A Portrait, and the Narrative in my Head!

My journal quilt for August. Having made a self portrait in red for April, I just had to make this one of my hubby in mellow yellow for August! I used silk/acrylic paint for the cotton, free motion stitch and black knitting wool couched down with a zig zag stitch for the outline. It was all highlighted with watercolour crayons.

Low Tide

These two pieces are hand stitched on rusted cotton fabric. I soaked them in a mixture of white vinegar and water before sprinkling them with some rusty nails and tacks, rolling them up, and leaving them for 48 hours in the garden under a bush! This is where the narrative in my head then took over. I didn't have any plans of where I was going to stitch, or what colours I was going to use, but straight away, I found myself imagining the beach and the sea. I allowed the rusty marks to dictate where I should start to make further marks with my needle and thread, so it was more of an instinctive thing really, and I was visualising sand, shingle, pools, sea water, groins and everything seaside! These two small squares are the result of a few hours of extremely enjoyable creative stitching, made mainly while watching the first few days of the Olympics. I'm not a sports fan at all really, but my mellow yellow hubby is on holiday this fortnight, because he just loves all sport, so I've been trying to at least keep him company for a few hours each day, but with a needle and thread to keep me from going completely insane!!

Incoming Tide

I have actually been quite busy for the last couple of months on a project that I can't show on here as yet. It's my daughter and son in laws 30th birthdays this autumn, and my daughter has asked for an 8 place setting of table mats, (all different!), and her partner has a large picture frame just waiting for a piece of textile art that he has designed, consisiting of some celtic knot designs.  Once they have been safely delivered, (half way around the world to New Zealand,)  opened, and hopefully approved, I will show them on here. 

If you are watching the Olympics, enjoy, and if you are stitching at the same time, even better!