Raincloud

'Raincloud hang around' is the title of a new album by Earl Pickens and Family from Lewisburg Pennsylvania. The cover art is by yours truly.

The album isn't released yet but will be soon and I get Royalties!

Earl Pickens (not his real name) contacted me a while ago after browsing etsy for inspiration for his new album cover and liked what I did.

 He sent me a little drawing of a raincloud raining on a flower and said 'do your thing.' All he wanted was 'edges.'

 I had so much fun doing this. Its the best kind of commission. Nothing worse than someone commissioning you to do something but being too prescriptive(..or should that be pro scriptive?)thats not going to be your usual style.

He is an absolute star, lovely to deal with. 

 I made a piece of felt with areas of colour, and freely stitched the flowers and leaves as part of the edge. Then I decided it was a bit flat so I cut out the stitched bits and moved it over and attached it again. There were many edges.

I had a lovely piece of grey felt with silk fibres so I stitched a raincloud onto it and attached that.

 Believe it or not the bit that took the longest time was the rain. I had a few attempts at it before I was satisfied.

 I stitched the words separately and he said he'd superimpose them but in the end he's going to make them the cover of the actual disc.

 I had a great but sewing time embellishing the flowers with French knots and other bits.

 I scanned the artwork to send to him. Its very hard to photograph it. The light tends to bounce back so instead of the rich deep colours it looks pale and blanched.

 This is a photograph of it as the actual cover, I didn't take this so I hope he doesn't mind me downloading his photo.

Click here for more information

The back of the album is going to be a picture of the back of the embroidery. 

          There are no rainclouds hanging around here today so I think I may be outside pulling weeds out.

Bosky.

Green . Is it envy? Jealous hearts? The green-eyed monster?

Or is it Naivety? Innocence? 

Or do you think of the green that is connected with the environment?

Well I would like to use the thesaurus for my definition: 

Definition: young,new,blooming

Synonyms: bosky,budding, burgeoning, callow, developing,flourishing, foliate, fresh, grassy, growing, half-formed, immature, infant, juvenile, leafy, lush, maturing, pliable, puerile, pullulating, raw, recent, sprouting, supple, tender, undecayed, undried, unfledged, ungrown, unripe, unseasoned, verdant, verduous, youthful

BOSKY!  What a wonderful word.
In my failed attempt to achieve palest duck egg dyed velvet I have managed to produce a lot of shades of shades of green and have made some Bosky Brooches.

Tender brooches?

 And big.

These are all long  brooches.

This one has kisses. 

and this one is a bit buttoned up. 

 My favourite is this polka dot one.

Now I've started with the dots  I feel a dotless heart is a little naked. 

'Verduant'

Or should that be a spotless heart?

All will be available in my etsy shop but if they are anything like the last batch they won't be there long.

Moving on..

This is the progress I've made with the piece I started before I went to Ireland.

If I hadn't already committed myself to this, there might have been pictures inspired by the Burren here today. 

However I've added some bits of seaweed

 and incorporated most of the pieces I made earlier, although one old and one new didn't make the final cut so to speak.

 I'm quite pleased with some of the new pieces. I particularly like this squiddy-bit for the way the different colours of felt have separated nicely into panels with the stitched lines.

 It took AGES of moving and placing and trying and re-trying to get all these into some sort of pleasing composition but once I 'let go' of two pieces it came together well.

 I have to confess that I used dabs of fabric glue to hold them in place before stitching them  down.

Then finally added the finishing touches with some hand stitch.

Thats the really fun bit but sometimes I just don't know when to stop!

I think Its finished now.

But as usual mounting is an issue. 

(I am having a very discerning visitor today so I shall ask her advice)

More and more fishy...

 The attempt at reality in the last post has given way to a bit of fantasy stitching.

 Its 'elements of fishiness' rather than fish.

 I did it late last night and am quite excited about it but on the other hand wonder if it works?

 I once did a big piece with these elements all in one piece but for this I will make separate elements as in the past.

 I like the colours,

 I like the textures,

 and I enjoy the fantasy.

 But will anyone else?

 So I decided to get a bit of a scientific perspective by googling some sea creatures.

Now I don't want to go into the water.

Fishy February

Where have I been since the last post? I don't really know. The time was once when I would photograph everything I did and blog about it but I suppose after 4 years the novelty has worn off.

 Its not that I haven't been doing anything . I've been busy-ish.

After the last post I made a brooch I absolutely love.

Its in my etsy shop but I don't know how I'll cope when it goes!

I've had my hair cut. Hetty's had her hair cut.

ermm..

I've read some books.

ermm...

I've been playing internet scrabble and winning some, but losing to a lovely lady called Patricia. I keep trying.

I have also been rather shocked by a 'scrabbler' who hoped I wanted to 'chat.' 

A young woman. 

I clicked ono her fb page where it says she is training in massage, and there were lots of photos of her wearing black, and some comments saying she was looking for middle aged ladies. 

Well I'm no longer middle aged and judging by the photos, she wasn't looking to sort out my sciatica or realign my chakras!

 I'd forfeit but I'm winning.

I've run out of all my making 'ingredients' at once so have had to buy new threads from Silken strands:

and new velvet which I have to dye.(urgh! Hate dyeing)  This time I bought it from 

Beckfords mill...cheaper carriage than Whaleys so for just one metre it was a better value.

New card for my labels from The paper mill shop

(Its white card..no pic needed)

And new brooch backs from Angela at The Bobbin Patch.

I recommend all these places for quick delivery and excellent service.

So for the moment I've had a lot going out and only a little coming in. Oh dear.

I've had a little play with some ideas for work for an exhibition in Summer.

I wanted to do 'collective nouns' so I started with ideas about a shoal of fish. Years ago I was a good drawer..but now I freeze up when I want something to be right.

I started some sketches in a little 'best sketchbook' but they weren't right. Then I went up to my sewing room and did some doodles on the back of a letter and they were more like it. This is all I've come up with for now. Just to see how it worked.

  From those I did some samples .

When I went to the felt group I made a piece with vaguely fishy shapes which I intend to stitch but I'm not liking the way its going. I think all will disappear into the background once stitched but I must give it a go.

I've also at last finished the final two pieces of the six I cut from a large piece of felt ages ago.

Here are the first four I made which I've already shown.

And these are the other two with details. I made the large motif separately ages ago.

And I've done a bit of gardening  weeding.

However, judging by the look of my front flowerbed which has sunk lower every year after substantial neglect and sporadic grass removal,  and is now a low lying clay sump full of water, I think the only way to go, as with my sewing, might be fish!