My Garden Wall

This is a mini quilt that I made for my friend, Cath's, birthday.

It is based on the lovely stone wall in my garden. On first looking at the wall you think it is grey stone. On closer inspection you can see an array of pinks an lilacs hiding just waiting for the sun to shine.

Hope you like it Cath.

Industry

This is my entry in the You Are The Truth Journal Project.

It is a project started by AAC films. You can read about the project here.

The truth I wanted to tell is that "Industry can be Beautiful"

When I lived in Manchester I would pass scenes similar to these every day on my way to work. I would be captivated at sunrise and sunset by the light shining through the chimneys at the chemical plant or the power station.
Living in the city this beauty can be overlooked. Living in the country it can be forgotten and in the future these scenes could disappear altogether.

The truth is that industry can be beautiful in its own way.

The book is now on it's way to Linda but if anyone would like to add to this unique project please let me know.

Jonathon Livingston Seagull

This is my new Friend.
I call him Jonathon Livingston Seagull as he doesn't like to hang out with the others.

He has been calling for a couple of days now when I am sat here at the computer.
Obviously wants to lean HTML!

The cat doesn't know what to make of him. He ignores her and she just stares at him.

A Little Princess

The book I received for this round of
Literatura Infanil AB Round Robin on Alter-Native UK is Linda's A Little Princess.

I always remember my feelings when this little girl was sent to live in the attic and how she must have missed her father so much.
This is the feeling I tried to convey in this page.

In the end, thanks to the monkey, things work out well. Hence his appearance here.

ATC Chain

The very first ATC Chain is in progress at the moment. It is a great idea and easy to join.
My friend Joan introduced me to it.

Find someone on the list - like me ;0) and ask to join.
You then make 6 ATC's in any style and any theme and send to the 6 people on the list. Remove the top address and add yours to the bottom. Hopefully you will know 6 people who would like to join in. You get 6 trading cards and on it goes.


These are my offerings and will be in the post in the morning.

If you would like to join let me know and I will send the details.
Go on, you know you want to!

Gorgeous Sky

I just looked out of the window and saw the most gorgeous sky. These pictures does not do it justice.

I love the way the clouds have blown out like that, all wispy. I'm sure it has a name but I can't remember much about my Geography lessons at school.

After doing the background for my organza flower earlier this week I fancied doing a study on strata.
I think these clouds may be the start of that.

Vessel with the Pestle?

Well according to Jan it is the Chalice from the Palace!
(hope you know what I'm talking about - I'm not mad you know!)

Several weeks ago Jan set me a challenge and sent a vessel made from silk paper. She asked me to do something with it!
You can see her challenge here at Unlimited Textiles.

Well it has sat looking at me for quite a while. I had ideas but it is very delicate and wouldn't stand up to heavy embellishment.
At last! It came to me that it would look great with one of my organza flowers on it.



What finer way to finish such a palatial chalice.
Hope she agrees.

Well!

Well you hardly had time to see last nights quilts on Etsy - thank you Angela.

Here are couple more. You know where to find them. ;0)

New Mini Quilt.

This is "Thoughtful", she is my latest mini quilt.

The quilt is made from printed velvet with a lovely vintage lady deep in thought.
It measures 5" x 5".

She and others are for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Pop along and have a look and check out the other shops there. Some great work.

Rusty Fabrics

The Monthly Challenge on Fibre Art Friends this month was to "rust dye" some fabric.

I had never even thought of doing this before so was eager to have a go.

I searched and searched for anything rusty in the house but having just moved and had thrown away anything old and rusting. I was coming up against a brick wall.



Undeterred I sent Roger and Fred out on the streets in search of useful items.
They were not amused and returned home with one rusty bolt. I ask you, do you think they took this seriously? I don't think so.

Francoise mentioned that she had used a steel wool pad to dye her fabric, so a hunt under the sink was instigated. Mitzi thought that was great fun! I also found a rusty lantern - why was that there?! This is a mad house.



Anyhow, I wet all the fabrics and added some vinegar to the water - well everyone else was doing it! - and made sure all the fabrics were touching some sort of metal and wrapped it all in a plastic bag. The old bolt went in too. I left everything to cook for 48 hours.

When I lifted the experiment out of the bag it felt horrible. The steel wool had broken up and was everywhere. I didn't know if I would ruin it all but, it went straight in a bowl of soapy water.

I thought all the rust would wash out but no there it was in all its glory.
The pictures you see are the washed and ironed fabrics.

The first one was closest to the steel wool.
The second and third are print fabrics. The blue one is OK and I will probably use it in a quiltie but the other is horrible. It just looks like a filthy bit of cloth.

The last two are my favourites. The plain calico was furthest away from the steel wool and I like the effect it made -not too rusty.
The last one is a piece of calico that I printed with leaves and acrylic paint some time ago. This piece was wrapped in the rusty lantern and I love the lines it has made on the fabric.

All in all great fun - my household agreed on that!

Tag! You're it!

