Textile project from a photo

At the February meeting of ATASDA (Australian Textile Art and Surface Design Association) we were given a challenge - to choose a photograph (there was about 10 different ones to choose from) and then to do something from it in various mediums - textile/paper/ combination etc....Well I chose the photo in the top pic - I know it was taken by Penny (one of the workshop co-ordinators) I think it was taken at Binalong Bay, Bay of Fires, Tasmania. As I have also been following The Sketchbook Challenge - (I have been working on it in my sketchbook for my own amusement :D) - I decided to combine the two themes (February sketchbook challenge theme was "Close up") so I "blew" the pic up a bit, masked off some of it- did a painting and then set about turning it into something" textiley!"..... pics of which will be in my next post ..... ;D ...stay tuned :D

Visitors in our garden

Hi All -The last few weeks we have had a couple of "28" Parrots visiting our garden - then one morning there were 3! and on Thursday this week they brought another friend and we had 4 at the same time :D - They are called "28's" because that's what their call sounds like -the have the most wonderful blue colour underneath their tails :D
The Bird table my son designed and made for me for Christmas has proved popular with them as a perch whilst waiting a turn on the seed block LOL! They look good with the Xamia Palm in the background :D

White Kumihimo braid

Hi All - well we are into Autumn here in Western Australia - though someone forgot to tell Mother Nature as it was in the high 30's last weekend and tomorrow and for the next 3 days (over this coming weekend) it's going to be 38/39 degrees! Here are some pics of the braid I got underway last week to take to Kumihimo group - I ordered a book from Nordic Needle in USA which has not only 12 (advanced) Marudai (Round stand) patterns but also 30 patterns for the Kakudai (Square stand) and some patterns for the "Ayetakadai". The 3rd pic shows the whole Kakudai - it's a mini one that I bought when I did the Kumihimo workshop in Japan in July 2010 - I believe that this book is the only one in print at the moment that has Kakudai patterns in it - so it is good to be able to start using my Kakudai :) I did end up restarting this braid 4 times though haha - at the end of the group meeting it measured about 30 cms yay!

Nature and ATASDA Textile pieces

Hi All - I am just about surviving the Summer heat here - One of the hottest on record! Here are some pics - the foxglove is a photo I took in the UK last July - not just any old Foxglove though as this one was growing in BeatrixPotter's Garden at "Hill Top Farm", Near Sawrey, Cumbria (that was my second visit to Hill Top - just a gorgeous garden :D) the other 2 pics are of a "Tower" made by a friend at ATASDA (Australian Textile Art and Surface Design Association (WA Branch)) her name is Averil it looked a lot better in reality - these photo's don't show how rich the colours are ad yes that is an Xmas bauble sitting in the top - cool idea :D - I missed the meeting in October when they had a mini workshop with Lyn on these towers/ totem poles :( boohoo! The things they did were stunning - so stay tuned for a couple more pics in next blog posts :D

Needle Lace leaves

Hi All - I am just about surviving the heat here in Perth - we have are experiencing the 2nd hottest Summer on record - had several days last week when it was 40 degrees (centigrade) and over! (104-109 Farenheit) even the pool water was 35c (95f) so we had to leave the pool blanket off for a few nights to get the water to a temperature that wasn't like swimming in a bath!!! - 38 today but fortunately down to only 31 tomorrow which is good as I have the first meeting for this year of the Kumihimo group I go to (monthly) as it's a bit of a drive away (35 mins) glad it's not a stinky hot day! The heat is also the reason I have been a bit remiss with my blogging - too hot to sit by the computer with the amount of heat that is generated by the hard drive under the desk! Anyway - here are a couple of pics of needle lace - the workshop was tutored by Olwyn Scott - a fellow West Australian who has made and taught needle lace for many years - my leaf is the blue/orange/cream one - to the right in the first photograph - and I actually haven't finished it yet as I haven't seen it recently in the studio - probably in a "Safe place" LOL!

