Even more trivia!

Even more trivia because I'm not doing anything at the moment. Well nothing arty anyways. Lots of re-inventing of my house, especially the workroom which is giving me lots of pleasure as space becomes a reality and not a dream. My final cupboard arrives next Tuesday and I should then be able to do the final organisation of stuff in the kitchen which includes all my dyeing things. Its a knock-on effect of moving things from one place to another and then when that place is clear moving stuff from another area and so on and so forth. I am becoming an expert at getting a quart into a pint pot! I have found time to cut out a pair of trousers and a matching little strappy top for Fenella in some of my hand-dyed fabric. Pictures when I've managed to sew them. Don't hold your breath! They are for the summer so I have time.

Trivia, just trivia!

This is so true! At the moment! Grin!

You Are 100% Happy

It's unlikely that you know anyone happier than you. You know how to be happy, no matter what life throws at you.

How Happy Are You?

Lutradur...the beginning

Today I didn't do any dyeing and the sky didn't fall in! Wonders will never cease! But I did start playing with the Lutradur that I have. It has been patiently sitting in my workroom waiting for me to come and play with it and today was that day. I had two types. One is fairly thick and not so transparent but the other piece is beautifully thin and quite transparent. Firstly I painted several sheets of paper with disperse dyes both in abstract patterns and in natural forms such as seaweed and fish. Then when the paper was dry I ironed them onto the Lutradur. To begin with I had no idea where I was going with it but as it progressed I began to get some ideas. Some months ago I started two pieces of work portraying under the sea scenes with fish etc. I had progressed quite some way with these two pieces but then for no reason I just went off them. It happens! But now I could see that I could use the lighter, more transparent lutradur over the top of them. So far I have just offered it up to see the effect but what I will do is either bond the lutradur to the piece or just lay it over the top and then burn through and add more paint etc plus extra stitching either by hand or machine. The other pieces I shall use to experiment with and see where this leads me. I had almost decided to give up on experimenting to concentrate on a body of work but decided recently that wasn't the road I want to follow. I do not work to exhibit so it really doesn't matter what I do. The main thing is that I actually do something. So I am having fun at the moment playing with my lutradur. I will post more pictures as I progress.

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It is the end of term. Yesterday was my last class until after Easter so I will have some time to think about other things. I have been feeling exceptionally liberated as I organise and clear my house. The new cupboard is wonderful and I can't wait for the second one to arrive as it is bigger and will have more of an impact on things. I am debating whether to get another drawer set to put fabrics in though it will mean getting rid of stuff! Can I do this? I don't know. But I did manage to give away my massive combination microwave and just use my smaller model which made all the difference on the work top. More room for other stuff. The fact that the day after I'd given it away the smaller one gave up the ghost isn't really important! I just went out and bought another one for £24. They are so cheap! I've been wanting to get a new small microwave for ages and now I have! I only use it for my porage in the morning, heating milk and defrosting stuff I've forgotten to get out of the freezer in time. And I got a new steamer so I can use the base of the old one to melt wax in which is great. That wasn't the only reason for changing but it was a very valid reason ....to me! And I went through my larder and threw out everything that was out of date. Some of those jars of stuff(herbs and spices mainly) went back to the 1900's! I won't say what year! Suffice it to say that some of the prices were in £'s, shillings and pence! I even ironed some shirts the other day. Martin is very worried about me!

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Have a very happy Mother's day tomorrow all you who are celebrating this day on this date and don't forget the clocks go forwards. We are losing an hour!

Lutradur. The piece on the left is more transparent and thinner than the piece on the right which is thicker. The first piece is I think about 30gms weight and the other piece 70gms weight. I could be wrong!  

The thinner, more transparent lutradur, dyed with disperse dyes.  

A piece of the thicker lutradur dyed with disperse dyes - for abstract work. This one I will play with in different ways...burning, cutting, stitching, embellishing, machining, painting, etc. 

The second fishy piece which has been stitched and add extra yarn added for texture. 

The first fishy piece - this one has no stitching on it yet.  

Painted lutradur over the first fishy piece  

Painted lutradur over one of the fishy pictures 

Close up showing piece of work under the lutradur 

Closeup of Sunflowers! 

Sunflowers! 

