Look what I made!

As much as I love my oriental CQ bag I am aware using it every day isn't good for it, so I've spend the evening rustling up this.

It is made of a deep red cotton with a black polycotton lining, with a black cotton bias tape trim and a huge black button. (Its hung over my exercise bike if you are wondering what it is!)



Anyway, am off to bed now as it's gone midnight and I have to be up early in the morning!Just wanted to show this off!

Tidying...

We've got a friend coming to stay tonight which means the long overdue tidying and rearranging of the living room is finally happening....on my own. My beloved will be helping when he gets back from work - though he may be getting assigned to washing up and cooking duty this evening!

So far I have moved things into the workroom ( which will HAVE to be the next thing I sort out!), rearranged the contents of shelves, moved furniture made our table so we can actually sit at it and last but not least made a heap of stuff I have to now go and sort out. Then I can hoover, and tidy the last of the stuff away.

I'm having to gear myself up to go and deal with the pile of stuff as I know there is a big brown spider in the middle of it - luckily we don't have poisonous spiders over here, but its still very big and I dislike spiders nearly as much as I dislike crickets and grasshoppers!

Ah well, at least this will knock a task off my 101 tasks! 39. Decluttering the Living Room!

Then if I'm not COMPLETLY exhausted I may get on with the bag I am making myself. Do you want to see a photo of the living room when I am finished?!

What I've been doing....

Well, I'm officially in the gap between the end of one contract at work on the Friday just gone and the start of the longer term one in just over 3 weeks from now.
I've started the I.T. Qualification I'm taking (a CLAIT Diploma for anyone who is interested) and have already completed the first two modules, one being File Management and E Document Production (how to turn it on and write a letter.....) and the other being Creating Spreadsheets and Graphs. I've taken the assessment for these today so I will find out tomorrow how I've done.

Next I will be doing Database Manipulation, then Online Communication and Finally Web Page Creation.

You have to take the first module (File Management and E Document Production) but you get to choose the others. My boss chose the first 4 and I got to choose Web Page Creation for myself :)

Apart from that I've been researching a couple of things completely non-craft related.

There's a program I've been watching called Its Not Easy Being Green, which is mainly about self sufficiency and green energy. Its something I've always been aware of, especially as our neighbours. Jenny and Graham as I was growing up were for the most part self sufficient. They grew their own veg, and even produced their own tofu (which I still loathe). They were the first people I ever met who home schooled. Quite scarily their two kids Jack and Eve are now both married with kids and are younger than me!

Anyway, back to the point I was making - me and my fella have been watching this show and wondering what we could do, as we are in first floor rented accomadation.

Those of you who have been reading for a while will remember that we have a little roof terrace which is the access to the front door and last year I had plants out there...well, this year we are going to try and grow some veggies and herbs in pots on the roof terrace.

It appears to be the time of year for green related things. One one of the websites I visit DIY:happy had a post earlier in the week about Earth Day and celebrating it . I can't believe I didn't know about this!

Lolly at Lolly Knitting Around's post Everyday is inspiring - they have a wind turbine and everything!

And finally via Lolly Knitting Around I have discovered sew green (isn't it a wonderfully pun-tastic name?!). This blog is really interesting and so are these that I have found through it:
The Worstead Witch
She Turns Slowly

Anyway, the point is, I dream of having a more self sustaining lifestyle than is possible at the moment..

In other news, I'm still working on my doors project, I've updated my 101 tasks in 1001 days blog, am planning a project which involves making myself a new bag and have 2 of my 4 sets of inchies made as far as the bases.

Final Straw

I left one of my groups today. I'm not going to say which one but there were several reasons behind this including one persons pretty much making the group for her little clique, my being preached to on several occasions, and a couple of other things but the main one being that when I made a rare visit to the groups actual page at yahoo, the welcome message has been changed to include the phrase 'family friendly'.

I happen to have a piece of work planned that involves a naked female figure (yes, I am going to do a nude - it will NOT be a self portrait!) and was going to share it with that group but oh well. I had pulled back on my involvement with that group when some changes were made but this final straw just broke the camels back.

To the friends I have made there, I will miss you.x

100 tasks in 100 days.

I found a project people are doing in which you make a list of 101 things you want to do and you have a time limit of 1001 days.

I've decided to join in and you can find more details and my list at the blog I've set up for it, here.

Door progress

I was sitting around last night wondering what on earth I was going to do with the central panel of my door piece - I'd done several experiments, none of them successful and then a weird incident occurred which solved it!

