Sheilasembroidery Rambles

Off on my Rambles

2012-02-13T12:09:00.000Z

This Wednesday I am off on my rambles again. This time it is to Egypt with Colouricious. I will be doing a block printing course with Jamie and Marilyn. DH is coming as well so he can do some scuba diving. We have been told that the Red Sea is the best place for scuba diving and that the fish there are fantastic. So we will both be happy.

I hope to be able to let you see what I've done when I get back.

February

2012-02-04T18:49:00.000Z

Hello everyone, February is here and I am now a year older. Thank you to all my friends who sent me greetings or cards and threads. It is lovely to have so many lovely stitching friends. yesterday I went out for a meal with DH. I had seen my sister last Wednesday when she had a preview evening of her beautiful art work in Spennymoore Leisure Centre.

Here she is with her friend Catherine Howard If you would like to see more of Lindsey's work go to Lindseysatrbornart

Catherine can be found at Catherinejhoward and she is a very talented textile artist. Well done girls on a fantastic show.

I must take a photo of my Ruby Wedding Sampler which is now complete but it will have to wait until daylight. Today we have snow and I had to go out in it as I went to a friends 60th birthday party. A good time was had by all. I have also made a patchwork bag but again don't have the photos. Next time I promise a better run down of my work.

January

2012-01-17T20:33:00.002Z

Well we are half way through January and I still haven't said Happy New Year to you all. So belatedly Happy New Year.
Having arrived back home on January 1st I have started an online workshop run by Strathmore Artists Studios.
Here is the first paper I made.

I then started taking small portions of the paper so I have nice close ups

Because I am an embroiderer I then did some tissue samples using similar techniques to the papers. These are serviettes I collected while away on holiday. The first one has been sprayed, stamped, then doodled. When everything was dry I then attached the papers with Bondaweb (Wonder-under) onto a wadding and stitched the piece by machine and hand. It's lovely and will be the front of a sketch book.

The second one is not finished yet

My next photo shows the progress of my Anniversary Sampler

Sampler progress

2011-12-30T17:06:00.000Z

Today I completed row 5 of my 11 row Ruby Anniversary sampler.

I'm pleased because I only started this as we set off on our holiday on the 4th December. So I'm doing quite well because I had to finish Dragonscape Hanging while I was away. It is for DS for his birthday and I wanted to give it to him on Boxing Day as I won't see him on his birthday later this month.

I can also show you Purple Rain felted Hanging number 3 which I gave to DD and her partner for Christmas. Purple Rain 2 is mine - I posted a photo of that before and number 4 is very similar and went to DSis and her husband for Christmas.

I feel as if I've completed quite a lot over the last few months and am very happy with the results.

Happy New Year to you all, enjoy the last of the holiday and raise a glass with me at 12 midnight on the 31st.

Christmas puddings

2011-12-28T08:25:00.000Z

Thanks to Chittle Chattle for her post which reminded me I hadn't written down the dessert I concocted for Christmas Day.
A few mornings before I had seen Gordon Ramsey make a dessert and we decided that we didn't want a heavy Christmas pudding. I found the ingredients on the web but no instructions and on Christmas Day I couldn't see the programme - I can watch it again now The One Show 21st December - it will probably disappear soon so I must get it down now before I forget.
I don't like cream so decided to substitute marscapone instead of whipping cream and fromage fraise instead of single cream. So here is what I made on Christmas Day. (My substitutions are in brackets)

Sheila's adaptation of a Gordon Ramsey Dessert

Christmas ice cream and fruit sundae

Ice Cream (any flavour G R recommends ginger or honeycomb) I used vanilla 
200ml double cream  (marscapone cheese)
100g honeycomb  (2 frozen crunchies)
Caramel sauce  200ml
single cream  (fromage fraise)
100g mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries etc) 
10g sugar (less - it doesn't really need any!)
2 peeled clementines  (I forgot to put these in)
Chocolate shavings  - melt chocolate on baking parchment and curl up when not quite hard - do this in a cool atmosphere as the chocolate melts very easily)
Crushed roasted hazelnuts

crush nuts
spread caramel sauce into iced glass
put in berries, honeycomb (or crunchies, frozen to make it easy to crumble), clementines
mix caramel sauce, mascapone and fromage fraise
spoon into glass
make an ice cream ball and place on top
more caramel sauce poured on top
spread crushed nuts on top
put chocolate shavings on top
serve

Sorry I don't have a picture as we ate them all it was agreed that they were much better than Christmas pudding.

40 Years and Counting

2011-12-19T22:08:00.000Z

Well our big day is now over. Yesterday was our Ruby Anniversary. It was a beautiful day in the sun. We took a trip out to what could have been a tropical island - Pigeon Island - not an island now as they have build a causeway to get there. It is a nature reserve and permanent museum to colonial rule in St Lucia. The first British garrison left their mark in the form of ruins where they lived and the look-out point where they placed their guns is well worth a look-see.

I spent most of the time at the beach because we had explored the rest of the island on our first visit there The waves were quite strong but not as bad as at our resort beach which has been dangerous the last three days. I tried the snorkel but there was't much to see, the sea was too murky. DH managed to see one fish when he swam quite close to the rocks. I also realised today that I had left the snorkel and mask behind - boo - waste of money!

Lunch was at the island's only restaurant It was lovely sitting and watching the boats in the bay. We could have been there on our own, it was very small and shaded by the trees. Beautiful. Do a Google search on Pigeon Island and see the reviews.

We went to a restaurant called Buzz in the evening which is just over the road from the hotel and this is my before dinner drink, fantastic glass!

and here we are trying not to look too drunk!

The day ended with a final drink talking to some people we had met in the sister hotel next door.

Today is our last full day and I have to pack tonight. Shame the trip is nearly over but then we go back to the UK and straight into Christmas. Great. Hope I packed enough warm clothes!

DH has gone out to take some last sunset shots and I've had a shower and must go now and start packing. See you all on Wednesday.

Weather

2011-12-16T11:23:00.000Z

OK I know everyone in the UK is experiencing bad weather at the moment. Yes I know I'm out of the country and it's beautiful here in St Lucia. However I was reading this blog today and it got me thinking. What is it that we dread? Bad weather - why? Missing appointments? Being late for a meeting? Letting someone down? Missing a dead-line?

Sitting here writing my blog at 6.45 in the morning I thank my blessings and start to think of all the good things, my loving DH of 40 years - yes it's our Ruby Anniversary on Sunday - that's the reason we are away on holiday at this time. My two adorable fluff balls who are being looked after by my DD. My two children - well not children any more I know. My art, my crafts and my sewing which fill my days quite amiably.

My work while I've been away
2 Cards

My Blackwork Anniversary sampler, I'm on to row 3, a red heart, now why is the picture flipped? I took it with the internal camera on this machine and having posted it now just realised it's flipped. I'll have to look at that and try to put it the right way round.

The final piece of work I can't show you as it's a present so will post a picture of that after Christmas.

Please everyone look on the positive side and write down everything that is good and what you have achieved this year. thanks to Marlis for helping me look at all the good things in my life. Yes I did make a list of all my accomplishments this year and they did surprise me. 2011 has been a good year for me. Thank you to my family for making that possible. Also a big thank you to all you bloggers out there who give inspiration and chat. Thank you, have a great festive period, however you might celebrate it and I hope 2012 is a good one for you.

Beachcombing

2011-12-10T11:44:00.000Z

Look what I found yesterday. Sorry it's poor quality. I am playing with new technology getting my Mac and iPod to work together.

St Lucia

2011-12-07T13:45:00.000Z

A 9 hour flight and a one and a half hour small bus journey later we got to Rodney Bay on the North West corner of St Lucia, Dropped our bags after being delivered to the wrong hotel! Ours was just next door and all part of the same complex. Then explored the grounds in the dark, had a sandwich well to tell the truth it was a big meal, fries and all! Then dropped into bed. Our watches said 7.30 but that was local time so it was really 11.30 UK time and we had been up since 4am. A long wait and the airport and a very long flight. It will have been worth it.

