'Looking Down' on Carshalton Ponds.

This is what I've been working on this past week, my version of a birds eye view of Carshalton Ponds, with a flavour of  aboriginal art. I made a similar version a few months ago,  and it sold within a week of being in a local gallery, so this has been commissioned by someone who obviously saw it, and liked it. I hope they will approve of my latest version!

It's an interesting discovery that I've recently made, that whenever I think back to a place I know or have visited, I often see it in my minds eye from above, a 'birds eye view' I suppose. I wonder why this is, and do any of you readers ever do the same thing? 

Thanks once again for 'looking in', or should I say 'down'?

Mixed Vases in Red and Blue.

Mixed Vase in Red

Mixed Vase in Blue

Thought I'd make a little something for a friend's 'special' birthday in a couple of weeks. I did the blue one first, but wasn't too sure about it so made another in red! I think it will be the red for my friend. I've used more paint than usual on these as well, but I quite enjoyed the process, and like the effect.

Experimenting for the sheer joy of it!

Texts and Emails Travel! 

A combination of brown paper treated with Markal oil sticks after a good deal of scrunching, and machine and hand stitch, on some rusted silk.

Boardwalk and The Parrog.

Rusted cotton, appliqued onto fruit and seed stained cotton, hand stitch and shading with coloured pencils.

Dreaming of Summer.

scraps of commercial cotton in varying shades of blue, cut into random shapes, appliqued down with smaller pieces appliqued randomly across the surface. Free machine quilted.

Summer.

Same technique as above, but in shades of red.

Appliqued pieces were made by embellishing scraps of sheer fabric together, and cutting them into random shapes before appliqueing them down onto white cotton. Free machine quilted, and coloured with inktense pencils.

An experiment, painting onto white cotton with coloured inks and acrylic paint, before outlining and drawing with inktense pencils.

Free machine quilted to embellish the surface, I may add more to this, it's an experimental piece, but a technique that I may decide to use again.

Finally, these beautiful flowers, (the photograph here doesn't do them justice), arrived for us on Saturday morning. They are from our daughter Emily in New Zealand, partly as a thank you for the place mats and Celtic Knot wall hanging I made for her and her partner's 30th birthday, but also because apparently, Sunday 7th October was 'Grandparents Day'. What lucky grandparents we are!

Thanks for looking in once again.

The Blues and the Greens.

My JQ for October is called 'Blue Barn Beams'. I made a sketch of the beams at Potters Barn, home of Committed to Cloth in Betchworth Surrey. I love the different angles, and how they interact with each other. I used fuseFX ironed onto the surface of the background for texture, and then appliqued the beams and plant shapes. I outlined by machine couching down the knitting wool, and the blue lines at the top. The whole quilt is FMQ.

After making the eight place mats for my daughter's 30th, I then had to make the above wall hanging for her partner's 30th! He wanted Celtic knots in green, on a green background, with bits of red showing through. He chose the knot patterns, and the layout. That was the easy bit!!! I then had to choose the fabrics, make the patterns and put the whole thing together. It's not the sort of thing I normally do, and I did find it a challenge, but I have to say that I did enjoy making it. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a decent photo after I had finished all the quilting, I was in a hurry to get it finished and in the post to New Zealand, in time for his birthday. I did manage to get the close-up below of a section, and you can see the quilting there.

I used black bias tape for the centre of the knots in the top and bottom middle, and I hand painted the rope pattern on the middle section, before outlining it by machine couching down knitting wool. The green fabric that I bought for the four corner sections wasn't quite right, so I coloured them with a mixture of silk and acrylic paint. Ian is very pleased with it, so that was a relief, and I shall look forward to seeing it hanging in their home when we next speak by web cam. I also feel that I can now boast that I have pieces of my work in other parts of the world.......that always sounds so good on a website don't you think!!!?