Fibre-in Form Samples

In this part of the Fibre-in-Form Textured Surfaces workshop we are couching fibres etc onto fabric to make a textured background ready to paint.
The first one is different fibres couched down close together to create texture-----



This one is fibres and scrim---------

Here I have rows of cotton fabric stitched onto calico with fibre attached at the same time-----

This is a very wide ric-rac braid and knotted fabric-----------

Lastly this is a piece of cotton fabric that I had which has a fantastic pattern on it which in turn gives a great textural background.

We have to add paint to these.

More Fibre in form samples

Another lot of samples from the Fibre-in-form workshop.

This time we were using Tyvek.

The first one is using a stamp to get a pattern on the Tyvek----

Next I took several types of tyvek and wove them together in a grid and then stitched on them------------

Then I took to it with the heat gun

Another one --this time I zigzagged in FME on it----------

And then I used the iron to distort it.

I have a lot more samples but I won't bore you with all of them.
Now to wait for the next lesson to add some colour.

Fibre-in-Form workshop--Textured Surfaces

I am taking part in the online course with Fibre-in-Form from those 2 amazing Textile artists Lynda Monk and Carol McFee.
The title is Textured Surfaces and that's just what it is all about.
I have only included 4 samples here because it is hard to get a decent picture of white on white samples.
But in saying that the first one has a bit of colour mainly because I used a bit of fabric that I had rusted and also a piece of natural coloured Mulberry Bark.
The fabrics are glued onto Calico and some Texture Paste has been stenciled onto it as well.

The second one has a calico base with scrim glued on and then some textured wallpaper and a texture paste stencil also.

Next is a box canvas with a texture paste stencil again.

Lastly is another stencil with texture paste on artists canvas that I purchased in an A4 book size.

I did use other fabrics ie cotton twill and cotton duck and pelmet vilene but like I said it was hard to get a good picture of them.

Next week we add colour so then you will get a better picture.

Stitchin Fingers ATC's

Recently I was involved in an ATC swap on the Stitchin Fingers ATC group.
This is the ATC that I sent to Miriam in the Netherlands.
The background is made on the embellisher and I hand embroidered some flowers and blanket stitched around the edge.



This is the ATC that I received from Anna and I think it is very clever how she has used paper as the background and then worked just enough stitching to emphasize one strawberry.
Very clever Anna.

October TIF challenge block

Well I have finished my Crazy Quilt TIF block and it is only the middle of the month.
When I pieced this block I was worried that I would have trouble with the colours but now that it is finished I am really happy with it.
With this layout it is a bit of a challenge but I found that I can use bigger motifs and buttons that I normally wouldn't use on the smaller pieced blocks.
I have wanted to use Cross stitches on my blocks before but I could not get them even so this time I used waste canvas and stitched over it and then removed it when I was finished.
Earlier this year I purchased Pam Kellog's e-book on seam treatments and this is how she is able to get such wonderful embellished seams.
I must use it more often now that I have started.

I'm not going to show you my room (as Sharon asked us to do) because I went to all the trouble at the beginning of the year when Sharon started this years challenge and I cleaned it up and tossed a lot of stuff out but I am ashamed to say that it is just as bad again I haven't purchased much but everyone keeps sending me lovely stuff (and I love it)and my friends in Canberra know what a bower bird I am ------Why can't I say thanks but no thanks.

Ah well I think I am too old to change my ways anyhow.

What was I doing at 3am this morning?

Well at one stage I was sleeping---I went to bed early because Ebony had fallen asleep earlier than usual and I knew that she would wake me up to get in her bed with her(this always happens if she goes to bed early)
When I went to bed this was how she was sleeping - across the bed directly below the pillows---don't you just love the double bed that we got her for her birthday.
Anyway she woke me up at 3am--she was hungry because she hadn't eaten much of her tea(dinner) - she felt sick at that stage.
So by now she wanted the rest of her meal and like any good Nanna I obliged.
We were both wide awake by this stage ------------------





So she taught me how to make one of these----------------

A friendship bracelet --I have never made one before but I persevered on and finished it(this is not the one I made at the time--I did this to show you how clever I am :)

Ebony is wearing the one I made her and here is the one she made me...........