This morning I was up at 6, my normal time so must be adjusting well after a short walk along the beach it started raining and I mean raining hard but it was warm. It was quite a shock to put our feet in the water and it was warm - lovely. The rain got heavier and we took shelter for quite a while. DH took some photos of the boats in the bay. When the rain let up a bit we set off back for breakfast. I will hope to show you some photos at some point during the holiday.

All for now.

Ruby Anniversary Jaunt

2011-12-05T06:51:00.000Z

We are finally off on our jaunt. Yesterday the car was packed with bags for both hot and cold climes - different bags, two cats and their acutriments, Christmas presents all wrapped. To say the car was full is an understatement. We set of from Tyneside in the rain and it was quite wet all the way down to London to stay today with DD. Cats travelled well and seem to be quite happy in their new temporary home. I will be acting as taxi for DD today with a variety of jobs then one more sleep and St Lucia here we come. It will be a very early start as the flight is at 9.30am and we have to get from Surrey to Gatwick. I'll wave as we leave. Thanks so much for reading

African Goddess

2011-11-29T07:54:00.000Z

Thought it was about time I showed you my African Goddess hanging. Thanks to Helen for her help with this, I am now working on a new piece but can't show you it yet! I have also made two felted hangings but again can't show them until after the festive period.

I went down to the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate over the weekend and had a lovely time, meeting up with friends and spending money on paints, dyes and a small magnifier lamp which can come on holiday with me. Yes it's only ONE WEEK now until we fly off to St Lucia, to say I'm excited is maybe underrated. I AM VERY EXCITED! We will be away for a fortnight to celebrate our Ruby wedding anniversary, 40 years whow where have they gone? it seems like yesterday

New work

2011-11-21T14:08:00.001Z

I think it's safe to post photos of this LARGE brooch. I made it last night and am wearing it today. The photo was taken with the webcam and it was very easy to crop. I just hope it shows up well when uploaded on your computer.

You can see another new piece of work on my Facebook page here the image is on my main computer and today I'm working with the small laptop. Too lazy to go upstairs and download it again! The colours look much brighter when you click on the image.

Where has this month gone to?

2011-10-26T12:53:00.000+01:00

I have been so busy looking at other blogs and reading messages on forums I have forgotten about my own blog. Very naughty. So here is a LONG update.
Remember those little pieces for my coast piece? It is all completed now.

It went into our Embroiderers' Guild Exhibition last week along with my Memories hanging

And this small needle-felted square which was left over from the needle-books I made.

and my Australian hanging. All these fabrics and threads were sent from my EG e-friend in Australia. I think you have seen sections of this before but now you can see the whole piece.

These two pieces are works in progress still. The stitched papers, there are two of them now, and will become a single 3-D object - eventually.

The Christmas Tree will be a cushion front.

This rabbit/hare will be the panel on a bag

Finally two photos taken in Gran Canaria. The first a lady doing the most intricate Canarian embroidery, yes that is me looking on in awe and the last piece is a journal page I gave to the trader who gave me some lovely wooden stencils. They quickly put it into one of their driftwood frames and doesn't it look lovely. I wonder if anyone bought it?

Thursday's Challenge

2011-09-22T23:32:00.000+01:00

My Family, Mum, Gran & Great Gran

Playing with photoshop

Does it matter if the image is mirrored?

Or manipulated?(Masked)

I have used this image quite a lot in my work

New Work 2

2011-09-19T18:26:00.000+01:00

More updates
My beaded star - yes for the Christmas tree

Have a guess what I used these for. I found them on a walk on the beach in Gran Canaria!

A new piece of work for an exhibition entitled Coast. Any thoughts what my inspiration was for this piece?

Another Coast piece of work started

A beaded Christmas Tree - yes more Christmas work.

Postcard Swaparoo

2011-09-10T23:18:00.002+01:00

Anyone like to join in the next postcard swaparoo? Go here and join in the fun. I love exchanging work that I've done and have made lots of new friends as a result.

New Work

2011-09-10T00:06:00.002+01:00

I thought I might share with you two swaps I made recently. I made a piece of embellished felt using silk and wool fibres and a chiffon scarf on black acrylic felt. One small piece made a postcard that went off yesterday (see the picture at the top of this post.) and another became a needlebook that was sent to a friend in Needlework Haven.

I hope they both enjoy my efforts.

Embroiderers' Guild Swap

2011-09-02T17:52:00.000+01:00

This year I decided to take part in the Embroiderers' Guild on-line forum fabric swap. I sent a small bag of fabrics and embellishments to Elizabeth in Queensland, Australia. In return I received these lovely fabrics from Dian in Mt Eliza, Australia.

This is what I made with them. My Kookaburra Hanging

Detail 1

Detail 2

This is the thank you card and brooch I received from Elizabeth. Thank you so much. The brooch goes so well with my shirt, don't you think?

I forgot to take a photo of the card I sent to Dian, she has posted a picture on the Guild Forum Gallery. I tried to download my photos but for some reason they wouldn't go so I will post a link to my blog instead. I finished it just in time for the September 1st deadline JUST! However I was out last night so didn't get the photos up.

Postcard Swaps

2011-08-29T20:20:00.000+01:00

Anyone interested in taking part in a postcard swap? Have a look at this link. It would be lovely to see other people taking part.

Painting and printing for stitch

2011-08-27T07:46:00.001+01:00

The last three days have been so enjoyable. Rachel Lombard, our tutor, had us painting and printing kitchen papers. Yes you read correctly, kitchen papers. From one sheet, once painted you can get two sheets - so two for the price of one. bonded to Vylene these sheets can be combined so quite large paper 'fabrics' can be created. These are then overprinted in several layers to create quite sumptuous fabrics which can be further embellished and decorated with stitch both by hand and machine.

Here are some of her beautiful pieces of work.

The presentation and show and tell

I decided to use trees and bark as my inspiration for my work. I did quite a lot of research while doing my C&G course a few years ago and often go back to these pieces. It must be my fascination with texture that draws me to this subject. This determined my colour palette, shades of orange, brown, yellow and red. Amongst the artefacts I have are a set of small cup mat made from a sliced nut case. I used this in my printing and nut shaped marks appear over the design.

My attempt at recreating a paper creation

Thank you and apologies

2011-08-22T09:29:00.000+01:00

Thank you to everyone who replied to my last post. It seems that a post a day is out. I certainly don't have the time to do it anyway. There are much more important things to do, like my sewing and my journaling. Yesterday I went to a brilliant event on Lindesfarne - Holy Island is a beautiful place and full of inspiration even on a rainy day. Yesterday started sunny, there was a rain shower which lasted about 10 minutes and then the sun came out again. I was there because a friend of mine is part of the Viking re-enactment society. The Priory was full of Vikings and Saxons camping in the grounds and talking to people about their lives. There were battles between them especially the historic battle for Northumbria. Well done a brilliant day.

I also have to apologise for my lack of reading of your blogs. Time on the computer has been restricted as I am now getting ready to go up to Wooler where I am doing a course with the Embroiderers' Guild. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone again, it is usually a great 3 days, hard work but fun.

Bye for now and thanks again for reading. I promise to get back to posting a few photos soon. The one advantage of not doing it now is I can show you a whole chunk when I finally do download my camera.

One a Day Blog posts

2011-08-17T08:18:00.000+01:00

Now what do you think? Should I do more short posts or do one longer posts every now and then? I would value your thoughts.

Recently I have been absent as time is running away from me.
What have you been doing? I hear you ask. 1. Taking part in a metal work/stitch workshop, 2. Visiting Edinburgh for the start of the Fringe festival. Saw the Preston Pans Tapestry while there, it is in St Mary's Cathedral. 3.Then home and a quick turn around to go to Leicester to visit FiL and SiL and while there a trip over to Birmingham to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. Met up with some good friends and did an Altered Book course. Photos of that to follow - I haven't taken them yet!

