Almost Finished

Having my friend  round for our regular Monday workroom day, made me focus my efforts (thanks Paula). I have all but finished my 'Chinese' inspired book. The cover is complete and all the pages are sewn in. I won't bore you with the contents as I have already posted some of the pages. They are subtle enough to have some fragmented imagery from my son and daughter-in-laws photo albums transferred onto some of the pages, particularly the shots from The Forbidden City and the Great Wall. I am still experimenting with image transfer techniques as I want an ethereal look rather than a sharp image.

I knew those beads would be useful. They are a perfect match, probably down to the colour palette I'm using at the moment.

This cover, if you follow my blog, was made in Gina Ferrari's class at my local Guild meeting using Aquabond soluble fabric. I have been thinking about this product and have started another small piece of work to experiment with it.

I have inherited lot's of stranded threads, more than I could ever hope to use in a lifetime of stitching so I am constantly thinking of different ways to use them. This piece is inspired by a photo I took late last summer of a nearby field. I have laid many threads onto the Aquabond and then another layer of the product on top. I've laid down a grid with free motion stitching before dissolving the Aquabond away in warm water. The resulting piece I've stitched to pelmet vylene and am currently couching loose grassy shape to it to get some movement into it. I am also making some ox-eye daisies to drift through to give something for the eye to focus on. It's good to be gradually clearing the backlog of work to the finished pile, I must be careful not to create too many more experimental pieces before I go to Ullapool in a few days time, I'm sure to come back brimming with ideas.