I'm rather embarrassed about the length of time since my last post. Started off with the excuse that we moved to Dorset but that was now over three months ago so I'll just move on.......
We have settled well in our new house and as it was brand new, we were able to move in without any further work. We have had the garden to do so that has taken some time recently but as it is quite small, I can't use that as an excuse. I got my workroom sorted quickly too and the best thing is I have my own room so no more having to clear away when the grandchildren come to stay.
It's not massive but I managed to get all my things in and with less space, I have to keep it tidy. So far, so good!
My only regret is that my large Perspex table that I used with my Bernina is too big for the desk so at the moment I have had to resort to the small extension table that came with the machine. I have seen that Cotton Patch do a similar one (a lot cheaper than the Bernina one!) but I am having trouble deciding which size to get.
I have been busy with a few projects......
... the first one was a quilt for a friend's new baby boy. We are caravan neighbours so I went for a seaside theme. Baby Paul has now arrived and Mum and Dad loved the quilt.
I have also decided to have another go at selling online, this time giving Etsy a go. I will start with some of the items I already have ready and will also include some of my framed textile art. I've also planned to make some mounted arrangements of inchies, something I have done in the past as part of my themes on rust and maps. For these new ones I am going to have colour themes but choose colours that can relate to occasions and anniversaries. So far I've done purple (just because I like it!), red (Ruby Anniversary) and white/silver (Weddings and Silver Anniversary); will go on to gold next.
For each set I started by creating a felt base on my Embellisher, incorporating various fabrics and fibres including organza, scrim, netting and silk. I then added beads, buttons, sequins, ribbon, lace or hand stitches before finishing the edge with buttonhole stitch.
I have also done some work in my sketchbook, but not as much as I wanted to. The first two pages are based on some of the many photos I have taken of beach huts we've seen since we moved. I've included photos, some gelli plate printed deli paper, some stitched applique and some hand stitching. I found the colours particularly inspired these pages.
The second page uses car park tickets as the background which I printed with the gelli plate, adding some cut lettering to finish.
Hopefully there won't be a long wait until my next post.