Stitching wise - 1. I have almost completed my Seams Recycled piece for the E.G. exhibition in Bishop Auckland this October. 2. I've been adding my metal samples to my altered book, most of which include some stitching! 3. A few stitches have been added to my Memories hanging and that is almost completed. 4. Finally my Australian fabric piece is almost completed, just one more element to complete and then finishing off, this is the part I hate as I feel I don't finish things off well. I won't be able to show you that as the reveal isn't until September.

That's all for now as the sun and the garden is calling - tend me, tend me.

APTT Garden Party

2011-07-25T21:25:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I hosted a garden party for the APTT (Association of Part Time Tutors) We had a fantastic day. The sun shone and the food was an amazing spread. Everyone contributed. Many thanks for that. There was good company and conversation. The last person left at 9pm and I was in bed by ten.

AWOL

2011-07-17T09:54:00.001+01:00

Yes I have been AWOL for a while. I have given myself time off from my daily blogs to do WORK, look after my new family of cats and go on courses.
So here goes with my update.

1. Didi and Holly are now well at home going outside, except in the rain over the past two days.

Holly knocking over the plant-pots while chasing frogs

Didi sitting on one of my houseplants

DH has now made small stakes to dissuade her from making this a permanent sleeping spot. The plant dies back occasionally anyway and will recover soon.

2. My pretty pink and blue papers are now safely in new poly pockets in a new lever arch file and nowhere near my dye solutions.

3. I have completed Purple Rain 2 a felted and beaded wall hanging.

3. I have been to three exhibitions recently, I may have told you about some of them, Helen Cowan's Exhibition at Paxton House, Stitch-in-9 exhibition in Sunderland and Influences plus exhibition by It Happens at the small Bailiffgate Museum in Alnwick. Oh and of course I went to Hampton Court Flower Show and two small textile and design exhibitions on the South Bank.

4. My garden has taken some time to look after as everything is growing so quickly and I am having my bi-annual Garden Party on behalf of the APTT next Sunday 24th July so please keep all fingers, and toes, crossed for good weather. Here are just a very small sample of the 130 photos I took going round the garden the other day after coming back from London.

Cucumbers

Tomatoes and other veg in pots

Clematis over the stumps of two trees

More seedlings in the shed

Holly investigated the shed, the wall and next door's garden

I have a few of these chimes around the garden

I got this one from my sister

BIG strawberries

Passion flower

Cabbages

Garlic

Update on the Stone River

I think I had better stop as you will be tired of the tour. Thank you so much for visiting.

Another busy week

2011-07-11T00:26:00.000+01:00

After the accidental dyeing incident last week I have sorted my wet papers and dried them out and the majority are still readable. So the file has been reconstructed. They are such pretty colours. The mop up cloth fabric is starting to look quite pretty but the large poly-cotton drip cloth still needs a bit more work.
On Monday I went on a visit to Alnwick Gardens and had a lovely day with DH, DD and friends.
On Tuesday I went to London with DD and partner, Wednesday was a trip to RHS Hampton Court Flower Show and a meet up with DS.
Thursday was a visit to the new Embroiderers Guild headquarters at Walton on Thames, a short train journey from DDs home. In the afternoon I went into Central London and visited The Design Museum and the Fashion and Textile Museum. This was a busy day and ended with a walk along the South Bank of the Thames with DS and a mediocre Greek meal.
Friday back home and a lovely weekend outside with the cats loving the freedom of the garden. Holly got stuck on next door's extension where the roof tiles were so slippery she could not hold on and kept skidding She had to have a helping hand (wooden board) to return to the garden wall.
There are photos to go with this post but they will have to wait until later when I have time to download and process them. Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and comments about my accidental dying.

Accidental Dying

2011-07-01T13:48:00.000+01:00

Why do things go wrong when you are at your busiest? I am preparing for visitors. All my dying bits and pieces were put into the garage as DH does not like it lying around the kitchen! This morning I went to get something from one of the boxes and I noticed that my cat litter tray with mop up cloths and files soaking wet!

I blamed a leak in the garage roof - no said DH dry as a bone. I took the file and fabric out of the tray to remember that I had decanted dye into jars - separate tray - and not wanting to waste the drops left in my dye bags I had filled them up with a bit of water to perhaps use later.

Of course some of them had leaked out and the water + dye had wicked up over the week through two pieces of fabric that I was going to dye later and the poly-cotton drip cloth that really wasn't very messy after the dyeing process. All fabric is now prettily tie-dyed and all papers in the loose leaf file is soaking wet.

I have stood all afternoon separating papers and remembering my paper making placing them between J-Cloths. Fun.

Thank you

2011-06-29T07:04:00.000+01:00

Thanks to all my friends who commented on my last post, service is now restored to normal. Obviously a Blogger blip.

Can anyone help?

2011-06-27T06:18:00.000+01:00

While playing on another blog I was looking at followers options. This then seems to have deleted my followers gadget in my blogs leaving a blank space. I've tried deleting the gadget and re-instating it but that did no good. Can anyone help? I want it back! It's good to see my followers!

A fun exercise?

2011-06-26T02:05:00.000+01:00

Well I did it, thanks Chittle Chattle It was very hard. I had to draw with my left hand and I'm right handed. To add insult to injury I couldn't look at the paper, I was looking at myself through the bathroom mirror and it is 1.37 in the morning! No need to lock the bathroom door, no-one else is up, even the cats have gone to sleep. Before you ask, no I will not be posting a picture in my Journal Blog which I now realise I haven't updated since we came back from Keswick.

Very remiss of me but in my defence I have been busy, doing some embroidery/felting/knitting/crochet/dyeing projects, playing with the cats who will insist in getting in on the act and going to lots of exhibitions in Durham and Northumberland.

Last week I was playing with metals with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden, great fun. I have over 21 small samples which are being backed and presented on small hangings so I have a record of a very pleasant two days. Sorry the photos are on their side but I just haven't had time to Photo-shop them. This is very much a work in progress.

Dying thanks to Myfanwy

That's all I have to show you today, there will be more photos to follow. Thank you for reading my blog. All your lovely comments are read and much appreciated. An especially big thanks to my friends who keep my creativity going.

Tantalising dying

2011-06-21T16:39:00.000+01:00

Well I now have my fabrics in their dyes, can I wait 24 hours to take them out. Silly me of course not. I might just be able to wait 6 or 7 hours. I am out all day tomorrow and Thursday so it will have to be done today. Don't they look fantastic. I'm not sure what I've done to the photo I think I have over-sharpened it. Never mind it gives an idea of what those colours look like.

Happy Summer Solstice

2011-06-21T07:17:00.001+01:00

I hope everyone who went to Stonehenge last night had better weather than we had here! I suspect not.

Sorry I should have credited this image to The Stone Circle Blog and Mysticdreams.com.

Dying

2011-06-20T23:16:00.000+01:00

I am just starting on some new dying experiments. Thanks to Chittle Chattle I have everything ready and I had planned to start today but I went out this afternoon to visit a stitching friend that I haven't seen for a while. It was great to catch up and she gave me some beautiful purple lepidolite earings. I must take a photo and share their beauty with you.
Then I fell asleep while watching a video and trying to do some of my crochet lap blanket. This evening has been spent catching up with me emails, reading blogs etc and now it's time to go to bed where has the time gone?
Does anyone else have this problem? As I get older there is so much to do, so much I want to do and the days go by faster and faster.

Do What You Love

2011-06-16T00:48:00.000+01:00

I just have to share this with you. Life is so precious we must make the most of every minute. Thank you Chittle Chattle for reminding me of this.

