Bits ands pieces....

My favourite are out of Strictly Come Dancing, I have loved watching Jodie Kidd and Ian Waite, they have been so refreshing in their attitude and their sense of fun. Won't be the same without them. Love this video of their "best bits"


While wandering I found these links. On the V&A Webb site Doroty Hogg is an artist in residence and has started a challenge which is open to all it is called Find..Make..Wear and has produced some very interesting jewellry which you can see onV&A Find Make Wear flickr. The rules are on this link

I found this fascinating and well worth watching on many levels."Don't let it all unravel"


STOP PRESS Helen Cowans has started a new blog in which she is going to document the History of Embroidery

Take a little gesso......

Two similar techniques, very different results.
I took two of my recent experiments and worked with them to see where they lead me. This is from the Firbre in Form workshop
Possible book or box lid cover I think.
This is the one from my first dib into Maggie Grey's Textile Translations

A little personal reminder to me of magical visit to the caves at Niaux in France a few years ago.
For all of you who have been playing with gesso these last few weeks here is an inspirational page by Michelle Ward.
By the way who pinched my Links list?.........well I guess I must have, I was carefully (I thought) moving things to the new blog list (which I like) and when I returned my old list had vanished, so if your names not there yet it isn't because I don't love you anymore...

My Christmas present......

to me. Yes, I know it's a bit early but having seen Jessie Chorley's work at the Knit and Stitch show when a friend alterted me to the fact that she was holding a workshop I jumped at the chance.

Jessie had hired a studio in a cobbled steet in the east of London (her own is too small) there were eight of us including a delightful young couple from Thailand.The young man could not sew but by the end of the day was producing some very neat blanket stitch!! You can see how pleased he was

When we arrived the table was spread with examples of Jessie's work which we could handle and analyse, oh joy!!!

We had taken stuff and we just pitched in to start making a wearable "book", as I sat looking blankly at the piece of material I had chosen (what is it about workshops that scambles your brain?) Jessie came round and rifled through my bits selecting one, which she placed on the material, perfect I was off. This is my first effort

and this is my second

which is not quite finished.
There was a lot of good conversation, did you know there are people with a phobia about buttons, I certainly didn't and lots of tips I just hope that I can decipher the notes I made!!!
I made a new blogging friend, Mandy who has a blog called Feltbug, she made a brooch which looked like a fun piece but also had a close personal meaning for her.

At the end of the day we had a mini exhibition and then we visited Jessie's tiny shop in the Columbia Road and then home on a cattle truck! Thank goodness I don't have to travel in the rush hour every day.

It's on my list to do but I must not let a visit to the Flow Gallery pass me by to see the exhibition called "Making Stories" which feature pieces by Jessie, Julie Arkell, Jeanette Orell and Cleo Mussi.

Just going back to the button phobia, of course I had to look it up, it rejoices in the name of koumopounophobia and this is an article from the BBC magazine

Right woke up a 5.40am with head buzzing with ideas better write them down somewhere.

Narcissi in November.......

still a few Sweet Peas left too....
Just behind these early birds you can see the dreaded catalogues....this is what they look like in their full glory.

I see Maggie has suggested that it is time to bring them in, I would like the one on the left to have one more wetting. I will miss them out there, perhaps I will put another in their place.
Time to catch up with my other experiments from Maggie Grey's online tutorial which accompany her book Textile Translations
The outside

The inside in progress, I liked this effect so just enhanced it a little.

And here is the finished article


It has taken days but it was great fun and hopefully I wuill take up Maggie's challenge to use the technique on a shape of my own devising.
This is what I made out of one of my other Maggie experiments


and finally when I went to tweak one of the photographs of the teepee in PSP the Brightness/Contrast was on still on the setting from my last play and this is what it gave me.

Click on picture for full glory.

Sunshine in November....

Here is my card for Sharon for November, not a stitch on it!!! I wanted to something different. At first I was going to try the some of the techniques of the http://www.fibreinform.com/workshop and then when I was messing around with Molding Paste this happened.

Something cheerful for a grey November.

The nation votes.......

No, not THAT election (can any human being attain that level of expectation, we can only hope!) ....no I am talking about Strictly Come Dancing....I am nailing my colours to the mast here. I love Austin and Erin but I adore Ian and Jodie, there is something about the chemistry between them which makes them great to watch though I think the BBC Wardrobe should remember that they are dressing a model, they have not been kind.(once a wardrobe mistress always a wardrobe mistress...for Pam) Unfortunately the judges didn't like either of my couples tonight so fingers crossed. I think, when the whole series is over (OH NOOOOOOO!), I will always remember John stomping across the floor dragging Kristina behind him. (I'm giggling now!)

Now to weightier matters.... Fibre-in Form experiments. This is the before and after result of acrylic paint.


Reminds me of "Little dabs of powder, little dabs of paint...makes a litle lady look like what she ain't." Sort of sums up what we do now I come to think of it!! Transform things, I mean.

This is on a wallpaper and scrim sample

These two are using ink on gesso some paper stuff and on couched threads and gesso.


Too much fun, just not enough free hours in the day, how did I ever have the time to go out to work????????.........

Some of you may have noticed some comments from Tony,(DH of my BF) if you want to see some stunning bird photography and some interesting pictures and stories from an English village visit him here,