Busy for Easter

I spent most of Good Friday morning busy in the garden, getting more tidying done and planting some pansies and wallflowers - and I saw the first butterfly of the season, a brimstone. Such a beautiful, sunny spring day!

Well how can two days be so different, Easter Saturday - strong winds and downpours. Why does the British weather know when it is Bank Holiday time when families are supposed to have fun. Well after getting soaked in the rain whilst out with the dogs, I had a good long soak in a hot bath and then made this little bear in the hoop with my Pfaff machine (thanks to OMA designs) - then I snuggled down and tackled some more projects waiting to be finished and some long overdue knitting that needed to be completed.

https://www.omasplace.com/

Sunday started a lot brighter again and so the dogs had a well deserved long walk.

I also had time to finish this piece of work from a Weymouth workshop with Kate Paterson - layers of sheers, free machine embroidery and cutback with a soldering iron - can't decide which side I like best. 

Easter Monday started with storm Katie tracking through during the early hours; rain, rain and winds up to 106 miles per hour in some parts of the UK with flights transferred from Gatwick airport in the south east. With the new system in place of naming our storms now, that makes 11 already this year. Another good opportunity to catch up with some more sewing. 

Finished this cushion which had been hanging around for a while, so feeling happy.

 Most "impossible" goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine.
Don Lancaster

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

This is the title I have given to my latest piece of work which began at a West Country Embroiderers workshop with the very talented Stef Francis; I have done many workshops with this tutor, she is very informative about the techniques she employs and is a great character - we always have a laugh.

Having some idea of what the workshop entitled 'Fun with Fibres' would include, I painted some white silk carrier rods and mulberry bark with very watered down silk paints.  These silk rods were then 'stripped' and separated and the resulting effects are visible in the completed work.

To construct this piece, I laid down on a piece of toning colour felt a number of layers of throwsters waste (fine silk fibres - and you really need soft hands to use these because they stick to every piece of rough skin - so not after a day of gardening). On top of this went the mulberry bark but it was pulled around in all directions first to distress it and make 'holes'. I then arranged the flattened silk rods, pinned and stitched by hand and machine. I used perle cotton threads - most from Tiggi Rawlings and then gathered some tubular knitting ribbon and added that in random places to form 'my roses' in the garden. 

 

 





I started this piece with an idea of it being mounted for a book cover but have decided I will now frame it as a panel.

For the dog followers, my puppy Indie, is now 20 weeks old and growing fast!

No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope and fear;
But grateful take the good I find,
The best of now and here.
John G. Whittier

A New Selling Opportunity

Are you a handmade artisan living in Somerset/Dorset UK? Are you free on Sundays and looking for a place to sell you works of art? I am setting up a Handmade Market in South Somerset as of July, if you are interested, please message me.