Some Exhibition Photo's

As I said yesterday I only took two photo's of the exhibition but I will try to get some others of one of our other members.
The first one is of one of the entries in the Challenge.
The were more than 50 entries and the subject matter was amazing.
We were each given three 1 metre length of DMC Perle thread and the same of DMC floss in dark blue-white and gold plus a small stork scissors charm.
We had to use at least half of the thread but everyone use a lot more than that and we were also allowed to use shades of the same colours which meant we could use say a pale blue as well.
The fabric was to be white and there was a size limit which if I can remember was 40cm square and 10 cm deep.
There were some amazing pieces done in varying themes but I only too one photo which ended up being the eventual winner.
It was incredible---a minature embroidery in a frame of which the inside measured 20cm x 15cm.
 There was an embroidery on a frame -the fabric on the frame was 7cm x 11cm visible with more wrapped around the ends..
Then there were some hanks of floss which measured 4cm and included a tiny DMC wrapper around them.
There were spools of thread that measured 1 cm long (one is down the bottom of the left hand corner and the others are in the sewing box up in the top right hand corner.
There is also a tiny chatelaine consisting of a needlecase and a pincushion and a scissor keeper which contains the stork scissor charm.
You can just see the top of the scissors poking out-so you can tell how small it is if you know how small those charms are.
Truly this was a worthy winner.
Sorry about the flash on the frame.

This is a view of the hall during the set up-please excuse the rubbish up the front of the photo.
The hall where we hold the exhibition is the Albert Hall which is heritage listed and has recently been restored to all it original glory including plush burgundy velvet curtains.
It is a magnificent building which costs us an arm and a leg to hire but is worth every penny of it to show off our members beautiful work.

It is a lot of hard work to set it all up and I would say at a guess there would be around 40-50 members and a handfull of men working all day on the Thursday from 7.30 am until about 4.30pm to make it ready for the official opening on the Thursday night.
And it all went off like clockwork.
But I am really glad that it is all over until we do it all again next year.
I am sorry that the photo's cannot be enlarged and I don't know why it happens this way--only doing this since the new blogger set up grrr.

The Exhibition

I am pleased to say that the exhibition was a fabulous success with attendances well up on previous years and although we don't have the financial figures I thing we should be happy about that as well.
I took my camera and I took a few photos on set up day mainly of the floral  arrangements which were outstanding and then I forgot to take anymore.
We are very lucky to have several members who belong to the local floral art group (or whatever they are called) and they do all the flower arranging along with other members of the group.
They then return each morning before the exhibition opens and water the flowers and pick off any dead bits so the displays are always fresh looking.
So I have a few photos of some of the arrangements for you to see.

As you can see they are truly beautiful.

OK the time is here----

---for the Guild exhibition for 2012.
I have all my pieces that I entered in the exhibition finished and I have made lots of things for the Sales Table-- oops they have re-named it "The Gift Shop" and I have cleaned out all the stuff that I no longer need and it is ready to sell on the Recycle Table.
I have made some heart shaped lavender bags with lace and little flowers for embellishments (sorry I forgot to take a photo but I may get one when they set up the shop)
I made about 30 cards and I have tassels and some of the cotton reel tassel thingies that I made last year, plus my egg cup pin cushions.
All together I have 66 items to sell in the Gift Shop and too many to even admit to on my Recycle Table so hopefully there will be lots of people with bulging purses to buy it all.
Thursday is the set up day and then the official opening is Thursday evening and then Friday-Saturday and Sunday it will be full on.
I think I will need a holiday after that.

It's Finished-----

Finally I have finished my little white art quilt that I started back at the beginning of the year in Karen Ruane's class.
All I had to do was back it and bind it but I had it hanging on a piece of book board and covered up so that it wouldn't get dirty.
I was going to put a border on it as well as the binding but the border did nothing for the finished product so I took it off.
I wanted to do something to keep the backing and the front together and I finally came up with the idea of using buttons.
I have some tiny little pink heart shaped buttons--very, very small buttons in fact and I used them on the front and then added another one on the back in the same spot.
See if you can spot them on the quilt-there are six alltogether.
Hopefully the picture will enlarge when you click on it--sometimes they do and sometimes they don't and I don't know why that happens.

I am really pleased with how it has all worked out---it will be entered in the Guild exhibition and then Susan can have it for her birthday.

All is well---------

Just swinging by to let you know that all is well ---I am just busy getting everything ready for the exhibition in 2 weeks time.
I am still finishing off things that are going into the exhibition--just little things--you know me --the last minute queen.
I have also been flat out at the Guild --sorting out and pricing stuff that is to go on the Recycle Table.
Just when I thought that is was nearly complete I have had three donations of embroidery items from people who are downsizing.
One lady who was one of the original members of the Guild (she is in her early 90'snow) has donated 4 big boxes of embroidery books.
I haven't had a look in the boxes yet but I imaging there will be some treasures because she was one of our great teachers in times gone by.
Anyway I am up very early this morning because even though it is a public holiday here today I am still going into the Guild to try and get on top of all.
Sorry that there are no photos but you can admire my signature if you like.

 

When is an egg cup not an egg cup?