Marigolds! 

Another bright piece! 

Definitely bright! 

Another discharged piece. It was originally purple but was overdyed with brown.  

One of the discharged overdyed pieces. It was mauve previously but then overdyed with Intense Red.  

Fun, fun, fun all the way!

I've had a fantastic day dyeing. I just love playing with colours and fabric and time flew by. I still have one batch to come out of the washing machine. I did some discharge work on a few also rans from a previous batch plus I dyed some 1/2 metre lengths using lots of colours. In fact I went overboard with the colours. Bright is me but this is definitely brighter than bright and I love them. So much so that I may have difficulty cutting into them let alone selling them. It has been bitterly cold here today with a nasty cold wind which seems to find every crack to whistle down and make the house chilly. However I kept the heating on and the dyeing proceeded as normal without a hitch. The cough is still with me so I am going to have another early night but I'll post some pictures of todays efforts. To look at on the table one could have been forgiven for thinking that these pieces were going to come out looking like mud as there was no discernable colour showing at all but in the event they are as colourful as can be. Amazing!

My latest Magic Squares quilt top. All fabrics used were dyed by me.

Nearly a week has gone by!

It has been a very productive week, despite being ill with a tight chest and gungy lungs barely escaping having pneumonia. And on top of all that as if it weren't enough I also hurt my back. How I don't know as one night I was a right as rain and in the morning I could barely move. But I triumphed over all and achieved all I set out to do. There is that wonderful sense of bravery in the face of adversity pervading me at the moment! Grin. But I do have a quilt top to show for it! I started and finished my Magic Squares quilt top and it took less than seven hours to do from start to finish. It is double bed size and would have been completely finished except that I was 2 inches short on the wadding and rather than spoil the ship for a h'porth of tar I decided to order some Warm and Lovely. But it won't take a moment to finish when it comes and I shan't quilt it but will tie it.
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And I managed to write up notes for all the classes I want to teach from next September in the Adult Education program. As well as my regular weekly quilting class I am also going to do 16 mini workshops on all sorts of subjects ranging from painting to postcard making. So I can now relax and just wait for September. Oh I will have to make some samples for the classes but that is the fun part.
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Todays class was the penultimate one before the Easter break and the students had a great time making their versions of the Magic Square Quilt. I took some photos and got permission to post them. We work in a large airy room and no matter how few students turn up we seem to fill every table there. There are nine in the class this term but only six were there today due to various reasons. But we needed all the space!
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The photos are a) of the class b) Mary with her pile of strips busily sewing away c) Ellen with a nearly completed green and red striped block and c) Ellen's block cut and sewn into two squares. This is such a simple pattern to do and makes a quilt top in hours rather than days. Irene, who is the student nearest to the camera in the first group picture said it was the best thing she had ever done!
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So it has been a good week regardless of physical ailments. Hopefully I shall be fully recovered by Monday as I can't have any more time off work. I had last Monday off but struggled in for the rest of the week. I felt like a martyr! Grin
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I am religiously keeping to the rules in the Eat that Frog book and they are working. I am getting more stuff done and out of the way. A great sense of satisfaction. I also finished reading the Twyla Tharp book and decided I didn't like it. Not for me. I personally felt that it related much more to her dance routines even though it wasn't supposed to and wasn't general enough for any craft oriented creativity. I expect lots of people wouldn't agree with me but for my money it wasn't worth it. Too much of what was said had been said before and better, by others. So disagree with me!
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I have also ordered two cupboards so that I can tidy up and create a more serene atmosphere in my living room and kitchen/diner which is where my dyeing stuff lives. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that a tidy house is much more conducive to creative thinking and doing. So you are saying ...what took you so long to come to this opinion? Well I'm slow in some things! And lazy! But the new me is slowly opening up like a flower after rain. I'll get there eventually and it will be the making of me!
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I have a new book and its cold outside...very very cold. So it will be an early night snuggled up under the covers with the book!

Are you sitting comfortably? 

'Don't worry Fred. I won't let you fall!' 

Gig rowing on the Fal 

Restronguet  

Tower House at Trelissick (National Trust property on the River Fal) 

Entrance to Truro Cathedral 

A previously made Magic Squares quilt which my daughter now has.