I've been tagged to tell you 7 weird things about me. Thanks Susan - I think.
Well read weird as crazy, says the great Roger, and it's hard to stop at 7!
Cheeky devil - even if he is right.
So here goes:

1. I actually married Roger!
2. My family are weirder than me!
3. I have a mad dog and a crazy cat and I like it that way.
4. I like spiders and worms.
5. I talk to myself. This confuses others who think I may be talking to them.
6. I make up my own language - it's rubbish but I do it anyway.
7. I can watch the same film over and over thinking that this time the end could be different.

I'm supposed to tag someone else now but, you may all consider yourselves tagged and tell me (in the comments) one thing about you that is weird or crazy ;0)

Camilia

The theme on The Artists Muse this time is Spring of Creativity and is all about flowers.

Spring is my favourite time of year. I love the colours and the lush feel of the garden so I was really looking forward to this chapter.

The brief was to create a flower on a pieced, green background using 3 or more green fabrics and using any technique you like.

I started with a piece of green velvet on some batting and added strips of green silk and organza. I zig zagged the strips down and then stitched lines in straight stitch for more texture.


I cut 3 flower shapes from organza, sandwiched them between two sheets of water soluble film and stitched the edges and centres.
After washing the flowers and drying them I stitched them one on top of the other and sewed them to the background by beading the centres.

I love big showy blooms such as Camilias, Peonies, Sunflowers, Roses and Gazinias. All these flowers will lend themselves to this technique so I will have fun creating a fabric garden along with my more traditional one.


The piece measures 10inches square and the flower is 4 inches across.

Two birds with one stone.

The theme for the quiltie swap on Unlimited Textiles this month is "Layers"

I fancied doing something quite traditional for a change. As I have been working on some cream cushions in my patchwork class I thought it would be good to them in miniature. It was a little tricky resizing the pieces and the second one was easier to do.


We also have Stitch of the Month in Unlimited Textiles and this month it is Seed Stitch. I have incorporated it into the first quiltie so two jobs done in one!
I used rayon thread for the stitching and it has frayed a little in places. Unfortunately the more I tried to put it right the worse it went. In the end I decided to leave well alone.


The second has a piece of fabric I made tucked into the space to peep out. My actual cushion has 4 of these panels. I think this is my favourite one. I like it's simplicity.

Childhood

The chunky book page for May on ANUK is Childhood.

I haven't done any stamping for an age it seems so I had a rummage in my drawers and found this stamp.
I had forgotten I had it. I thought it was just perfect.
It reminds me of the children on Woolacombe Beach on a Sunday morning, straight from Sunday School.

I stamped it in a chocolate brown onto paper painted with Twinkling H2O's. I also stamped a few birds in the sky.
The stamp is coloured in with pastel pencils.

The embellishment is Abalone shells and a little sand dollar charm.


It will be in the post to my partner, Sheilagh, on Monday.

Tassels

Joanna was trading this wonderful tassel.
Well I love tassels so I jumped in fast.
It really is gorgeous and now adorns my PC.


This little angel was the tassel I made for Joanna.
I held my breath - not everyone likes angels - but she liked it.
Yippee!

Thank you Joanna for a great swap.

Thank you!

Just a quick thank you for the comments on my ATC's ( and everything else). I am always honored that you take the time to visit me.

My sketch book is now firmly on my desk. I'm not saying it will be opened but it is a step in the right direction.

Holiday ATC's

These are my ATC's for a "Holiday" swap run by Skippy.
They were great fun to do.

The first has a collaged background using part of a map of America.
The suit case is cut on my xyron cutter that gets great use in my Scrapbook Workshops. I distressed it with "Distress Inks".
I don't often use stickers but love the little ice cream cone.




My friend Jan is always telling me to do more drawing (I think I have mentioned this before) so I had a go on this second one.
Hmm, now I know why I don't do much drawing! LOL








The third is my daughter Laura's idea (she hasn't got a blog, yet!). Summer is always full of carnivals that go on into the night with fireworks and fun. I made the building stencil but used a pre-cut one for the streamers and stars. The word Carnival is stamped.

I've had a real fun day ;0)

Banner

Just got to mention my new banner.
Isn't it pretty? I just love it.
It was designed for me by a great lady called Tracy Joy.
Thank you Tracy

Bookmarks

The swap on Unlimited Textiles this month is bookmarks.

Now try as I might I cannot get a good picture of these. They are layers of velvet and organza and some glittery bits and they just flash back at the camera.
To make matters worse I made the tassels from glitter thread!

I have tried it with the flash on and the flash off.
I have photographed them in the sun and out of the sun.
These photos are the best I can get :0(

They are much better for real - honestly!

North American Indian ATC's

On Creative Journey I am pursuing a theme of North American Indians. These are ATC's I have made using that inspiration.

I chose the colours to represent a desert sunset and painted with watercolours on watercolour paper.
I stamped the backgrounds using the stamps I made for an earlier challenge.

The first shows an Anasazi pot, the second an Indian in all his glory. The third is a little big for an ATC I know but I wanted to include the concho I made for the last challenge.

Grunge! Me?!!

Well I don't do grunge but I signed up to this Grunge Wallet swap on art-e-zine Cafe for the challenge!

So this is my attempt as that grungy wallet.
I have to say I really did enjoy the challenge once I got going.
It is done with layers of papers fabric and images glued using pva glue then ironed to fix. Great fun and wonderfully messy!
The little bug is made from beads and wire - ahh!