How soon do good intentions go!

Well, after all that talking, I have done little since.  I am trying to concentrate on my health, so there is that!

I started crocheting this bag.  It might take all winter!  (which isn't Here yet)

I finished this little applique with dimensional flowers.  It was a kit I bought a few years ago, for a wall hanging.  It will probably go onto our stall at the quit show in October.

I also finished this backbasting applique block from an applique quilt that has been going for a few!!! years.
I do need to get drawing though.  Sktchy has brought back daily muses, so I need to catch up on that.  I start a new course on sktchy art school with Charlotte Hamilton,  and I have a few others that I should complete the work for.
I have also joined Ivy Newport's Studioworks community and am enjoying all the classes and inspiration, but not yet actually doing much.
So  what do I need to do?
I need to set up a computer in my art space, to motivate me to do more painting and drawing.
I need to observe the sktchy alarm and draw.
And I need to write here as often as I can.  Every day if possible!

Getting my art on

I have had an extremely difficult year with family issues and am finally starting to get my mojo back. It has taken me a long time to find my space again and I am still working on it, but recently, I have started to get some work accomplished! I have been doing some free motion work on my new little bernina, which I got from Bernina Australia at caroline sharkey's wonderful workshop in August at Uluru (Ayers Rock) It was a wonderful time and I did a workshop with Sue De Vanny, which was excellent

Above is the piece of work I completed at the workshop.

Since I came home and also since the problems have sorted themselves, I have been doing a lot of free machine practice and free machine doodling.

These are two of my current practice pieces.  One is just a grid of squares but the other is in a double wedding ring type layout.

As I said, I am also doing a lot of doodling.

These are two panels that will be part of a new sewing machine travelling case for my new Bernina, since one of my machines was damaged badly on a plane trip early this year!  I am in love with this multicolour wonderfil thread!

This one, finished now, was a mandala I doodle stitched then coloured with fabric markers.  I also have one other doodle panel on the go, but haven't photographed it yet.

So what else?

Above left is a needlefelted panel I whipped up one day (lol), which is waiting for some stitching, and the other is a very large crochet blanket I have been working on called sophie's universe.  I am only half way, perhaps I'll finish by next summer?

Of course if you know me, you know that textiles are only half my crafty self.  I will post soon with some of my art, journaling and mixed media play.

Happy Creating!

Another week!

Another week and this week I feel I have done a bit more and been more productive, Even with some saddening family news this week.  I am glad I have been keeping busy, because I think it does help when life happens - having things to do.  Stops you reveling in your own sadness.
But anyhow,  Let's look at what I have gotten done this week.

This is my first bit of embroidery on my Sue Spargo sampler with craftsy.  It has taken me a while to get started, but hopefully I will get some done on Tuesdays at Quilt group which begins again this week.

This is a Thread painted moth I finished during the week.  Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, perhaps it will become a fabric page.

I finished unpicking this piece of printing on chiffon, which had some free motion I didn't like

Another of the fabric and paper collages I am making for Fabric books.

Getting along with my crochet!

Some thread lace leaves.

A teeny tiny embellishment - again for fabric pages.

A page in my doodle book I am working on.  The red leaves are a deli paper page that has been cut - over the top of the green and purple page.

This is a page from week two of Lisa Congdon's Sketchbook Explorations on creativebug.

If you have known me for a while, you might recognise this pile of fabric pages ready to embellish.  I have used my collage background challenges from last year.

And here is one of the pages, with a free motion sketch which has been painted.  Quite happy with this page, but still needs a little more work.

Another fabric page in process.

And finally another fabric page, a two page spread ready to free motion stitch.  It might seem that I am a bit obsessed with fabric books at present and I probably am.  I have been interested for a few years and never yet completed one!  So this year is the year.
My pinterest page has lots of inspiration if you want to look, but the main artists who are inspiring me are Frances Pickering, Ro Bruhn, Jill Taylor, and Annette Bolton and of course Cas Holmes. As usual quite a few UK artist in that group!

Happy Creating!

Being Productive

The last few days have been quite productive.I have been working on my crazy quilt, which got a little behind in the winter when I was ill.

I have been working on this block (left) this week

And as you can see, it is nearly finished!

I also coloured some pieces of lace for crazy quilting.  White gets a bit boring after a while.

I finished my 12" block for the ravelry  2015crochet-along.  I have also done a 6" one.
On the journaling front, as well as my daily journal, I did these pages.

I drew all over the pages with inktense blocks and the little book, was drawn on every page.

I sprayed the pages with water, saturating them and ran a brush over them.  At present, they are spending a few pages drying.  I saw this recently on design matters TV with Laura Kemshall.  I have not done it the same as Laura did, but the video reminded me of this method I saw on you tube a few years ago using ink.

This is a little thread sketch I did this afternoon.  It is obvious I am a little out of practice as my wren is a little fat!  A bit more practice will get me back into the routine.

