Where have all the leaves gone?

It's amazing the time passing thing, one minute you've got your nose to the summer season grind, the next you look up & all the leaves have gone & there's a sugar dusting of snow on the hills. That's why it's so important to look up occasionally....so I do

I so wanted to be involved in the Workshop on the Web sketchbook auction, a fundraiser for Teenage Cancer Trust but I had a craft fair or 2 to finish (& start!) things for. Every spare moment had to be for making, only because I'd left just a few too many things till the last moment......

 Then I slipped down the wooden stairs, only 4 of them, in my wooly socks.... bruised below my bum & bruised above my bum but I seemed to leave my arm behind & gave my shoulder such a good wrench! Missed my coxyx, which was good, didn't break my ankle in 3 places or my back, even better (the stories you hear... I carry my sock with me now ;)

 One week on & lots of pain killers later I got the 'coughing your guts up' leurghy, goodness, more painkillers for the splitting head & chest! & more reason not to make a sketchbook.

At last, a real day off no pressures at all! Inspired by the beautiful books I saw coming in to the WoW fb page & the fact that I wanted to be part of it, I started to make one.

I had to repurpose an already made cover - I would never have been able to start from scratch with 2 days till deadline...... I had thought I would need to make myself a copy, another impossibility! I found myself sorting thru bits & pieces in the studio, as tho I was really making a sample sketchbook, by tidying up, really. I thought, don't pressure yourself with brand new creations, use what you have & look at your own sketchbooks.

 & I'd always wanted to make a hairy messy dangly jangly fabric ribbon spine on a book. My fingers are starting to complain about even a simple pamphlet stitch so I just tied the pages in with a mix of ribbon, pulling the needle thru with pliers - it WILL go thru! Then & found & made a couple, of buttons & beads with big holes that big ribbon will go thru & tied lots of knots & I seem to have done it!

I colored a few pages, added a textile sample, drew some flowers. I found a gelatin print, stuck it in & drew some of the shapes I could see in the print. I'm always printing with Acer leaves - which reminds me, when the DH was in Ireland recently sorting our his lovely aged uncle, he sent me a pic of the Acer in his garden, just so vibrant & I asked him to bring me back some leaves. He kindly dried them out on a wood burning stove for a couple of hours, bless him & later phoned for advice ;)

on the fabric leaf print I stitched gold veins & on the paper print I drew black lines & stitched in an organza swatch. I found a 15 minute heart collage I'd made ages ago ( so much sketchbook stuff tucked away in my studio!) left a blank space boxed in with oil bar coloring & as I turned to leave the studio I saw on the floor, honestly! the perfect row of cut out hearts & thought that would fit nicely.

I've called this book 'things I love'' so I can put ANYthing I love in it & I couldn't do with out flowers. I carefully, just with straight stitch, made a shiny silky flower & on the opposite side drew 3 simple flowers in black & gold. I found part of a lino print which would only fit sideways, but that's ok,  thought about a piece I'd made before with grasses & drew a few strands. I filled a double page spread with a wildly colored circle piece - it could have been cut into lots of cards but I could spare it. then I found a little experiment of a commercial stamp on fabric, tidied one up with a thin marker & even tho I thought it might be too complicated & detailed I drew a version on the opposite page. Probably because I'd already made a mess with water soluble crayons I was able to do it, just simply

 hearts & birdies, I finally got to make a bird for this winter's craft fairs, really cheered me up after being in the wars!

There's nothing like the feeling of having no pressure, just for once, to get on & do something you love. I missed the actual auction but I might have my sketchbook  added to Maggie's blog over the weekend, what an honor that would be, to be part of something that helps others. Feeling better now.