time is running out

& all I could come up with this week is a few more purses!

The middle one is using fabric kindly sent to me along with the Thermofax screen I ordered from Linda Stokes, printed with her lovely design. The 3 pale blue printed are old ones I hand printed &  made up a couple of seasons ago & I tart them up more each yr, well, I added lace to one. I might add some hand stitching in a quiet moment. Top left & bottom right I started ages ago & kept putting them off, waiting for the perfect button. I finally made my own buttons. The bottom left is the sequins & foil fabric from Stitches Straps & Layers, Maggie Grey's book that I'm working thru.

I was so impressed with Lorna at Artymess & her purse linings - it's difficult, I don't want to 'waste' good fabric on a lining but I also want it to 'go' nicely. Tricky.

 I started a new background for a couple more purses but I'm not sure, needs a bit of work!

Got my pieces & Janets to Inchmore but haven't heard whether they've been accepted yet. go here to see some entries.

I wanted to visit Patches Corner near Beauly since Fibrefrolics mentioned it, I think & I finally got there as it's near Inchmore. I thought I'd walk in & just enjoy the fat quarters but they've got lots of 'creative embroidery' stuff too, lovely. I was restrained, spent under £10!

 

  A beautiful Steff Frances piece, organza & metallic organza, tiny tastes of deliciousness, more purple/pink sequins! & a button making kit. Thought I'd try it - the buttons I made for the purses are fun but bulky to stitch on.

On the way to Beauly - the long winter shadows from these haybales were wonderful.

Finally, a couple more examples from the book Stitches, Straps Layers. The next bit is laying down yarns &ribbons & couching them down on the foiled felt. ( I love that expression 'couching down' I remember 100 yrs ago asking what 'gimp' was  & being told 'you couch it down'...a whole new language!) Maggie says it's easiest to use Colinett flat tape but to try anything. I had a great time making my own ribbon out of fabric strips & combining them with yarn when I was making the beads for my hangings for the show, heres a spare bit from the first hanging made.

I'll add some more stitching & keep a small bit for my samples book & make a cuff or a brooch or another purse....theres not enough for it all!

Another suggestion is to weave (or darn?) on a piece of soluable film/fabric (I remember doing that with Jan Beany!) but as I had the 'other side of the frame' bit from the piece that wet to Inchmore, well, i didn't want to waste it, I lay that on film & stitched a bit to attach the warps & wefts together. Of course I tried it without the film first & had it dissapear down the feed dogs - these people seem to know what they're talking about! The idea is you then wash the film away, lay it over foiled felt & the foil peeps thru. Oh, I love layers!

Other ideas were to wrap straws with yarns various or cable stitch in geometric partterns but I didn't go there this time. There aren't enough hours in the day ;)

3 more 12x12's

Hope you're all having a happy & safe bonfire night - I'd forgotten til I heard fireworks in the village as with the older 2 away & the Youngest at a propper fw party I wan't asked for any sparklers. I admit I've always felt a little self concious running around waving one about...

These are the next lot of 12x12 pieces for Inchmore Gallery. The idea to put a piece of art into a CD was the previous owners, Gwen Black, lovely work, & Jane the new owner a jewellery designer, has reinstated it.

 A piece using painted, tissued & fabric paper with a little bit of sunprinting thrown in (I hear you, Jill ;) This based on a design ( I really do use that term loosely!) of a card I made for the DH once & just managed to remove frome the jaws of the dog. It's been hanging around the studio for so long wanting to inspire a bigger piece.

 I started this a while ago, well, the  painting of a wash of gesso & turquoise on corrugated cardboard. Really I started it when tearing up an empty box of ever ready batteries at work - it was amazing ripping the front layer of paper off exposing the ridging but kept quiet about it in case noone understood what I was getting excited about... So the 12x12 thing inspired me to carry on, just need the odd kick up the b ;) More turquoise & gesso, & then more finishing with gold metallic powders wich was too brassy so finished that with my wonderful gold leaf pen.  Jute (or something) stitching with the inevitable tails but I covered most of that with builders scrim, smooshing it into the spaces. Can't seem to avoid sticking things out over the edge. Simple, hopefully not too simple.

You might recognise this, part of a spare  postcard from my birthday last year. Another piece I've altered to fit. The (off) central piece was going to be a card, one from the A4 sheet I mde a while ago when clearing up my desk & when stitching it I tought it would be a good mate for the pc.I like the alteration. All these were taken with the inevitable flash & look like they have a wash of Paynes Grey, despite the fact it was a stunning day today. I just forget the early dark.


Some samples for my little book.

black smooth stuff I found in my drawers, foiled, covered in crumpled tissue paper, ironed, painted with maroon & gold & when the paper was wet ripped to expose the foil, cool! I get confused with too many suggestions in a book, thinking yes but how does the tissue stay on, nobody mentioned glue, did I miss a vital word? etc, etc, which is why actually doing it helps my small brain to understand (ripping paper by mistake wasn't actually mentioned, but I enjoyed that bit!) Fused nappy liner (not buying felt) to stablise for stich, as the book told me to. See I can follow some instructions!

