Wk20

The prompt for Documented life was to add embroidery or embroidery floss to the page.  Totally by chance I came across this creative lady in a post on Needlework News..
Lauren DiCioccio
The books (of course ) jumped out at me





and I love her 35mm sewn slides.

I just had to try, just a little piece, which made me appreciate the whole. I mounted it on a piece of gelli print.

Off to London to see the Prism exhibition today at the Mall Galleries, in the rain.

Wk 19

... just a quickie to keep me on track.  The Documented Life prompt was "Use a rubber stamp in a new way".......well I think I have done everything with a rubber stamp that is legal so I wasn't really inspired but I did have a new Tim Holtz die and distress paint so I used them to produce this page.  The background is made from the holes the die left behind, instant matching stencil!

Warm winter and now the first real warmth of the year has the garden bursting.

Slugs and snails must be bursting too judging by my heliotrope and salvias. Picture would be too distressing.

Sara Wk 3.....

 These are my two pages to add to my book for Sara Lechner's challenge. .  Embellishing through paper was interesting to say the least but quite pleased with the outcome.

So excited to see my little girl will be on the big screen in July. This is a filmed version of the West End show.

Sara wk 2

Just finished (?) page two of Sara Lechner's challenge.

 I needle felted some pink roving into a piece of  rough silk  This is it placed over page one.  There are some great pages on the link above.
I do like good service and good value so I would just like to give a shout about  Cutting Edge Crafts  . I don't have any affiliation I have just been very pleased on the occasions I have used them. Look forward to receiving my new dies.

Wl 19

The phrase I have heard most in the last few days was "Where did April go?"  and now we are nearly half way through May.  So much to do. Documented Life prompt was to "Document a Random Act of Kindness from you" ?????????? I would hope that at some time I have been kind to someone but I certainly can't "document" it so I settled for some very random painting.

 
  Last week I also did a bit of catching up on my runner.

Recording cat sitting, boro exhibition and traffic jams..............Speaking of which we sat in a beauty on the way home from the  Creative Living Fair in  Eridge, Kent.  Despite the  weather(pouring rain and cold wind, lovely) we had a super time. Definitely on my calendar now, it was a fascinating fair.

Loads of vintage fabrics

china

and plants

 In fact everything you could think of.  It was lovely to meet Viv of Hen's Teeth and see her work for real. She has some great photos of the show on her blog.
I am working on the second page of the Sara Lechner challenge but my main sewing time has been to start what I hope will become my own take on a piece of boro.  Loads of stitching to do but the Giro D'Italia on TV for 3 weeks should help that along nicely, though I will miss being able to discuss the race with my brother.

Wk 18

Documented life challenge was "add an inspiring quote to guide you".  Help.......there are so many quotes, my mother was a great one for sayings, "Why?" "Because there's railings round the park" was one that springs to mind.  so this is what my spinning mind came up with.

I had to do it twice as I forgot that the pens I was working with were water soluble and washed the whole lot away trying a fancy background.
The quote I should have used my friend informs me was "a swarm in May is worth a load of hay" as on Monday a swarm of bees tried to make our garden rubbish bin their home.  My husband distrurbed them and they were not pleased. Now we do as much as we can to attract bees to our garden but this was a few too many. Half the swarm found their way into the green house

They eventually settled back in the dustbin

 We are so grateful to the young man from the British Bee Keepers Association who came to give them a new home. (wish I'd asked for a photo of him in his bee keepers gear). 
I spent most of my time last week making a book to hold some of the photographs from the Boro exhibition.
Boro style, of course.

I also adjusted my first page for the Sara Lechner challenge.

Make that 11......

projects on the go.  I had forgotten that I had signed up for a Feltalong with Sara Lechner. This is my first attempt, an excuse to use the embellisher which I haven't touched for ages. We are to make a small book,  not sure if I have made it thick enough but it was fun.

Wk 17.....

A very busy week which involved my husband's birthday, two visits to the Boro exhibition, one visit to the Quentin Blake exhibition at Hall Place, Bexley (which I enjoyed) and a day at Sevenoaks Embroiderers Guild.
The challenge for week 17 was photograph or draw your favourite shoes.  Gulp, not v.good at drawing but here is my attempt/

So comfortable but alack Clarks have stopped making them. This is them for real

Now I am a girl who likes to have a few things on the go but I have just counted up my current "projects" and I have TEN and that is just the textiles.  Back to work!

More Boro.......

First I must correct an omission in my last post.  When I was at the exhibition on Tuesday I was delighted to meet Caroline Moore from Made by Caroline. She has posted pictures of the exhibition, guess who that is taking photographs. Caroline has a beautiful piece that she is working and her blog is well worth exploring.  I couldn't resist, I had to go back to the exhibition at Somerset House which ends tomorrow. This time I went with my daughter who loved it too. This was her favourite piece

amd this is one of mine (I wanted them all)

 

This is a side view giving and idea of the mounting.

 

This kimono(the only one) shows wear  where it has worn presumably from things being carried on the back.

I wondered what joy this little fragment of pattern would have given.

A magical piece of darning.

I leave the rest to speak for themselves.

Wonderful.

 

Boro

Yesterday I went to the Boro exhibition at Somerset House and was deeply moved. These cloths made by the poor from scraps of material and then patched and mended now look like works of art, my only criticism was because they had been mounted the back wasn't visible and it was hard  to judge the thickness. The effect they had is quite difficult to put into words so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

This last one made me think of the land from the air.

 

Oh how I would have loved to touch.

I would like to try to get back for one more visit before it closes on Saturday as opportunities to see such wonderful pieces doesn't come very often.

Wk 16

The Documented Life challenge was  "add a cardboard food box in a creative way".  I retrieved this from the re-cycling bag. The actual packet was on a white background to I used my new glaze + re-inker technique to add some colour.  The aperture was already cut and I searched for an image that would suit the idea of enjoying a very tasty Spanish sausage.  This detail from the Peasants Wedding Feast by Pieter Brueghel the Elder which is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, a place I would like to visit.

  

I also hod another play and copied a photograph I took last year when we visited the "Another Place" installation by Antony Gormley on Crosby Beach, Lancashire.  

This is the photograph

This is my attempt

The first time I have every attempted a figure. The middle one is a bit fatter then he should be, shaky hand.

This is a bit of digital play.