Hi, I'm Liz (or Lizard to my friends),
I've been fascinated with making "things" for as long as I can remember. When I was a young child my grandparents came to live with us and for me that was wonderful. My Grandma had oodles of wool and was always knitting. My Grandad set up a wood lathe in the shed and taught me how to use it. My Mum always said she wasn't at all "artistic" but when we were young she either knitted or sewed most of our clothes - even our coats. She made her own clothes too - some of them I remember as very glamorous. My Dad had a real talent for playing piano and it was quite late before I realised he was also really good at drawing. My sister inherited the musical talent and took classes in all kinds of dancing - tap, ballet, jazz ballet, ballroom, modern stage. I was a real klutz in that department. She also played piano really well and wasn't bad on the oboe. Her fibre related hobbies these days are knitting and cross stitch.
In our family art and craft was something you did in your spare time - I absorbed the knowledge very early on that "no-one made a living from art or craft". So I was encouraged to play with paper, pencils, paint, fabrics, threads, wood, wire or whatever as a hobby but I was guided into more "suitable" subjects at school for earning a living later. Boy, did that spark a few rows!
As a child I could never get my hands on enough paper - Dad would bring mountains of "clean on one side" home from work but I always managed to use it all and pester him for more! He would always comment that my artwork was "interesting" or "unusual" and then ask me to tell him more about it. As an adult I try to do this now with every child I'm lucky enough to spend arty-crafty time with. I believe this non-judgemental attitude gives the child confidence to try new things, set their own goals and be as creative as they wish. I would raid scrap boxes of fabric, thread, buttons and wool to make "things". Whole wardrobes of clothes for dolls materialised - trousers with top stitched details, knitted and crocheted tops, slinky dresses, tutus, pleated bell bottoms, circular skirts - I even made shoes to match some outfits! Most of these were for my sister's dolls of course. She was the ladylike, feminine one who was interested in fashion - I wouldn't be seen dead playing with a doll or wearing a dress if I could possibly help it!
I designed my own soft toys which usually took on the characteristics of aliens or insects. I distinctly remember getting a class prize at about the age of 8 for a blue corduroy and denim giant "Ant" with bendy legs, a brightly embroidered thorax and wobbly antennae. It was about this time (or I might have been slightly older) that I designed my very first pattern of a simple horse. I've still got that pattern and often make these horses for fetes etc even now as I like their simple lines. I plied and knitted endless yards of cord which were coiled into mats, tea cosies, bags and bowls. I made a doggie draught-stopper out of my old brownie uniform, and footstools for my Grandma out of carpet samples. I made lots of gifts in secret. My Mum was the proud recipient of a pink gingham, embroidered "French Maid" type apron when I was about 9 - it took me weeks, all by hand. At least she said she liked it - come to think of it I can't remember her ever actually wearing it, I wonder why :-) In my teens I made an embroidered banana for my sister's jeans which she was really happy with as you can see in this photograph. Fashion's a fickle thing :-)
I was a bit of a tomboy and spent countless hours in the shed with Dad and Grandad. I learned to use chisels and other woodworking tools (including the lathe) from my Grandad, who would then leave me to turn table legs (all different), sculpt ships, shields or whatever my imagination desired while he dug the vegies (all the while keeping a very wary eye on me through the open door of the shed I'm sure). I got into huge trouble one day when I used my Dad's micrometer as a G-clamp! One of my best presents was a huge cardboard box full of bits of wood, nails, screws, real tools including a hammer, screwdriver etc and a couple of pots of paint. Another great present was a rusty heap of a pushbike. My Dad thought I'd enjoy "doing it up" - he was right of course. I removed the rust, and repaired and cleaned it, then painted it pale blue with red spots. Someone actually left the bike but stole the combination lock I'd put on it from the school cycle sheds - just goes to show not everyone has good taste!
My first attempt at real knitting ended up in the fire - much to my Grandma's horror as it was needles and all! The second attempt was at school - we were supposed to knit squares to make charity blankets but try as I might mine came out as triangles with ladders everywhere. These were held up in front of the class and ridiculed terribly by the teacher. Many, many years later after I recovered from the embarrassment I tackled it again with the help of my Mother in Law. I knitted a few things from patterns but was itching to design things for myself. I use the trial and error "method" and the back of this swing jacket was knitted 6 times before I was happy with it. Once the back was right, the front panels and sleeves were easier so I didn't have to unpick much on any of them. I made notes of what I did as I went along. These notes are available on the website here so anyone who wants to can work their own version of my jacket as a challenge - and believe me it will be a challenge to make any sense of these notes! Do NOT email me with any questions as I've written everything I remember doing :-)
I tried crochet several times before I got the hang of turning properly at the ends so the piece ended up square. Once I mastered this little detail in my teens, I made a filet crochet tank top with a butterfly motif on the front (1970's England - can you tell?) and thought I was the "bees knees". For some reason crochet on it's own just doesn't "do it" for me - haven't yet worked out why that should be when every other fibre related craft from basketry to rug-hooking fascinates me.
In the 80's I tried spinning but I found it frustrating to spend so much time just to produce the raw material for a project. I prefer to use yarn that already exists to spinning my own.
Once I tried quilt making I was hooked. Every aspect of it interests me - piecing, appliqué and quilting are all huge subjects in themselves, and combined with using other fibre and textile crafts to embellish them I don't think I'll ever run out of ideas. Currently I'm very interested in combining quilting with embroidery, knitting, free-form crochet and beading for multi media work. I like a multitude of textures and enjoy the challenge of creating three dimensional work.