Paxton House & nostalgia

2011-06-12T22:10:00.001+01:00

Helen's Exhibition was fantastic we had a good catch up as well. I then went into Berwick upon Tweed and while having a nostalgic trip to where my Mum was brought up and I was born met a brilliant 91 year old lady who remembered my mother and all her family. Absolutely brilliant. I wish someone had taken a photograph of the smiles on both of our faces.

Here is a picture of my Mum, Gran and Great Gran who all lived in Berwick.

This lady remembered all my uncles and went to school with Uncle Harry who was drowned at sea with his son-in-law while they were out fishing. I wish someone had been there to take photos of our faces we were both grinning like Cheshire cats!

Here is one of the pieces of work I have done over the last few weeks, it uses the above image along with the map of Berwick and Coldstream where my father was brought up. The embroidery on the piece reminds me of the first embroideries I did for my Gran who loved the pieces I did when I was a teenager. The painted Bondaweb, tissue paper fabric and scrunched brown paper are a reminder of my recent embroidery journeys. I have loved working on this piece and it is still a work in progress.

One more share of my recent work is a felted piece that uses up scraps from my TUSAL jar. The beads are not stitched on yet.

Busy Busy Busy

2011-06-10T09:28:00.001+01:00

Like most of us Summer has brought on a manic case of Spring Cleaning, both of my home but, more importantly, in my garden, the new foster cats and my creative 'work'. There is a lot to tell you but it will have to wait for another time when time is not quite so pressing. Just to let you know two or three pieces of work are well on their way, a few more revived, more projects started. I need to take a whole batch of photos to share with you.

Today I am off to Berwick upon Tweed - the town I was born in and my grandparents lived - so real nostalgia, very in keeping with some of my current embroidery work. I will drop DH off and he will go for a walk and I am going up the Tweed to Paxton House to see an exhibition by one of my good friends Helen Cowans. Anyone living in reach of Berwick can see this up to 29th June should try and get to see it. Helen's photos have really inspired me to get up there and see the pieces for real! Well done Helen everything looks brill. Will make a report when I get back.

Meet Didi

2011-06-05T22:15:00.002+01:00

Foster cat number 2, Didi is not as friendly as Holly and hated having a collar put on her this morning and went in the huff by hidding under the bed all day. There have been no fights between the two today either. Didi is certainly more aggressive than Holly and yesterday saw Holly off with some rather rude words! She is a beautiful looking cat but will be more difficult to integrate into our family.

Holly update

2011-05-27T16:39:00.000+01:00

Well she has now been neutered and it's amazing how quickly these little mites bounce back. The vet said she'll be a bit sleepy and stop her from jumping onto things for at least a week - fat chance! I opened the basket and she was up and out and onto the back of the chair where she likes to sleep. She was famished as well and cried for food - the first time she has done this since we got her. Here are some better picture of her antics.

This will make a good bed

Now that cupboard looks interesting

Yes I am in there

I got a shock this morning, just before I was due to go out, I couldn't find her and she didn't answer to my call or the food box being rattled. So DH and I went through every hiding place, opened cupboard doors etc. Eventually DH opened my wardrobe and parted the clothes and there she was all curled up and had made herself at home. She must have got in there when I was getting dressed without me noticing. Minx.

Another new project and a newcomer

2011-05-23T13:53:00.001+01:00

Please welcome a new foster member of my family. This is Holly. Well it would be if she would stay still long enough.

I was trying to take a photo of my new 'Precious Memories' piece and she was so keen that I made a fuss of her I had difficulty getting this photo. Holly's last owner called her Harley and I just can't get away with that as the name to me is male. Unfortunately he was an elderly gentleman who died suddenly so she was left all alone in his flat and his daughter could not look after her for various reasons. She is beautiful and so loving. Although 5years old she looks like a kitten as she is so small. There will be better pictures of her to come later.

Precious Memories WiP

I am still working on the embellishment. I did a workshop with Mandy Pattullo at Make Allendale Mill in Northumberland yesterday. I had a lovely day with like minded people, lots of remembering things that happened in our youth. The photo is my Mum, Gran and Great Gran, the map shows the Berwick - Coldstream area were I was born and my grandparents live and my father came from Coldstream. The backing runner is one that I used up to recently on my hall table. It started to pill and I felt it needed a new lease of life. The piece of embroidery is not one I did but it is similar to the arm chair covers, tablecloths etc that I embroidered for my Gran who loved having my embroidered pieces. I have included some brown paper bag and painted Bondaweb which represent my recent embroidery journeys. I still have quite a bit more embroidery to do to highlight the white-work embroidery.

Nearly forgot to say that I have now lost a stone in weight. So I am really chuffed.

Inspiration

2011-05-15T16:18:00.001+01:00

If anyone has read my journaling journeys blog you will know that I have been in Keswick for a week, supposedly for a bit of R&R with DH, we went walking, I had to visit the emergency dentist, I won't bore you with the details of that, I slipped and fell leaving a rather nasty bruise on my shin, oh yes and the antibiotics made me feel sick - a real barrel of laughs I was!
HOWEVER, the scenery was fantastic, especially when the sun came out. The wildlife around the cabin we were staying in were a hoot. Yes the ducks came calling at least twice a day and we saw lots of birds.
I've taken lots of photos and I haven't really sorted them all out yet. DH took hundreds - yes I did say hundreds and our favourite is the one I am going to share with you today. It's Castlerigg Stone Circle, much has been written about this quite inspirational place. Samuel Taylor Colderidge visited the stones with his friend William Wordsworth while they stayed nearby wrote in 1799 that a mile and a half from Keswick stands "....a Druidical circle [where] the mountains stand one behind the other, in orderly array as if evoked by and attentive to the assembly of white-vested wizards”.

Yes DH did produce this photograph and he is very proud of it. I certainly think it is as good, if not better some of the others I have seen of Castlerigg on the net.
I wrote my own few words:-

Stones

Stone Circles

Stones

A sanctuary

Man, woman, child

Earth, Wind, Fire

A ring of mountains

Majestic

Waiting

Elemental

Thank you for visiting and to all my new followers welcome.

Eurovision

2011-05-14T20:43:00.000+01:00

OK we are sad, but sitting watching some of the very bad music Europe have to offer. However there are one or two good ones so far and we are only up to number 7 - Sweden which started badly but warmed up towards the end. I quite liked Bosnia/H #2 and I hate to say it but Jedward gave a good show for Ireland #6

May TUSAL

2011-05-04T11:07:00.000+01:00

Just one day late, I should have posted this yesterday - sorry.

My Garden April 2011

2011-05-02T11:57:00.000+01:00

At the end of last month I took a load of pictures of my garden. They didn't get uploaded until last week and finally I have managed to post them up on my Facebook page here.

I will just show you the best ones.

The Stone River, can you see my collection of stones? Dragon seems a bit lost on the photo and Face has a strawberry plant in the top.

The Octagon - raised bed for veg

Shady border - for onion and the overflow cabbages. I now have a pot of rhubarb in there as well.

Part of the Jungle and you can just see my shed at the back with lots of spent pots with the leaky wheelbarrow. My potting table is just on the right out of shot - this is my favourite place in the morning as the sun shines on my back.

Journal 3

2011-05-01T12:06:00.000+01:00

I have just updated my latest Journal page. Have a look by clicking on the word Journal. I would love to read your comments. Thank you to Julie, Mylene, Kate, Christine and Rachael for your lovely comments recently they are much appreciated. Fabrilicous, yes I have pots of spent Procean dyes that I keep and then forget I have. There are only so many paints a girl can have. I did pull them out to use in a spray experiment recently then had to go and buy a new water spray which is not as good as the first one I have, not fine enough to mist, just squirts water in a jet. Jane, in case you didn't see my reply to your post, I'm not sure if I would recommend that magazine, I will get it a few times before I decide. It did cause some interest at the craft club I go to the other night.

Catching up

2011-04-29T13:45:00.003+01:00

Well while watching the big events in London I am taking the opportunity to download and post some of my recent projects that were snapped but I never got round to posting up. So here goes.

