Todays offerings

Just spent a couple of hours playing with Gesso and pelmet Vilene in preparation for Maggie Grey's Textile Translations on line course that starts tomorrow. You have to buy the book to be eligible to take the course but it will be well worth it.

The first two show closeups of the painted Vilene with Gesso and a very open muslin that I distressed before pushing into the Gesso.

The relief effect is achieved by using a palette and pretending you are icing a Christmas cake to achieve a snowy ridge effect .

This sample has been painted with three Brusho watercolours, you can just make out the salt that I sprinkled on the piece whilst it was still damp. It reacts with the water in the watercolour paint.

This final sample below is the effect you get when you use Quink black ink. The darl areas are where the tissue paper I applied was not covered with gesso. After sealing with PVA I intend dry painting this with some Stewart Gill paints from the Galactica and Metallica range.

And finally.............

Below are two batik pictures that I completed before I went into hospital. They are currently part of an exhibition at Marple Library with the Cheshire Guild of Silk Painters. It runs until Saturday 15th November. The colours in the pics are not as vibrant as in real life, should have edited I suppose but too lazy at present.

Todays Mail

The postman delivered a lovely selection of goodies this morning. I was having a lie in, feeling very fibro today (Fibromyalgia can strike with no warning) when 1 book, 1magazine and some knitting wool arrived. The book is the new one from Maggie Grey 'textile translations'. can't wait to be able to get going on some of the activities in this truely inspiring book. Anyone who buys it can get involved in free web workshops starting in November. The mag was the new 'Quilting Arts' and Maggie appears in this as well with an article on 'Print Magic' there is a very good piece on batik using soy wax, must try that one. The wool is some baby double knit for a jacket I am knitting for my daughters sister-in-law who is expecting later this month.


These are a group of mushrooms that have appeared on our front lawn this week. We have been taking a picture a day to monitor their progress. Some of the pics are going to be ideal for either a textile interpretation by moi or a watercolour by David.

Inspired

Returned last night from the NEC and the Festival of Quilts 2007. The display of quilts was phenomenonal, the range was huge and the skill stunning. It was nice to see works by people who I knew via workshops or the web. Helen Cowan, Greta Fitchett, Kaffe Fassett and Jennie Lewis to name a few. Also stalls, Ruth Brown of Stone Creek Silks, Mary Day from the Guild of Silk painters and Maggie Grey from the WOW, Workshop on the Web. I am not a quilter but thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition which I had to do in two attempts and would have loved to have had another day to go around again. It was interesting to see the contemporay quilts, many from abroad, utilising various techniques.

Whilst browsing the stalls for goodies, many of which I bought, I watched Maggie Grey dem the Janome embnellisher and it inspired me to get mine out of its box and have a go this morning. Nothing too big as I wanted to finish something so used my colours of the moment in silk tops that I dyed a while ago.

I embellished a piece of felt with a selection of silk tops and synthetic fabric from a cast off skirt of my daughter and ended up with this. Much brighter than the photo shows.

I then zig zaged strips so that I could weave them to produce this. Quite pleased with the result.