August Stitching

We have had so much rain this August, I can count on one hand the dry sunny days we have had.
It rained here for at least 48 hours non stop this week, so apart from taking the dog out we stayed in, this gave me time to work on my handmade felt, stitching my "August Walk" landscape.
If we get a dry day we hope to go blackberry picking, it looks like a good year which is maybe because of our wet August!

Before I forget I must say thank you to Twiglet for her blog award.

P.S If you click the image you can see the whole picture, I have uploaded the extra large size but it won't fit on the page!

A Sea Of Grass

Stitching, stitching, stitching!!
Thank you to Madeira threads who provided their Lana wool threads which are used in this piece of work.

Festival Of Quilts Day Out

It was my first visit to the Quilt show and I wasn't disappointed as there was so much to see.
Luckily as I had pre ordered tickets my Mum and I got in fairly quickly, but for those who had to buy a ticket there was a very long queue.
I took quite a few hurried photo's, so these are the less blurred pictures.

I hope the artist's will not mind me sharing their beautiful work as I don't have all their names.

This is The Ground Zero quilt by Lois Jarvis, it places the pictures of 621 individuals who perished at the world trade center.You can read more about this artists work here http://www.loisjarvisquilts.com/GZQ/gzq.html

A face in Patch work.

This is a sea of bonnets each one hand embroidered with the name and date of the women who were sent away to Australia from the UK on the convict ships.

In some cases they only committed petty crimes, such as stealing bread.

A demonstration area

There was also lots of tempting stalls, so I did buy a few silk fibers and a book on European Quilts!

After all the excitement of the show it was back to my own work and I completed my "Thread Life" painting.

More Sketches

We had a lovely day yesterday with the children at Ragley Hall which is famous for it's sculpture park.
See HERE.
We chose a perfect day to go, warm and sunny which has been rather lacking this holiday.

I took many photo's of the gardens, sculptures and woodland which is exceptionally beautiful and well worth a visit.
I have continued to sketch between stitching, I'm almost afraid to stop, as I know how much work is ahead of me.
Every opportunity I have, I look for inspiration from nature and landscape.

Here are a few more sketches which I have been working on.
Tomorrow is my Birthday and I am spending it with my family and no doubt we will be out for coffee and cakes!
Thursday I'm visiting The Festival Of Quilts, a birthday treat, so a busy week.

I Think It's Finished!

It's finished, I think, although I may be tempted to add a few more stitches!

'August Walk'

I have spent most of the week out and about sketching, in between the summer showers!
The wheat is ready to be cut, it looks dry and dusty now.

I love the colour of the yellow fields against the lush green trees.

There are so many interesting patterns in the landscape, I wish I had more time!

Recently, I have been asked by an art studio in Leamington Spa if I could run some weekend workshops, so when I get more details I will let you know.

Tree Shadows & New Painting

The holidays have given me more time to spend on my art work, although I have taken to hiding the washing upstairs in a big pile and ironing as and when!
I have been stitching my ' Tree Shadows' piece which has flowed, in a very organic, rhythmical way, through the machine.

I have also been sketching and painting,' A Sea Of Grass' my most recent work, which holds many thoughts.

Yesterday I booked my tickets for my Mum and I to visit The Festival Of Quilts in Birmingham.
This will be my first visit and I'm so looking forward to seeing the fine art quilts and a day out!