October TIF....Heaven or hell

For this month Sharon suggested that we share our workspace, and out thoughts about it. Sometimes my workroom looks like this

and sometimes it looks like this

What do you mean, there's no difference!!! The second one is TIDY.

Now, being a Virgo, I long for a beautiful huge natural wood studio with huge windows and a large table and ironing space and a separate area for each machine, fabrics stacked in neat piles, you know what I mean but this room to me is heaven and I know how lucky I am to have this much space of my own. I have one very dear friend who is known to be very houseproud and she, poor dear, cannot bring herself to put her foot inside the door. It may look cluttered but I know where everything is and it only gets into a terrible state when I'm working full out. The funny thing is that when I do have a really serious tidy (about every 3 months) I sit there wondering what to do and it isn't until I start opening boexes that I start to make things again. One thing I do is keep the floor clean,..... sluts guide to housekeeping!!!!

A special day.....

We had arranged to go and see the Hadrian Exhibition at the British Museum, my son and me. We walked out onto the Strand to find it lined with people and were just in time to applaud the british athletes who had taken part in this years Olympic Games.




We dropped into Culperer in Covent Garden to pick up some of the renowned feline aromotherapy, in other words catnip mice, for my sons three cats.

We enjoyed lunch in a pub and then spent a fascinating two hours in the museum. We came out with a re-inforced belief that there is nothing new under the sun.
The day ended with a quick visit to the Cloth House . I could go seriously bankrupt in this shop but restricted myself to a couple of pieces.
Great day.

Couldn't wait.......

to get to grips with Maggie Grey's latest book Textile Translations. This is my interpretation of first "lesson"(it is step by step so easy to follow)


I was also impatient to try out one of the new spray colours I bought from Crafty Notions at Ally Pally(this one is Midnight Blueberry, more turquoise than I was hoping. Why are true blues so hard to find?)


Now I have to add a layer of sealant, so I'll think about that for a while. I am stopping myself from reading too far ahead, it is about time there was some discipline around here!!

I am also looking forward to taking part in the Fibre in-Form classes at the end of the month. Almost too much excitment.

Just for fun while I was scanning the sample I had a little play with a distortion layer in PSP.

The lettering is from a great blog called The Graphics Fairy

October Calendar Girls....

This lovely card arrived from Jenny, it has a wonderful depth to the background.

and this is my offering for Susan
This was the calendar picture

I used the text and used the alphabet on my machine to put "old friend" on the gold and "new friend" on the silver. I printed the blue tulip, which I particularly liked, onto shrink plastic mounted that with silver and gold threads and finished the edges with silver on the gold and gold on the silver. The thought was the mingling of old and new friends, (not always an easy task)

Ally Pally....

I want to go back but it's just not possible. I thought I had been such a good girl and bought postcards and made notes (in my list book) and even had a few photographs but why do the thoughts of, "how did she do that?" "What was the colour combination of that?", wait until you are home? And why did I pick up the Kozo fibres and then put them down again?

I loved the mad crochet coral reef in the entrance hall,


and the giant piece of knitting


I enjoyed the shopping (except for the kozo fibres) and there was so much that I liked that I can't possibly get them all in. There was the wonderful kimono made of tiny sqaure beads by Takako Sako, the art of Louise Gardiner which made me smile and the Jessie Chorley delights. There was the fabulous fantasies of Diane Bates and the charming stumpwork of Barbara and Roy Hirst There was a quick visit to Maggie Grey to pick up a must have copy of textile translations,Clive told me she will reveal what to do with our catalogues on April 1st!!!! A visit with Dale which resulted in buying a wonderful bunch of fibres I didn't know I needed. I loved the Graduate Showcase this year and I hope they achieve their dreams and ambitions. It was great to meet with Lynda I am really looking foward to the new Fibre In-form workshop which starts on Friday.
As I look through my catalogue I can see there is a lot I missed, next year I am planning for two days.
So full of ideas, don't know where to start. Perhaps tidying my workroom might help!!!

Season of lists and expensive fruitfulness........

With apologies to John Keats!!!
First of all, I have been moved to put watercolour pencil to paper to record what seems to be a rare and expensive object. The Aubergine.

Yes, well I know it's an aubergine. Now what I want to know is WHY? Why, whatever time of year it is and whatever supermarket you go into, aubergines are 99p each. Is it just me evil mind or does this smack of price fixing? And have you noticed on other products, increasingly, biggest isn't necessarily cheapest. Buyer be aware!!!! These supermarkets are tricky blighters.
Never wanting to waste an opportunity, I played with my picture and produced these digitally enhanced versions.



