About time....

This is meant to be a craft blog which is why I haven't done a new post for a while. I haven't been doing any craft! However I still managed to make it to the top and near the top of 'Top Blogs by Crafters' so despite my absence there have been visitors clicking through to get me up there. Thank you.

 I really couldn't do another 'nothing to show' post!

 There has been an unfortunate incident since my last post. I used to describe our house as 'the house with balls' but not any more. Here they were one snowy day (scroll down) but now they've gone. Nicked, stolen, thieved, lifted, taken....and the same name always comes up in our village and no-one ever does anything about it.

Meanwhile I pass a garden every day where there are some cowslip seed heads and have to knock on the door to ask if I may pick one or two. Ah well everyone's different I suppose.

 Anyway..thanks for all the lovely comments on the last post. I didn't get much replying done as my Mum has been a little unwell.......feeling down after the lovely week in Scarborough, so I've been a bit busy.

And we had a lovely family party for Joe's 31st Birthday. A happy time to record here . A whirlwind two hours eating and laughing. Just enough!

So..onto the makes.

I've had two 'areas' on the go. I had to make some brooches for the wonderful Found Gallery in Dunbar and they asked for some wall pieces as well.

During the brooch making I made a mistake with the thread for one brooch..I accidentally picked up this chocolatey-brown-shaded-to-cream instead of a tan and I am in love with the combination.

I have also made the nicest brooch I have ever made..I say that again..yes..I love the colours although not an obvious combination and its unrepeatable because I have none of that particular orange left and I'm rubbish at dyeing with accuracy so am unlikely to get it again.

 This is it.

So..some gratuitous brooch pictures to make up for the lack of them recently.

(How do I stop white backgrounds looking pink? Yes I know its something to do with white balance but I don't know how to change it if anyone has any ideas with a canon powershot s95 I'd welcome them)

Now..I've also used different colours in a new embroidery. I don't know if it works but I thought I'd give them a go. I made the base with pre-felts on a mixed red/orange/cerise background

I like how this orange bit in the centre glows.

I enjoyed doing it. Its not miniature and its not huge just a nice 7- 8 inch square-ish. I haven't measured..just guessed.

 I love working on the little hand stitched details.

 then going back over a few areas with machine stitch.

I've got another one in the same colours in the pipeline.

I think I'm going to sew them to calico and stretch them over a card mount to keep any 'shipping ' costs low if I sell them. 

This has been a problem of late. 

Works which have been stretched onto frames have proved to be too expensive to send overseas with insurance. It didn't used to bother me but since the piece I sent to Australia didn't arrive it bothers me .

It will be quiet here for a while. We are going to squeeze in a week in Greece. Symi to be precise. We were a bit stuck for a dog sitter and then my son decided he'd like a holiday  in our house here so all will be well. Hetty will have fun with Fin and friends.

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.

The suspense!

The giveaway is now closed for judging.
Thank you for all your comments. I have decided to copy and paste them all into a document and hand them over to the impartial judging panel..(two of my friends) and let them decide. I think thats very fair.
I'll post up the winner tomorrow evening so watch this space.

I have not been idle though.
I've been working on two orders for two gallery shops. Lazyhill Gallery in Abbotsbury Dorset and
The Found Gallery in Dunbar, East Lothian.
I feel so honoured to be associated with these two beautiful places.

I also sent my fishy piece to Ramster Textile exhibition. My mounting decision was made last week. I covered two narrow sided canvases with unbleached calico and stitched the pieces on. In teh end it was teh best decision as they needed to be light enough to send , and also narrow enough to frame if a buyer wanted to. 

Here they are ready for off. 20x20 inches..too big for Royal mail next day delivery so I had to spend a fortune and use Parcelforce. 

I hope its worth it.

I won't even know if they've been selected unless one of you dear readers visits the exhibition and tells me!

PS Have any other bloggers out there been invited to the preview of the 'Products' associated with the Pompeii exhibition at the British Museum? I have but I can't afford the train fare and I can't imagine how they think I'm 'press'! I'd die of embarrassment if anyone asked who I was.

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!