Snow in summer....

Last winter I tried snow dying, now in the summer I have been using some of the cloth.  This was mainly from the second batch which wasn't as vibrant as the first. 

This is my Doodle Bag, it was made for the EG South East Area Day. I outlined the colour areas on the cloth and then filled each one with a different stitch. The bag is made from purple dupion lined with lime green.

The odd  bits of cloth have been joined together as part of the classes I am taking with Jude Hill and form the base for the piece I am working on at the moemnt.

More seaside.....

The Spirit Cloth workshop has finished, this is my first completed cloth....

or as Jude would say "what if it isn't finished?" Is that a star fish or is it the man who fell to earth?

My thanks to my friend Gudrun who gave me the lace piece which was the basis of my story. I have a book full of notes and a head full of ideas and  fingers itching to stitch and build.

A day at the seaside....

I have a new toy and a day out in Deal with my friend Pam where there was an open studios event was not to be missed on all levels.We had a  lovely day though we only visited a few studios as being one of the hottest days of the year we were drawn to the sea and then to a delicious lunch and of course I had to play wiith my new Lumix FZ38.  Before I show some of the shots I have to tell of a remarkable co-incidence.  At one of the studios I was fascinated by two "Cabinets of Curiosities".  These looked like the kind of exhibits that you used to see in a small town museum when I was a child but closer inspection of the labels showed that things were not always what they seemed. Do have a look, amongst the real curiosities were sly little jests such as a broken empty eggshell labelled "Curate's eggshell. The good and bad parts have been removed" and my personal favourite "the invisible bottle" When he was working on the first cabinet David became "interested in the authority of the label and the fact that a label can convince its readers that what is stated is correct"(Remind you of some textile labrels you have read?) Fascinating stuff which made you want to create your own cabinet, the co-incidence was, that out of the few studios we visited, David Nicholls  had actually done a very successful workshop on Celtic Design for us at Sevenoaks EG in May this year.
Here are a few experiments with my new camera.

Middle Street

                                                                        The Beach

A bronze of brave men.

These two are adjusted in Paintshop Pro to highlight the amazing fog bank that was off shore.

 

and finally if found a friend for the little stone I found two years ago.

Lovely day, thanks Pam.

Time....

for a little progress.  Thiis is my experiment with ragged aplique on the Spirit Cloth workshop

I wanted to do a hare, but he became a ragged rabbit. 

This is my next experiment with a ragged mask

I do love making these little pieces and I love the way they want to link to other pieces. 

 I am still working on my seaside piece, other thoughts gathering on it.

 I thought Wimbledon was a bit of a damp sqib this year.Apart from the marathon match there was nothing to keep me on the edge of my seat.  Still it was a good excuse to sit and stitch.