Now LISTS. Well I have to say the theme of Lists for the TIF challenge did absolutely nothing for me, I gave it quite a bit of thought throughout the month but nothing lit a spark. Truth is I make lists just like everyone else but then I leave them on the table or, if I am having one of my good days, I take it out of the house and then leave it in the car!!! When I make a list I always do it the same way, I take piece of paper out of the printer and fold it in four so it's like a mini book.
This morning I was trying to make a list for the Knitting and Stitching show on Friday so I don't come back with the same things I bought last year......and then I found this little tyvek book cover I made some time ago
and then of course I had to put some paper inside. The I thought that talented people I hope to meet might see my list I thought I'd better paint the papers.
So here it is contribution to last months TIF (yes I know it's a complete cheat)
now all I have to do is complete the list and put it in my handbag.

The ultimate deterrent......

During the latter part of the "summer" I watched a lot of tennis and golf on TV. To give my hands something to do I knitted a square blanket from old balls of wool I had lying around. I know it wasn't beautiful ("Mother what you doing? asked my daughter)but I thought with the winter coming on (not much weather change there then) my ancient Mrs Fussy would like something to snuggle. She Hates It. I put it in her usual sleeping place, on the bed in the spare room, she immediately moved onto a shopping bag that was also lying there. I moved the blanket, she moved, and so on.....so if anyone has trouble with cats going where you don't want them to go, knit one of these!!

Unbelievable.....Having written the above,I just went upstairs to photograph the offending article and .......

Who said cats were contrary animals!

A door..

I thought it was about time that I posted a piece of work. I am working on a couple of pieces but I am not sure how they are going to turn out but I am not slacking..honest.

This is a kindness door because it was made on a piece of velvet which a kind friend gave me. It is made from silk rods which were part of a birthday present from my son.They are coloured by a mixture of paints and sprays and then embellised onto the velvet. I added some small beads to represent the studs. Hopefully this will be part of a bigger piece.

I was thrilled when I was catching up with Susan Lenz' blog. I sent her some beads when I sent her my Cyber Fyber card as when I saw them they reminded me of the gorgeous blues of her work and I thought she might be able use use them sometime and she has.

Special day....

Today we have been married 47 years. Normally we just say "Happy Anniversary" and get on with whatever, today was a lovely September day, the kind we have been missing in the dreadful 'no summer'. So today we first thought of going to Brighton but then decided on Beachy Head, somewhere we have never been.
This is the famous lighthouse and I have to confess this is towards the end of our day because first of all we visited Alfriston Clergy House which was the first building bought by the National Trust. We were just bowled over by the charm of the village and of the house and particularly the gardens.

This is the 'back' door

and the apple tree

These 'friends' were in the village

This is my first view of the famous "Seven Sisters"

and here the magnificent cliffs (see the tiny people for scale)

I had wanted to contribute to the wonderful V&A World Beach Project but, typically, didn't get the idea of what I wanted to do until we arrived home....ah well an excuse for another day.
PS. I even did some stitching in the car on the way down. Lovely day!

Excuses, excuses....

If you look at the comments on the previous post you will see that I am in trouble for lagging behind in my posts.......Well here goes. Thursday 4.30pm, we were enjoying a peaceful afternoon, DH was playing patience and I was finishing off the knitted blanket for Electra(cat)when there was a sharp crarfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff(right on cue Electra moved across the keyboard to her current favourite position,right in front of the monitor!

To continue.. there was a sharp crack from the kitchen. We are used to birds hitting our large windows but we said "That wasn't a bird". Sure enough there was a hole in the kitchen window....to cut a very long story short it turned out that our neighbours had suffered even worse than us. Some dear soul with a catapult(at first we thought air gun). It has been logged by the police and that is about all we can do...I know that since time began there has always had crime but one of the sadnesses of the modern world to me is the senseless destruction or defacement of someone elses property. Don't get me started!!!!

Friday afternoon 4.55p.m the computer crashed.....this weekend the computer shop was closed until Tuesday morning, well of course!!!!!

Sunday afternoon, 5.30p.m Oh no,I thought, here comes the cat she is going to knock over my drink.......no...I can do it better myself...Coca Cola akk over my brand new carpet.

Did you really want to know why I was behind??????

Last weekend was the Thames Festival. I enjoyed it so much last year I took a friend with me this year and so did everyone else.......it was packed. I may be that Saturday was the first time the sun has shone for what seems like forever.(Grey again today!!!!)This year we went onto Southwark Bridge to be met be this amazing site.




These lines of tables stetched the whole length of the bridge on both sides. People were buying food or eating their own picnics turning it into one huge street (bridge) party. "Gold" chairs to sit on, a centre piece like this

every couple of yards and a place "mat" at every table

Each one had a culinary disaster story on it. I could have spent the whole day just reading the tables. I couldn't find out who were the artists resonsible but they deserve some kind of achievement award.
These children were getting into the spirit of the thing, they were soaked.

