Another New Beginning....

So, the house is half packed up ready for my next move and yet somehow I find the time to stitch. It's such a necessity for me.

Stitching = Destressing + Creativity = Sanity

Hand dyed linen and silk; definitely landscape inspired. More to come once the move is complete: a little closer to Christmas.

....on starting afresh!

I have had internet issues for a while now and life has been soooo unbelievably busy I really haven't had time to blog!

I'm back with a new blog name and another huge change to take effect within a few months...  and then I should hopefully have more time to devote to art and blogging!

Here's a little piece I am working on. Well actually it was a single piece but I cut it in half as it just wasn't right! A few hours more work on each and I think they may be ready to frame!

Hand dyed cotton, commercial printed cotton (new and upcycled) , upcycled sari silk, thai silk and hand dyed pashima.

of Holidays and Progress..........

Just a quick post....

Hopefully I'll get back and add some more bits and pieces tonight; but for now just some progress on Teapot and Pears..... I've been adding some glazes. I've still got a way to go.

A little something I did one night when Hubble and I were staying at Sanctuary Cove a few weeks ago. I packed a few art materials and thankfully had my watercolour pencils and a brush! This is on postcard size watercolour paper.

Abstract Landscape- postcard size

Pen and Wash on watercolour paper

Not so sure about this one! A little fertility figure...

Later.....

Oil Pastel Landscape

My first few hours in the studio for quite some time this quiet Sunday afternoon! I'm missing just coming in here whenever I like... my day job is taking up more and more of my time. I'm still enjoying it very much but will have even less time as I pick up an extra day/week as of this week..... The kids are away (going to Europe for 5 weeks with their Dad- lucky things!) So, it's just me and hubby and my beautiful wee Cee Cee (and the rest of the menagerie of course)...

I had a play around with my scrap/sketchbook and drew this small oil pastel landscape based on a trimming from the bottom edge of a magazine clipping I glued in. It wasn't a landscape but certainly had the feel of one....

I haven't posted any art or textile work on here for quite some time and feel a little guilty! Hopefully I'll be able to spend some more time in here on Tuesday!

of Nature, WIPs and Work

This new part time job is taking it's toll... : )  I'm loving it; but I'm exhausted! I think I'm still trying to get as much done (house, garden, studio) as I usually do and it's just not happening. I don't want anything to come between me and my creative time and I'm frustated with myself that I'm tired! I guess it's just all new and will be a matter of settling in. I started a little later this morning as I attended a little ceremony at my son's school........ It's great that my new work place is flexible; they're lovely people and I feel like I'm learning lots; it's hands on, which I love.

So, I haven't really done much needlework.... I started a little on the Blue Moon ATC last night... I'll see where that goes...

Blue Moon ATC

WIP

Yellow Clouds yesterday evening....

they really looked ominous and were strangely coloured.. 

but we didn't get a storm....

My very favourite rose: Mary Rose

see, I can do Shabby Chic!

Young Chinese Elm

My Silver Birch trunks are turning silver!

Having a bit of trouble with photo formatting of late. My pics are tending to get squashed up. I tried resizing a couple of them but now they won't centre.. so apologies for the mish mash array!

grrrrrrr

I have to make another 80km round trip into town tonight as Rose has a twilight school swimming carnival this evening...

The Hand Embroidery Networks (HEN) Winter Wonderland Exhibition is online here. There is some absolutely fabulous, clever and detailed work!

A year of firsts!

HAPPY 2010!

Only day 5 of the New Year and already so many firsts for me!

I’ve finished the first of the challenge pieces I’ve been working on (Just need to get some decent photos printed to send in) and am very close to completing a second! Yay! I’m pleased with the first; not quite so happy with the 2nd. I’ve blogged about it previously… Hopefully it will be all done by the end of today. Here is a snippet!

'Winter Wonderland' - Detail

Hand Embroiderer's Network Exhibition Entry

There is a link to the HEN at the bottom of this page.

