COSTUME FOR THE THATRE

' Lots of Bling'

This is a recent costume I constructed for an actor playing the part of

Elvis Presley in a play called Cooking with Elvis.

'Frock coat'

Another costume for the theatre.

The original fabric of the coat was perished and beyond use so I unpicked it

and used the pieces as my pattern. It is made in velvet, using the original

braiding from the original coat which I remade using new fabric. A lot of

the braiding was also  worn so I spent a fair while matching the embroidery

threads to repair the patterning.

SPRING TIME SCARVES

Colourful scarves for spring time worked in silk and mixed fibre threads

'Nuno' felted onto various shear fabrics.

  A change of shape this time I have made a triangular shaped scarf. I find

it is a very versatile shape and can be worn as a shawl, tied to the front

or I like to wear this design with the triangle shape point under the chin

and then the long ends crossed at the back and brought round to the front.

The later a perfect muffler to keep out the cold wind without too much bulk.

BREAKING NEWS

A busy week making felted merino wool 'pods' decorated with silk threads,
handy little bowls for putting trinkets in or just to admire.

  This is a scarf/wrap , technically challenging as each flower is visible

from each side, differing colours on each side, these are then linked by

very fine criss-crossing of fibres before felting. A technique known as fine

felt. The result is a very light weight but very cosy wrap, these I make in

various colour ways. They are a labour of love as they can take three to

four days to construct and finish.

 This is a close-up of  another wrap made in the same way as the blue one I

talked about previously.

  This is a necklace and earing set I was commissioned to make for a ladies

wedding day, unusual but she just loved them.

  A change of media today I turned my hand to my other passion that of water

colour painting.

  These little friendly monsters were inspired by a birthday card I saw at

my grandsons, so I made him one and some little friends full of character to

sell. They are made from surplus Polar Fleece and have child friendly eyes,

it turns out that adults are attracted to them and buy them for themselves.

 Here you will see a collection of my little baby 'pixie' booties which  are

felted over a template making the two feet at the same time then separating

them part way through the felting process.

INSPIRED IN INDIA

  This little bridal  bag was inspired by organic underwater matter.
It is made from wet felted merino and silk fibres followed by lots of had
beading and is also fully lined with bridal fabric. (perfect size for
keeping your phone and keys close by) I think this would look good in dark
colours for an evening accessory as well.

  I made this for a friend's wedding. She wore a silk 50's dress which I
made for her and wanted a bag and shoulder wrap to go with it as she was
being married in her home country of Denmark and it would be a very icy time
of year. I was lucky enough to attend the wedding I Faska and was totally
surprised to see a stunning sight of a water fountain frozen in time in the
air just along from the wedding venue. I walked along a coast road the day
after but couldn't see the sea because of a thick fog, I can imagine it to
be very beautiful in the summer time though.

   I spotted this picture whilst looking through photographs today and was

immediately transported back to my time in Dharamshala almost a year ago. We

had every type of weather whilst there, one day lovely sunshine, followed by

torrential rain, hail and frost you name it, we experienced it. A most

powerful memory was being totally lost in a hailstorm, lacking in the

appropriate clothing then coming across a little café Rogpa Café which we

had been looking for in McCloud. We rolled in soaked but our souls were

uplifted with some wonderful music being played, the offer of Vegan

chocolate cake, out of the world in taste, and piping hot lemon, fresh

ginger and honey tea. We were in heaven. It turned out we were only about

half a mile from our hotel so all was well. We went back to the Café again

later in the week to savour more of the delicious cake and ginger tea it was

a must before we moved on in our trip. The photo has also reminded me that I

want to put my flags up in my garden now that I am settled here in my new

abode. Firstly I need to choose a significant day and area to place them,

maybe I will wait until the builders have finished the outdoor work before

doing so.

   oh to be back in that wonderful country, need I say more!!!

  Who couldn't be inspired by all this colour? what memories this evokes for

me.

Our driver came to us a breakfast and offered to drive us backwards some 8

miles on our trip to attend this festival if we wanted him to. As a result

we spent the day, 2 westerners in a sea of about 4 thousand locals who were

celebrating a festival. A festival which seemed to involve what looked like

a competition of teams of men 'drumming'.

There was food, elephants, all the normal fun of the market place with it.

I was bowled over with the friendliness of all the people, they wanted to

practice their little English with us, shake hands and take pictures. We

felt so humble and tickled pink at the way we were being treated like

Royalty.

Sugar cane seller at the festival

PANCAKES

 look who appeared in my pan whilst making a batch of pancakes I couldn't
create that again if I tried.

THE CRESCENT THEATRE IN BIRMINGHAM

 Working as a volunteer in the sewing room at the Crescent Theatre in
Birmingham throws up some interesting projects, this is one of those. This
costume started out being so badly in need of restoring (I wish I had taken
a picture of before and after, will have to remember to do that in future)
so I completely took it apart, used the original pieces as a pattern and
replace some of the bad pieces. I managed to save quite a lot of it by
backing the original fabrics to support it. I really enjoyed sewing all the
original braid back on afterwards.

THREE BAGS

 Three exclusive bags ready for posting to Mango Juice Gallery, Worcester.
Each one is made of wet felted fibres combined with a fabric as the lining.
These are felted at the same time so that there is no seaming in the end
product. The only sewing involved is the sewing on of the button. They have
an adjustable, strengthened strap, the bags themselves are very strong and
light weight ideal for carrying essentials.

JEWELLERY WRAPS

These Jewellery wraps I make regularly using the wet felting technique in
all shades and colours. Each has a pocket inside and a buttoned bar for
keeping rings tidy.

NEW WORK

I tried out a different direction in my work, this is the result using a
piece of silk and felting fibres into it. The most difficult part was trying
to guess what size piece of fabric I needed to start with allowing for the
shrinkage. I must say I am pleasantly surprised with the result.

  This one is similar just slightly different colourway.

close up of felted fabric

FIRST ALBUM OF JULIO ROBLES