And again

This time I've gone for the turquoise & golden look, I do love these colors. These are all recycled fabrics & coppery chocolate paper, but I had a rummage & found some more bought 'ribbon' & cut it in half for the edging.

I enjoyed couching down with my favorite zigzag a mix of wool, twisting as I went. I stiched the 3 seperate shapes down & it looked ok but the free motion stitching seemed to transform it into opulence, not sure if you get that from the photo, & not sure why doesn't seem to enlarge enough.  Beads & french knots in various corners. It matches last weeks quite nicely, I think.

A sketch & a minescule sample ;)

I completely forgot to look at the sketch when I was working out the bottom half of the piece - way off with my poportions, anyway, so I thought to add the oblong across the top when I looked at last weeks piece & tied it in with some more exes - kisses? Why not.  My DH asked me what these pieces were meant to be, anybody know? ;)

I'm humbled & so grateful to have seen swallows this week. I don't mind the winter, really, but this does seem to have been a long one. We had a couple of very calm warm days & I grabbed the chance for my first kayak of the season. I don't go far, only just out of sight of the house, across the bay & just peeping into the Sound, the water between us & the Mainland. It was a truly magical haze over everything so I went back for my camera even tho I was terrified of dropping it in the water. My top half felt well excersised! These photos don't really capture the feel of the place but I'll put them up anyway.

There's a boat pulling a fish farm along somewhere in the 2nd to bottom. & the last one has Oyster Catchers courting,the screeching has got to be heard to be believed!

A little bit different

I've been inspired by Janet Edmonds for a long time, ever since I bought her book "Beginners Guide to Embroidered Boxes" & thought I'd NEver be able to make one of these, let alone stitch something like it. I took it along to my wokshop in February for inspiration so it's been knocking about, not hidden in the bookshelf desperate to be read. So I've been reading it & thought, now's the time, not to make a box but to make a panel. I read every word of the instructions, instead of skipping half of them & getting in a muddle. I drew bits that I liked, aiming for my own spin on her designs.

I'm pleased, my first symmetrical pennant type thing. It's a ruler by 4 1/2". My DH is gobsmacked, finally, something he understands! It went a little skew in places but I like that, a bit quirky & NOT perfect, Heaven forbid!

As I didn't want to make a box I just turned the box side shape on it's head. I used chocolate paper foil, (of course ;) & can't seem to get away from burgundy & dusky pink. I don't mind. Janet usually stitches thru 3 layers - felt for the base/inner box, Vilene in the middle then a good cotton fabric for the background. I used shiny cotton (old curtain lining I think) & a white damask napkin from the 'stuff I'd never use in real life, why did I get it?'  pile for the middle layer. Once I'd finished I zigzaged round & attached it to the inevitable sturdy backing of denim.

Janet then builds designs from shiny fabrics or painted vilene or netting, lots of things. She seems to stitch all over the background, then adds the design but I've got to say I'm a skinflint where gold thread is concerned so I fme'd round the additions once the shapes were stitched down ;)

The sketch. I turned the udder lookalikes into arches using sari silk 'thread' I zigzaged over embroidery yarn on top of organza 'ribbon' that I made - hopelessly slippy, I shall be looking out for more braid - all I could find in that dept was the piece in the v at the bottom. Then I stitched turquoise all round, subtle but makes a difference. I made the 4 ovals which looked a bit like leaves but I loved using 2 layers with inner stitching, knowing I was going to expose the second layer by snipping off the top sliver later - fancy thinking ahead like that! Really enjoyed the bulbous circle in the middle altho I nearly lost my fingertips!

I made a cord, haven't done that since,  you guessed it, the Jan & Jean class 100 yrs ago ;)

(I think all these smily faces mean thanks for being patient with me! )

I added it next to the braid at the bottom & then used it to make a little dangly bit with a tiny tassle. I beaded in the corners, really. Being so symetrical I was kind of 'told' where the beads should go. (oh no, my piece isn't 'speaking to me' is it?!) I had to remove the bead from the bottom tip to zigzag round, I might remember to put it back.

I've really enjoyed this departure from my usual mess - Jill said my work had 'sponteneity' which I was delighted with, thank you! It's relaxing tho to have a different way to work. I must find my own patterns in old buildings & watch the Tudors again for symbols & shapes. I not long ago started a little found pattern book, now here's another place to use it. No samples this week, I was too excited to get on! I will make some tho, Janets are beautiful & she made a fabulous book to put them all in, to die for.

Hello to my newest follower, could you add a link or comment? I'd love to visit you back.

I need to go & unbend my stitchers neck & wander about the garden for a bit - my sweetpeas have germinated!

Another seedhead

Well a seed really from Acer Palmatum or some such. Known as a Samara or more commonly,  helicopter wings ;)
I thought I'd finished with seedheads for now until I saw my tiny Acer tree just starting to come into leaf. It's been torrential rain all week till yesterday & today it's been glorious warm sunshine & I actually had a chance to get into the garden. I remembered I had some little seeds pressed betweeen the pages of a book that I'd collected from my parents' tree last October.