Fabric painting and stamping

Hi All - a few more pics - these 3 are from the Sherrill Kahn workshop which I attended through ATASDA last year at the end of August - the first was a burgundy piece of material which I stamped (lumiere paints) with some of Sherrill's stamps, sequin waste used as a stencil - metallic oil pastilles - I also used a battery toothbrush to do the frondy "whispy" bits! the next pic shows some pre salt dyed silk stamped with Lumiere paints using the stamp in the 3rd pic which I made using a polystyrene "meat tray" and an old biro! (it was ok but not overly clear so I might try and do it on some fabric that's not so busy!)

Happy New Year

Hi All - Happy New Year - here we go again - I hope that this year is an exceptionally good and "crafty" one :D

This pic is one I took whilst in the Lake District last year - couldn't resist taking a photo of the sign LOL! what a hoot! The sheep was a bonus :D

Crafty stuff from this year part 4

Hi All - Well here is my final blog entry for 2011 - a New Year is right around the corner - (13 hours and 10 minutes time LOL) so here are a few more pics of Crafty things from this year - Firstly 5 of the Christmas ATC's I made - 4 were attached to cards and swapped with the Australian online Lace Group that I belong to. Then a pic of teh 2 "Russian" doll needle cases I made as Christmas gifts- The purple/blu one has gone to live at my friend Ros's house here in Perth but the greeny/salmon one is more of a traveller and she has gone to reside in the UK with my friend Pat.
The next pic shows the Christmas decorations that my Stitchety Grubs Embroidery group made and exchanged - clockwise from top left is red and gold bird made by April and now owned by Carol-Lee, Huckaback Embroidered "diamond" decoration made by Ros and now owned by me! :D, Hand made Bedfordhire bobbin lace Angel made by Colleen and now owned by Ros, Cross stitched Koala by Carol-Lee now owned by April, Cross stitched heart made by Maureen and now owned by Colleen and finally in the centre - a Christmas tree made by me and now owned by Maureen. The final photo is of my Aquatone crayon/pencils which I bought in Derwent at the pencil factory in the middle of this year when Hubby and I were in Cumbria (I also bought Inktense blocks as well as various other pencils :D) but these - I took on my Sydney/Tasmania trip - I LOVE them! - so yummy to use! mm mm :D

Crafty stuff from this year part 3

The 18th Birthday card I made for my son's Girlfriend - the dog is painted onto water colour paper - a piece of cardboard was covered with glitter Lycra material then all glued to a base card (they have a Dachshund who has just had 2 puppies -awwww too cute!).....and the "Wild Woman" brooch I made for the ATASDA (Australian Textile Art and Surface Design Association) Christmas swap... yes it is the same material as the Christmas Tree decoration earlier - as I hadn't gotten around to putting it away when I had to start the brooch LOL! :D

Crafty stuff from this year part 2

2 necklaces that I made early in the year for my travels (nice and lightweight in the luggage!) The first is a beaded zip necklace in the black, red, white, gold and silver theme - this is the 4th one I have made over the years - and at my embroidery group this year we decided to have a go at "Goldwork" and as I usually bite of more than I can chew - I wised up this time and designed a smaller piece than I would normally have done LOL! :D - as the theme for the AGM in New Zealand in April (at which I was a tutor) was "Butterflies" I decided to make a pendant that could go on a Kumihimo cord - I have worn it many times and had lots of comments on it.

Crafty stuff from this year part 1

Hi All - For last few days of the year I am going to post some of the pics from this year that I hadn't gotten around to putting on here yet... back in May I made the 2 "scrappy flower" brooches for my daughter to give the young lass next door to us - she had admired some others earlier in the year in my studio and the purple brooch can be pinned onto the Kumihimo braid that I made - it was a gift to my mate for her Birthday back in April :D
There is also a pic here of a wooden Needle case which I was commissioned to paint for a UK lace tutor who was out here doing workshops back in September ... it has our (Western Australian) State Floral emblem on it - the "Mangles' Kangaroo Paw" :)

Christmas Tree decoration

Hi All - Here is a pic of the little Christmas tree decoration that I made a couple of weeks ago - I couldn't put the pic up until today as it was for my Embroidery Group Christmas exchange. It has gone to live at my friend Maureen's house :-)
It's made of glitter Lycra (a friend gave me lots of offcuts from another friend who makes dance costumes) and I embellished it with Tatted "flower" rings a little bit of chain stitch "tinsel" and sequins :D