I'd sat down on the edge of the bed whilst thinking about it and putting my slippers on and the card I made with fabric paper at the Xmas EG meeting happened to fall off the shelf and landed at my feet!


I then remembered the experiment pieces I'd done when trying to make fabric paper and went and pulled them out.

This is the piece I'm going to use.

And this is it behind the surround. What do you think? Does it look OK?

I'm going to stitch and embellish it and will keep you posted!

Some good news and FME

My current work contract is due to end on friday and it looked like it would be another slog around the agencies to find some more work, but I had applied for a job covering maternity leave at the place I am working and I got it! I'll be unemployed for three weeks but then not only do I have a definete 6 months at least of work but they are also going to pay for me to take an IT qualification!

My darning/FME foot arrived today and I've done my first decent FME!


Here it is! These are some inchies I've done for a swap I'm in. I did my own first due to the fact I wasn't used to it yet but I think they have come out quite well. I'm using some clear seal on the sides to stop them fraying. I'm yet to embellish them but I can see myself doing some ATC's this way! I'll be getting on with the others over the next few days.


They are backed with muslin which has made me realise I am coming to the point of using it to back everything!

Anyway, more photos as soon as I've worked some more on the inchies!

Door progress

Well, heres the progress on this project.

I've done all the french knots, cut and turned the central panel and stitched it in place and stitched some step details in. (Yes, I am currently sick of french knots but I adore the texture!)

I've thinking about having some ivy curling up one side of it. I took the shot below on good friday.


I'm going to have a door on it as well as the panel in the door way which I need to start on soon!
For the door I was thinking of using a piece of wood (shock announcement! a door made of wood you say?! *gasp* ) but it would have to be quite thin! I'm also thinking about how to fix it in place - for that part at least its back to the drawing board!

In other news, I've ordered a FME foot for my machine and when it arrives I can see if I can sort this darn tension issue out so I can make pretty things in less time!

Wowee!

I went to my EG meeting yesterday and it was a really good day! I got some work done on my door in the morning and in the afternoon we had a talk done by Kay Greenlees the author of Creating Sketchbooks for Embroiderers and Textile Artists.


This is the book my partner bought for me for xmas after I mentioned I really really really wanted it. If you are someone who wants to develop your work using sketchbooks then this is the book I really suggest buying!

The talk she did was brilliant.

The main points she seems to be wanting to get across are:
Your sketchbook is just that, YOURS. There is no right or wrong way to use it. Do what works for you. It is fine to go off on tangents - they often produce the most interesting pieces!

She said to Catch ideas when you have them - jot them down or do a little drawing- on a recipt, a paper napkin, anything you have on you, you can draw or write on.

Seriously, I cannot say more than go out and get the book if its the way you want to go with your work!

My favourite thing she told me - that I'm not the only one who starts the piece I want to do and then does sketchbook work to go with it ;)

The doorway to the WISP.

Oh my. I didn't mean to leave it so long between posts!

Inspiration has finally struck for my doors and windows piece for textilechallenges, although the deadline has been and gone, so I've just set my own one and hope to enter it into an EG competition in September (If I keep my nerve!). Its becoming a work in slow progress as I'm having trouble with time and energy at the moment. It appears I may be borderline anemic
Its been inspired by the doorway to the city walls (ramparts) literally just down the road from my flat.


Its going to be "a doorway to creativity" - So, I will have a door surround, the scene behind the door, and an actual door that can be opened.

And I found the perfect door:
and hinges while in the lake district - more about that to follow!

This is the work in progress so far. Its on a backing of muslin. There is a layer underneath of craft vilene - I'm not sure if it is pelmet vilene - which I have constructed the background out of.I've cut holes out which are the stonework of the doorway and I have have painted it with some fabric paint to be grey/silver/pearly white colours.
Over the top is some silver covered mesh fabric I got in the remanents bin at the fabric shop.
All the stonework is going to be done in french knots - yes, I've finally conquered them! - The outer edge and inner edge in the darker grey and all the stones will be in the lighter grey.
This is a close up of the piece where you can see the different parts I've mentioned.For the centre part of this I am thinking of cutting and turning it to the back so it becomes a frame for the abstract central piece I will do once this is finished.

Now, I have to get on with this as I have inchies and beads to make for textilechallenges too!Am just hoping I don't lose my nerve!This is the most advanced an complicated piece I've done so far!