She has informed me I am not to take it off - only if it breaks.

Can you imagine the look that I will get when I go to Church on Sunday --with my hands cupped in front of me ready to take communion :))

Who's a lucky girl then

Yesterday I received in the post this amazing book--choc-a-block full of wonderful pictures.
Now I hadn't ordered this book from Maggie--it was a birthday gift from Lynda.
Lynda had gone to Ally Pally last week and purchased it and she had Maggie sign it for me- how lucky am I.
And do you know what is also fantastic about this book--Lynda has some pictures of one of her small art quilts in it.




This is the picture of my grotty catalogue that has been ouside in the back yard for several weeks now-it is all soggy and munched up by slugs and other unknown creatures just as Maggie said it would be.
Don't ask me what I am going to do with it 'cos I don't know.
Whatever Maggie says is ok with me but it has something to do with her online class she is running soon for people who have purchased her book.
If Maggie says jump I will ask "How High"
Can't wait for all this to happen.

Another thing that is commencing on Friday October 17th are the workshops by Lynda and Carol M (Fibre-in-form) on Textured Surfaces.

If you haven't signed up yet hop over to the web site and check it out you'll be glad that you did..

October TIF Block

Here is the block that I have done for the October TIF challenge.The colours are a bit lighter in the photo than they are in real life but you can get the idea anyhow.
I have again created this different style because I wanted to have a mixture of both the designs.
I think this is the 4th one that I have done in this design.
Now onto the embellishing.

October Calendar Girls postcard for Lynda

Here is my October Calendar Girls Postcard for Lynda and I'm early for a change.
Last week in the Paper Arts group I belong to at the Embroiderers Guild we were playing with Alcohol Inks so I decided to do this months postcard using them.



I used my Pinata Alcohol inks in Magenta and Sapphire Blue and that other funny looking thing is the tool that I used to apply the inks to the Acetate.

I used both colours on both of these pieces of acetate --the one on the left had more magenta and the right one had more Sapphire Blue.

I have placed them on top of a piece of white cardstock to show you that they have a very mauve tinge to them--------------

But when I placed the right hand one on top of a piece of blue cardstock the mauve tinge dissappeared and became the colour I was looking for.

Next I used the stamp shown from Amazing Creations and printed it onto the blue cardstock with the Stazon ink ----

and it looked like this----

From the pink piece I cut out a Vase and mounted it onto a very pale green piece of cardstock to get the right colour that I was after.

I added some rubons with the verse printed on them to the stamped card--this by the way is not the verse on the Calendar but it is a personal message that I wanted to send to Lynda.

I stuck the Acetate down with Vellum tape and then added the white flower (with a yellow brad for the centre) on the outside along with the vase.

I placed a tiny butterfly on the vase only because there was a butterfly on the calendar.

I also put a very fine gold border around the edge.

I hope it meets with your approval Lynda.

Drop by the Calendar Girls blog to see what wonderful work everyone is producing.

Do you need a good laugh?

I was reading Dot's blog last night and saw where she had visited this link and found that she could create an album of herself in wigs from years gone by.
I decided to try it out and here are the results.
The first photo was taken when Dot came to visit me when we went to Melbourne earlier this year.





This is the same photo in a blonde wig from 1996----I wish my neck was really that long and then I could wear dangly ear rings.

and in 1990

and 1972-------

If only I really did have that much hair.

Go and have a look and give it a try it's well worth it just for the laugh.

More ATC's and Postcards

We have received some more Postcards and ATC's this week.
The first ones are from Carol M. and the top one is my September Postcard for the Calendar Girl swap.
The colours are just magic to see in the flesh.
It is hard to take a decent photo because of the glossy nature of the card.




Carol also sent a postcard for Ebony--Ebony thinks hers is much nicer than mine.

We also did another trade with Anne from France.The first one is mine--I thought it was 2 pumpkins --one with a cats face on it-until Ebony politely informed me one was a cat's face and the other was a cat's bum---duh.