The coffee dyed fabric and threads

My completed African bag inspired bag, note the two sides are slightly different

Finally for now here is the journal cover I crocheted while I was feeling a bit under the weather

Front

Front and Back

Inside Covers

Oh and I nearly forgot
Congratulations to the Happy Couple

Thank you

2011-04-26T22:13:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments from this mornings minor aberrations post. I thought it was time I made comment on your comments.
Julie, no I'm not 100% yet but getting there.
Myfanwy, for small experiments I usually use up all my extra dye on some space dyed fabric or yarn, so I never throw any away. With the big pot dyes I save some in jars for painting papers etc. Thanks for the reminder.
Mylene, what did I do today? Not many of the things I highlighted, I went into the village, my first walk out in over a fortnight on my own and without the car, but I just had to buy some wire to complete my small African bag - pictures to follow when it is complete. I made the mistake of buying a knit and crochet magazine on the way home, so after lunch I sat and read it and started a small book cover project - one more!!!!!! Once again you will see this when it is completed. Talked to a neighbour and moved some rubbish in the garden when the sun was shining but it got cold again so had to come indoors. Not a very productive day.
Kate, I was so pleased that job got done.

Minor aberations

2011-04-26T09:31:00.000+01:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not the worlds best housewife and housework - hitherto-for known as the dreaded HW - is little done except when I know someone is coming. I would much rather be gardening, dyeing fabric, knitting, crocheting, planning or doing my latest project or blogging even outside walking is better than HW. So when I was reading my latest reading material

'We are all made of Glue' by Marina Lewycka (a Christmas present which has finally got to the top of my to read pile) I read "I filled up a couple of bin bags with packaging (mostly labelled REDUCED), and the oozing contents of the disgusting fridge." pg 77.

I was reminded that a job I had planned before getting this nasty virus was to clean out my fridge. So I started it this morning just before DH went off on his weekly walk with our local walking group - why is it that he is recovering quickly after just a few days and I am still feeling like a veritable weakling after over two weeks? Anyway I digress again, the job is done and it's only 9am and I'm back to my blog. So I have a nice clean fridge, several jars that can be recycled once I empty them - very useful in my dyeing experiments and rather rough hands from being in water! Now where did I put that hand cream?

What will I do with the rest of my day? Complete my dyeing records? carry on with the planning for two projects that will be ongoing soon, dye some more yarn which is ready scouring? Crochet? Knit? Tidy up my workroom so I can see the tops ready for a new project? The options are endless!

Sorry for digressing so much but I just had to write this down. Thank you for reading.

Sketchbook Challenge

2011-04-24T12:01:00.001+01:00

Was I just talking about sketchbooks and journals yesterday? Well today my friend Helen posted that she had joined The Sketchbook Project. Click below to get more information.
http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject
So I have joined. I don't really know what I've let myself in for. But then I was always up for a challenge and it will give me an aim for my work - note I am NOT an artist but my journals give me pleasure. I've chosen the topic 'Nothing New', it was between that and 'Travel with me.' let's see what comes. I'll keep you posted.

Work update

2011-04-23T16:08:00.003+01:00

I thought I had better let you all know what work I have been up to recently and post a few picture updates.
Knitting:- my purple jumper has caused lots of problems, but I am now on the first sleeve, no picture until I finish that.

Crochet:- I have completed 40 of the Japanese flowers and the throw is progressing well.

ATCs:- some time ago I made some Artists Trading Cards and gave most of them away. I only got one in return, but never mind, we don't make them to get in return. I was pleased when our Regional Embroiderers' Guild started a swap for our Regional Day in May
So I made some more ready for then. Some people have very good little folders for their cards and I had mine in a plastic folder! Not very artistic. So I went of looking for a small photo album that would hold them, no good. But in so doing I found my box of unused journals.
Someone reminded me yesterday that I have a journal fetish and collect them. Here are a few, some I decorated others were decorated by friends and some I bought.

This is the little journal I chose for my ATCs.

Pretty isn't it?

This is the first page with my first ever sent ATC from a textile/quilt artist called Frieda Oxenham

Unfortunately I won't be able to put many in the journal as it is so I plan to remove the cover and pages and put jailers rings in place of the spiral, that way I can add more pages as I go along.

Another days work though.

This is another small pile of journals and sketch pads that have not been used - yet!

Coastal Sea Fret

2011-04-22T13:16:00.000+01:00

While everyone else is basking in sunshine we have had a very chilly sea fret on the North East coast for the last two days. I'm looking out of my window and I can see it rolling inland. We are about 1/2 mile from the beach and it is one of the down sides of living so close.

However I do love living here, close to beautiful Northumberland, within reach of The North York Moors, The Yorkshire Dales and even The Lake District is within easy striking distance. on a fine day there is nothing better than walking along the beach, especially on a sunny spring day. Seeing it so much we tend to leave the beach alone when it is busy, ie Easter and Summer holidays. I retire to my back garden and admire the growing veg and blossoming trees. Listening to the birds in the trees is also an inspiration and makes me feel so good.

I do pity those people who have travelled to Whitley Bay or Tynemouth because the weather has been so beautiful recently. Not yesterday or today!

Happy Easter

2011-04-21T20:13:00.000+01:00

Well the holiday has arrived and I wish you all a great weekend.

The weather changed here on the North East coast today and a sea fret made it very chilly so DH and I stayed indoors as we are both suffering with the local virus that seems to be going the rounds. So no craft club for me again tonight, that's two weeks running!

I hope the sun shines for you all.

I love buttons

2011-04-17T20:20:00.000+01:00

For some time I had several button jars. They were of different shapes and sizes and I loved them.

It took me back to my childhood when I sorted Granny's button box, whenever I went to visit. I inherited it!

Unfortunately like my other stash, I discover I have the button hoarding gene and one box became 4 jars. It became much harder to sort the buttons and as they were all mixed up finding just the right one or two became more difficult. They all had to be tipped out and sorted, yet again. Along came small Ikea storage jars and once more they were sorted into rough colours, aren't they great?

I still have the four big jars I need some more Ikea ones! I keep resorting them and discovering that the purple, red and pink ones have been all mixed together. That just won't do.

What set of the re-sorting? I needed some small buttons for my African bag and it took ages to find just the right ones. It's very therapeutic when watching TV.

7lbs lost

2011-04-17T18:46:00.001+01:00

Two weeks ago, DH gently persuaded me that I really did need to lose some weight. What was the straw that broke the camels back was the 7 and 3/4 mile walk I did and suffered massively afterwards. My knees are just not taking the strain any more! So he is helping me and recording my food intake on a nifty little programme called My Fitness Plan. I really don't have the time to input all the data, so I just kept a written daily record and he does the rest. As he also makes our evening meal - most days - he calculates our intake of calories. He managed to loose a lot of weight, very gradually, over the last year without paying to go to WW or SW. I just hope I can keep it up. DH has just reminded me that today's weigh-in might have been a blip.

Sunny Saturday

2011-04-16T14:33:00.001+01:00

Well I've missed my trip out to Paxton House. I was so looking forward to seeing the Prestonpans Tapestry. Never mind another time.
I sat and did some beading instead. here is my bag project, day 3

More experiments

Buttons

Embellished bag - one side only so far

The beads are difficult to see against the red

The red beads stand out well on the orange and yellow

If you click on the photos you can see the beads and the colour seems to be truer as well

Not much done today

2011-04-15T20:51:00.001+01:00

Didn't feel to good today, the cough and sore chest are still there and I'm going to have to miss my trip out tomorrow with the Guild. I was going to Paxton House near Berwick to see The Battle of Preston Pans Tapestry. Anyway not much done to my project, however I've done a bit of a tidy up on my sketchbook and here are a few pages, sorry the pencil marks aren't all that clear.
Sketchbook cover

Front page

Bookmark and Postcard

Observed notes

Designs and trials

further designs

Fabric folded in order

Paper mock ups

Pattern pieces

Decoration 1

Decoration 2

Still more design trials to do, I think I'll put on some buttons

African bag project 2

2011-04-14T19:08:00.004+01:00

I showed you some fabric I cut for a new project on Tuesday. Today I used a knotted stitch to stitch the pieces together into two long thin rectangles. I had worked out the pattern and made a paper mock up while at Durham so it was just a measure, cut and stitch exercise. The sizes are quite important as the two rectangles need to be the same size when stitched together. The yellow looks very white in the photo but is actually quite a bright yellow.

