First Attempt at Eco Printing

7th February 2015

I saw this on a blog last week and wanted to try....

http://marilyn-interlaced.blogspot.co.uk

...collected leaves and flowers, not much available at the moment...

.....two tiles, watercolour paper, elastic bands and white vinegar....

....dipped the paper in the vinegar before layering the leaves and flowers....

...I found this fuchsia in a sheltered corner!

Brown, weathered fern....

...petals from my lilies ( bought )...

.....the 2nd tile is placed on top and bands are wrapped round both to secure...

....put in a steamer....

.....another pan for a lid...

....left for about 2 hours.

OOOOPs, bands melted!

There wasn't really any colour in the papers, but I do like them and I am sure will use with my mixed media work, I can see me using old lace with them....

.....this was the fern and probably the most successful....

.....stamens from lilies....

...the one on the right is the fuchsia and thyme....

....I left the leaves on the left sample to see the result when dry....

I think they might all look different when dry....

....think I might try with some fabric next time but will wait a few weeks so that I can try more spring flowers!

My only expense was the white vinegar but I believe it is possible to do this without...

The Cake

6th February 2015

Up early this morning making the birthday cake....

....chocolate with peanut butter frosting, my son's request!

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I was sorting the washed yarn bombing items today, bagging and labelling for storage...

....I have been given a bag from a Knit and Natter group at my local library and these are some items....

....and a huge bag of flowers!

I have a plan for the flowers on our Fun Day!

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This weekend I am going to try Eco Printing.....

Cards

5th February 2015

Greetings from sunny Blackpool....

...a calm sea....

..... sun warming my face....

....a fabulous day with a gentle breeze.

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Finished three cards today...

......free machining in variegated thread on slub silk...

.....added french knots and beads....

.....decided on a softer shape this time, fabric, felt, beads and french knots....

....not worked with these colours before.....

.....I will be making a cake tomorrow for my youngest son's birthday...

.....he has requested chocolate sponge with raspberry jam filling and peanut butter frosting!!!!

He thinks this sounds good.....

A Wonderful Woodland Walk

4th February 2015

Such a beautiful day today, frosty and sunny so we went for a walk we haven't done for a while....

....the colours were amazing....

....so beautiful, red berries on red stems....

.....can you see the Heron?

Jack enjoyed all the new smells....

....yellow catkins....

....we saw so many birds but this robin is the only one I managed to photograph...

..... a bunker in the woods...

....this woodland is so lovely and taken care of by volunteers...

..snowdrops..

....fallen logs covered in moss...

.....seating in the shape of a butterfly...

....more snowdrops and an icy stream...

 ....beautiful fungus....

.....the carved entrance to the woodland...

....Stanley Park across the road, many gulls floating on the ice.

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After seeing so many trees I started a card using free machining and variegated thread...

....prepared four felted backgrounds with free machining...

....one card completed using fabric, beads and french knots.

An Enjoyable Day

3rd February 2015

Although my day started with no heating or hot water, a blockage in the boiler, the plumber came and sorted it within a couple of hours! Brilliant service!

A couple of friends called round for a catch up and coffee, then I went to take my audio books back to the library where Helen, librarian and organiser of the Knit and Natter' group, gave me a big bag of pompoms, flowers and bunting for the park ready for next time.

After a lunch of yoghurt and fruit I headed up to my loft space to play.....

...I needed to make a card for RD....

.....took a piece of felt and cut up sari silk, fleece, silk hankies....

...embellished...

...added snippets of silver yarn....

....placed under net and embellished again....

...the net peels off easily but prevents the 'bits' from catching on the barbed needles of the embellisher...

.....free machined...

.....cut out numbers and attached...

.....think this technique would be good for initial/number cards and could be further embellished with embroidery/beads.

Cards and Embroidery

1st February 2015

Made a couple of cards with my prints from yesterday.....

......enjoyed embellishing my felt with Seed Stitch, Kantha and French Knots using hand dyed silk threads....

.....sadly this photo doesn't show the colours accurately, I long for natural light!!

Also finished stitching my fabric collage using both machine and hand embroidery...

...again not a good photo!