Thursday 15 September 2011

I had to phone someone, so I picked on you... Hey that's far out, so you heard him too...

Hello!
At a Flea market, on impulse one day, I parted with some pennies and bought
six or so pairs of very old,
ladies kid leather gloves.
They are exquisitely made.

 Skilled hands put these together, tiny MoP buttons, teeny tiny stitches, with size markings/stamps too, which makes me think they might be French?  Don't know.
Some of the gloves are a little grubby...so in my wisdom, I decided to see if one would wash...
yes, I know, I said wash...
 Noooooo, I hear you scream.
   In my defense I was feeling very tired and my brain these days is puddled.   
Anyway, after a brisk handwash (of just the one glove) and a dry in the breeze...
this is the monster that I was left with....
not exactly pretty is it?

So...seeing that these very slender, 'seen better days' gloves are in need of ...
what they call these days ...'upcycling'?  Is that the term?   I call it reworking.
I chose a glove, not that nasty ruined one and cut and sewed two of the fingers...
for ears for Beryl,
Beryl the Bunny Brooch.
She is made of old, worn patchwork and ticking cotton...
she is, of course, inspired by the iconic Julie Arkell's work.

 Here is Beryl, having a chat with a chicken, who doesn't seem to be very interested...
 and onto brooches.  
I have constructed these brooches to highlight the beauty and the skill of the tiny,
 sometimes hidden perfect details.  
The button holes are so exquisitely worked and that number, oh, so lovely.
I would never ever buy new kid leather, but these gloves were one step away from being skipped,
so I have tried to put them to some sort of new purpose.
The brooches are only a couple of inches square.
I have used very old quilt snippets too, to add more texture and colour.
 This brooch is made  from the glove inside out, to highlight the alphabet which has been stamped onto the leather.
 A little hand embroidery too and always a button.
 Finger tips across the top.

So there you are, I hope I haven't confused you with my strange ramblings about old gloves.
~0~
Change of subject...I thought I would mention that I have this very beautiful piece of original French Wallpaper for sale in my eBay shop.   I think it is hand blocked?  
(Any info would be greatly appreciated).  
It is truly beautiful and hard to part with, but University Fees do not pay themselves.
Thanks so much for stopping by. x

33 comments:

Joanna said...

Sweet gloves (though not the washed one which reminds me of a horror film I sat through recently!).

I just LOVE Beryl and ADORE the little scene with the uninterested chicken!

The brooches are (g)lovely too - are they going in your etsy shop?

xx

Twiglet said...

Such original little brooches.

Milly and Dottie said...
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Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

Well more fool the chicken!! Beryl is positively beautiful and would be very hard to resist.. being a chicken or any other beast!
You clever thing.. I remember when you bought those gloves and wondered what inspired creations you would make with them..

Mxx

lemonade kitty said...

Isn't Beryl soooo sweet, and I love what you've done with the gloves, to think that they once adorned ladies hands and now they're adorning bosoms!!

mrs cheese said...

Oh Beryl is a real beauty!

I like your bag of gloves too.
I recently purchased a large bag of old shirt collars (much to my husbands dismay) Not sure what they're destined for yet.

Love love love your wee brooches too
x

silly old suitcase said...

Oh my, this is so nice!
I can almost feel how soft and thin the used leather is, you made some wonderful treasures out of it...

i love it.

Tilly Tea Dance said...

Hiya! Saw the brooch on etsy and just had to come on over to the blog to see the story behind it. These works of art are all FABULOUS and just so quirky.

xxx

lettice leaf said...

Viv, STOP! I had to wing this off NOW, haven't even read to the bottom of your post. Get the blooming glove out of the bin and work it with your fingers - it will come good - trust me! Now I'll read on... Oh and by the way two fingers to you too lassie, I often feel like doing rabbits ears to folk who cut me up in my Smart car. Burrow loads love, LinX

Dotty said...