I really like the knot stitch that Mary showed us, it is similar to our blanket stitch, but with a knot in it. The knots are actually on the back of the piece and very difficult to see on the red fabric. On the front it gives lovely regular marks and a nice flat seam. A lot of the fabric we saw was stitched with tiny knot stitches with the knots sitting in the seam. I decided that I wanted to emphasise the regular parallel marks made by this stitch once the seam is opened out.

Did anyone notice I now have a new ironing board cover. My old pebbles one had paint and gunk all over it.

It's still there underneath for when I do messy work. The new purple cover is easy to remove unlike other ones I have had. However it isn't very smooth - yet!

Wool Dye Experiment number 4

2011-04-13T16:13:00.000+01:00

Did I tell you about the food colour dyes I tried last week? They were a disaster. I used Morrison's food colour and the dye just bled away when I washed the wool, anyway it would have been sooooo pale. Yesterday I did the experiment again with Dr Okter food colouring from Tesco. This is the result. I only used natural red and blue - the only blue and red they had. The red is quite orangy and the blue almost turquoise so as a result I have green in there. I know the photo on my screen doesn't look green, but it is definitely green.
the tails are a synthetic yarn with knots so that I can identify the colour recipe. I am a happy bunny - well I would be if I wasn't coughing so much. Off to the Docs in an hour as my ribs are hurting and talking for any length of time is a disaster.

Durham Weekend

2011-04-12T12:20:00.003+01:00

Well I set off just after lunch on Friday for Durham, just a few miles down the road and after one wrong turn into a different college I arrived at St Aidan's College, part of Durham University. I had been there before but turned right too soon. Never mind it was better than the last time I went there when it took me several trips up and down this road out of the town.
I met lots of people from previous courses run by The Embroiderers' Guild North East Region. We even get visitors from other regions, which is really good. The work rooms were very light and bright and had lovely big work tables. There were 11 people on my course and more on the contemporary goldwork course. After taking my things into the workroom I settled into my accommodation, rooms with double beds and on-suite facilities.
We started work at 4pm after a brief introduction and worked until dinner at 6.30. This was a short introduction to the tutor and her collection of fantastic African artefacts.

This continued after dinner until about 8.30. Lots of information to assimilate and starting to think about what we would be doing the next day. I was fascinated with the bag in the picture above and I had already come with a colour palette in mind - no it wasn't purple! I had this photo and wanted to use the colours of sunrise/sunset.

So after a sleepless night, making initial drawings, I started playing with fabrics that might do the job. They were all quilting cottons and in order to try and get the feel of the African raffia cloth I painted the pieces with watered down PVA glue. This was very effective. I tried a piece of felt as well but that turned out more like cardboard and didn't feel the same.

Above is fabric for a new project laid out and drying - it's the same fabric colours I used for my Durham project apart from the red which is slightly different.
We worked very hard all day and by the end of the day I had finalised what I was making and how it was going to be constructed. Along with some of my colleagues I also had a new project half planned. It took a lot of thought and experimental planning with a paper mock up. More about that project in another post.
So here is my small hanging that I almost completed on Sunday, I only had the dangly to make a decision about and didn't do that until yesterday. I didn't use the one that I posted yesterday but used another one instead.

Here is the sampler I worked on while away and then continued at home over the last two days. It shows some of the stitches Mary showed us and also acts as a reminder of the things I observed.

I also have lots of photos, notes and sketches I made.

Thank you for getting to the end of this post, I hope you enjoy my ramblings and look out for project number two based on this course.

Teaser

2011-04-11T09:30:00.001+01:00

Had a fantastic weekend. Here is part of my African inspired hanging. (This is not completed yet) More about my weekend to come later. When there is more time I will download the rest of my beautiful photos from the course. Mary was the most inspirational tutor and we all came away feeling as if we had made a friend for life. Good food, lovely surroundings, good company and fabulous weather, yes we were inside during a heat wave!

Travels

2011-04-07T22:38:00.000+01:00

I'm off on my travels again tomorrow. Not far this time, just 19 miles down the A19/A1. This will be an Embroiderers' Guild Spring School. We will be staying in one of the University Colleges and I'm doing a workshop with Mary Sleigh on Edges and Embellishment. I have had her book African Inspirations on Embroidery since I did my C&G study on African Embroideries. So I am really looking forward to this weekend.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I did a 7 and a half mile walk with our local walking group. It was a fantastic day in the North York Moors. We started at Grosmont and went up on the tops overlooking the valley then came down the other side into Goathland. If you don't recognise the name you must have seen Heartbeat. This is Aidensfield. Bernie Scripps Garage and the pub, The Aidensfield Arms, are all there. Including the railways station with steam trains running along the 'new' railway line.

We continued our walk along the 'old' railway track which is now a favourite walk for the fit, and not so fit. Two and a quarter miles back on the flat to Grosmont. It was a beautiful sunny day although a bit blustery at times.

Today I'm suffering, my knee is very sore and I am definitely back on a diet! If for no other reason than to take the strain off my knees. Grrr why should having a nice time have slightly unpleasant consequences as we get older? I haven't had time to download the photos I took, I promise to try and get some sorted out after the weekend.

April's TUSAL

2011-04-04T15:39:00.000+01:00

Took two photos of my TUSAL jar today. the first one made me think that I would not get much more in, but then I squashed the threads and yarns down and there is still a lot of room left.

Squares and Circles

2011-04-01T16:26:00.001+01:00

A quick finish this. I started it at an hour workshop at Pins and Needles with Victoria McLeod and just completed it this afternoon. It's going to a Charity Raffle to raise money for Japan by Festival of Japan.
Jill has just come back from a visit to Japan and I met her at the show. She says that what Japan needs is money and she hopes to collect small (9"x9") pieces of work. Anything goes and they will be displayed at all the shows they attend. For a modest cost you could be the owner of a piece of work.

Playing with natural and chemical dyes

2011-04-01T12:54:00.000+01:00

Had great fun over the last few days playing with dyes.

These are my wool yarn samples hanging out to dry. they were dyed with a blue and red chemical (acid) dye and fixed in the microwave. I like some of the colours, but was disappointed with others.

Today I am dying small quantities of wool and cotton with madder, a weed! this is a l o n g process and was started on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to seeing the results. It looks good so far. However the proof of the pudding...... will be when it's all out of the pan, washed and dried. so a little while yet before I know.

Scouring bowl

Boiling pan

Hanging skeins to dry

Parcel post

2011-03-28T12:50:00.000+01:00

What quick service. I made an order to a new online site KnitSisters on Friday and it came beautifully wrapped. Thank you so much Heike. This is what I bought wrapped and unwrapped.

The pink is a Cotton Tweed called Rasberry Sorbet and the purple is KB Indulgence, Safir Purple and is a lovely wool and mohair and polyamide mix. KB yarn and come from the earthquake town of Golcuk in Turkey and KB are committed to supporting local crafting women small businesses in the town. The small bead stitch markers are beautiful with little hearts which you can't see all that well on the photo. I'll have to find a very special project for this yarn.

