Exhibition

I took the time on Saturday to have a look at a small exhibition that was on display at a Library fairly near by.  I had read on Sue Stone's ( U.K.) Facebook page that It was coming to my area and that she had a piece displayed in it.  The exhibition was called "Baltic Mini Textile Gdynia i"  and is quoted as being one of Europe's Leading reviews of textile Miniatures.  The works are all 20x20x20c, which makes it easy to transport and display.  The display was mounted by The Warwick Art Gallery (Qld Australia) in partnership with Gdynia City Museum Poland who curated the works displayed. ( I will take a few days to show the pieces that caught my eye.)

I found the piece by Sue Stone easily.  I had seen this piece before but didn't realise it's size.  When I looked into it I was able to see the intense detail in the background stitching.  (Her signature fish was in the picture.)

The gallery is housed in a space in the Capalaba Library and this is an out of the way location.  Good for me because I had the place to myself.  (I asked the attendant if I could take photos and she didn't have any information that I couldn't, so I did.)  I was able to really look at every piece on display. 

This piece was cross stitch on Aida cloth and showed a really good use of colour and direction.  Simple but complex.

There were some work by Queensland artists, two of whom I know.  That was a bit of a surprise.

The top one

and the second.

And I was taken by this free form crochet piece.

I had to look at this one a couple of times before I saw the image.

To be continued....

Along with everything else...

As you have probably gathered I love knitting.  I also really enjoy Kate Davies blog.  At the moment she is looking at the "Blue Stocking" movement, if that is the right word for it.  She and others are working on a book about this and recreating some of the knitted "blue stockings".  This blog post is really interesting and in fact I may even embark on knitting some "Blue Stockings" myself. 

We often use this term in a throw away manner.  "Oh she is a blue stocking".  It will be good to really investigate Elizabeth Montagu and just what made people call her a "Blue Stocking".

You can read more about this project here.

WIPW

I am continuing with the two quilts that I talked about yesterday.  I have to learn how to do graffitti lettering to put messages on the brick walls that will make up the borders around the quilt.  First I will try on paper, then draw onto fabric and finally applique this into position.  I have found a site on-line that teaches

"graffitti art for beginners." I'm not going to rush it.

And I am just researching a new project which is based around where I live.  I want to do small embroideries, that will fit into those hoops, around local themes.  I am going to start with shells.  A walk along the beach has given me a collection of small shells to start with.

I think that I need to sketch and draw them and then maybe put them into vector drawings.  I can do those whilst I supervise lessons.  And I still have all that other stuff to finish!!!

 

Home Again

Well I took that trip to Toowoomba.  I drove up on the Saturday after staying the night at the city town house.  That gave me the opportunity to have dinner with my son at “Place of Stones”.  They make great pizza’s.

There seemed to be a lot of traffic on the road but everything moved along at a good pace.  I stopped at a country market for breakfast and arrived with 10 mins to spare.  That drive is always pleasant when there are no big trucks to monster you.

The weather was cool and crisp.  Clear bright sky’s and cold nights.

 I stayed with my friend and was glad that I put in my thermals to put under my night clothes.  All the deciduous trees were just about to shake off the last of their leaves and embrace winter. 

The cool weather encourages some of the flowers and the camellias were beautiful.

I didn’t have any time for shopping but got a good part of my donation quilt finished.    The thing with using left overs and not having a set pattern is that you have to be prepared for twists and turns and quite a bit of reverse sewing.  Those printed blocks are never quite square but that is what catches the eye first, so, you have to adjust the sashing to accommodate this.

I drew that last graffiti panel for the other quilt and was able to get advice from my friends about just what was needed to finish it.  This quilt has sat in the draw unfinished for ages but I can now see a way forward and actually think I will finish it!

I left in the early afternoon and had an uneventful drive home.  My husband rang to say hurry as we were going out to dinner for my grand daughter, Jasmine’s birthday.  More driving to get back to the city but it was a nice night and we brought the other grand daughter home with us for home schooling this week.  I then  fell into bed and slept.  I left all the washing until the next day and did this between supervising lessons.  I need to set aside another day to go back and hit the shops.  Trouble is I don’t really need anything at the moment but I do love spending time with my friends up there.

