And relax

A disjointed week.   Two workshops at the beginning;

father in law's 91st birthday - a little family gathering;

visit to the dentist, and something nasty in my foot!

Well, if I will wander around in the garden with no

shoes on it isn't really surprising.  Ouch.

The spring weather is warm, the garden is

bursting with life - wonderful fern fronds

uncurling.   I think I will take a little time

out, looking slowly and enjoying pottering

for a day or two.

Pots - Part IV

The last in the Journal Quilt series Pots

for the Contemporary Quilt Group.

No I - very tight - machine and applique.

No 2 - Printed patterns and hand stitching.

No 3 - Texture and very loose.

No 4 - Screen print with

free machine stitching.

Very interesting exercise.  Leaping out

of all known comfort zones.  I like where

I ended up though!

Now for the next series!

Not one but two

 for Little Gem Quilts.

Petit Bleu - raw edged patchwork.

Millefiori - strip patchwork

Call for more Little Gems!  

Things that lurk

Today has been in turns, interesting and boring.

You know files lurk and grow on the computer, with

stuff no longer required on journey.   Crisis call on

revisiting Indian Applique workshop file for a

forth coming workshop - oh no,can't open documents. 

 But I have a man who can.  Phew!   So today 

computer housekeeping.  Trashcan full up - amazing 

things appear.  Why?  There must have been a reason.   

Printing hard copies,then burning CDs'.  

Golden halo surrounds head,

Attention deficit syndrome also apparent.  Not to

say the above was mind bending /boring.  The

mind drifts, and one thing led to another and

look what I discovered, both keeping each

other company in a secret corner.

Kuba cloth bought when I was teaching in South Africa

a couple of years ago.   This is seriously gorgeous.

Note to self - do not put back in corner - find a space

on the wall to stand and admire.

Parch Marks

A little trip into the world of rust dyeing, mono printing and

minimal stitching by moi a couple of years ago.  Mounted

on a stretched canvas screen - that was fun!

Enough for one day.  Time for a glass of red, and some

creativity in the kitchen.

Travelling Workshop

The workshop road show season is now in session!

Yesterday I took a workshops on Shibori with the

Avon Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers.

A beautiful drive through Dorset and Wiltshire,

managed to stop the car turning right for a retail

experience in Bath, and on to Long Ashton, which

is really long, outside Bristol.

 A fabulous group of ladies, and a real treat,

I got to meet a fellow blogger Sue.

We all worked hard, many shibori bundles

were dyed, and taken home for a grand

opening today - hope they remember

to wear their rubber gloves!

As ever, no time to take any photos!

Happy Tree

The Devils Dye

Back in the mists of time, well January, I promised

a photo of the long and skinny indigo quilt exhibited

in The Spice Route exhibition.   At last!

Raw edge 'patchwork' made up with indigo dyed fabrics,

silk, rayon, cotton to name a few.  Textures include

shibori - stitching, wrapping and clamped;  discharge/

colour stripping - block printing and brush marks.

Why The Devils Dye?   Indigo was said to be worth

it's weight in gold.   Because of the damage to the

 European woad industry attempts were made

to ban the import of indigo on the pain of death.

size 122 x 26 cm

Make do and mend

From BBC Radio 4 to the Sunday Observer Magazine, articles 

are appearing on ways to save money and save the planet etc.   

How to hem, darn, sew ona button.  Knit, crochet, patchwork.   

I think I have heard this all before.

But, hey, it's good.  Now we can all feel justified with the little 

hordes of saved string, brown paper and 'things' that might 

come in useful.   

Mending - I have a small Pfaff sewing machine, basic but 

light enough to take to workshops.  I left it at The Mill in a 

cupboard for several weeks, only to find when next required 

the bobbin race had rusted.   Enter John the Sewing Machine 

man.  Brilliant, got the wire brush out, reburnished the casing 

and it is as good a new.

Making do - instructions to use the machine to get it really 

going again. Just the thing, one of the Journal Quilts on my list.   

This one is for the group Infinity.   Subject - Glass.

Raided my inherited button boxes for glass buttons, the scrap 

bag for fabric.   Glass beads and shisha.   Tick.