Biking at Easter

Hi
I have been really busy the last 9 days ... went on a bike ride on Easter Sunday with friends... first one for me in over 18 months! We did 20 kms (12.5 miles) down to East Perth and back up all along the river (Swan) which was lovely and it wasn't too hot ... a nice breeze ... though I had "Biker's Butt!" after - tender botty! I felt like I had done a great achievement though haha! The first pic shows a Kangaroo and Aboriginal sculpture (apparently fairly new according to my mate who bikes around this route a lot)... The Aborigine is back towards the right though he looks a bit in need of the loo! haha!
In the second pic- I am usually the person behind the camera ... but thought I would need photographic evidence so here I am! haha! :-)
We have a visitor from UK staying for 3 weeks so I have hardy been in the studio so nothing crafty done this week except I did go to Lace group on Wednesday and did a bit more tatting for new ATC's (There is a swap at next month's West Aussie Guild Lace Day!)
I probably won't get too much in the way of craft stuff done the next 2 weeks though I do have some bobbin paining work to fit in... no fun stuff :-(

Painted lace and Tyvek

Hi - I hope you all had a great Easter and lots of choc haha! I have had a busy family Easter and haven't had a chance to do much in the way of crafty stuff! ... just a bit of Tatting!
Anyway here are a couple of pics ...some painted commercial lace (which I was given a while ago) and some Tyvek which has now been heat gunned and I will be incorporating it into my Stitchety Grubs Embroidery group piece (my theme is Egypt) more on this as it progresses!). They were painted with Lumiere paints ... love them 'cos they are shiny haha!
I recieved a new ATC early last week from Ati (thanks Ati) and I will dig out the camera and take a pic to show you.

Experimental Hexigons and Burns Beach

Hi
I've been busy working in the studio the last few days ... real work as in bobbin painting orders though I have been doing a bit to some ATC's for the swap in April which will be our West Aus Guild Lace Day. The first pic today is of an hexagon experimental piece and then the next is of a seagull on some rocks at our local beach and the third is of some other rock formations down there... You can click on any of these pics to see more detail. Talking of which I got new glasses today - multi focals ... I am getting old haha! I still wear my contact lenses through the day but I take them out around tea time and change to my glasses and with the old ones I was having trouble focusing close up on my needlework or the bobbin I was painting! That's no good! hehe! I also always wear my glasses on Sundays ... most of which are spent at home in the studio so I needed them to be useful! I was getting fed up with taking them off as I can see better without them but then something would come on the TV and I would have to go into reverse on the DVD recorder! ... I can also see the computer screen and the keyboard better now too! yay! ... I am looking forward to Easter ... chocolate ...need I say more haha! also catching up with our best mates (our Aussie "family") and also a visitor arriving from the UK in the early hours Easter Sunday..

My local beach and a bookmark

Hi All - The last few Thursday mornings I have been going to the local beach for half an hour, 2 kilometres away from where we live (this is the Indian Ocean!), as my son has been doing snorkeling in his Outdoor Education class and has to be at school an hour earlier than normal ... .as a result I have been snoofying around, paddling in the waves.... It was too cold today ... yes, a blustery 23°c so I stayed in the car and listened and watched the waves and the local gulls and people doggy walking! Last week was overcast but warmer and I took the photo's here .... The first one ... a rather handsome rock and some good ol' Aussie seaweed! The next pic is looking South and the other pic is the view looking to the North.... there was more sand and less rock the previous weeks ... the sand seems to have washed away and this morning you couldn't get down on the beach as the tide was right up! The final pic is a bookmark which I made last week for my best buddy's Birthday .... she hasn't been a person who reads a lot but I am encouraging her (in her old age!) to read more... we gave her Jane Austin's "Emma" book. (Her oldest daughter's name is Emma haha!). I chose this book also as we went together a few weeks ago to see the movie "The Jane Austin Bookclub".

Pyrography Iron and Yo Yo's

Hi - thanks to those of you who left a little message on my blog - I love to hear from other crafty people :-) .. Here are a couple of pics .... the first is made up of layers of different fabrics which were then cut back or "slashed" with a pyrography iron .....the 2nd one is experimental "Yo yo's" or "Suffolk Puffs" whichever you like to call them ... the black one in the centre was from a pair of old fancy stockings which had diamante's on the ankles ... though now it looks like a pair of eyes peeping out haha! LOL! :-D. I have been busy today preparing a wire bobbin lace piece as I am teaching a 2 day workshop in the middle of April and have been asked if I could have a 3rd design available ... it's a slow process winding the bobbins and working out quantities down to the last millimetre! .... This afternoon though I did finally get underway with making the design ( a second time) and I have started to make notes which will accompany the pattern! I had a bobbin order arrive in the post this afternoon so that will put the workshop piece on the "back burner" for a few days.... Oh well .... never enough hours in the day haha! I am so glad it has started to cool down here though having said that it is supposed to be 36°c tomorrow but cooler around 26°c and showers for next weekend! yay!

Textural Lava

Hi
Here are a few pics of my textural "Lava" piece. The Biege part is actually "shredded strips of tights" (stockings) ...just threaded through a large needle and sewn... other threads include: perle threads, wools, shredded glittery lycra material.
it's hard to tell but it is quite 3 dimensional especially the "stocking" bits!
I had a good day at Lace group today, managed to get quite a bit done on my latest Wire bobbin lace necklace ... the colours are working very well... I am not a green person but it looks good! I have had several compliments from the other gals! only about another 50 mins to do of the actual lace then I can take it off the lace pillow and add the beads and get rid of the ends! yay! then I will need to think about matching earrings!

Tissue Paper Fabric

Top pic shows the piece of "Tissue Paper Fabric" which I made back in January at the "Play day". I dug out a piece of hand dyed calico (which I had done several years ago) and then I brushed on watered down PVA glue, then placed randomly torn pieces of a variety of tissue papers ... dabbing each with the gluey brush... it was then left to dry overnight and then another coating of the watery glue applied and dried again (apparently we were supposed to repeat this 3 times but I only did 2 coats altogether as I didn't want it too stiff and hard to get the needle through!). I wasn't too sure what on earth I was going to do with this piece until a couple of weeks after when I needed to make a postcard for Susan's Cyber Fyber Exhibition ... It works beautifully as a background for free needle lace as I didn't then need to have a needle lace pad as I do for most of my needle lace! This pic also shows it before I "dry brushed" copper and gold acrylic paints on it. The second pic shows an ATC which I made using the Tissue Paper Fabric and also the postcard (again) and the other 2 ATC's which I have sent to Susan for the Random Trading day during the exhibition. The bottom pic is a shot of our back garden with the Agapanthus in flower.