This is a small thread painted/mixed media collage I put together with a few scraps of fabric, some papers and a card die cut.  I like this one and as I was stitching, the name 'Into the darkness" came to me.

I had been thinking about a textile project for this year and had been thinking of doing the thread sketches (like the bird), but In April, I will be doing a class with Ro Bruhn at AQC.  She makes beautiful fabric books.  I also saw Leslie Tucker Jennison on Quilting Arts TV 1503 making similar collages and  Liz Kettle also talked about thread sketching practice in qatv 1505.  So this is a cross between all of the above, with a little bit of Cas Holmes thrown in so  I think this will be my project for this year. A mixed media collage with fabric, paper and stitch, including thread sketches.

Often with these yearly projects I have planned to do it every day...and I always failed, simply because life happens, so this year my intent is to do at least 1 each week,with the intention of doing at least three.
One might think that, since I have failed at these yearly projects in the past, that I might give up, but although I have never been perfect (ie each and every day), I have learnt a great deal from these projects.  I have a vast library of journal quilts, atcs and stitched squares

Whilst I was looking for all the links above, I found The Slow Stitching movement  which has podcasts and a blog  This looks like great reading and listening.  Go have a look!


Happy Creating!

Not really doing nothing!

As I said, I have actually been really quite busy,  A trip  to Queensland that made me ill again! (although I quite enjoyed the wedding, I suffered from extreme nausea most of the time I was away and for a while when I came home!)  Then I visited my Mother at the seaside for a few days.  Our Quilt Group had a market day, for which I made a few things and forgot to photograph, sorry.
But now Christmas is over and I have settled back into work.
I am having an exhibition locally in June and have started getting my work all mounted and framed.
Here are a few I finished mounting this week.

Some of these are from a while ago, and some are quite recent.  Obviously, this is my main objective for the next few months, as well as actually finding somewhere to store them!

I have been doing quite a lot of crochet over the last few weeks.

This is the beginning of "Eolande Shawlette" from the Summer 2014 edition of Interweave Crochet. I think this one will take quite a while to finish.

This is a large part of the Rivulene Shawl from The new tunisian by Dora Ohrenstein.  I am really looking forward to finishing this one and am enjoying doing it!

This is the multi motif scarf, which is a red heart pattern I heard about in a video - Crochet Me Workshop: Crochet Corner, Basics and Beyond with Kristin Omdahl.  This is one of those just for fun type patterns that is just nice to do.

I have also been doing some hand work.

These are two sides of a scissor fob I made using a pattern by Mary Corbet on the Craftsy Blog.  I am really finding embroidery very enjoyable at the moment. especially circles.  You might remember these shisha circles I started before christmas.

I have also been working on a free motion embroidered layered piece.

I am really liking how this looks. I have not added a picture for T for Tuesday , but as you might have guessed everything is my cup of tea today!  Go over and visit over at Elizabeth's page, where she is having a 2014 retrospective.

A little bit of a hiccough

Of course, when things are going well, something is bound to put a burr in it.
My phone went dead and with it my camera!  I can receive calls but there is no screen, sigh!
Anyhow, I have managed to get my pictures for the last few days off the camera, but of course can't take any more.  Have to go back to my old camera - but no phone!
Ah, well at least I have some work to show for it.
At the end of last week, I had a bit of a crochetting fit and made this stuffed owl, from a Craftsy pattern.

Pretty cute if I do say so myself, although my hands were sore from so many single crochet stitches.  I think I will add it to our charity table, which is going to Dunally in Tasmania very soon.
I have done a little on the crocus piece I started last week, but no photo.
I have however done three little needlefelted pieces which I will embroider on soon.

The first one started off with a nine patch of these little squares which are hand dyed scrim/cheesecloth with little bits of silk and satin on top.  The black dots are made by felting from the back, which is black felt.

They looked very distressed close up, but that is why I used the scrim.  It was a pale lilac colour, but looked very washed out against the black.  So...  I pulled them off and added some magenta shot chiffon underneath.

Here is one when re felted.  Looking very distressed now.

Here's a comparison of the two.  The original ones don't look the best, do they?

And the final, very distressed looking arrangement.  I think I feel some gold threadwork coming on!
The next two went a little easier

My next one had little blocks on it as well.  Green chiffon with dyed batting and gold organza and some gold lame under the whole thing to give a bit of sparkle.

I really like this one and think it might like a bit of gold, too!

This one was a bit of a seat of the pants experimental piece.  I wove (very loosely) some organzas together, then added a piece of yarn, the felted them all down.  Then I turned it all over and felted from the back to make the black lines and circles.  This one, I think, calls for some all over black and gold and perhaps will become a book cover.
Needlefelting is a bit addictive, I must say and it is hard to stop when you have started, but maybe that's a good thing?