Patchwork books

Following another trip to hospital and another minor op, I have been feeling rather convalescent. Deciding to take up some hand stitching,

I have been perusing some lovely books about patchwork . I am tempted to make a quilt, but didn't want to start another new project which would take a lot of time, and I might not finish. I also wanted to use some of my lovely stash of quilting fabrics! We have a shop fairly near us, which sells bundles of quilting fabrics, tied up in matching ribbons, which I have been collecting for a while!

This book by Emma Hardy was just what I was looking for, as it has some manageable projects for making practical but interesting items which would make lovely gifts. I have decided to start with a liner for a sewing basket, thinking that it will be nice to make myself something pretty that I will enjoy using. There are so many ideas in this book, I want to make them all, but as I want to hand piece, I will keep it simple. Next on my list is a notebook folder, I also like the gardening apron. Actually I would like to make most of them! Watch this space for finished patchwork projects!

Colours

I have been sewing strips of photos for the course I am doing with Shelagh Folgate. I knew immediately which photos I wanted to use. The effect produced by making a patchwork of colours reminds me of jewels.

These are photos I took whilst at college in Windsor doing C & G cert for a module about colour. It was a sunny day and light just flooded into the room, giving lovely clear, bright colours for the shots. I filled an assortment of glasses and jugs with different colours of Brusho dyes. This was very enjoyable for me, as I just love looking at colours! I enjoyed setting it up and the photography, and am very happy to have a whole folder of photos of colours!

Hubble Bubble

I have finished my Hubble Bubble doll for Shelagh Folgate's January challenge for the Smashees course.

Detail of the twin needle stitching for her jacket

Laying on fibres for felting, using different textures
of course!

The embroidery on her organza underskirt

Life getting in the way

I haven't posted for a while as life has really got in the way of my art. Unfortunately I had to have emergency surgery for an abscess on my shoulder at the beginning of February. I am prone to these infections, caused by a combination of auto-immune arthritis and the drug I take for it,which is Methotrexate. I have not done much in the way of textiles or art, but am using my convalescence to read, plan and dream about new projects. I look forward to starting again soon.

Genie of the Lamp

Here is a photo of my interpretation of "Genie Of the Lamp" designed by ShelaghFolgate. I did this before Christmas and had forgotten to post it up. I am pleased with the colour combination. It is my first attempt at a machine-stitched piece so don't look too closely at the stitching! I gave it to my friend, Shamy for her birthday present.

Felting workshop

I attended an informal felting workshop with friends. We did a mixture of wet and dry felting techniques. We all worked on different things, which is inspiring, as that way we absorb several methods of working at the same time.

Skeins of wool waiting to be felted

Source photo

Here is my felted stone, an interpretation of the colours on the photo
above. It is a good idea to use a source photo to pick out colours, as I would never normally go for this combination. What shall I do with it now? I suppose a paperweight is always useful!

This piece has strands of silk felted within the mauve wool for contrast colour and a bit of pattern.

Dry felting with a needle, using a mixture of untreated wool, mauve wool and silk from a cocoon.

Caversham Stained Glass

This is the work of my friend, Emma Davies, which I think has beautiful colour, pattern and texture. It was Emma who got me started with my art and textiles work about 4 years ago, when she took me along to a course in stained glass making. We both learned so much there. For me it was the start of my journey, as I loved the design work and wanted to try to make things out of fabrics, after the glass. For Emma, as soon as she started the glass work, she was on the right track. The bottom picture shows Emma's front door, which was her first piece. I am sure you will agree that it is lovely. Since then she has done a number of commisions for window and door panels. Based in the Reading area, Emma can be contacted on cavershamstainedglass@hotmail.com

The photos are by Emma from her portfolio