Making Progress.....

I've been working on my Stef Francis project this week.....above are a few details showing how far I've got. There's still lots to do......

This is how it started....

.....with a bit of help from Peachy :-)

Then it involved some maths...... :-/

...lots of cutting and bonding......

.......and choosing of threads and beads.

The final stage is hand-stitching and beading.....which I'm loving doing.

And there are enough pieces left over to make another 3 or 4!

I've decided to join in with Jude Hill's Magic Feather Project (see link in side bar).... if you visit her blog you'll see she's kindly giving free tutorials and lots of information regarding the project.
My first attempt was a bit too large and clumsy (I'm not good with satin stitch :-/ )

So I had another go and maybe this one will be sent to Jude...along with a couple of others hopefully.
She's aiming for 1000!! If you visit her blog you'll see the 143 she's already received. I think there's a Flickr group too (and Facebook).

And finally.......a lesson in how to relax from The Grand Master. He has it off to a fine art.......

Just wish I had his gift :-)

FOQ Part 2

As promised here are some more photos from the Festival of Quilts. Sorry there are no full sized ones....I prefer to record details. If you'd like to see some full-sized quilts, Julie has some fantastic photos and information on her blog and Maggi  has some great slide shows and photos ...I recommend you visit both! 

These are just a small selection pf my photos (thank you Maggi for the loan of your camera on the day - can you believe I forgot mine!!!!!)

Thank goodness I remembered my purse.......... :-)

 Beautiful, textured felt from C21st Yarns........

 A luscious kit from Stef Frances that I can't wait to start on.....

 A wonderful book from Ineke Berlyn.....

 And another from Maggie Grey......so many great ideas!

 Fat quarters......

And mulberry bark.
I think that's about it :-) Apart from loads of postcards, greetings cards and pretty business cards.
Roll on the Knitting and Stitching Show!!!! (Remind me to take my camera Maggi)

Last week we went to Knaresborough again for the arts festival.......that will have to wait for the next post. But before I go......a couple more photos. When I collected Peachy from the cattery at the end of our holiday......

 .......the owner took me to see one of the other 'guests' who had surprised her by giving birth to 6 kittens half way through her 2 week stay!!!! The owners didn't say anything about her being pregnant so they'll have a surprise when they get home :-) Wonder if they'll get charged extra!

Click on photo for full ahhhhh-factor :-)

Festival of Quilts

Had a fabulous day at the Festival of Quilts today with Maggi. Met up with the lovely Julie , drooled over the most amazing artwork, attended a brilliant lecture by Maggie Grey and spent quite a bit of money (more pics to come tomorrow). I'm off to bed now...... :-)

A sample of some of the delights on display.......

Macro Magic.....

Since discovering the macro setting on my camera I've become a little bit obsessed with the centres of flowers...

...and other things.....

Not forgetting the cordyline bark ;-) (This section is actually about 1cm in size).

Scary!!!!

Now I need to do something with them........

Please click on photos for more detail!!

Birthday Weekend

Just had a wonderful birthday weekend......spent Saturday with Maggi at a Living Threads workshop creating pictures on our embellishing machines (see above). They aren't finished yet; I intend doing some hand-stitching and beading.
Then on Sunday I got lots of lovely presents and went to a fab restaurant for Sunday dinner with my husband, son, daughter and mum. Happy days!!

Peachy sent me a card - of course ;-)

Yesterday afternoon whilst playing with my new(ish) Panasonic Lumix camera I discovered a macro setting and had fun playing with that for an hour. Results aren't great yet...but I'll keep practising! (DH keeps saying 'read the instruction manual!' but I'd rather find out by playing and fiddling. Anyone else like me? ( I HATE manuals)

Cone flowers, fuchsia, clematis, cosmos........

Before I forget..... a blogging friend of mine has three wonderful places to visit if you have a spare moment. Lots of interesting stuff and inspiration to be found! I can definitely recommend.......

http://morna.tumblr.com
http://mornacrites-moore.blogspot.com
http://www.mornacrites-moore.com