My friend said, "I'm glad I don't have to take one of them home on the train!!!"

I found this on the excellent Bibliodyssey. How right he was. Feel sorry for the poor old silk worms though......
The Praise of the Needle

"To all dispersed sorts of ARTS and TRADES,
I writ the Needles praise (that never fades)
So long as Children shall be got or borne,
So long as Garments shall be made, or worne,
So long as Hemp or Flax or Sheepe shall beare
Their linnen-woolen fleeces yeare by yeare;
So long as Silk-wormes, with exhausted spoyle,
Of their own Entrailes, for mans gaine shall toyle:
Yea, till the world be quite dissolv'd and past;
So long at least, the Needles use shall last.."
[John Taylor, 1640]

Keep up girl.....

Still struggling to get back into the habit of blogging and creating. here is my Calendar Girls 2008 postcard for Val. This was the picture

I decided to go with the words and the coolour, I think we are all struggling a bit with the flowers. So what did I produce? Flowers!!! I made the little word plaque on fine aida and than painted the background satin and lace with koh-i-nor dyes. They were very dark when they were wet but came up these pastel shades when dry. So I decided to go with pretty and added the beads and the flowers.


Just caught up with what Purple Missus who has her usual bumper Sunday edition. Enough reading to keep me going all week, such fascinating experiments. The Maggie Grey who is tantalising about the new book. Sounds as though the whole experience is going to be really exciting. (My directory is disinigrating nicely) and lastly Sara Lechner had a link to the Mixed Nuts exhibition, what great fun this looks.

Bad blogger.....

I have missed posting for a couple of weeks, entirely my own fault......part procrastination, and we all know tomorrow is come, here and gone before you can blink and part So to get me back in the swing of things, here is a book cover I made for my daughter.

It started out life as an experiment, ages ago, on the embellisher and then I embroidered it to within an inch of its life. This is the piece before it was turned into a book cover.


I won't go on about our rotten weather as I know there are people who are suffering a lot, lot worse but on a grey wet Sunday when Maggie Grey tells you to slash a catalogue or directory what else would you do?

Yes it's the silly season.......

This months TIF was about balance. So here I am on top of the world trying to balance the important things in my life.

I printed an image of my face and a background I had made onto cotton, same with the eath and the the "balls". I then assembled the doll which is based on the chia doll, you can find a printable template here. The earth is slightly padded.

Added note. The silly season obviously affected my spelling/typing as pointed out by a dear friend.

Is it August or November???????

Hard to tell at times..... Galvanised by the arival of this great card from Susan

I buckled down and finished my card for Carol
I took the August picture
and printed bits of it onto cotton, I then assembled crazy quilt fashion onto a piece of craft vilene. Mistake...it made it too stiff to embroider in the way I wanted so it is not as embellished as I intended. The centre panel is padded with wool tops which I let escape a bit so that it is touchy, feely.

Space flower.......

not really a flower, but a nebula in space from the stunning NASA site. Lacking in inspiration? Go and have a look, they post a new one every day.

Challenges contd.......

The TIF challenge "What is it to be at the Half Way Mark?" I played with "marks",and thought it felt "been there done that" and then "Way" as in the path that life takes but in the end I couldn't rid my mind of the old Glass Half Full/Empty thing. I first came across this when I was at school. I had changed in the second year from an all girls school to a co-ed, we had a lesson with the Headmaster, he was very tall and always wore an academic gown which used to billow out behind him as he strode the corridors. He learned every pupils name and could identify you from 500 yards, so you behaved when he was about and you behaved just in case he was about!!!! I digress. In one lesson he strode around the classroom pouncing on people and asking them "Whe you have drunk half of your drink is the glass half full or half empty?" I hadn't a clue what he was talking about and was terrified of giving the "wrong" answer, I stammered out "Half Empty" and slid in to the role of one of life's pessimists. So here is my Half empty Glass

I used the alphabet facility on my sewing machine to make the works Empty and full and free machined the rest.

Incidentally the Headmaster gave me a reference for my first job which I still have. He became less scary as the years went by and I hold his memory in a mixture of respect and affection.

Challenges....

I blame it on our lack of summer sunshine but I have been feeling really lack lustre, however I have finall managed to prod myself into activity so here are my submissions Calendar Girls 2008 and TIF

My card this month was for Carol and I wanted to do something metallic and funky but it just wouldn't come so I played with the original calendar page,

printed it onto cotton and added french knots and beads.

Still determined to get some metal in there, I added the three beads.