It's Framed!

If you have been following my blog, you will know I have been working for months on a very large embroidery.

At last it is completed and I picked it up from the framers this week.

I felt very nervous because it was so difficult to choose the right colour mount and frame and I knew this was crucial to the piece.

When I saw the frame and deep box mount I was delighted, but then shock as I realized they had framed it back to front!!

All that work and I thought it had been ruined and how could they think the back was the front?

Luckily it was all sorted out but I did have to go back and collect it the next day.

I was very relieved to see that no damage had been done.

Another small textile brooch to show you with a mix of applique and stitch, I am enjoying using different fabric prints.

Have a great weekend and happy creating.x

Still Life Stitching

Yesterday we had snow, it started about 1.00pm and fell steadily into the early hours of the morning.

Today, at least, we have had sunshine which has meant a beautiful bright light as the sun reflects on the snow.

I have been lucky to receive another Sunshine award from http://wychbury.blogspot.com/.

Thanks Paula.x

I have been playing with my fabrics and threads for my miniature still life pictures.

Here is a still life in my sketch book , I may use this for a larger stitched textile piece.

For sometime I have considered how I could make my landscapes integrate with my still life sketches, so now my land is the table cloth, my vase the trunk of my tree and the flowers become my leaves and branches.

I try and imagine that I'm walking in this landscape, as if I'm a character from 'The borrowers' by Mary Norton. This would be so much fun, although not if I got lost in my thread pile!

Textile Paintings

I have had time to play with ideas this weekend and today, as school is closed for half term.

I have been looking forward to the break as it is always quite frantic at school just before the holiday, finishing off projects etc...

I completed blossom tree brooch and then decided to use up some pieces of wool that I had dyed a navy blue for another miniature landscape.

The fuchsia thread is from a vintage reel of cotton and it is a wonderful colour, especially against the dark blue.

If you're anything like me, you will no doubt have many small bits of fabric and lace which you can't throw away as

a. It's too beautiful to part with even if it's so small you can hardly see it.

b. It is very old so how can you possibly be the one to end it's life.

c. You have an emotional attachment to it (It was part of an old dress that belonged to a great grandma)

d. You need to recycle.

e. You are a very strange person who hordes small scraps because you like to paint pictures with them.

f. You are completely mad because you think all fabrics deserve a chance of a different life.

g. How could you part with it because you will never get that design, colour again etc...

h. You are inspired by the work of Edrica Huws see here http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/aug/13/art and here amazing work.

Which leads me on to these two 'still life brooches' which I have been able to incorporate tiny fragments of lace and fabric.

Have a great week.

Mx

Altered Book & Stitching

Hi,

We are back to the cold frosty weather here with a few snow and sleet showers, nothing compared to the blizzards in Washington America, I could not believe how much snow they have had!

I have been working on my altered book, the theme 1920's.

The colours of a painting by Matisse and a pot by Clarice Cliff inspired my front cover which I have covered in small pieces of tissue paper and ink.

Next I have started to add a few small objects, buttons, fabric, pictures and half an old belt buckle.

The fabric is french, I'm not sure how old it is, but the colours, I think, fit in with my theme.

We have half term holidays here next week, so with the weather staying cold I'm sure to be staying in with my sewing!

Slow Stitching

I have still been working on my very large textile hanging this week, adding small hand stitches all over the embellished wool and silk.

I like to keep coming back to it between my smaller projects, the hand stitching is slow but relaxing.

Another piece to add to my altered book is this stitched Clarice Cliff pot, I'm not sure yet how it will all fit together with my lady and vintage fabric, I will keep experimenting.

I nearly forgot to say thank you to Julie at http://mixedmedia-jem.blogspot.com/ for some lovely cards, which I won in her give away.

Painting, Creating And Stitching!

Last week I managed a few sketches and a painting in my sketch book.

I seem to have a fixation with dramatic skies, perhaps it's because our skies are very flat and grey at the moment.

The painting did start out as painting paper for a work shop I 'm going on next Saturday week.

It's a mixed media work shop and I have a huge list of things I need to take!

I have also been invited to take part in an altered book group local to me.

This, I might add is all new to me and I am hoping the work shop will help me in some of the processes you have to use.

We have nine members in the group and each has a book with which they pass on after they have decorated two pages in mixed media.

Each person has a different theme and at the end you will have nine different interpretations of your chosen subject in your book.

My chosen subject is The 1920's, I decorate the cover and first page and then it gets passed to the next person on the list.....I hope you get the idea.

At the end we meet for lunch ( looking forward to that bit) and get our books back, which will be sometime in November.... so should have time to fit it in, fingers crossed.

We hope then to have the books displayed in an exhibition.

I have been playing with ideas for my front cover by drawing my 1920's lady in thread, still lots of experimenting to do.

I will be adding some hand stitching to the front of her dress, I think, I have started with the loop for detached button hole.

Leaf tree is another tree brooch I made in the week, which I will add to my etsy shop....soon

Now I must thank Maria of http://creativebumblebee.blogspot.com/ for two awards and also Leigh http://leighshepherd.blogspot.com/ for another. Thank you so much!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog.

Bye for now.x

Inspired By Landscape

Close up of foreground

Close up of sky

Oil Pastel Sketch

I have managed to list one of my paintings in etsy today for the first time.Here

This painting on paper is a combination of acrylic and oil pastel.

In shades of blue, green and purple.

Looking to the distance, a view from my imagination.

I think I may have to stitch this too, I keep seeing it in thread!

The oil pastel sketch is the magnolia tree in our garden.

It was bitter cold outside, the snow had started to fall as I gazed out the window.

The colours, I think, reflect the freezing temperature.

You will also find other items I have listed on etsy today, post cards and a few small brooches.

The sun today has been very welcome, although according to our weather short lived.

I hope you have a great weekend.x