This one is Ebony's--we had to explain that the spelling of cat was correct in French.

These are the two cards that we sent to Anne--mine is the top one ------------

And this is Ebony'

Thanks Anne and Carol for including Ebony.

ATC's and Postcards

I had a one on one swap with a lovely lady named Winifred from Narrabri (Aus) recently after she had contacted me and asked for a trade.
This is the ATC that she sent me and it is so beautiful.
The background has been hand needlefelted with wonderful hand embroidered flowers and sequins and beads.
This photo does not do it justice but it was the best that I could get.

Here is the ATC that I sent her in return--it is made from the last pieces of a sample that I made at a Ken Smith workshop and it is made from all the pieces that I had left which I butted together and then used a zig-zag stitch to join them.
I then added gold foil.




Lastly here is a postcard that I sent to Candi in the US as part of a postcard swap on Stitchin Fingers.

The base is a piece that I made on the embellisher while doing Dale's workshop and I added some machine stitching-some gold foil a flower and a heart shaped brad.

I am sure that both the ladies that I have swapped with this time don't have blogs.

September TIF

Just in the nick of time I have finished my September Crazy Quilt block for the TIF challenge.
I started last night doing the embellishing and I have stitched all day today so that I could get it finished before tomorrow when the October challenge is posted.
As I said before these are the colours that my printer produced and I have taken the easy option and used them mainly because I like the way they work together.
The stitching etc is not up to par with previous months but I have been so busy with other things that I really got behind.
Next month I will try harder.

Tomorrow will be interesting to see what we have to work with in October.

A successful Exhibition

Finally the Embroiderers Guild exhibition is over for another year and to say that I am relieved is an understatement.
It was exhausting but it was worth it.
Here are a few of the things that I had entered and if you are an embroiderer of fine needlecraft then don't look any further if you expect to see something traditional.
Some people think that this isn't embroidery but if you look closer every one of these items has hand embroidery on it somewhere--I love hand embroidery but I don't normally enter any in the exhibition I leave that to others.
I always enter my creative stuff.
Anyway the first picture (sorry about the reflection) is a piece made from painted Tyvek mounted on black Kunin felt and then mounted on hand made silk paper.
It has beads made from Tyvek and commercial ones as well.
This piece has been sold.





Next is a piece of Nuno felt that I made at the second Fiona Wright workshop I attended last year and it had been put away in the cupboard after the workshop and forgotten about.
I decided to hand embroider on it and I mounted it on one of those white box canvas things that artist use.
This one has also been sold.

The next one is a sample that I made at the first Fiona Wright workshop that I did 2 years ago and it was keeping the other one company in the cupboard.

I also mounted this the same way as the other one.

This piece didn't sell.

When I did Dale's Embellisher workshop I made a piece of fabric and I turned it into a book cover and this has been sold as well

And lastly I made 4 Tassels and entered them because they normally sell well at the exhibition and I wasn't let down this time either--all 4 were sold.

Now for the truth--all of the above things that have been sold were sold prior to the exhibition except the tassels
I have sold another 2 of the pieces that I had entered since the exhibition and I thought that I had taken photos of them but I must have deleted them off the camers because I can't find them anywhere.

All in all it was a good exhibition for me.

September TIF block

I have managed to make my TIF block today and as I stated in the previous post I have chosen to use the colours from the print out.
I think I will enjoy working with these colours and I will try to get some stitching on it before the end of the month but I can't guarantee it.
Tomorrow(Thursday in OZ) is setup day for the Embroiderers Guild exhibition and then Friday-Saturday and Sunday I will be at the exhibition all day and I think I may be too tired to do any stitching when I get home.
At the exhibition I am in charge of what we call the recycle table.
This table is where we sell stuff that members have donated that they no longer use--things like embroidery books and magazines-embroidery hoops-fabric-threads-beads-Kits that have been purchased but never done(we all know that story don't we) in fact we will sell anything embroidery related and we do very well also.




Ok now I have to go and make sure I have finished everything.