The Cushions

I didn't realise it had been such a long time since I last blogged - I have heaps to catch up on. Anyway, here are some pics of finished cushions (I've no idea what went wrong with the lighting on this first one as they were all taken at the same time):



The reverse of the above cushion:

The Indian fabrics used were quite loosely woven but the use of folded patchwork and quilting has added some depth and, I hope, durability.

More Patchwork

I've finished the other patchwork piece so have started on another one but this time with a different variation of folded patchwork - bit like faux pas "Cathedral Window"

I know sewing machine parts are always expensive but I do think that £4.80 for two little plastic pegs to hold the extension table on is rather extortionate. I actually only need one so as I can return the pile of books to the shelf but thought it might be useful to have a spare. Looking at the red on tha machine, I had better warn the recipient of the patchwork pieces that they might not be colourfast!



Following my being tagged last week, I selected 6 blogs that I look at often. I haven't heard from all as to whether they would be happy to be tagged but from those that I have heard from, not everybody wishes to be tagged or has the time right now so I am just going to post the list of blogs that I chose and say go and take a look at what these people are doing if you don't already read them.

Carlseapatch
Chris Gray
Maggie's Textiles
Magsramsay
Maureen's Mixture
Sewing Rainbows

All About Me!

Well not quite but I've been tagged by Jackie to reveal 7 random facts about myself. At first it sounded a little daunting but before long I had too many facts so I've thought about what I want to share - there's stuff that I wouldn't mind sharing with regular visitors to my blog but not so sure about the whole of the www so .........................

1 - I have spent my entire life living in the same town in which I was born.

2 - I don't dislike meat but I just can't eat anything off the bone or with any sign of fat, sinew or gristle hence I don't eat much meat! I make a nice steak & kidney pie or pudding (even though I do say it myself) but when there's a remark like "I only had two bits of meat in my bit" I reply "well there was a whole pound of meat" without saying that there was probably only half of it left by the time I had finished dissecting! I ordered a sweet and sour chicken dish in a restaurant once - you can only imagine my "horror" when it came out as a whole poisson!

3 - I don't like alcohol - no religious or other reasons, I just don't like the taste.

4 - I am the resident spider catcher in the house and other creepy crawlies are no problem but I do not like rodents of/in any shape or form - even mention of or stiched pictures of little things in cornfields make me cringe, shiver and want to dance on the table or run outside! This has prevented me putting a catalogue outside like other readers of Maggie Grey's blog - the fear of what might touch it!

5 - Some of my favourite posessions - I like pigs and elephants (excusing the reflection of the doors in the first two photos!).

A painting that mum brought home from a holiday in China ...........

Cross Stitched pigs that I did years ago ...................

A little elephant which I originally bought for a great aunt when I was a child .................

6 - I love colour and am highly influenced by colour and texture rather than design. I don't like brown and don't very often stitch with it nor wear it apart from a couple of pairs of "brownish" colour shoes. I can remember well the kerfuffle in the outfitters when I discovered that the requisites for my secondary school was brown uniform. My parents somehow got me to agree to the school so of course I had to wear it!

7 - 30 to 40 years later, I finally confessed to my mum that it was me who cut the cuff(s) of my younger sister's anorak into a neat fringe only for her to say that she always knew who it was because nobody else would have cut that straight!

I now have to tag 6 people to reveal 7 random facts about themselves and think I might have a problem trying to find 6 who haven't been tagged already but I will do my best!


Back on topic - the patchwork now has some shisha............

Some Presents .............

It's ages since I blogged ................. not much to tell really. I haven't been doing much stitching but I don't seem to be have been doing much else either - the garden is crying out for attention but the weather being so warm for this time of year means the mining beas that have taken up residence in the flower bed are still a nuisance. I did add a little decoration to one of the bowls for mum's birthday .................



And I've been doing some folded patchwork which is quite fun but I won't show all of it as it's for Christmas and the intended recipient just might see it ............

Picking Oakum?

I tried making a coiled handbag (somewhat similar to this in shape) but it didn't work out. I forgot to take a photo but it started to get a hood at one end (something like this)! One can't do much else but think whilst spending 5 hours undoing 6 hours of machine zig zag so was it therapeutic or more akin to picking oakum albeit I was in my own home and had the luxury of cottom materials? Anyway, I now have a lovely purple bowl and pot ..........





Many thanks for all your comments, encouragement & suggestions. In a way, I think you are all right. Yes, a clay type fastening would be more in keeping - I had thought of other materials but (if I'm honest) was being too lazy to go searching out other things and trying to use what was right next to me (slapped wrists!). Yes, simple might be best and, yes, I probably am being too hard on myself but then I suppose I wouldn't be me if I weren't would I? I'm trying to forget it for a bit as the more I look at it, the more I see that the binding around the top is very uneven on the inside ?????

One Finished ............

I'm very pleased with the bowl ............




but I'm not sure that I'm happy with the pot as a "finished" item ..............


All/any criticism welcome please. This is the second attempt at adornment - the first was button beads all around the top which didn't work out either. I quite liked the idea of machined cords but needed something to "tie" them together and now I'm not sure about it at all - I was really hoping to put these two "to bed" before starting on another. Not being in a class situation or in touch with like minded artists does have it's disadvantages at times.

On a different, more positive note, I am delighted to see that I've got a mention on Sharonb's "In a Minute ago" - that is exciting!

A Couple More Bowls

Continuing to play around with shapes, quite a large bowl which I am really quite pleased with. My husband has tried claiming it as a fruit bowl this morning but it's not really my colours so we shall see!



I tried experimenting with a different sized stitch for the smaller pink/purple batik one but it's a mess and wish I hadn't used that fabric up now - still you don't know until you try do you?


Aside from these two bowls I don't really know what I've been doing since my last post. I did spend nearly a day wrestling with the sewing machine and cheap thread before finally admitting defeat and a day helping my mum with housework since she is recovering from a major operation but apart from that ............. time management springs to mind!


That chicken fabric that I bought the other week had a little too much print to wrap easily - still it's a bit too pretty to cut into strips really!


Thanks for taking the trouble in look in the chandlers for me Chris, I shall keep a lookout for other suitable materials whilst out and about and perhaps do a bit more experimenting!