A third entry I would like to finish is for the Quilting Arts ‘Let out your Inner Animal’ challenge which I’ve only cut and laid out so far! So a lot of work to do and the email deadline is 22nd Jan! eek! Link here for details.

I’ve also signed up for my first swap! It’s an ATC swap hosted by Lenna Young Andrews over here. She’s a very talented lady whose blog I’ve been following for a wee while now! Check it out. Another first for me in that I’ve not made ATC’s before!

And in yet another first, I’ve opened my first ever etsy shop! Click on the link over on the left there! I’m listing some older pieces. Still have some fiddling to do with my store………

My Mother Earth Art Doll challenge entry wasn’t chosen so I can show her here now! I’m actually quite attached to her now as she has been sitting on the mantel in my studio. Not sure whether to list her on etsy or gift her to a friend; or just let her sit here for a little longer?

Earth Mother Art Doll

Originally made for the Cloth Paper Scissors Reader Challenge

Gaia's Nuno Felt Cape with embroidered details and copper coloured beaded fringe- reverse side

Right side nuno felt cape

Gaia's painted and rusted face. Hand made copper clasp and beaded earrings.

I thoroughly enjoyed making her and have a second version in the pipeworks (read that as buried somewhere under the masses of fabric and junk in my studio!) - Haven't got around to that studio make-over yet!

MORE JUNE PROJECTS!

I’ve been playing around with manipulating photos on the computer. [I sadly lost a lot of my photos when our old computer crashed a few months ago! I didn’t have all of them backed up and have lost photos of finished artwork as well as family occasions and landscape, flower and building photos I use for my art] : ( I was happy to find this one of an old church window buried away in an obscure file and played around with it before printing it onto fabric. I don't know why but I love the shape of gothic windows and doorways!

The Light Within

I have painted vines and flowers on both sides of the window with acrylic paint and fabric medium. The inkjet printed cotton is a nice surface to paint on! I have just started to embroider some leaves and am excited when I think of adding wadding, backing and starting to quilt it! I've already added sashing and a border and can't wait to see what it looks like complete!

A lady in a local quilt store told me if I ironed freezer paper onto fabric (A4 size) that I could run that through the printer too! I was so excited I tried it out as soon as I got home. Unfortunately, it jammed. I may need to do a little more research! I was excited as it meant I could print onto coloured and commercially printed fabric instead of the standard white of the packs that I am currently buying.

I've done a little more stitching on my Mosaic Rose. I'm uncertain about the orange and may change it to yellow. I want to get the rest of it finished before I make the final decision but overall I'm pretty happy with it!

Mosaic Rose

Here is a little postcard sized mini art quilt in my Landscape Series. I knew it was buried under piles of fabric on my main work table and it turned up the other day! It's just waiting for it's binding and a little hanging ring before I take it off to the gallery!

Postcard Landscape Series

OMG! I’ve just made my first ever granny square! Crocheted! When I was 11 an aunti taught me to crochet those groovy diagonal square pot holders that were popular then (you know; the 70’s!) I couldn’t read a pattern and certainly didn’t know the names of the stitches; so here I am – some considerable time later with a yearning to learn to crochet! Why? I’m not sure. I think maybe I’m thinking of crocheted edges on little art quilts or those little crocheted flowers (which I saw on a gorgeous scarf the other day) or is it the memory of a gorgeous fillet crochet pattern I have floating around here somewhere? Whatever it is, it has propelled me to dig out the simplest instructions I could find and just begin. The hook feels like an old friend and there is none of that uncomfortable kakihandedness that sometimes accompanies learning a new skill. It is like we’ve never been apart!

I admit I had to unravel it a few times and even this final product isn’t perfect (a word no longer in my vocabulary anyway!) but I’m very pleased with myself! It is probably going to be one of those fleeting love affairs but it will be passionate whilst it lasts and I will enjoy the memories evoked of time with my aunti! I thought I'd taken a photo of this but can't find it in my files; so I won't embarass myself after all!