Fabulous! I love Beryl:D

henny designs said...

I cried with laughter at the pic of the washed glove (is that wrong of me), just the sort of thing I do too!
And I LOVE Beryl xxx

A Mermaid's Tale said...

What an inspired way of using those gloves! I too have several pairs which are so exquisite I haven't had the courage to cut into them yet, but I will one day. As you say, the tiny details and the incredible stitching deserve to be highlighted and given their due admiration. As for Beryl, just wonderful Viv! x x

fee @ chipper nelly said...

Now, this talk of kid gloves reminds me of one of my all time favourite books - Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. If you haven't read it you must!
Love what you've done with the glove - and the hooded claw made me laugh!

In fact loving all of it. No surprise there then...fee x

Unknown said...
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Greedy Nan said...

That glove looks positively scary - I certainly wouldn't want to meet it in a dark alley. The little Beryl however is a different kettle of rabbits all together and I'd love to find her up an alley whether it was dark or light.

Unknown said...

I love Berly and the lovely new blog header that she is the star of.

The glove monster really made me laugh.

xx

Annie Cholewa said...

Beautiful brooches ... but oh, the wallpaper, what a delight!

Murgatroyd said...

Super Beryl! Those lovely little kid glove brooches remind me of tiny corsets, yum!
(I rather liked the monster glove...that IS the sort of thing I come home with :D)

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Viv,
Your 'reworking' skills have performed brilliantly! What unique pieces you have created...The kid gloves from years ago always seem amazingly tiny...no way many of us would fit into them today...so much better that they now have a new life...
I had some tatty remnants of old baby gowns - The tiny stitches on those were gorgeous too...its such a privilege to work with these old textiles, isn't it?

Beryl is a babe!
Take care,
Niki x

Chrissie said...

Amazing as always. Love that Beryl, but I wouldn't stand for a sulky chicken if I were she! x

Margaret said...

Kid --- = Chamois , Now you could have put them on and washed the car or glass Hmmmm! Well Necessetity is the mother of invention so the saying goes and you have certainly put together beauty from near failure. Good on You take a bow.

Sandies' Patch said...

I think you should send the glove to Ina at 'Highland life' blog, she did wonders for 'Flat Stanley'!!

Looks like a bit of a dog chew now doesn't it? the washed glove that is!
Beryl has high quality ears at least!

Sandie xx

Sheeprustler said...

They are all very beautiful. And I love your new header. The ruined glove makes me laugh, I'm sure that will feature in a nightmare sometime soon!

Anonymous said...

switch on the tv
we can pick him up on

channel 2.

I love the brooch - of course, anything Julie-like always has my fullest loving attention.

Jane said...

Oh, loving the fancy new header, Viv. You are just bursting with ideas, my friend! J x

Anonymous said...

I have a crusty glove like that from doing the same thing. I've been saving it. I find it fascinating to look at. Not sure what it will become.

Andi's English Attic said...

The brooches are wonderful (made me think of dolls' corsets).

Hey, it seems you've begun your Halloween decorations with that glove. 'The Withered Hand'. Truly startling :0 xx

Caroline Lovis (Redneedle) said...

Love the brooches, totally unique and quirky.

Country Cottage Chic said...

Must say that Beautiful Beryl looks decidedly festive in her photo!
Can you believe I used to buy these old gloves to wear? Having quite small hands they do actually fit....but the washed one is a thing of nightmares!

Your creations are always so...creative!
x

Emma Thomsen said...

More lovely work, but I'm afraid the washed glove looks like a mummified hand - Eewww!

Ciara Brehony said...

Oh my. I've just found you and am truly smitten....

Michelle said...

So very happy to have found you after seeing a hint of your creations on Pinterest! Beautiful, inspiring soul....thank you for all your inspiration.

Unknown said...

Oh my, you have re-purposed those gloves perfectly, lovely to see their beauty bought to life in a new way.