More Spirals

This is another spiral piece. The background is fabric paper the instructions for which are in Beryl Taylor's book Mixed Media Explorations. A layer of chiffon, machine and hand stitching, wire and beads were added. The whole piece was backed onto felt and calico then finished with a machined edge. Hope you like it. I am now looking for a suitable frame.

Lovely Day With Friends

This afternoon I spent a pleasant couple of hours with friends watching our children have canoe lessons. It was lovely to watch the children have such fun. As you will see there were lots of swans keeping their beady eyes on the activity. I kept my distance! A big thank you to my friend for organising the afternoon. It was a huge success and my daughter had a smile on her face all afternoon - even after she had capsized!

Whilst the children were messing about on the river I went with one of my other friends to look at bikes. She is now the proud owner of a very nice bike. As you can see the car had to be emptied completely to try to accommodate the bike and it still had to taken home by another friend. Here's to happy cycling!

Thank you to my friends for a lovely afternoon.

Hope to post more textile work in next couple of days.

Lovely Time

I have had a lovely time the past couple of days making some mixed media pieces which I have mounted onto canvases. These are two of the six I made. I am on a roll.

This afternoon showed a friend how to make silk paper. She has been itching to make some for some time so we took the opportunity after lunch and she made two small pieces and one larger piece. She is already getting excited about making something out of them. What was nice was the enjoyment I got out of sharing a skill with a friend and seeing how thrilled she was. It also made me realise how much I need to stock up on silk paper making materials. I feel a spending spree coming on. Don't tell my husband!

A Favourite Technique

One of my favourite techniques is making silk paper. The other day I made some more so that I have a stock of it to dip into. This bag is made out of one of the pieces. The edging is ribbon I bought from Nostalgia who were at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate last year. Saving some of my pennies for the show this year. I have a long long list to stock up from some of my favourite suppliers who will be there. Can't wait!

Aren't I Lucky?

I received one of my swaps that I am involved with in the group Unlimited Textiles and aren't I lucky. I didn't only get one ATC I got eight. I was also sent some lovely fabric. I am sure you will agree with me that all the ATCs are wonderful. Lynda my swap partner asked me to choose my favourite. It was a very hard task. Thank you Lynda for a lovely swap.

Also here is a photo of part of my workroom. This is the side I use mainly for textile/art work. Not shown are more shelves with books, threads and fabrics all fighting for space. I sometimes wish I had a bigger room but then I would just make a bigger mess!

August Quiltie and ATCs

These are a quiltie and two ATCs for a swap with members of Unlimited Textiles. Hope my swap partners like them. As this is our first swap with new members it is a 'Getting To Know You' theme. I used favourite techniques and the colour schemes I seem to be using at the moment.

A Rosette For Buddy

Had a really fun day. Lucy, my youngest daughter, and myself took our lovely dog Buddy to a Fun Dog Show. We entered him into three classes. He didn't make the final ten in the 'Handsomest Dog' category or the 'Scruffiest Dog' category but came 5th in the category 'The Dog The Judge Would Most Like To Take Home'. We were so pleased as there were approximately 100 dogs entered and only 10 got a prize. There were four winners and six specials. Buddy came 5th. Here he is looking so proud with his rosette. We were very proud of him as he is usually quite nervous around other dogs. He positively preened when he trotted back to the car to come home - maybe wearing the rosette on his lead helped! It was a very fun day and we enjoyed meeting and chatting with lots of other dog owners. Buddy is now lying exhausted at my feet as I type this. It's very tiring being a winner!

Star Swap

Well it is the summer hols and I am hoping to get going on lots of textile work over the next few weeks. Months ago I entered the star swap in Stitch Magazine. Duly sent my star off and wondered on and off whether I was going to receive one in return. As time went on I decided I wasn't going to receive a star. What a lovely surprise to receive this one the other day. It is entitled A Star For A Persian King by Barbara Butler. Apparently there had been a big response to the swap and it coincided with an even bigger response to a competition run at the same time causing the long delay. Anyway I am sure you will agree it was well worth the wait. Thank you Barbara the star now hangs in pride of place in my study.