Indian Holiday and Christmas eve 2011

For those of you who follow my blog and are artists you will appreciate the few photos that I have shown here. I took many of the wonderful stone carvings seen in the many Indian palaces that we visited during my holiday in November. To see more then visit my Facebook page and look at the Albumn there. I took too many photos to show them all. This last one of the Sunrise was taken this morning Christmas eve 2011 from my kitchen window. I had yet to open the cutains and would have missed it had the cat not been eating her food by the back door. Her white bits looked strangely pink and when I went to the door this was the sight that greeted me. I know they say Red sky in the morning shepherds warning but somehow I can not see the warning here it was magic. Wishing you all a wondeful Christmas Holiday.

steam trains,workshops and talks

 September 25th we all went to the East Somerset railway for Geoffs train driving day that the family  had bought him for his 65th Birthday. Those overalls took 10 washings before they were clean enough to go in my washing machine.

 october 20th saw me teaching the South Cheshire Branch of the Embroiderers Guild to make silk bowls. They all did really well and the bowls were well on the way to be finished. 

 This set of bowls were made by the East Surrey Branch of the Embroiderers Guild. Another lovely set well on the way to completion. It is a shame that I seldom see the finished pieces. Please send me your photos so I can publish them.

I made this necklace using pieces of goldstone that I bought the last time we went to Arizona. Having mastered Pyote stitch I gave it a go round the stones and am really pleased with the result. The month ended with me performing with Cirencester Operatic Society in their production of the Sorcerer. It was a great show and I had a brilliant time with some lovely people.

Sorrento Holiday 2011

Hot Chillis, Cool Beer and beautiful scenery. That just about sums up our holiday in Sorrento. We had a brilliant time visiting Herculanium. Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, Naples museum, Vesuvius and Capri. The weather was a bit too hot, hotter than usual for Septemeber but we are getting used to that this year. Seems that everywhere is hotter than usual. We stayed at a lovely hotel right in the heart of Sorrento so we were able to get to my favourite haunt of the Foreigners club for drinkies!!!! Also found some nice little bars.I took the usual extreme number of photos but have come home with lots of inspiration for a set of textiles based on the murals and mosaics we saw in Herculanium and the museum.  

Workshop results from Stow on the Wold EG branch

I am always thrilled when on of my students sends me the results of her workshop with me. These photos came from Angela Gibson, a member of the Stow on the Wold Branch who attended my bowls workshop. She used her bowl to make the 'bed' for her mermaid and I think it is super. She has included so many different techniques. Well done Angela.

I have two more bowls workshops booked for this year.

playing with paint and fabric!!!

I've been having fun today with paint and fabric making some book covers or something like that. I decided to try using my embellishing machine to bond some scrim onto both lutrador and pelmet vylene. The top image is the lutrador which I then painted with silk paints, added encaustic wax and then burnt with a heat gun. the bottom one is the pelmet vylene treated in the same way. I might paint that one with Acrylic wax sealer later. I had forgotton how much fun making a mess can be. Must do it more often.

Marlborough College Summer School felt making course 2011

What a wonderful week I have just spent at Marlborough College Summer School teaching felt making from scratch. Here are some of the pieces that my students made. They were all beginners. The felt beads were dyed with tea and coffee then embellished with glass beads. The lower two photos show our display on the last day. I had four students this year but we got through a lot of techniques and they were able to make a lot of pieces. When I wasn't teaching I was singing in the singing for Pleasure group in the morning. This year we sang an Andrew Lloyd Webber selection as well as some Sinatra and a piece from Sweeny Todd which none of us had heard before. The Lloyd Webber was a challenge but we pulled it off. There were 97 singers this year and  for once a good lot of men.

Isle of Wight beetle workshop

Here are a few of the photos from my Beetle workshop given to the Isle of Wight Embroiderers. We had a lovely day making them and the results were stunning. Geoff went and spent the day on the Steam railway but came back to the hall just in time for the cakes! I had given the group a talk on the Saturday from Embroiderer to textile Artist which seemed to go down well. They were a delightful group of embroiderers. We had decided to stay on for a couple of days so spent the Sunday evening walking in Shanklin Chine. Monday it tipped it down with rain so we joined English Heritage and visited Osbourne House. It was better on Tuesday so we were able to see a bit more of the island going to Isle of Wight Glass, then Carrisbrook Castle and Alum Bay before catching the ferry home.. 

A few more photos from Marlborough Guild Workshop.

Thought that I would add a few more photos from the Marlborough Guild workshop. The photos really don't do the work justice but these three show three different designs that were being worked on. There are layered organza fabrics which can then have some layers cut away to show the fabric underneath. Once finished the purses can be embellished with beads and sequins. The designs come from my Venetian stonework Studies that I did for my HNC in stitched textiles. I wanted a small project which could be taught in a dayschool. I used the computer to work out the patterns for the purses.

