got from The Range for less than £1 and the strap, which I took from a charity shop find, for £2. To buy nylon bag strap webbing new would have cost the same, if not more, plus would have also meant I was bringing something new into existence which wasn’t necessary, being as I found exactly what I needed in a charity shop. So I’m really proud of how sustainable making this bag was. And the only worker that got exploited was myself(!), but that’s ok, because it was my choice.

The breakdown of the materials used: the main zip, plus key holder were from another bag which was in to bad of a shape to give to charity, the inside lining was created from various fat quarters I already had, the trim inside was created from hospital gown(!) from my previous film project, the main material was made from curtain fabric from a spare single curtain we had and the hardware (D-rings, tabs and clips) were salvaged from other bags around the house.

Like I said a couple of times already, making this was NOT easy and I did go wrong a few times during the making of it. My first attempt at the front was awful and I’m so pleased I decided to start again. The zip wasn’t straight and the whole thing just looked bad:

This was using an old pair of trousers, though the fabric will now likely become another project in the future (perhaps used for trouser patches or test material). I was extremely frustrated that I had ‘wasted’ some material here, but like I said, I’ll try and use it for something else.

The next time I went wrong was when I attempted to make the welt pocket for the inside:

I followed this tutorial. The tutorial was great, but my effort unfortunately wasn’t. Again frustrated because of the wastage of material used, but luckily it’s not too much and I have kept it, so I can try and use it for future projects. The main issue here was the fact that the fabric had puckered at the edges and it didn’t make for a very clean finish, therefore I decided I didn’t want it in my bag. Perhaps I should have practised on some scrap fabric first, because it’s a hard technique to get neat- or that’s how I felt anyway. But, you learn as you go. I eventually settled for just a basic inner pocket, with no zip or owt, just to simplify things. I was very stubborn and wasn’t going to discard my need for an inner pocket! I just love pockets!

And then there were various times where I unpicked the sewing because I wasn’t happy with it, but I won’t bore you with outlining all of those times. I also went from using pins, to using clips and seriously, for bulky stuff with lots of layers of fabric such as this, these are an absolute find. Pins definitely have their uses too, but clips are the way forward for this kind of project.

I wouldn’t say I’m the most confident person using the sewing machine (I find hand sewing much easier to control), but I’m really pleased with some of the top stitching, though unfortunately you can’t see it that well, because the thread matches the colour of everything too well. It’s sort of where I wished I had used contrast stitching, especially on the front and alongside the top zip. Plus it would have given the finish a bit more detail, especially if I went for something like a yellow or a pink. That would have looked really cool. Next time eh…

Also, if anyone still calls me a perfectionist after seeing the inside of the bag, then they are very, very wrong! Sewing the trim was one of those ‘just need to get it done I’m not unpicking this’ moments! It doesn’t look too bad now it’s inside, but there’s some shocking sewing going on in there. But it’s on and there are no raw edges in sight, so that’s what matters. Next time though, I would prefer to use bias binding and sew it on at the end. I think it might have been easier to sew and provided for a nicer finish.

Ok, I think that’s everything. Well, maybe I’ll quickly add the dimensions of the finished piece for those that are interested: 23x15x5.5cm. Right, I’m done! On to the next project, whatever it may be xo

Bonus image above: the state of my desk for a week or so while I was making the thing...

I Wish I Was There- June Screenings

Just a quick one to let you know about a couple of upcoming screenings for I Wish I Was There…

First up, it’s screening on Saturday 20th June, 12.30-3pm at The Ferret in Preston, as part of the North West Independent Film Festival. I’m super pleased it was selected for this one as it’s where I lived prior to moving to Sheffield and where filmmaking all got started for me. So it’ll be one of those nice ‘full circle’ sort of moments. Tickets are just £6 and you can get those here.

And not even a week later, it’s showing as part of Milk Teeth’s North x North Northeast short film night at 6pm on Thursday 25th June, at the iconic Hyde Park Picture House up in Leeds. Should be a fun one, plus excited that my film is going to be screened in this venue! Tickets are pay what you can and you can get those here.

I will be in attendance at both, so come say hey if you’re around!