I love this fabric

There is one print in the Tilda Woodland range that I love above all others and it is this one.

I fussy cut it to make a box bag and lined it with the blue fabric.  I went back to the shop and bought the end of the rolls, not much, just enough to make some more bags.

This one I made as a gift for my patchwork friend.  The bags are so roomy and in this case held almost 2m of fabric.

I must remember to make a bag for myself.

WIPW

I am not quite as well as I thought but I am improving.  I hope to go to Toowoomba this weekend but I will not make a final decision until Friday.  I still have to prepare the work I will take with me, so that is what I am doing at the moment.

There are 2 quilts I want to finish the piecing and then quilt.  The first is made up of Peter Bunny prints.  I have made one quilt from this fabric but still had a lot left over.  These panels are not straight so they need to be unpicked and resewn, then the rest of the panels added to make a quilt.  This will be a donation quilt.

The second is another quilt that I have put away and not finished.  It needs one more graffitti block to be added, I have a dog coming out of a manhole that I want to put in.  Then I have to think about the borders.  But, I might be better without any borders?  I intend to get the opinion of the other ladies who will be there.

And as winter is fast approaching and I don't see well at night I am continuing with my knitting.

I always take too much away with me for these weekends so this time I am being prudent.

Recovering

I have been really ill for the past 3 weeks but am finally starting to surface again.  I have managed to teach a couple of classes using the mini frames, which are a great way of completing a small project in a half day class.  Trouble is those screws that come with the the frames seem to be very attractive to "Peskies" who really like them. They can disappear in front of your eyes.

The larger frame (approx. 4cm round)  is the better one for beginners and the linen fabric looks good, but, I am liking the smaller ones as well. (3cm)

But they are small and the parts are small.  Drop a screw and it is gone forever.  This is stitched on cotton and there certainly is a difference.  I think they should all be stitched on linen.   Attaching the cord is a bit of a problem.  I think that I will need to add a small metal ring over the shaft of the screw, that means a trip to buy some more supplies.

I have some ideas for making a range based on local flora and fauna for sale in our local gallery.   I am thinking of adding them to key rings as another alternative.  I think that I will also start some experiments coating them in clear resin.  They will make a good sale item and are not too labour intensive.

WIPW

I have been in the grip of this bug for 3 weeks now and recovery is sooo slow.  Just when I think I am recovering I find myself laid low again.  I have a class coming up on Saturday so that has been my first priority.

I have partially prepared kits all over the over the place.

At the last minute I have decided to change thing by including a second frame.  This one is smaller.  This will allow students the chance to repeat the project in another size.

I also was not happy with my knitting so, it has come been pulled undone and re-knitted on a smaller sized set of needles.

I am much happier with this.

 

Where I live

We have had quite a lot of rain over the last 24 hours and it has turned quite cool.  Cold enough to put on a cardigan and button it up.  The rain has flushed lot of insects out of the ground and the Kookaburras and Magpies are feasting on them and getting very wet.  I have been watching the caterpillars which are on the move at the moment.  The seem to join up head to tail to make one giant animal.

We have been having some wonderful sunsets lately.  They bring joy to my soul.

One thing about the wet weather is that I don't feel guilty just sitting and sewing.

WIPW

I have started work on the embroidered jewelry.  The designs are small, stitched with one thread and there is little room for error.  I don't like some of the stitches that are recommended, especially when worked in 1 strand of embroidery thread, so have decided to choose my own stitches.  Having said that the designs are sweet but the black fabric just attracts dust and lint.  I'm going to have to get rid of that.

I keep working on these box bags trying to get the perfect finish.  (Some of the ladies in my patchwork group only know one way to stitch, perfectly.) I didn't stitch enough small embroideries for this one.  It just isn't balanced so I'm going to have to use it at home.

I have now switched to some of the Tilda Woodlands range that I bought a while ago and I love it.  What I didn't get was some of the plain fabric.  Hope my patchwork shop has that in stock.