Pale for me, but interesting. This is thin crumpled tissue white glued to  printed paper, (using an old meat tray plate I made) with trapped gold leaf flakes. The left one is sprayed with walnut ink. Stablised for stitch which I might do a little of before putting into my little book. Or I might chop a bit off to make a paper brooch, or two ;)

12x12 CD pieces

The week has flown by & I've finished 3 of the 6 pieces I'm putting into Inchmore Gallery for selection. It's a very accessible size so there might be some fierce competition!

This is the same ground as last weeks cuffs with turquoise foil added, that is, sweet wrapper foil - chewy mints if I remember rightly. Makes the 'bought' iron  foil go further. 4 little tiles of the same fabric stitched down on top.

I've gone back briefly to the weaving part of my life tho I couldn't for the life of me find the 'official' frame I used before so I wrapped an empty frame. Tied a few bits & pieces then stitched on a couple of beads from an old neclace. I'll have to weave in all the 'hairy' ends so it fits into the CD case.

You'll have seen this before in the form of a book cover or 2 & a collage - I found the heart already stitched to the velvet & added it to some leftover ground. A few beads & stitched painted paper  & I'm pleased so far. Price for a 12x12 CD case full of art? Tricky. I thought they were all ging to be priced the same but I'm not sure.

 

Just caught some daylight with the first 3 pics but here's some out of focus flash work. Just to prove I've made the cuff, along with another earing & brooch. I need to get on, the fairs aren't that far away!

New books to look at!

 My arty buddy Lesley & I swapped books & I thought it a good idea to work thru them & make samples as I go. I don't think I'll be infringing copyright by showing you my samples (well, I hope not  anyway!) Most of you may have Stitches, Straps & Layers by Maggie Grey (see my blogroll for both - I see a new improvement is that we can't grab links anymore, am I missing something? also, we now have a neat 'filmstrip' display for pics but can't over enlarge them to see detail! ;( ) but since it came out I've only managed a quick sweaty glance thru while at a crowded stitches show & I'm so glad to read it now. Every page has mouth watering images & techniques to try.

There's been  no light today & the flash has turned the stretchy burgundy 'velvet' very dark. The first few excercises are to foil backgrounds & work into them, layering so the foil just peeps thru.  I only have/had some small samples of foil & Icertainly want some more gold, lovely stuff! The top one is my attempt at a landscape like Angie Hughes' sample in the book, no top layer , left, gold organza on top with 'stretched' satin stitch,  & the right is trapped threads under chiffon with stitching. Pretty heavy handed with the foil, need more practice ;) (or a cooler iron!)

These 3 are skelatised leaves (bought) top, leaf under foil, then black lace, with pink organza on top

with a little hand stitching. left, machine stitching veins on a blue leaf & the foil negative of another leaf with outline stitching. Right, leaf, foil, small piece of chiffon.

The above is foil, sprinkled sequins (I knew I'd find a use for the sequins one day!) with black organza then black & gold stitching. I heat gunned some holes in the bottom one - it'll need more stitching & I'll make them into cuffs.

A pink  (very pink!) & version of the above, not burnt, with beads made out of the same fabric. With ribbon or without? I quite like a bit of variety.

A brooch & samples

 and some earings out of the same all about an inch, plus. It's difficult working out the left or the right. I made these as I'd made one at my exhibition when I lost my lovely silver seahorse one morning - I'm sure it's under the bed somewhere!

I grabbed the finding from deep in the studio & the 2 bits of turquoise from an old neclace & the tiny cube with an 'M' on it from my jewellery box. At 'work' I got the copper wire into a twist & made a bead from little bits of fabric & paper from my week old bits box  & shoved it up!  It's about an inch & a half & altho I can't sleep in it I love it!

 Welcome to my new followers! one or 2 of you don't have a link so I can't visit - comment, if you can, & I'll come over ;)

It's amazing what a bit of retail therapy will do for you!

Had a lovely day in Inverness in the week getting a few essentials & I decided a new lippy & some pretty underwear would do the trick; they did! No, no photos! ;)

During my show I sat importantly behind a big table :) looking out over the room, with my work & stuff strewn all over it. For a change when I had something to eat, I sat on the other side, looking at a beautiful view of a small hill above a slip of water by a lovely overgrown garden. So tranquil. (at that moment, anyway!) Just in the water was an old boat that had been there since time began according to my Plockton gardening buddy Jill, who kindly took the photo for me when I kept leaving behind my camera.

There was another one nearby which wasn't as unique but I was drawn to the windmilly type thing on the right.

So, having thought I'd make a printing plate of this boat out of the village sandwich boxes I was deliciously collecting- well, I didn't have as much time as I thought -this week I finally made a little stitched textile piece instead.

Here's the sketch - I took it along to my arty buddy Janet & made the stamp of the windmill/fan thing.