Right, I’m off to Sheffield DocFest, where I’ll be gorging myself on films and only films over the next five days xo

Crochet Sleeveless Shirt

Because I’ve mainly made sweater style things thus far, I wanted to try something a bit different, so I decided to make a shirt. And it is summer now (despite the rain). Crochet shirts are a style of top I’d definitely wear, as well as being a whole new challenge in terms of my crochet ability. I watched a fair amount of tutorials on YouTube, so kind of had an idea of how I wanted to go about about this project (special shoutout to FTK crochet, who have some sick designs/ tutorials on their channel), but there was no pattern I was following directly in terms of colour scheme or otherwise. I actually took the measurements from a shirt I already own, as it’s one I really like the fit of.

A month later and I was the lucky owner of this! I think it’s my favourite crochet item I’ve made to date:

I must say I absolutely love the fit/ shape, as well as the colour scheme and everything else! I seriously CAN NOT wait to start wearing this out to places. I am seriously proud of it, and it excites me where next to go with my crochet.

I’ll do a bit of a pattern/ making of etc here, so I can easily call on this should I want to make something similar in the future… Before I forget, this was all crocheted using a 3mm hook and 100% cotton WI Hobbycraft ‘that’s so cotton’ yarn, in colours ‘ecru’ and ‘navy’. As these things often do, it all started with a quick sketch of my idea:

Though this looks a bit like one of those horse racing kits I remember seeing as a kid in the newspaper whenever there was a major race on!

And in true Flora Martyr fashion, there was a couple of obligatory restarts (though nothing too major this time round thankfully). I don’t actually remember exactly why I restarted- I think it was because to do with the length of the starting chain and it growing/ shrinking etc once I added a few rows of stitches and the fact that I didn’t like the edges. Which lead me to learning how to do standing stitches at the start of each new row, instead of chaining 2 or 3, which leaves those big gaps and doesn’t make the piece look quite as nice. These standing chains make the edges look super flush and I’ll 100% be using them going forwards. Here was my test piece for learning that:

I created the back panel first, the final measurements being 19.2x21.5 inches, and I was working side to side, rather than bottom up, allowing me to get the vertical stripe effect. There were 62 (double crochet) rows across the back (31 stripes), weighing 218g. And each row took approximately 12 minutes each.

For the two front panels, they were essentially the same process and size as the back, but half size vertically (30 rows/ 15 stripes), going from blue to blue (allowing me to pattern match with the back panel), plus leaving a space in the middle for the white button band later on. Each of these weighed 104g each. My tension was clearly on point!

After I was done with each panel (back, front 1, front 2), I weaved the ends in, because there were soooo many and didn’t want to save it for the end. That would be extremely masochistic, even by my standards!

After all the three main panels were done, I pinned it together using stitch markers for a test fitting, to check if I had gone wildly off course with my measurements or anything. Luckily I had not, so to crack on with the sleeves was next.

I had no idea how long etc I wanted the sleeves to be, so to help me decide, I fixed a bit of fabric using masking tape to test out the length/ size I wanted. Very technical, I know…

The sleeves took around 5 hours each and measured 6.2x16 inches approx, each weighing 54g (before adding the ribbing). I thought adding a small bit of trim to the edges would add a bit of extra ‘something’ to the design, so I used 3 rows of single crochet. This gave just the right amount I think. Note to future self: started with the ‘right’ side facing towards me for the ribbing.

Originally, I hadn’t intended for the ribbing to cinch the sleeves in like on the above image, but it was one of those happy accidents I was pleased with. Without it, I feel the sleeves would have come across too baggy and shapeless. With this in mind, I did the same to the bottom of the garment at the end of the construction, which really helped bring shape to the whole thing.

Then, it was time to crochet it all together. I attached the shoulders together first, leaving a 7.5ish inch hole for the neck- this definitely gave me the most anxiety, because I was really nervous whether it would be too big/ small, but it actually turned out just right. I then attached the sleeves and stitched up the sides. Next, was to add the aforementioned hem/ ribbing all the way around the bottom, followed by the button panels. Lastly, was the collar. Though in future, I would swap the latter two stages around, because the collar changed how it hung a little, so I actually ended up needing to redo the button hole placement. Which didn’t take that long, but it was a step I could have done without.

The collar, I started with the right side facing towards me (like with all the ribbing) and single crocheted 13 rows round the neck, increasing by two on the 5th, 7th, 10th and 13th rows. No exact science, just guesswork!

I’ll stick a few more pics down below of the finished item, so you can see it in more detail. Right, that’s me off to go do something else for a little while… xo