Tulips and eco-books

The sun is out, look how the tulips have opened up, lovely patterns of black and yellow inside.

 

Red ones and streaky red/yellow ones - these two pics are of established tulips . . . .

. . . now here come the new ones, lovely colours

. . . plus a crazy one . . .

. . . and multi-petalled ones . . .

 

. . . and a fringed one (never seen one of these before).

And the eco-books, so-called because they are made with a cereal packet card cover, and paper that I was going to chuck out (it's old, I don't want so much, I'll never use it all), and the stitched cover into which the book is inserted is made by free machining scraps of fabric onto a wadding-type backing, plus a lining.

When the book is full, with shopping lists, things to remember, things to do, inspiring thought for the day etc etc a fresh one can be made, with more cereal packet and chuckout paper, and inserted into the stitched cover!

If you fancy one of these and are going to the Festival of Quilts in August in Birmingham (see Twisted Thread website), go to the Tombola stand, run this year by the Contemporary Quilt group (special interest group within the Quilters' Guild)  and stocked with book covers and bookwraps, and try to win one.  Good luck!

Feeling nervous . . .

. . . about trying to do things with this new layout. The answer is, have a go.  So, first, the inevitable books . . .

 

 . . . the most important things in the world at the moment, I am told by the grandchildren, are BOOTS.

 And the West Country Embroiderers in April, with Karen Head, was making a piece of felt with threads and bits decorating it, the secret of how to stop them falling off!  I couldn't stay all day, because of the boot wearers visiting, so went back lunchtime and made a bit with them (and forgot to take a photo!)

 Later I made another at home with a bit more stuff on it.

 Closeups of the two pieces, showing the threads better.

 A day out took us to West Bay and the famous Broadchurch cliff (did you see the crime serial on tv?)

 I love the pebbles, tiny little ones at this end of Chesil Beach.

 Lastly, the first four Contemporary Quilt Group journal quilts.  This year we have to have picked a theme and must stick with it for the year.  Mine is patterns from world alphabets.  First I introduce myself, using letters from the Touareg  orthography plus printed 'translation'.

 Then a rotation of a Gujurat letter

 Then repeats of a Tamil letter

 And a Tibetan rotation on indigo dyed fabric.

The letters are cut out of printed and painted sheets from an old CQ newsletter and are handstitched in place on background fabrics suited to the origin of each letter.

Phew.  Now let's see if it publishes properly.

Tried again . . .

. . . to sort the blog out and have arrived at another layout which seems ok now except for the header picture, which is a really odd size and is not really the one I want, just one I was trying out and then haven't been able to change!!! Frustration!!!
  But there have to be some pictures, so how about a nice heart, discovered by DH when he sawed up a bit of wood and placed the 2 bits side by side.

And snow, of course, but last month, not this, heavy but not lasting.

But a visiting thrush found the Bavarian birdhouse good for a bit of shelter.

 

I have to get back to taking some photos, but it is so grey, wet and cold.  But we are not snowed up and have power and clear roads, so not so much to get down about!

New Look . . . but . . .

. . .  how do I get to the background mechanisms that let me do a new post, edit stuff etc??  IThere are no links to any of that on the blog page itself.  I got here by googling 'blogspot' and clicking on 'Blogger:  Create your free Blog', the main title of the top entry of the Google list.
 So that is a bit silly. 

Anyway, some intersting shapes -  a pond plant . . .

 

I can't resist leaves changing colour.

                            

And the squirrels had a good lunch here . . .

 

A collection of book covers . . .

 

. . .  paper, recycled / crumpled up brown, painted, printed on . . .

 

. . .oil pastel resist + wash over / crumpled, painted, printed with party popper, coffee cup (both ends), wine cork, foam square stuck on pencil end  . . . .

Stitched squares, cut up and restitched till small / painted, stamped on, ironed on to interfacing and machine stitched.

Free machining over scraps + sheer overlay.

Hand-stitched bits collaged and embellished.

Some careful running stitch patches / machined down scraps.

Nice lines of hand embroidery on strip patchwork /  painted paper collage machine stitched.

More fabric collage / brown paper + machine stitched lines in various threads.

Raw-edge pieced silk strips + satin stitch grid / running stitched hand-dye + buttons and suffolk puffs.

Pity the photos have come out with that blue tinge.

Upton Country Park visit . . .

. . . in the autumn.

 

The inner harbour looking a bit full, and the familiar railway bridge across the water.

 

Some amazing trees, with huge, twisting branches. 

 

Interesting leaf carpeting  . . .

. . . the big drop is starting.

Complementary colours in the garden . . .

(. . . but first a few plane trails.  Wonder where they are all going?)

 

 It is surprising how much red and green is around in gardens, what with leaves changing colour . . .

 . . .nice juicy fruit . . .

 . . .healthy salads. . .

 . . . food for the winter birds . . .

 . . .and food for us.

 Flowers and their leaves . .

 . . and stretching a point with a warm brown.

 And how about another complementary pair to finish up with?

Summer garden round-up . . .

. . . mostly on the sunny days.

 

 \a very reasonable harvest, sometimes because of the rain, sometimes in spite of.

 

Brightening up the hall . . .

 . . . and a lovely bright carpet in my sister-in-law's garden.

 Yummee, gooseberry jam, gooseberry crumble . . .

 A lonely seed finds a home in an unexpected place.

 Self-seeding poppies . . .

 

 . . .and a bit of beaded embroidery to finish up.  A purse/wallet that's been sitting round for ages unfinished.  It really cheers me up when I take it out in a shop to pay the bill!