Xmas decorations for 2011

Hi All - I have been busy in the studio making little Xmas decorations - every year I make one each for my 2 kids and me and son's girlfriend and whilst I was at it - I made a few extra. I hand felted some wool tops to some orange felt and then decorated them with beads and sequins and added a "dangly" at the bottom and hanging loop at the top. They look fab on the tree which is covered in the various hand made decorations I have made over the year's as well as some beautiful hand made ones from friends. I will try and take some pics and post them of the tree all dressed! :-)

Tissue paper fabric

Hi All- Sorry for the lack of posts - November was yet again a busy month - culminating in our West Aussie Cattern's Day Fair last Saturday so it was a month filled with bobbin painting! Then last week I had a few orders as a result of the Fair and also emailed orders and then 2 Xmas Lunches - so busy busy busy! :-)
I have just put up my Christmas tree - and 90% of the decorations on it are handmade - mainly by me over the years but some by other crafty/lacey friends - and it took me twice as long as I stopped to reminisce ( my Son's Girlfriend helped so I was telling her the little stories behind them hehe!)
The pics here were done a while ago - some machine embroidery on Tissue paper Fabric - haven't actually gone any further and made anything out of it yet - maybe in the New Year. I don't have quite so many travels planned over the next 12 months as I have had the last 24 months - which is good as I hope to get other things done now in the studio! :-)

Final pics of Textile Vessel

Hi All - Once again back from my travels - that's it for quite a while and I am looking forward to some months of spending time in my studio doing "fun stuff" as well as busy bits!
Here are the pics of the complete vessel as promised a little while ago - Although I got back from my trip a couple of weeks ago - I have been flat tack painting up bobbin orders and getting stock ready for the annual West Australian Lace Guild Branch "Cattern's Day Fair" where I will once again have a stall.

More Textile vessel

Hi ALL- more pics of the vessel - now cut into segments ready for sewing together :-) 3 sides and a base...
It's 4 sleeps until I head to Sydney - really looking forward to it - hope the weather is good to us - but as it's "Sydney" who knows LOL!
I am also looking forward to visiting some craft shops over there - I know for sure I will be going to Feeling Inspired beads at Mona Vale on the day off of the AGM week (the 5th Oct) as a Tasmanian mate has "wheels" all week and is driving there - I am gonna be a "bum" on a seat and go along too hehe:-)

Flower Stitcher

Hi All - just a quick post - soooo busy at the moment - only 11 sleeps until I head to Sydney and still lots to do in the meantime - but I did get a goodie a few days ago - I finally got around to buying a flower stitcher foot for my sewing machine - The Thread Studio had a special on in their latest newsletter and I got the foot and Dale's book on using it and a pack of 4 yummy threads for a fantastic price - sooo pleased except that I don't have time to play with it :-( - something to look forward to in mid October when I get back though hehe! Yay! :-)

Tall Textile Vessel

Hi All - Well it's the last day of Winter here in Australia today beginning of Spring tomorrow - yay!
Here are some pics of my "Tall Vessel" which I made before my UK trip - but as it was on display whilst I was away I waited off posting the pics.
The first pic shows a grotty green piece of felt I got in a craft shop bargain bin with a nappy liner stuck to it (The nappy liner had been painted with Dye-n-flow and Lumiere paints then "hit with a heat gun") ... didn't look like much and it was kicking around in the studio for several months before I decided to make a vessel from it - the second pic shows machine embroidery added - starting to look more interesting - the third pic shows more embellishment added - the techniques I learned for my previous post of a "Sea Urchin Vessel" in the workshop I did last year in November - (pics on the December 3, 7 and 16th entries) (with the very creative Elizabeth Morley)... in the last pic if you look carefully you can see that I have cut it into "panels" more pics to come... :-)

More Medieval Banner

Hi All - more pics of the Medieval Banner - close up shots of the "painted tin foil" shield with the hand embroidered eagle on painted felt which was appliqued in the centre ... you can also see my initials B and yes that is an F - that's how I've always done them hehe and along the bottom edge is a beaded needle lace edging. It's alot brighter in reality than these pics - the colours are a bit iffy here! LOL :-)