Not my usual style!

One of the girls at work has a birthday next week, and I don't 'do' decoupage normally, but this just seemed the right card to make for her as she is always trying to loose weight. It was very therapeutic to make, lots of bits to cut out and then mount with 3d foam pads.

I wasn't at Nickie's very long this evening, she had almost got everything packed for her workshop, I have a list of additional bits of equipment I have got to take and I will get those ready tomorrow night. Now, I am back to the stitching my wall hanging and watching the History Channel. Last night I found this channel by chance and it is Henry VIII week, celebrating 500 years since he ascended the throne. I love Tudor history!

And yet MORE french knots!

I have NEARLY finished putting french knots on the horse of the wall hanging hopefully tomorrow in my lunch half hour I can finish the remaining areas. Then on to the men, though I have done a lot of knots in these areas already. Tomorrow night I wont be stitching as I am round at Nickie's helping to get ready for the workshop on Saturday in Hutton.

Sorry, the slideshow is here.

Sorry I couldn't get the slideshow to work in my previous post, but here it is.

Exhausted..

What a wonderful two day workshop Nickie and I had at Briantree for a workshop with
Ruth Issett and the group E.A.S.T. Nickie and I had been lucky enough to be invited to join the group for the two day workshop as they had a few spare places. Yesterday started off with Ruth talking about the fabrics she uses and demonstrating how different fabrics absorb dye. It was then our turn to play using the dyes on different fabrics to see how they work. I have always dyed my fabrics in buckets or bags, never by painting. I shall be getting rid of all those buckets now!

Both days we were able to have our lunch outside and catch a few rays.

After lunch more painting on fabric and then mono printing and using a roller for printing with on paper. These all add layers of colour to a painted background. I have done a bit of mono printing before, but not in the way Ruth showed us.

Last night Art Van Go came to our Embroiderers Guild. Viv demonstrated different methods for transferring images to fabric.

Carol our treasurer 'helped' with one of the demo's by ironing for Viv, something went wrong and Carol wont be asked to iron again! By the time Nickie and I had helped Viv to pack up the van, it was nearly eleven o'clock by the time we got home.





This morning, it was down to printing on our painted fabric. Nerve racking! Ruth has given me permission to post some pictures of her wonderful work, I have a long way to go to achieve anything as vibrant as hers!

My first job today was to go back to Barleylands to LifeasArt to collect my friends birthday present that I ordered on Friday. What a fabulous job he has done with the photo's, getting rid of the tears and creases. The canvas's will look good on her wall. I shall be going there again. (no affiliation)
As it was sunny, when I got back, I sat in the Antipodean part of our garden ( this is out reminder of a wonderful holiday down under) and did some more to my wall hanging. Coming along very s l o w l y.
I have also packed my bag ready for tomorrow's workshop with Ruth Issett, I had a job deciding what range of colours I want to work in, still not sure that I have made the right choice, might go and change them.
Off to do some more french knots!

A big mistake!.

I was up at 5.30 this morning to be ready for the off at 6.30. Nickie was driving and I had borrowed Hubby's Sat. Nav. to get us there. A very good journey there, in the three and a half hours that was estimated.

A quick cup of coffee after signing in then off to spend our money that was burning a hole in our pockets. Shock and horror!, only a couple of stalls there and the E.G. bookstall was nearly empty too. This does mean, however, that I shall have money to spend now at Art Van Go, who are coming to our Guild on Monday!

A.G.M. then buffet lunch. We then had a lecture from David Littler. His talk was about the connections between samplers found in the V.&A. and music sampling( he was a DJ at one time). He talked about the language used in both fields that are the same and how pattern could be converted to sound. A very lovely lady (sorry I cant remember her name) then put words to the music that was created this way using the words from a sampler by Elizabeth Parker in 1830 that is in the V.& A. Some of the audience , Nickie included, were then going to his workshop after tea break to produce their own pattern and sound.

I went to an audience with Diane Bates, who was 63 today. A very funny and entertaining lady, talking about her work and inspiration with slides.

This is the view from the 10th floor where Diane gave her talk. Unfortunately Nickie and I had to leave before the end as our parking meter time was up and they both went over their scheduled finishing time.

Which is just as well we did. We were told to 'ignore the Sat. Nav. and go home via the A1. A shorter journey', we were told!!!!!!!!
It took us nearly FIVE HOURS to get home!
I would be well on the way to Cornwall in this time!
There was a detour on the A414 (road closed for roadworks), that took us round all of Epping Forrest, Epping and I am not sure where else as we thought we were lost and as Nickie's lighter wasn't working the Sat. Nav. ran out of power! We weren't lost, it was just a very long detour(nearly an extra 30 min.s of driving) with very few signs showing us we were going the right way!
Was I glad to get home to a cup of tea!
Moral of this story- follow the Sat. Nav., ignore the advice of well meaning drivers and use a car with a lighter that works!

I have shopped 'till I dropped.

Not much stitching done so far today, just an hour on the machine before starting my marathon shopping expedition,I have posted the latest stage of my work. Yet MORE french knots tonight!!!!!




The coloured lines will, I hope, disappear when the romeo is dissolved.


A very good friend of mine is sixty soon and I am helping to organise her present from some of her friends, so a quick???? visit to her hubby while she was at work to collect photos to have made into canvas's at Barleylands. While there, I went to Craft Arena to get the felting needles that are needed for one of our Schoolhouse Arts workshops in June. While there I bought a pack of the Jet FX paper to play with, I love to use text in my work, just got to learn where the button to mirror image is, on my computer.

It was then on to Basildon, looking for more birthday pressies as Kezzy has two parties next week, school shoes, and cotton voile and or organdy and of course, food. (My fridge is always empty by Thursday, wish my family wouldn't eat so much) I couldn't find cotton voile or organdy in the shops, but tomorrow, Nickie and I are going to Sheffield University for the Embroiderer's Guild A.G.M., 'Melody of Stitch'. We are leaving at 6.30a.m. ,( it's a three and a half hour journey) so I think I will be having an earlyish night! The good news is, that there are traders there, so I might get my fabric there!

Isn't it finished yet?

This was my son's first comment to me as he got in from work and saw me stitching away on my sewing machine. I have spent a good fours hours on it so far today, not too long before I can wash away the Romeo. Off to do some more work, french knots now, and will post piccy with my next blog.