"This was made for an exhibtion set up by The Rose Society of Northern Ireland and I used a little piece of poetry as inspiration:

     And I wove the thing to a random rhyme,
      For the Rose was Beauty
      And the Gardener, Time.

I have no idea who wrote this poem but it was one of those lovely things which you hear and it stays in the back of your head. The rose is worked in canvaswork of course and is the most important section.

This was stitched onto a piece of calico and then I've put masses of other stuff all round it. The 'other stuff' includes the text, printed onto silk, handmade paper, handmade silk paper, silk and velvet fabrics, painted papers, and pressed flowers and seed heads.

Once the piece was assembled on the calico backing, I machine stitched it in silk and gold threads to pull it all together and integrate the various elements, turning it into a new 'cloth'."

"A closer view of the piece. You can see the shading has a lighter diagonal swathe across the cloth, through the canvaswork and applique."

"This photo shows the canvaswork cover of the book, with a red shot-silk border. I love making books. I made the papier mache sleeve to protect it and painted it with acrylics and gold enamel.
See the cover canvaswork panel on its own.

The canvas is worked in half cross stitch and cushion stitch with plain and space-dyed cotton threads and some gold and coloured metallic threads. Also, some shiny Madeira machine embroidery threads. The book cover image is a child on a tricycle (me!!) and it is repeated through the book using various embroidery techniques - and many colours!"

"From a series of embroideries based on letters and characters, this time made up into a little book. This motif is a Burmese character - an 'e'. I lived in Burma for a few years as a very small child and I grew up with many watercolours and wooden carvings in our house here in Ireland when we came home.

Worked in half cross stitch with plain and space-dyed cotton threads and some gold and some shiny Madeira machine embroidery threads. I sometimes put just a couple of strands of metallic in with stranded cotton, eg., purple metallic in with purple cotton, just to give a bit of subtle 'glint'.

You can also see a toggle on the end of the plaited tie. I made it from papier mache with the little character on it. It's painted with acrylics and gold enamel paint."

"Why use one colour when you can use 247!

These panels are for more book covers in my 'Characters' series. Lots of metallic threads in these two, as I wanted these book covers to look really rich. The metal makes the stitches look a bit funny in the photo, and the shapes a little indistinct. Even so, I think you can still see my 247 colours philosophy!"

 

"My 'wee' sister and me, aged about 6 and 11. Loads of colours!

This was from a little black and white photo and is part of another series of family (and pet!) pictures. My sister's not completely convinced about our greenish faces! I used upright Gobelin stitch, cushion stitch and half cross stitch again."
 

"Murphy, my beagle. I make no apologies for the fact that a woman old enough to know better should spend so long designing and making a portrait of her dog. You, of course may wonder about my mental health!

Enjoy your work!"

Avril Halliday - January 2006

 

Avril Halliday has written and sent us pics of one of her latest 'book' pieces! It's called "The Doggy Bag" or "The Amazing Adventures of Murphy the Beagle!" -
please click on the image below to see more . . .

"The Doggy Bag"		Avril writes: "I hoped this would make you smile! I made a tiny version of this 'book' for my little neice, and this is the bigger version with canvas embroidery covers. It was made for an annual exhibition titled "New Frontiers", here in the Ulster American Folk Park Museum a few months ago, hence the Mount Rushmore photo!
The covers are inset with needlepoint panels using many many colours. A "houndstooth check" pattern of course! (A geometric pattern made up of squares with drawn-out corners that link them together. Named for the resemblance of these corners to the fangs of a dog.) The handles and binding are suede fabric, and one handle opens with a fixing like a dog lead. (Again I ask . . . . is this a sensible occupation for a grown woman?)" Avril Halliday    June 2007

Awards - 2005

Avril Halliday won two awards for her 'Convolutions' Book at the Summer Craft Show at the Royal Dublin Society:

The Mairin O'Brien Flegg Memorial Award "For excellence in contemporary embroidery."

- and the Crafts Council of Ireland Award - "A purchase prize, awarded to items which represent and portray the very best of creativity and inspiration in Irish craft."

The 'Convolutions' Book is now in the Crafts Council of Ireland's Permanent Collection.

Avril is President of the Northern Ireland Embroidery Guild:
Website: http://www.nieg.org.uk/

Contact her by email: Avril Halliday


* SEE TOO this GORGEOUS notebook that Avril made for my web designer Cherry!

updated September 2007