Hearts for Christchurch update

2011-03-25T16:40:00.000Z

I was so pleased to read the latest post from Evie at Hearts for Christchurch. She now has over 1200 hearts and mine have arrived -see March 24th entry CANADA, USA and UK. Mine are enormous next to the others. The end is in site and it is hoped that the hearts will go to Christchurch and be exhibited/displayed before being given out to the people there. It will then be up to them whether they are kept together or not. Well done everyone who have contributed from all over the world. Evie you have done a fantastic job.

Thank you

2011-03-21T20:09:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who reads my Blog and makes such lovely comments about my crafty objects. I am really enjoying myself at the moment.

Last night I started a very small Starling bag, thanks to Alice at Ravelry. I will make more of these. They are a very quick knit. I'm going to see what they are like using two strands of wool as it is a bit floppy. That is if I can crochet with two strands! BTW it is the same wool I used for my Neuron above. I have a large cone of it.

My small brown Starling bag

Bag finish

2011-03-20T15:51:00.000Z

Way-hay I've finished my bag, just in time as my machine is off for a service tomorrow so I have had a good session today to get it completed.

Here are my Japanese flowers. As it stands it could be a shawl, however I've sent for some more wool and I might make it into a lap blanket instead. The individual flowers are so easy and quite therapeutic to make.

My jumper is up to the neck now but the arm hole seems quite tight so I may have to add some more depth to it. Will peruse for a while, a little measurement might be in order.

Learning something new

2011-03-16T19:11:00.000Z

Well after all the years of having this blog, I have, at last, found out how to change the background. Thanks to Scrappin Blogs. Why didn't I try to do this before?

Weekend

2011-03-15T20:20:00.000Z

Spent the weekend yarn bombing Newcastle and doing some more big knitting at The Maker's Fair. It was good fun.

Beanbugs in the tree

Nebuchadnezzar and Nerys in their tree

Neural Network

As a result I didn't get a chance to do much on my wrapped line project and well done to Heidi and also some of the girls on NH for guessing correctly that it is going to be a bag. I've done 8 more rounds today and joined on the second washing line. That means I have wrapped 30 meters already. The sides should be at least 7 1/2" and they are 4 1/2" so far. 7 1/2" doesn't seem to be very deep, I'll see what it looks like when I get there. Unfortunately I am starting to run out of the thread I'm using on the cream section so will continue until I use it up then I'll have to wait until I can get some more. My LNS (Singers) don't have the right one but are sending for it. It's a very lightly variegated Gutterman thread. My sewing machine needs a service and is starting to squeak. It can't go in until next week so I'll see how far I get with it tomorrow.

I can now get back to my knitting and crochet projects, a flower shawl, or if I get ambitious it may become a throw. I quite like making the flowers and they don't take too long to make.

This is the wool I'm using for a 'Sloppy Joe' jumper. I have just got up to the arm holes. It's great as it has been done on circular needles and there are no seams.

If you have got to the end of this post well done, it has been slightly longer than usual.

Guerilla Knitting

2011-03-11T11:11:00.000Z

Today is the day all the neurons get stitched together to make neural networks. I've even got my Guerilla jumper on LOL. PS I do know it's a different kind! but I love it.

Thought you might like to see my new project which is taking shape - much too big for a bread basket ROFL.

First yesterday afternoon's photo.

Then this mornings photo. Any new guesses.

New coils

2011-03-09T19:35:00.001Z

I've just taken a photo of my latest coil project but can you guess what it is going to be? I photographed it on the machine with the small pots I've already made. BTW it's not finished! Oh and Christine you can't guess as I think you already know.

Hearts for Christchurch.

2011-03-08T18:03:00.000Z

I've just read this blog thanks to Patty and have quickly made two hearts.

Two more bowls

2011-03-08T12:10:00.003Z

I've now made three bowls, the first I showed you in the last post and I made another very small one by hand and a larger oval one using the sewing machine. It took longer to make. However I am learning how to finish off a bit better. The first two would make nice trinket bowls and the third, I'm not sure what I would use it for, any thoughts?

Two more bowls

2011-03-08T12:10:00.000Z

I've now made three bowls, the first I showed you in the last post and I made another very small one by hand and a larger oval one using the sewing machine. It took longer to make. However I am learning how to finish off a bit better. the first two would make nice trinket bowls and the third, I'm not sure what I would use it for, any thoughts?

Tusal March

2011-03-04T11:51:00.000Z

Here is my March TUSAL. It is growing fast because of all the wool.

This is a small coiled bowl I made last night at our Crafts2Share group.

The first picture doesn't really show the depth so I've included a side view.

Anniversary

2011-03-01T17:24:00.000Z

No not this month but it will be our Ruby anniversary in December and DH booked our holiday away last night. We will be in St Lucia in the Bahamas for two weeks just before Christmas. Bliss.
Here is a picture of the pool and that building in the middle is a bar, yes you have to swim to it!

Can you understand how excited I am?

We will be back just a few days before Christmas so can still spend it with the family.

DH is now booking our usual trip to Gran Canaria for September. So that is two holidays to look forward to this year. He will probably get his way and we will have another trip away in the UK around March as well.

Postie arrives

2011-02-24T18:08:00.003Z

Today the postman brought me my three printing blocks from Colouricious, they are fab and fantastic delivery as I only ordered them yesterday.

Then my google eyes arrived for my beanbugs.

I finished my yellow crochet brooch it's enormous, the photo dosn't really show how big it is.

This is a photo of a small mixed media piece I've just finished. I painted the board quite a while ago and it got cleared away in one of my clear ups and I've just discovered it. I was looking for a button for my box when I found it. So I finished it off with some of my buttons and home made charms.

Lastly Here is my cling film fabric box. The fabric trapped between cling film came from my TUSAL from last year.

Postie arrives

2011-02-24T18:07:00.000Z

Today the postman brought me my three printing blocks from Colouricious, they are fab and fantastic delivery as I only ordered them yesterday.

Then my google eyes arrived for my beanbugs.

I finished my yellow brooch it's enormous, the photo dosn't really show how big it is.

This is a photo of a small mixed media piece I've just finished. I painted the board quite a while ago and it got cleared away in one of my clear ups and I've just discovered it. I was looking for a button for my box when I found it. So I finished it off with some of my buttons and home made charms.

Lastly Here is my cling film fabric box. The fabric trapped between cling film came from my TUSAL from last year.

Latest projects

2011-02-22T16:28:00.003Z

Well I've made two more little beanbugs. I am waiting for the eyes for beanbug #3 to arrive so will be stalking the postie over the next few days.

I've also renewed my crochet by making two small book marks. I stiffened the red one but don't like them stiffened so left the brown one soft.

I joined the Crochet a Rainbow project to make Granny Squares for Australia - see the link on my side bar. I've only made one so far as it took me a long time to get the size right. I'll wait until I've made a few more before posting a picture.

Yesterday I made two very sweet rose crochet brooches and I'm working on a larger one at the moment using a different pattern.

Lastly I started another cowl, but think the yarn is too thick for the pattern I choose so it will probably come out, As I have almost three balls of the yarn (used to make one of the brooches) I'd like to make something bigger with it. I have some lace weight yarn that will probably be better for the pattern.

Last week at our craft club I started a box project made with cling film wrap and scraps of thread and fabric. Which reminds me the fabric is sitting in my sink trying to get rid of the dissolvable fabric so must go off to rescue the pieces before we go food shopping. More about this project later.

Reading this list back I have been very busy but most of them are very small projects so took very little time to make.

Nester the Neuron

2011-02-18T22:12:00.000Z

Had fun tonight knitting Nester the Neuron on large needles and three strands of wool. I've put her beside Nathaniel, a small Neuron and my laptop so you can imagine the size.

Now I have some broom handle needles I wonder what size a neuron would be knitted on one of those. I don't know if I have enough stuffing for a larger one - I used old pop socks for this one!

Squidgy Beanbugs

2011-02-16T21:26:00.000Z

Love these little critters and they don't take very long to make. You can find the pattern along with others at Jean Greenhowe's site.