Sample 1

Scuse the flash, well it was bright earlier! The seeds are stitched by hand ( & gel medium above & below for strength) to a silver metallic powder painted piece of blue paper, the like of which I've never found again. So I used it instead of keeping it 'safe' in my paper stash. There are small bits painted papers from last week all stittched onto a 'matching' piece of found fabric. I've scribbled here & there with oil pastels & oil sticks & highlighted parts of the seeds with silver wax. A few beads & lots of messy threads, delicious!

Sample 2, more of the same but different.

A small collage about 5" x 7"

& one about 10 x 6". No idea what to call them, this one is really glowing!

I haven't read any blogs the last few days so after supper I'll treat myself to a little blog hopping, lovely for a Sunday evening.

Happy Mother's Day!

I've had a lovely day, hug from youngest & chocolates ;) phone call from eldest - don't think middlest knows it's mothers day, don't mind at all as I saw him "last active 12 hours ago"commenting on someones facebook. Not exactly a relaxing day, but that's fine - went to a party last night, not that late as we had lovely B&B guests, a couple of visitors in the studio & once again trying to come up with a finished collage. I had an idea in the back of my mind I'd watch a film - didn't get into the garden as it's been sunshine for 5 mins followed by hail or rain & a bit breezy to feel comfortable in the greenhouse! I did get my sweet peas & tomatoes sewn earlier!) I don't understand people who say Sundays drag!

Sent this to my Mum, she loved it. I'd covered the 'relief' stitched petals with some plastic & masking tape so it wouldn't get squashed & I added a note asking Dad to remove it for her...in case they thought it was part of the design ;) !

sample 1

Sample 2

sample 3

Idid a little hydrangea sketch but forgot to photgraph it. I seem to throw little samples together with abandon, they're only 4" x 3" or so & I love zooming around with stitching adding a bit here & there, using recycled fabrics,(shiny blue this week) newspaper 'drop cloth', painted papers from my pile, & skelatalized & pressed hydrangea petals/bracts from the garden. 

When it comes to 'the real thing' I sort of sieze up & don't let myself relax enough playing with different selections of paper & fabric. Next time I'll pretend to myself I don't care, that they're really samples... Above is the start of one collage about 10" x 4"

& the start of another one. I will get there. I think all the work in the studio has taken more time than I thought - I have almost a wall full of hung & mounted stuff & feel pretty good about that & a card order to get on with.

Hope you all had a great day, too, now I will go & watch that film.

getting ready for the season

Just a quick one today - my DH & I went to the local hotel for a free buffet lunch given as a thank you/encouragement to B&B & self catering people who send their guests down to eat there. It made us realise that altho Easter is at the end of the month the season starts this weekend coming. It's not a surprise but there's a LOT to do before then to make the studio into a presentable 'gallery' space.

I couldn't really concentrate on a finished piece this week but as I was pruning my Silver Birch I decided to draw it & make a collage using it. I stitched over the actual drawing but luckily I'd got a photocopy of it with the idea of doing some image transfer - I want to repeat the image up the side of a hanging with a large version of the drawing in the middle.....

Above is the sample using the drawing - I stiched with burgundy & gold on gold organza on top of the drawing.

The drawing, another thermofax screen idea?

The start of the collage, a way to go yet ;)

Helped along the way by one of our cats - thought it was about time I joined in with the cat pics! This is Sconser, named after a place up the road here, from a rescue place 16 years ago, my youngest was 6m old! She's laying right over the bits & pieces of fabric for the sample & some cuffs I'm trying to get finished & into the studio.

Once I've got my  work up onto the walls ready, I might have a clear enough head to make some more. Meanwhile I'm enjoying thinking about it!

I was weeding with a Skylark,  & bumble bees in the willow, delightful.

Not really a seed head

More a patch of sun bleached grasses blown in the wind. Every time I walk down the road I see these grasses, still standing despite a winter of ice, snow & strong winds. They're on the verge so I'll watch the new grass just push thru, the old ones dissapearing back into the ground.

Apart from the real thing there is so much inspiration to help me work out how to interpret the grasses. Altho this time the first image I looked at was mine from the printmaking class that I started at the beginning of the year. Our homework from the first class was to choose an image & draw it ready to cut out the following week. Well, panic set in & I didn't have months to procrastinate over which of the 50 thousand images I liked best. So I went into the garden & chose seed heads & these grasses.

