More power to the flower

Before I start rambling I have remembered to say a big thank you to everyone who leaves a comment on here. I can't reply to a lot of them that come to me via my 'social' inbox, I don't know why I can't reply, but please be assured that each one means a lot to me and I am really grateful to know that people actually read this blog!

So this has been on here numerous times....

 as has this.

 and this in the last post.

 But I just wanted to show the collection of 6 pieces I sent to The Gallery at the Wharf in Burscough on Sunday.

The one below is inspired by a photo of a pulsatilla I saw on Facebook . Its the most figurative thing I've done but I got the number of petals wrong so its not true to life!

This one I've called 'Clematis' as thats the nearest thing I can think of. It just came out of my head ..(and there's enough wool in there to make another as my dad used to say in relation to wood)

 I like the rich blue backgtound on this and who says 'blue and green should never be seen'?)

 And finally a more typical piece which I've named after the Blue Poppy in the last post. 

 You learn something with every piece you do and I found I love the teal thread on the limey lemon in the picture below.

So there we are. Flower Power on now until the end of August at The Gallery at the Wharf Burscough.

Felt, Museum, and Garden.

Here's a bit of felt at last.  

 I've been invited to exhibit at The Gallery at the Wharf in Burscough for their exhibition 'Flower Power' during the summer.

 So I had to be a bit floral. I don't know if this counts as Floral but I think it does.

 I really like the colour combination here.

Talking of colour combinations.. look at this!

 It was growing in a beautiful garden I visited for 'Art in the Garden' a new venue and new hosts for the event which I've blogged about before. I had been invited to apply but when 'Art and Garden'  came to an end last year I had it in my head that I wouldn't be doing anything in Spring 2014 so gave it a miss. 

I visited though and i shall definitely be applying next year!  It was wonderful

Here's another gorgeous bloom from teh amazing garden.

Last Friday evening we were invited to the opening of the newly refurbished Keswick Museum and Art Gallery. 

Here it is with the new entrance,

 Who would want to look at the exhibits with a view through the entrance to this.

 But here is the reason for our involvement..'The Flintoft Map'. Its there on the wall..huge and heavy and cleaner, a contour map of the lakeland Fells made in around 1860. It was 'approved' at the time by no less than William Wordsworth and John Dalton.

My husband restored it. That sounds easy but it necessitated his organising a wall out, a crane and 6 months in a marine engineering workshop while he worked on it. It was originally displayed flat on the floor which was great for people to see the fells and farms and rivers of Lakeland but now its on the wall and a little difficult to see.

The Museum is delightful with lots of quirky exhibits including a stone xylophone.

This is the view from the front.

We drove up there knowing there would be light refreshments so we booked a meal at a restaurant in Grasmere for later. The Jumble Room.

But HOW SAD!!! The 'refreshments' were FAB_U_LOUS. 

It was very hard not to eat my fill. Tiny circles of quiche with onion relish; teeny savoury scones with cream cheese; cucumber with prawns in lovely dressing;  mini blinis with smoked salmon and an array of little sandwiches.

Followed by ..yes... followed by.. chocolate covered strawberries, mini pavlovas, some little square nutty pistachio-ed gorgeousness.

It was so difficult to resist and I didn't do very well. 

And then we had the meal in Grasmere.

Its official. 

I'm a glutton.

Crewel Intentions

After last weeks post complaining about the dullness of November, today has been a lovely day. The sun was golden and so were the leaves, the house felt warm (could it be because I've switched on 'The Dragon', our little oil filled radiator in the kitchen at heaven knows what cost) and we were a bit tidy! 

Thats because I had a visitor last night, an old friend who had commissioned me to do some pieces.

 But I can't show you those until after the weekend so I'm going to show these instead.

I had a piece of felt in the 'awful swirly carpet' shades.  I started making brooches but then I got a bit carried away stitching something that wouldn't really work as a brooch. 

 And then another.

 They remind me of Crewel work motifs, and rather than put them in the 'not quite a brooch' pile I mounted them on small card covered with calico and I shall put them in my etsy shop. 

 I followed the contours of the coloured areas in the felt and added some deep jewel coloured velvets and stitched with two lovely shaded Natesh threads.

 I put them on this magazine for scale but then realised you might not know its a small half A4 magazine.

 Well I've told you now so you know. 

 But just in case, I've stood them up against my sewing box in all the muddle on the table.

They make a lovely pair.

I keep looking at them wondering where they came from.

My head does surprise me sometimes.

Prettiness

 When confronted with a bag full of delicious colours I wouldn't normally use, I get all excited. 

Thats what happened last week when I went into college to teach felt making to two groups of A level students.

 We opened the new  consignment of wool. Oohh...delicious colours fell out. 

I was in paroxyms of delight, they not so thrilled. 

I looked at their lovely little faces looking up at me from around the table and it reminded me of this.

After they'd all made their first piece of felt, I showed them how to build up a design using pre-felts.

Mine was all delicate and feminine..like sugared almonds.

(The background is not meant to harmonise so well...my white balance is all to pot but I don't know how to alter it)

 It didn't look much before I stitched it. But I like it now.

 I repeated the exercise with the second group in the afternoon and made another. 

So I still have that one to stitch. 

 Isn't it funny though, the difference between me and a class of students? (Apart from their lack of wobble when felt rolling) They made their own pieces of pre-felt and cut bits off them and made their main piece, and when they went, they just left the prefelts behind! 

So obviously, though they gave a good impression of enjoying the lesson,  they had no intention of repeating the exercise.

I think I have come to the end of the line with young students now. I shall retire from the classroom graciously.

And now I have a while lot of prefelts ready made. 

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.