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Tuesday 18 April 2017

A Busy and Enjoyable Day....

18th April 2017

Greetings from a sunny Blackpool!!!

Woke early this morning and had 3 loads of washing on the line by 9 o'clock!!

I am off to London tomorrow to see my family, especially adorable Alba!!

I had a few  jobs to do and then started making braids...

.....I have so many threads in my stash.....



....then started another piece using a variety of fabrics....


..next layer...



....finally using braids and hand dyed lace/fabrics...


.....give this a try, so much fun!!

My best news of the day is that Isobel Moore, the first workshop I did, contacted me asking if she could display my work on her page!!!

Incredibly thrilled......

Monday 17 April 2017

More fun playing with fabrics.....

17th April 2017

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, was wet and miserable here in Blackpool so I cheered myself up by doing another Workshop on the Web-Hot Ribbons by Angela Tigwell.

First I selected a variety of fabric strips, yarns and ribbons from my stash in shades of green, red, orange and purple....


....found this firm red felt square...


....proceeded to stitch the base layer....


.....using a variety of threads and stitches from my machine....


.....another layer to fill in any gaps..


....and more to add texture, I particularly liked the recycled sari silks with frayed edges....


.....more fine yarns and silk threads...


....finally making some of my own braids to add yet more texture....


...close up photos....





....time flew by and I love the colour of the final piece, think I might choose blues, purples and orange next time. 
It would make a great note book cover, looking at it again reminds me of India!

Not sure what I will do next, watch this space.....





Saturday 15 April 2017

Playing !!!

15th April 2017

In January I bought a subscription on the internet to 'Workshop on the Web' and wanted to try Isobel Moore's workshop as I have admired her work for a long time......

....layered papers, torn and ironed onto bondaweb on calico...


....painted randomly....


.....selected fabrics, lace, yarn....


....stitched down....


...I made my own cords from yarn and re-cycled sari silk...


.....I chose autumnal colours and played....


....finished?, not sure, I used beads, hand and machine embroidery...


.....details...




....I think this section is the only one that resembles Isobel's work!!!


I really enjoyed the process although I think I went off at a tangent!!!

Saturday 8 April 2017

A day indigo dyeing with a creative friend....

8th April 2017

Greetings from sunny Blackpool!

Yesterday I went to visit my friend Jo to do some indigo dyeing.

I bought a kit from Artvango (about £10) and as the bucket with the lid hadn't arrived we improvised using a bucket, cling film and foil!!

Various fabrics were used including tea towels, silk scarves scrim, cotton, calico, old lace and linen.

Twisted silk scarves...


.....folded and scrunched tea towels...


....after 5 minutes in the dye bath, some of the fabric is still green only turning blue after exposure to the air....


.....results...











.....this was organza, the pattern made using wrapped 1p coins, a very different shade but great!


I am so pleased with the kit, we still have enough for 10 litres of dye so lots more playing!

Sunday 2 April 2017

Last 3 weeks...

2nd April 2017

I didn't realise it was 3 weeks since my last post!

I had a brilliant time in London, catching up with family and playing with Alba and going for long walks, I averaged 14000 steps during that week.

The weather has been mixed here in Blackpool but this weekend has been really sunny with the usual cool breeze. Hanging washing out is a real treat so have changed all the beds, tidied the garden, done some cleaning and baked. Also been to the park to do some weeding.

>>>>>>>>>

In the autumn children from the local nurseries provided wellies and helped plant bulbs....


...these have been attached to the railings around the bowling green in the park and look great!

>>>>>>>>>>

Made a dress for Alba, so many years since I did any dressmaking, quite pleased with the result.....


...but as the Sewing Bee judges would say ''room for improvement'', I just hope it fits!!

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I have been using ideas from my course, shells, embroidery and tiny beads on hand dyed fabric....


.....think these would make a lovely cards but would probably be damaged in the post, hand delivery only!



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This was an experimental piece on organza with snippets of fabric free machined to the surface using shells, beads and embroidery to embellish....


....quite pleased with the result, this sample will go in my Seashore Sketchbook.

Have a good week......