I Have a Finish

Well at least I almost have a finish!

 All I have to do now to my little art quilt project is to sew the backing on and make a hanging sleeve.  But the front is done.   I haven't decided what to call it yet.  The theme for the challenge was the word "Botanical". So if anyone can help me with a clever name for this I would appreciate it. I am terrible at coming up with names.

For the cap on the yellow mushroom I soaked some linen in a pan with some rusty nails and other rusty bits and pieces I found in an old tool box and then I boiled it up in a mix of tumeric powder in balsamic vinegar and that was the result.  The blue cap is needlelace. I might add that the vinegar stripped the rust from the nails.

 I loved the sheen of the velvet I used on the large mushroom and just happened to have some taffeta that I had pleated up ready for some smocking.  It had been in the box so long that when I removed the threads the pleats stayed there and was perfect for under the mushroom.

The "trees" in the background are cut from some fabric I painted and stamped. I have mounted the whole thing on some thick felt, and other fabrics are some I have had for a long time just waiting for the "right thing" to come along.

closed herringbone

This was a sampler I prepared for a stitching workshop

 I have been back to working on the pages for my fabric book.  It is growing.  The pages are 11.5cm x 11.5cm.  I am looking for a site where I can do some collages with the photos so I can post them in groups.

The pages are a mix of stitch samplers I have done for Tast (which stands for Take  a Stitch Tuesday with Sharon Boggon here)  and samplers I have done with other workshops, or when I have been sharing my own knowledge with friends .  This fabric book is the second I am working on, and includes samplers from my embroidery days from the beginning to the present day.

Dont know the name of this flower but it is giving a nice show in the garden here

This unusual little shrub is quite pretty

My fuschia is very happy in its pot, and never seems to stop flowering.

 I love geraniums and have several colours in pots on my back patio.

The weekend is almost upon us once more. The year is flying.  Have a nice day.

Sorry about the small text I have tried to make it larger but it doesn't seem to be working.  So hope it is on your computers.

Work in Progress Views and Memories

During my absence from blogging I finally got round to doing some work on the latest project for the Art Quilting Group.   The theme is "Botanica".  Although if you look that word up in the dictionary it has a different meaning to the group's intentions  of the word to describe the theme.

To start with I went hell for leather on the piece but once the background was done the wheels fell off the trolley and it went into the "wait and see" pile.

Somewhere along the way I recently  some motivation grabbed me,  and although it is still a work in progress, thought I would share what I have done so far.

The unfinished mushroom cap in the front is something I am still pondering on.....whether  to use fabric, or make some needlelace piece to fit the shape.  Am also trying to decide on the colour.  At the moment I am leaning towards blue.

The cap on the mushroom on the left is made from some nice textured velved and for the underneath I have used a piece I had pleated on my smocking machine.  It had been done so long ago, that when I removed the threads the pleats remained.  The stem is a raised stemstitch  band.

The yellow cap I worked on a piece of dublin linen that I had dyed in a mix of tumeric and balsamic vinegar with some rusty nails added to the mix.  The stitches are four sided stitch, buttonhole wheels and buttonhole bars, with some french knots. The stem on this one is just vertical  rows of chain stitch.

I intend adding some grasses at the base of the mushroom stems, and probably whatever else takes my fancy, so this has a little way to go.  

sometimes of an afternoon when I am sitting in my sewing room stitching, this is the view that confronts me.   All these little tots playing and exercising in the park at the back of my unit.  I love the sound of their laughter and to see the fun they are having.

Dont you just love the view from my window

Because I have been in a bit of a reminiscent mood, I am going to finish off with a photo of one of my older pieces of work, which many will have seen.

I spent some happy hours with lovely friends while I was working on this and it has some wonderful memories for me of those times