Trees For The Gallery

I had a phone call at the beginning of the week requesting more of my brooches for the gallery in Leamington so I have been busy making these.

They wanted them as extra stock for Christmas.

This has given me an incentive to get some more work completed.

Next week I'm planning a visit to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, first time I have been to the London show in years!

I'm so looking forward to seeing all the amazing art textiles in one place and I'm hoping to take photo's to share with you.

Then of course there is all the different varieties of fibers and threads, I can be overwhelmed by the choice and the book stalls full of textile books, which I know will tempt me.

I have been working with year 8 students this week in textiles and we were experimenting with batik.

This is a sample I made to illustrate the technique, we had great fun creating patterns and they will then use their samples to decorate masks.

Another busy week, so I'm looking forward to a rest at the weekend, but it will include some sewing!

I must say before I go, thank you very much for all your kind comments.x

Embroiderers Guild Magazine Stitch

This week has been full of lows and highs in that order.

My husband had to go through redundancy again, second time this year!

Using threads is always my therapy, I can immerse myself in my own little thread world and it's a good way to de-stress.

So I made my little red tree brooch out of an old black wool jumper,which I felted and then the bright orange tree on some scraps of hand dyed wool blanket.

On Wednesday I had a very kind email from a flickr friend saying they had seen my work in Stitch Magazine.

I had such a shock when I saw my work on the front cover!

You will find four of my embroideries, which I made especially for Stitch, based on the seasons, in the middle of the magazine.

So a much better end to the week after such a rubbish start and lets hope there will be an end to this recession soon.

Hope you have a lovely weekend.x

Threads & Sketches

Well it's taken me quite a while to get on the computer as we have been so busy since we got back from our holidays.

Look at my messy desk again!

The vintage embroidery I found in a small shop in Bude.

I could not resist it, it's so beautifully stitched, I had to give it a home amongst my threads.

As promised a couple of quick sketches I made on holiday which I may paint and then progress to thread and fiber.

So lots to keep me busy again and I still have new items to add to etsy!

Hope you have a good week.x

Summer Sketch

A page from my sketch book, a hot day in France.

My oil pastels were almost melting into the page!

Cornwall was quite a contrast, the weather cool and showery, but we had a lovely time.

The rugged coastline was inspiring the shapes, colours and dramatic skies.

I will post Cornwall sketches in the next few days and more French ones too.

This week it will be back to the school routine and I wonder how I ever manage to get anything done!