Mixed Media Dabble

I have long been a fan of Maggie Grey having been to a couple of workshops with her while I was a member of Context some years ago as well as subscribing to her Workshop on the Web (WOW).  Things have changed with WOW and now instead of the workshops being published online, there is now a WOWbook that was first published in December with the plan to print two each year.  I personally like this more than the online format as I always printed them off so to have a book is much better for me.

As well as the book, there are also some extra online workshops, including a mixed media course that Maggie has written.  I spent some time last week having a go at the first ideas and plan to continue my way through the ideas soon.

After starting with an exercise with the colour wheel, it progressed on to making colour charts with torn magazines.  Also had to look at pictures etc that appealed, collecting ideas together on Pinterest to  help to show coloured preferences.

We then moved on to explore tint and shade, first using a stencil with gesso and paint on paper and Vilene and then ink and bleach using mountboard.

  

I think I was a bit heavy handed in places with the Gesso so I only added stitch to the right hand side where the squares are more defined.

   

Love the shell designs I used and have some ideas going round my head for using again.

I've come to a halt on the course as the next stage is using Decovil which I know I have but can't find it anywhere! 

I've loved having a play and doing things that I would not have done on my own and although I may not use all the ideas again, it has sparked ideas that I want to have a go at and maybe take further.

Extra project

I've had time off from my Woodland Blanket as I'd caught up well so should be finished by the end of this week when the edging info comes out.

Before my holiday, on a visit to Sherborne, I bought a skein of yarn from The Slipped Stitch a lovely yarn shop that I always have to visit when I'm in Sherborne.   Not only do they have a wonderful range of yarn, they also have some yarns hand dyed by themselves as well as independent dyers.

This is Oh-So-Fine DK by Cat and Sparrow and is a mix of Bluefaced Leicester and Silk - 45% silk so it is lovely and soft.  The colour is called Gold Digger and as you can see is a mix of maroon and gold.

I decided to make a cowl with it using a pattern by Jennifer Dickerson called Caterina Cowl which I found on Ravelry.   As I had DK and the pattern was for aran yarn, I used a 5.00 hook which worked out fine.  In the end I decided to use up all the yarn to have more of an infinity scarf.  It was very quick and easy so I finished it in a few hours.

Definitely one I will try again - maybe everyone will get one for Christmas this year!

Woodland Blanket update

I'm having to work hard on my Woodland Blanket to make up for lost time while we were away!  I try to get four stripes done each day and if I keep it up I should catch up by the end of the month.

This is a photo I took a few days ago so it has grown even more since then and I've got to the start of the blue sky rows.

It's looking fab! 

February JQ

For my February Journal Quilt I continued my journey around the colour wheel, moving from red to red and orange.  It's not strictly on the wheel but a combination of two colours suits my plan for this year rather than the accepted red-orange.

I started with a piece of the same red fabric I used in January, placing it on the corner slightly to one side and used different width strips in a combination of plain orange and red fabric as well as some orange fabric I printed with red fabric paint using bubble wrap on a gelli plate.  I also put in some extra folded strips of red for accent.

It's the quilting of the finished block that always gets me stumped and this was no exception.  In the end I opted for quilting in the ditch on each strip as well as free machine quilting in a bubble pattern on the plain orange strips using an orange, red and yellow variegated thread.

The finished quilt was then bound with some fabric that had also been printed with the bubble wrap.

Once again I found the second print was better than the first but I think this is because I was putting too much paint on the gelli plate - this must be a difference between fabric paint and the acrylic paint I normally use - so next time I will be more sparing with the paint.

Dyeing orange fabric

On my trip round the colour wheel for this year's Journal Quilts, I was horrified to find for the February one I had no orange fabric so this week I set to and created some.

Now my dyeing practice in the past has always been a 'chuck it all in and see what comes out' but this time round as I wanted a particular colour I thought I would be more methodical. As usual, I  turn to "Dyeing in Plastic Bags" by Helen Deighan and used her methods and recipes and even went as far as recording the recipes I used for the dyes and the salt and soda solutions.  I also pre-marked my fabric samples and made a note of the quantities of dyes I had used so hopefully I can recreate it a need them again.

I found being organised has made me more aware of the colours I achieved and also where they weren't quite right I can tell from the colours I used how I can adjust them next time.   Once the main samples were done I used up the dyes I'd mixed with a bit of   'chuck it all in and see what comes out'.

Really pleased with the results and look forward to using them on February and March's JQs.

The fabrics along the bottom are the eight pieces I was systematic about, mixing lemon yellow and golden yellow with scarlet and magenta.  The two red/pink ones were using 2:1 yellow to magenta.  The other fabrics were the others which used up the orange dyes I have left, some with red added.

Holiday Crochet

Before we went on holiday I had a big debate, mainly with myself, about whether or not to take any crochet work with me.   I couldn't really see when I would be able to do any and the thought of hot sweaty hands crocheting on a sandy beach didn't really encourage me.

When I shared this with my crochet daughter, she was horrified as she wouldn't go anywhere without something to do.  I also mentioned it when I was visiting a wool shop and again the lady there said she was sure I'd regret it if I didn't take anything.

So, as I had started a shawl for my non-crochet daughter and had rather neglected it once I had started on my Woodland Blanket, I decided to take it with me and see what happened.

Well I'm glad I did, because it filled the time between getting back to the hotel after and day on the beach while relaxing before dinner.  And as a bonus I got it finished!

I yet again used the Maid of Honour Shawl pattern by Buttonnose Crochet, and again made it using Scheepjes Whirl this time in Blueberry Bambam.   I don't think I will ever tire of this yarn as the graduations of colour really do all the work for you.

  

Holiday Inspiration

We've just returned from two weeks in the sun in Gran Canaria - not the first time we've been and hopefully won't be the last!

Following our visit last year, I used the inspiration from the local flora as my theme for my 2017 Journal Quilts.  My post about this can be found here.  Once again I was drawn to the trees around the hotel grounds and saw patterns and textures everywhere I looked so I came back armed with  photos and hopefully they will be translated in to some form of textile art in the coming year.

Here's a few to show you what I mean........