Head Down and Working

Sadly I have had to cancel my coming trip to Ullapool, I will be in the middle of hospital appointments and Scotland is a long way to travel back and forth. I was momentarily down, but as I'm still in finishing mode  the John Clare piece has had an invisible repair (where I accidentally cut it) and another layer of herbs. I can't get it to photograph well so I've done a reverse colour to show off the layers. I will put it over a frame under tension so that it looks like a canvas and then decide if it needs a backing.

What discipline it took not to break into colour and also not to stitch it within an inch of it's life. Looks very sparse to me but that is what I set out to do.

My craving for colour has been satisfied by finishing off my little quartet.

I'm now able to work on a large piece I have on the go, lots and lots of stitching to do. I will save this one for The John Clare exhibition. A girl really can't reveal everything at once.

Three of Four

One more to go, not hugely challenging but enjoyable and just the kind of frivolous stuff I need to be doing at the moment.

Medical results in, next stop neurologist. Doesn't sound wonderful but some real 'nasties' have been ruled out so I'm continuing to look on the bright side. My legs don't work but there's nothing wrong with my hands meaning I can paint and sew to my heart's content and failing that I have my Kindle for when I'm tired. I shall finish the last piece of this quartet whilst I'm on a roll.

Classic Design Error

This is a design of two parts, how could I not have spotted that I had split the piece straight down the middle. If you cover the half of the left hand side it looks much better proportionally. I think I will just about get away with as it is part of a four piece work. I must say I really like the right hand side especially where I have stuffed the central blue panel.

Lots of cooking of boy food today, apple pies, fudge cupcakes, pizza bases made and frozen, all food that no longer feature in my diet (aah..... those were the days). I'm sure my very slim husband will mop up any leftovers.

Making Work

The smaller the piece, the more work goes into getting the composition right. I don't normally work this small  8"x 8" but I have enough of this piece of vintage embroidery and samples from my John Clare project to make four of these little box frame pieces. I like the contrast of the contemporary sample and the 1960's tray cloth.

Disaster happened when I cut this piece square to fit the frame, I was working in my usual squalor and didn't notice that I had the J.C. piece on the table - Yep I cut straight through it........ hours of work wasted!. However a bit of thinking time later I realised that the problems I was having resolving  the composition of the J.C. project were solved by cutting further and layering the pieces onto a backdrop of embroidered words. Serendipity! Or then again I might just start again.

U.F.O. Day

I have little energy for grand projects at the moment but a morning spent going through my u.f.o box identified at least six pieces that with a little work could be finished in a couple of hours. I need to have a sense of achievement without much effort and when I look at the work that has gone into some of these pieces, it seems wrong to leave them languishing in that box of 'good ideas at the time'. We all do it don't we? What was once a brilliant idea suddenly becomes something that we just want to walk away from.

This piece is based on some lines I penned about my favourite rock pools in Scotland. I still can't totally resolve it to my satisfaction but again a lot of work went into it and it deserves it's moment. When I have finished several pieces I will damp stretch them all into shape, I like crumpled fabrics, the iron is the kiss of death to creating texture in textiles but these have been bundled up for over a year and just need easing back into shape. 

The wind is howling through the garden at the moment but I caught a headline that said we are in for a prolonged spell of good weather. I'm pleased that summer isn't over already. 

This and That

18"x30" koh-i-nor paints and promarkers, acrylic waxed.

 A little bit of fun with my Trident friends yesterday playing with drawing techniques, sparked me off drawing again. I rarely use a butterfly image in my work but I had a little box of cutouts made with  my Cricut. I always wish I had chosen the inverted colours but you can't have one without the other if you see what I mean.

I really must do something with these butterflies one day!

In the meantime my John Clare pieces are progressing slowly.

If it hadn't been so windy today I could have drawn in another layer of shadows, the light was just right to project sharp images. Not on top form at the moment ( awaiting medical tests results) but thank goodness for crafting it keeps me grounded and amused.

Family Time

Saturday saw the first family get together using the new party pit, as it was the last day we would all be together for  another year  (youngest daughter is going back to Shanghai in a couple of days) I thought it would be nice to record our day by drawing around our hands, which also kept the grandsons amused. This is a piece in progress which I will keep working into until it pleases me.

The pit worked well and the oven made pizzas a pleasure to make and eat. This is a fore - shortened view we think we can manage thirty people quite comfortably which we will confirm when eldest son has his 40th birthday party in a couple of weeks. Next year we will build a permanent awning over one end but in the meantime the tarpaulin is keeping the sun/rain from being a problem.

 I've given up on trying to do any serious stitching and declared August a holiday.