And there's more.....

Maggi and I had a great day at the Festival of Quilts on Saturday - the time flew by and I wondered if I would get to see everything, but we did really well and even managed to meet up with Julie and Angela for lunch and a natter.
If you visit Julie's and Maggi's blog you'll see a selection of beautiful quilts.........here are some of my favourites:

Detail from 'Drawn by the Sea' - Sarah-Jane Dixon

'Graceful Dance' -  Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga, the winner of the pictorial quilts section,
Incredibly beautiful.....click for a close-up.

'Jazz Dots' - Cecilia Gonzalez Desedemas

'Eye of the Storm' - Sarah Welsby

'Between the Sheets' - Jacqui Parkinson

'Britain - what it means to you' - Terry Donalson

Detail

'Golden Days - Janina Moore

One of the miniature quilts (approx 6" sq) 'Whirlpool Galaxy' - Dorian Walton (2nd prize)

Winner of the miniature quilts 'Autumn' - Hilary Drake. Tiny pieces of fabric!

'Branching out' - Jenny Rolfe

Detail from Julie's quilt - 'Change' (see full size photo on Julie or Maggi's blog)

A few details from exhibiting artists......

Cas Holmes

Fabric printing demonstration from Claire Benn at Committed to Cloth.

 Frances Pickering kindly posed for a photo and signed the book I bought from her.

And finally something from me.......

A little fabric and paper collage (3" across) made from some scraps provided by Cas Holmes (a stained teabag, some pretty fabric and a piece of old hand embroidery) along with a few things of my own.

Not my usual colour scheme is it? 

Ah well....back to the purple, lime and turquoise tomorrow ;-)

What a day........

Just a quick blast of gorgeousness from the Festival of Quilts at the NEC, where I had a fabulous day yesterday. More details and names of artists to come......

Show and Tell.....

After yet another blogging holiday ;-) I thought it was time to show what I've been up to. I'll try not to be too wordy as there are quite a few photos. I've been busy making things to sell in my daughter's salon, plus I spent a few weeks celebrating my recent 60th birthday. Well that's my excuse..... :-)

Anyway, here goes.........
1. A felted piece for a journal cover .....part done on the embellishing machine, part by hand.

 2. Journals for my daughter's salon/shop.

 3. Also crochet/bead bracelets...

 3. ...and organza flower brooches/hair clips. (Love making these :-) )

 4. A felted/collage card for a friend.

 5. A drawing which I'm in the middle of... (she insists on looking sad although I've tried to cheer her up :-/ )

 6. Gorgeous threads which I bought from Maggi's new online shop  www.maggi21handdyes.com
 I've just ordered some beautiful fabric pieces too. I recommend a visit...she's a whizz with those fabric dyes!

7. A recent holiday in Skiathos (a birthday treat). My favourite Greek Island and our 5th visit :-)

 8. The Beach is back in Nottingham city centre! And yes...we have had a couple of sunny days recently to enjoy it!

 9. Enjoying a San Miguel in the Caribbean-style bar next to the beach.

 And finally......
 10. The Boy
He's grown so much he's struggling to fit on my knee. He wriggles and squirms around, trying to get comfy.......a messy tangle of limbs! Reminds me of this photo from a while back.

Click on pics for a closer look....especially the Peachy one ;-)

Ok....I have 2 days for blog-visiting before I go to Knaresborough on Thursday. For those of you who can get there, Feva arts week starts there on Friday :     http://www.feva.info/UserFiles/Image/files/Programme_2012_PDF.pdf

Fingers crossed for sunshine!

Back again.....

You must be bored of me saying 'I'm back'.... ;-)
I seem to be struggling a bit to create posts these days....and its not easy with this on your knee demanding attention all the time...........

But anyway, as you can see from the above photos, I've been on my travels again....to Pollensa in Majorca. We stayed by the sea in the beautiful old Hotel Miramar which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, but is still as pristine and beautiful as ever . Top left photo was the scene outside the hotel on our last day.... East Midlands airport 6 hours later couldn't have been more of a contrast!!!

I have been making things too..... mainly bracelets to sell in my my daughter's salon.

 This is my work-desk today.

I've worked out how to crochet with beads to create wraparound bracelets. I couldn't find a video of this anywhere - if you know of one please get in touch as I'd like to check I'm doing it properly!

I've also taken Sally-Jean's solder workshop - but sadly I'm not very good at it :-(

These are 3/4 inch and 1 inch charms.....maybe they'll look alright on bead chains. (If you want to see beautiful solder jewellery visit Terri's blog; she definitely has the knack!).

As for my mixed-media work...I'm in the middle of this piece at the moment, just need to add more stitching and some beads.

Sorry if you're fed up with Peachy pics but I just had to include these :-)
I found him lying on the table in the conservatory a few days ago and for a horrible moment I thought he was dead! I checked he was breathing and grabbed my camera....

 ....and as I approached he opened an eye.........phew!!

That boy knows how to relax......


Off now to do some blog visiting......please bear with me if it takes me a couple of days.

Back to the computer.....

I finally finished my domino book! I love how small and cute it is.....

I thoroughly enjoyed Terri's workshop. She has a lovely teaching style.......and lots of great tips and ideas. In fact there are lots more ideas in the videos that I haven't used yet, but I have plans for two more.
Terri's domino books are so beautiful, as you'll see here.

Some more pics of mine......

You may notice a few of my favourite Paper Whimsy images.....and some pressed flowers, torn text, dyed scrim, stamped images, inked edges, ribbons, beads and a charm.

Thank you Terri......I've really enjoyed this little project.

Since my last post I've been to Knaresborough to visit friends, plus I had a lovely day trip to Lincoln with my friends Maggi and Julie.

In Knaresborough we went to the RHS Harlow Carr Garden open day, where we walked miles in the sunshine, saw cookery and gardening demonstrations........

.......plus two fighting hares

..........and three gorgeous alpacas!

The colours of the wool are all natural.......no dyes needed.

There are two Betty's tea rooms at Harlow Carr.....we sat outside at the 'rustic' one and ate Fat Rascals with our tea.......

 ....whilst being watched by another fat rascal (after our crumbs).

Maggi, Julie and I had a lovely day in Lincoln. We visited a couple of galleries, admired the stunning angel bridge over the canal......

 ....and the wonderful cathedral.......

It says here that the cathedral was the tallest building in the world for 249 years (1300 - 1549). Some claim to fame, eh?

Maggi spotted the pretty reflections from the stained glass windows on the pillars inside. 

Which reminds me, I mustn't forget to show you the luscious threads she gave me on the day....all dyed by her fair (albeit stained) hands ;-)

She's even labelled the composition of each hank....how thoughtful! (She's a talented girl, as you'll see if you visit her blog. I must congratulate her on finally completing her C&G..... well done Maggi, your quilt is beautiful !)

Now I wonder..... are those thread colours really me.....???? 

I think that's about all for now.....except to say I've been doing Sally Jean Alexanders soldering workshop so I'll be showing you my efforts in my next post.

I can only hope I get better at it......... :-/