When it is a pincushion----
Earlier in the year my daughter and I went op-shopping and among many of the bargains I found was a packet of 4 wooden egg cups---you know the ones--you paint on them or collage on them.
Well I left them by accident in my daughters car and then forgot all about them.
Several weeks ago she dropped them off to me--they had gotten lost in her car.

I asked Stephen to paint them for me (2 white,1 black and a blue one)(.

I had decided to make them into pincushions.
I made a ruffle out of some lace off the edge of an old tablecloth---

Put some wadding inside the egg cup to fill the hole a bit-then I made a pillow out of an old doyley and glued them all together.
You can see the finished one in the photo down the bottom of the post.

I was at our church op-shop and found six white ceramic egg cups for $2  so I grabbed them as well--
This one has vintage lace on it---

And the cushion is covered with a piece of a vintage doyley-----and some pink flower motifs.

Here are 4 of them finished-----------

And a close up (the centre cushion is wool fabric with hand enbroidery)

I have a few more done but I haven't photographed them--but you get the idea.

Buttons -Buttons -Buttons

Back in November last year I did a class with Karen Ruane about covered buttons and embroidering on them.
They have been lovingly stored away in a container waiting to be mounted on "something " so that I could enter them in this years Embroiderers Guild exhibition.
With said exhibition only 5 weeks away I thought it was about time I did something about it.
The first ones were mounted on an Artists box canvas 10cm x 30cm on which I have attached a piece of lace down the middle and then I pierced a hole and inserted the button hook through and anchored them at the back.
The middle one (the Dorset Button) is stitched on by hand.

A slightly different view.

Here is a close up of the bottom three.

 The second one is on a purchased frame that I got at our Church op-shop for $1

It is hard to see what the buttons really look like in this photo but if you go   here - here and here you will see the post about where I had made them.
I have one more to mount and then they will all be done.

I Can't Stop......

I am like a woman possessed, I can't stop producing stuff.
Well to be honest with you I have a few things coming up that I have to make items to sell.
Firstly is our Church fete the weekend after next and then the Guild exhibition is in the middle of October.
It is a good thing that these events didn't happen in April/May because they wouldn't have received anything from me.
Anyway I decided to show the girls at our church craft group how I make cards from recycled Christmas and birthday cards.
It is very easy and not expensive which allows the fete people to sell them for a very reasonable price.
We all know that when people go to a fete they want to get bargains so one has to make things that will sell fairly cheap.
I am not a believer that just because things are donated they should be sold for next to nothing.
I feel sorry for people who knit items for sale only to find that they are being sold for less than the wool cost them.
I once made some cakes and slices for a cake stall and the engredients cost me around $40 and I was a bit upset to see that they all sold for around $25.
Next time I just gave them the money--saved me time and electricity and they got more money.
I am now stepping off my soapbox( goodness me how did I get off on that tangent?)
So here are a few of the cards  (we made 24 all up)

I cut the pictures off old cards and then mount them onto another coloured cards stock then add them onto a card and bingo I have a new card.
Next I add an envelope and pop it in a cello bag and it is ready to go.
The ladies had a great time making them too.

Paper Arts Day

Today was the Paper Arts group day at the embroiderers Guild and we had a great day.
I haven't been to the group for ages because of my creative slump but now that things have improved I decided to go and see what they were doing.
They were making a 6" x 6" book so I joined in.
First thing I did was create some painted papers which I stuck on to some book board to form the covers.
I started with white cartridge paper

I scraped the papers with umber paint using a piece of plastic-------------------

                                       
Then I added some fawn coloured paint-I can't remember the colour name of it-which I scraped on with the plastic again---------

                                     

Next was a creamy coloured paint which was added with the plastic again----



                                    

Then I spritzed it with water and also dropped water on it-and left it for a few seconds then scraped it again which left this amazing bark looking piece of paper.


                                       

This is a close up of a corner section.



                                    


When the papers were dry I then cut them to 6" x 6" size and stuck them to the book board covers and punched the holes in the side for the bindings.



                                        

I cut the pages a bit smaller that the 6 x 6 size and punched the holes down the side of them.


                                         

Here is how I began lacing the front cover and the pages together.

The finished book (almost).

This is how the centre of the book looks opened out.

                                     

Now to add the story--whatever that may be.

Pandora's Box

On Thursday I was given  a small box approx 25cm long x 17cm wide x 4 cm deep (10" x 7"x 1.5" deep).
It was a very old box which had originally contained (as the box said) a  "Brassiere"- colour Tea Rose-size 40 and cost 11shillings and 6 pence.
Inside the box were a lot of crochet samples- very small and slightly discoloured.
They are beautiful but are firm to the touch.
There is a small ball of thread in the box as well and it has a rather course feel to it much like fine string.
This could be because of the length of time it has been hidden away in the box or maybe that was the type of thread used back in those days.
There was also about 6  instruction sheets from old doyleys with a coloured photo on it.
The brand name on most of them is Fautley's which I must admit I have never heard of before.
At a rough guess I would say that the contents are around 50/60 years old.
So here you are --take a look for yourself.
The box----

The contents-------------

The tin------------------------

Both opened------------------
 

What was inside the tin-------------------------

This was in the box- I think  it is a baby's bib-------------------

and these are the other things that were in the box----------------

The round piece is about the size of a bread and butter plate.
The beautiful little black motif is slightly damaged but it is so delicate.
I could look at these all day.