I'm also knitting another moebius scarf, it should be finished soon and then I'll post a picture. My 'I love stitching' freebie that I got with my birthday threads is nearly complete. I tried to take a picture tonight but none of them came out right. I'll try again tomorrow in the daylight.

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T20:57:00.000Z

Happy Valentines Day I hope you have all been pampered by your loved ones. I'm afraid after nearly 40 years mine has lost the art, I did him a small card with a paper pulp heart and I don't really think he appreciated it.
Here is my gift from Tina in the Needlework Haven Sweet Sock exchange.

And here is the gifts I sent to Christine - yes my hand knitted socks and a Neuron which she has named Neville

Moebius Ruffle

2011-02-11T14:42:00.000Z

Well it started off as a cowl but it just wasn't wide enough so I've added extra ruffles. I just love the colour (even though it doesn't really go with the purple jumper I'm wearing today!)

I used Zauberball Lace weight yarn.

Home

2011-02-10T15:07:00.003Z

Well we took the long way home yesterday via Skegness (this was a disappointment, wet and miserable). Stopped to look at the Humber Bridge before going over. Then up the coast via Scarborough and Whitby. We stopped for a meal in Guisborough. It was a very long drive and dark before we got home.

One of the first things I did after unpacking the car was to unwrap my two mugs, disappointment again, the one Pete chose was fine but mine should have been black with a red dragon, so rang the shop up this morning and they are going to send mine up and I'll have to post the wrong one - yes it was red with a black dragon and the top was black with a red dragon. Here's Pete's.

While away I did a few pages to a new journal inspired by our few days away. I had painted the pages in preparation before we went away!There's still a bit of room on the first page.

The second page is a painted and printed fabric I did last year. I might add more to that later.

Page three was inspired by the shadows of some twigs I saw on the way back home one night. The poem says

Winter

twig

Shadows

Sun and light

waving

the

wind

moving.

Before we went away I forgot to show you my small bag, remember the fabric I showed you? One bought, the other I did some batik work on. Well here is the finished bag and you can see the batik fabric on the inside.

Lincoln Day 2

2011-02-09T08:46:00.000Z

We went to the Castle and the Cathedral

Yes we went on the roof tour and went right inside the roof space. There were some beautiful views from up there.

We walked round some of the beautiful shops and I bought two dragon mugs. They are all wrapped up so will take photos when we get home.

With lots of walking and stops for drinks and food the two days have gone by very quickly and today we go home via Skegness and the Humber bridge.

Lincoln day 1

2011-02-07T09:58:00.000Z

We're down in Lincoln for a few days.

There are lots of lovely old houses.

And of course the Cathedral.

Lincoln

2011-02-05T10:09:00.000Z

Any one know of good places to visit in or around Lincoln? We are off there for a few days - my birthday treat. We are self catering in what looks like a great place near the centre.

TUSAL

2011-02-04T12:21:00.000Z

Too busy to post this yesterday sorry.

I also knitted two more Neurons

Moebius finish

2011-02-01T11:14:00.000Z

Well I've finished my Moebius scarf. here are two ways to wear it. the first is twisted twice round the neck and the second shows the actual twist in the scarf.

Knitted Neuron

2011-01-30T14:53:00.000Z

I've been busy this morning,
1. I made the outside of my bag, still have to stitch the top and make a cord as a handle.

2. I made a knitted neuron for the Guerrilla knitting at Maker Faire (12/13th March 2011)

3. Did a bit more knitting on a Moebius scarf that I started yesterday

What I've been up to

2011-01-29T12:43:00.000Z

Most of what I've been doing I can't show you as it's for a Valentine's Swap. I'm knitting and I'm painting and trying something, just a bit new. Will let you see after the 14th February.
I've also tried a bit of Batik work. Last time I tried it I knew I wasn't very good I drip all over the place. Here is the fabric I created and some of the mop up cloths I painted with the left over dye. It was a synthetic cotton and has bubbled a bit, wish I'd used pure cotton.

It's going to be made into a small bag. I already have the fabric for the lining (Or it may turn into the outside and my blotchy fabric the lining, can't make my mind up! What do you think?)

I got a metre of this fabric ages ago in John Lewis sale box - I thought it was a bargain at £4.95

Gloves revamped

2011-01-21T12:38:00.000Z

Told you that my fingerless gloves were a bit short so I've now taken the top rib out and made them longer. Their much better now.

Doodles

2011-01-18T14:15:00.000Z

Thankyou to Marlis Egger for her post on The sketchbook challenge it inspired me after watching Diana Trouts video to go back to my Zentagle (doodle) book that I started in 2009. I had only one page to complete. here are two completed Zentangles and my last Zentangle in progress.

Finished project amended

2011-01-16T15:09:00.000Z

I decided that my ATCs needed a bit more bling so I've added a small piece of Friendly Plastic - must remember not to leave them on a warm windowsill!

Finished project

2011-01-15T14:03:00.000Z

I cut the piece once more at 90 degrees and recombined the strips. I put a sheet of Bondaweb on the back and adhered a piece of heavyweight Vylene to the back.

I cut some 3 and 1/4 inch strips. Then cut 2 and 1/2 inch pieces. These I neatened off the edges with a satin stitch on the machine. I still have quite a lot of fabric left. I might make some postcard sized ones. Viola 4 ATCs - Artist Trading Cards.

Part 4

2011-01-13T15:29:00.000Z

First I cut my stitched piece into strips at 90 degrees to the last cut. I lay the pieces on the floor to keep them in the same order.

I then butted the first two strips up together and offset the pieces slightly stitching them together with a wide fancy stitch.

I continued butting, offsetting and stitching each strip taking care to keep the order correct.

The piece ended up as a full size complete fabric Notice the offsetting of the strips.

Here you can see the back of the fabric.

New project part 3

2011-01-12T14:22:00.000Z

Now I ironed the 3rd piece of painted Bondaweb onto another piece of white cotton.

Note the difference in size, I used the full sheet this time.

I then cut up the stitched piece and ironed it onto the 3rd piece.

offsetting each strip. Note also that the cuts are always done at 90 degrees to the cut before.

The final part today was to stitch down each of the strips to hold them permanently in place. I discovered that some of the paint on the 3rd large sheet was quite thick and stopped the Bondaweb sticking properly. So I'm pleased I decided to stitch each strip from the beginning. However the stitching was still able to go through the layers quite easily.

Tomorrows work will be slightly differently put together as I have no more painted Bondaweb left. Also the piece I have is quite big now and if I continued in this way the piece would be ginormous!

New project part 2

2011-01-11T14:54:00.001Z

OK here is the next part of my project

First I ironed a small piece of the painted Bondaweb onto plain white cotton using baking partchment to protect my iron and ironing board.

Then I ironed a slightly larger piece of painted Bondaweb onto another piece of white cotton.

The small piece was cut into 1" strips and keeping the strips in order ironed onto the larger rectangle of painted cotton.

Because the Bondaweb is only a temporary fix I then stitched the strips to ensure that they did not peel away from the backing later on.

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what I'm going to do next!

More painted Bondaweb

2011-01-10T21:01:00.000Z

I now have three sheets

New project

2011-01-10T15:07:00.000Z

Well I've started a new project. I'll post pictures as I go along. Who can guess how they will turn out?
Picture one is some painted Bondaweb now sitting and drying.

New Start

2011-01-10T14:18:00.000Z

Well after reading a few blogs this morning I decided that despite having a gunky throat I should start a new project - BUT - my workroom was a mess.

The floor had things all over and I couldn't work on either of my desks as they were covered in 'things'. I even had an ironing board up and covered with 'things'

So I set to and cleared the tops, found things I'd forgotten about.

I even hoovered the floor - it hadn't been done since before Christmas.

I found these inspirational books and poster that I got when visiting the Mucha Museum in Prague

Even this which gave me an idea for some ATCs I've promised to make.

And I now have a work desk ready to start. Now what was the project that first got me started on all of this?