I'd started machine stitching before I went & carried on by hand at her house - I can chat & stitch! Then I stamped a few times & as the ink didn't take on the organza, I stitched the shape in. Carried on at home - I was trying for the effect of 'distorted stitches' as mentioned in 'Stitch Dissolve Distort' by Val Campbell-Harding & Maggie Grey (pg 40/41 for those of you lucky enough to have this wonderful book that I'm revisiting slowly) The idea is to drag stitches about a bit, a case of experimenting. I don't have a program thing on my machine so can't 'invent' a stitch & keep it. Anyway, I'm just playing, enjoying coloring with oil pastel, & burning away some of the organza & a little bit of thread sketching! It may turn into a 'real' piece one day - my first boat.

The stamp of the fan looks like an arrow but I quite like that ;)

Had a great afternoon at Janet's - we started the Printmaking class together back in January which was postponed. She encouraged me to enter work into an exhibition at Strathpeffer Pavillion end of November & they accepted my work ;) & to put some CD case sized work into Inchmore gallery for early November so a bit of a focus going on! Thanks Janet!

The fog is starting to lift!

"I can see blue sky throught the tears in my eyes & I know, I'm going home" Probably miss quoted but does anybody recognise that? I know I'm home already but sometimes you can't see what's in front of your nose & need reminding. I'm feeling like the fog is starting to lift but it may be a while till I stop grumbling at everything! I've had some wonderfully supportive comments (when blogger allows - so frustrating!!!) & emails for which I'm truly grateful. I know I'm not alone but I guess there comes a point where you've just got to get on & deal with things, whether you feel like it or not. The DH has been great....just getting on with things, it's his way. Me, I yell & moan a bit....then eventually get on with it. Huh.

So all I was able to do last week was make backgrounds knowing I was going to cut them up for cards (I'd kind of let slip from my mind a couple of small card orders...) I waited till this morning for some pics as I keep running out of light in the day (oh for a daylight studio!) & now it's black sky or blinding sunshine!! so excuse the lack of quality in these photos ;)

Gesso on an old calendar page 'drawn' into, scrbbled on with watersoluable crayons when dry, dissolved  a bit, cut up & edged with gold leaf pen

Oh, crooked, too - no time for photoshop!

Strips, stitched down, cut into strips across the top, stitched down, random stitching all about,  cut into 1/4's stitched together (you don't want too much bulk) cut to about 2" x 1" 1/2, edged with  zigzag.

Painted ground, stamped & paper from the bits & pieces box stuck down, a bit of crayon & gold wax

Same as above. These do well at Christmas craft fairs as they aren't Christmassy I guess, altho I will make some trees & icicle types, too...

Off to my day job I go, you've just got to be grateful, really, being able to do lots of different jobs, haven't you?

post exhibition blues

I've been in a bit of a funk this week which is to be expected I guess after 9 months of intense activity , the last 3 being extremely intense, barely lifting my head for air, looking at my children or saying hello to my DH. Obviously I did do those things & much more, just in rather a blur. I naively thought that being in one place for 2 weeks ( well, plus travelling to & from) would be a little holiday but it was even more pleasurably intense than before! (ok, I've used that word 3 times now - enough!) So I've gone rather quiet, nobody recognises me! I'm quiet because I've been struggling with that most detested phrase "I can't be bothered" . I hear it all the time at work, it's all around me, being surrounded as I am by people from all walks of life, all ages, friendly & unfriendly, visitor or local, & heavens, that's only part time!

original honesty sample

I've had to turn, over many years, from being a pretty negative type of person, frustrated & inarticulate really, to a more positive, tolerant sort. A less frustrated & more gobby, opinionated type! I've learnt to eventually see the 'other' side of the story & to stop throwing around my poor half empty cup & to enjoy a calmer sip from the half full one, provided by my DH. But just sometimes these positive people really get my goat, you get to thinking "these people haven't really lived, haven't gone thru what I'm going thru" etc, etc & just want to tell 'em to shut up! Then I think, well, is that how I appear to people, once I've 'put my face on' trying to be positive, always upbeat, seeing the best in everything & stopping just short of having your martyred hand permanently stuck to your forehead? This is why I hate the phrase 'I can't be bothered' or 'I can't be arsed' along with the greeting between two mates & not just the 'youth' "Hi what ya doing, nothing?" "yeah, nothing, you, nothing?" "Yeah, nothing" Where the heck do you go from there? I feel it may drag me in to deep negativity, I fear the downward spiral to the what is the point question we must all avoid in order to just carry on at survival level. Some are lucky enough not to ever ask themselves that question, of course, the answer may be far too frightening to contemplate. So while being down here I'll be working it thru, thinking of all those wonderful things that make up my life, I'll be looking for that open kind smile & stepping back from the fearful soul's despair, just while I'm in repair, mind, because then I must look for that soul that I could possibly give something back to, as I know which side of the story I want & I will find it.

Well, after all that did you think I'd leave you without a collage?!

Ever so slightly blue this is this, I mean last weeks collage from the sample i made earlier this year, about a ruler by a half ruler. Visitors to the exhibition loved my samples book & this is the collage i said I'd be making next so i thought I'd better.  Always worried about scaling up but i think it works. Used rusted fabric instead of the paper in the sample, blue potato sacking, honesty seedheads & seeds, of course, the mixed paper with wash background & an exotic chicken feather from my collection & lots of gold machine stitching.

Thanks for listening ;)