Above is one 1/3 of the block I carved, the yellow ochre is the first color, (actually the second, the white is the first 'free' color) Then I would have carved some more out for the next color which would have been blue. Then I'd have finished with a thin line of black. This is called reduction printing... I think! If I ever invest in some oil based ink I'll finish them. Or when we restart the course. So, I was pleased with my first pull of my first propper lino cut. ;)

I was inspired by Angie Hughes while making squares (scroll down past the walk, check the top 2 rows) using scrim, open weave sacking then painting & stitching - I don't have her book Stitch, Cloth, Paper Stitch but I wish I did! Of course Jan Beany & Jean Littlejohn cover grasses in A Complete Guide to Creative Embroidery. They were using lines of masking fluid then paint then stitch mark making, lovely. I could have borrowed DH's masking  fluid but instead I got some recycled rich brown shiny fabric & finally got round to using the bleach that's been sitting under my desk for months & made marks representing grasses with a satay stick. You can just about see them.(forgot to say that I was inspired by Jackie at Stitchworks with her Highly Prized entry in the Sketchbook challenge, she gave a great tutorial, too) Then I machine & hand stitched. I had to add the teabag as it was, well, grass colored ;)

The second image is light sketching with a fine felt tip &  gold leaf on a ground of oil based printing inks (the bleach didn't show up here!) from the printing course. The tutor must have wonderd what on earth I was doing rushing about getting my fingers dirty taking 'prints' off plates before they got cleaned :0 Couldn't help myself; all that lovely ink!

                                                                A few simple sketches

 A small sample using 3 different strips of various grounds,

 grasses sketched & the 'leaves' cut out & backed with gold (chocolate wrapper ;). I enjoyed this so I made a bigger one for the studio below - 12cm x 21cm about 6" x 10" There are so many ways to do grasses, can't wait to do some more!.......one day :)

& finally, ages ago, Ju North showed a pic of her porch so I thought I'd join in the game. I'm trying to show off the view, of course which makes the actual porch pretty dark....but you get the idea. The house walls aren't skew but the rug is ;)

A sight for sore eyes when I come down bleary eyed in the morning.

Edit: Linda over at Linda Stokes Textile Artist is having a giveaway promoting her wonderful new Thermofax Screenprinting service, shall I get one? But which design?!

Winter's back

I don't mind a bit of wind & rain, keeps me in the studio working. As soon as the sun is out & it has been off & on this week with beautiful rainbows,  inbetween the sleet showers I've been trying to finish some pruning. My it's a bit chilly tho! There's snow on the hills down to a few hundred feet. The weather has flattened the crocus but I enjoyed them while they were upright. Working in the studio in turn keeps me away from the news. It's not often it brings a tear to my eye but the latest earthquake is devastating. Possibly not helped by the fact the middlest is in NZ & it was put on alert for the tsunami. He's fine, he rang yesterday but who'd have thought he'd be away for 3 weeks & there'd be 2 earthquakes? That's selfish - I wish there was actually something I could do. So I work.

The honesty is almost totally shredded in the garden so I used some seed heads that I harvested in earliy  winter. A few practices for my sketchbook.

gold 'brown' paper, dressmakers tisssue gold leaf & a piece of lace from a top I found in a charity shop made completely of different lace strips. I was happy to pay the £4 or £5 as it was for my work & quite a find but I can't believe the day has come when I can't afford, well, justify,  the prices in a charity shop. Everyone's trying to grab as much as they can before all the money runs out I guess. Rediculous.

More dm tissue, chocolate wrappers gold metallic organza with pattern - remnant bin YEARS ago,slubby silky fabric. I looks like an alien the way I built it so I turned it upsidedown & I think I prefer it. I don't like 'seeing things' in my work, specially don't want aliens creeping in ;)

Haven't used feathers for ages, seem to only be able to use white seagull feathers against the color blue - this is potato sacking, I think, I meant to hand stitch along the stitch holes that appear when ripped open. Need to make some more rusted paper & the background is some papers I stuck down ages ago didn't like it so as everyone was doing, I covered it with a wash of gesso, much better. Very stiff to stitch in tho, need to use weaker pva maybe.

purple burgundy shiny fabric, Liberty print , text, gold organza, little windows thru to the layers beneath.

This honesty collage has a linen ground with the gessoed paper & burgundy purple  fabric, a little bit of text & gold organza. I free machined (yes, me!!!!) around the seed heads thanks to watching a Talking Threads program with Colouricious last year. This episode had Di Wells on who is a quilter, uses 3 or 4 layers of tissue paper & stitches thru honesty seed heads/casings with lots of different patterns - she carefully crumples the tissue paper, rearranging & softening the fibres which is similar to what Cas Holmes calls Momigami, a Japanese process that uses a little oil  to change the paper makeup.  I 'crumpled' some  heavy brown paper normally found at the bottom of a banana box, as you do; nearly broke my hands, wish I'd known about the oil then! Di Wells makes really lovley delicate work. I'm not a quilter, nor am I delicate! I just got totally involed in rewatching the video when I was collecting the links, fatal that! & I forgot about her  suggesting using Acrylic Wax to soften for stitching &  protect the seedhead, much like I was doing with gel medium & the Acer leaf a while ago. Hmm,  who minds a bit of shattering ;) I'm so grateful to Colouricious, too as they are sending out all the episodes so we can see them again........for free. Go check them out, It might not be too late to join in. Lots of video snippets too.

Linen ground, gold 'brown paper & gessoed ground with gold leaf flakes, stitched of course. Oh & that wonderful gold leaf pen. I dread the day when that runs out!