Venetian Purse Workshop at Marlborough

Here is a selection of some of the little purses made by the ladies of the Marlborough and district Embroiderers Guild during my workshop. Some of the ladies hadn't attempted free machine embroidery before and found it challenging because this is quite a difficult one for beginners but they all did really well and I am looking forward to seeing them all finished.

Florida Holiday

The whole family arriving at Epcot on our third day in Florida. We left home from Swindon at 3-30am for the drive to the airport. We thought that Fraser would sleep in the Taxi but he was so excited. He only slept for an hour on the plane and stayed up until 10pm once we arrived in Florida. Our resort and unit were perfect, just 10 minutes away from Disney. The only downside was the heat, 90 degrees upwards during the day and very humid. There were a couple of cracking thunderstorms while we were there. However it didn't stop us enjoying ourselves. We visited all the parks including Busch Gardens, gator land and the Kenndy Space centre to see the last space shuttle out on the launch pad. Brian was only able to stay for a week as he had to get back to work. Fraser loved our 'oliday 'ouse and grandads 'ire car especially as they had a separate apartment and so he was able to come and knock on our door to visit.
For the first time in the States I didn't get to a Jo Anns or Michaels to buy some sewing supplies. Fortunitely I had stocked up in Houston.

Good news and Quilting

Well the good news was that Geoff is none the worse for his stay in Hospital and he has nothing nasty lurking inside him now. It seems a long time ago now. These two pictures are of a small quilted hanging. I played with a photo I had taken when we were in California and printed it onto cotton fabric. I then made the Californian poppies separately from hand painted fabric and applied them. The little sand squirrel was hand embroidered and the whole pieces was machine quilted. it is a practice piece for when I tackle my larger printed picture. I am really pleased with the result considering I really have no idea what I am doing when it comes to quilting. I know that there are certain rules you are supposed to follow but rules are made to be broken. 

hospital and royal wedding!

Phew! what a weekend. Starting on Friday with the royal wedding. I was glued to the TV while Geoff was busying himself in the garage and reading. I was therefore a bit surprised when at 4pm I couldn't find him. He had a minor surgical procedure on Thursday so when I found him in bed shivering and with a rageing temp. alarm bells rang. On phoning the hospital I was told to get him in straight away. He had developed an infection so spent the next three days in the hospital on a drip and having different anti biotics pumped into him. I have just been to fetch him home so have to see that he rests now!

teaching, Canvey and Stow on the wold

Just Had a great few days. Last week I had a visitor from Australia working with me. She was a wonderful lady called Jeannie and she came to spend two days with me to learn how to make a silk bowl. Her family thought that she was very brave coming to stay with someone she didn't know especially as she was 78 hard to believe when I met her. She traveled from Cheshire where she was staying with her son to Swindon by train. She was brilliant and nearly completed a bowl while she was with me. I felt I had made a friend.  After we saw her off on Friday we went to my mothers at Canvey for Easter joining Sarah Andy and Fraser who were there already. Fraser enjoyed his chocolate rabbit hunt on Sunday. We hid them round the house and garden and he found them all.
I then spent Tuesday teaching embroidered bowls at Stow on the Wold Embroiderers Guild.

I had a brilliant time at the weekend at the Uttoxeter Quilt and Embroidery show. This little Chameleon caused a lot of comment. He is my latest piece of work and great fun to make. he is about to pounce on the Dragonfly but unfortunitely has lost his tongue. Well actually he has forgotten that it is curled up in the back of his mouth.

Tree dweller

This is a piece of work that I am taking to Quilts and Embroidery 2011 at Uttoxeter. It was inspired by a recent visit to a Reptile shop. I spotted this little lizard poking out of the hollow tree and decided to attempt to make him.I was lucky enough to be allowed to photograph him as the owners got him out of his tank. He was really timid and kept trying to hide but I got some good shots. Once I had made the piece of fabric by machine stitching scrim onto felt I cut him out and constructed him over a wire base. The tree trunk was made from silk cap by my bowls method then shaped over a Pringle box. I am now gong to make another one for a chameleon which I have just finished.

Some of the photos of the guests who attended the surprise 65th birthday/retirement party we arranged for my husband Geoff. How he didn't guess what was going on I shall never know but he had no idea. I had to tell loads of white lies its. a wonder my nose didn't grow to three times its usual length. He thought that we were going to a Gilbert and Sullivan party. I had arranged for friends and my daughter Sarah to prepare the food and the rest of the kids to go and decorate the room.

He is now looking forward to present which is to drive a steam train!!!

Here is my second doll and hollow tree trunk inspired by the Monarch Butterfly.

I used my bowls technique for her skirt. The wings are made of organza which was stitched using the new stickybacked washaway fabric. The monarch Butterflys were made the same way but using cotton.