BQL Calender Challenge - July

So it's done - a very tight 12 inches across, but no more stripes left, so I may need to put a border on it..... I also need to trim it, but will hang off that till I've figured out the border. It's not my favourite technique - right up there with Suffolk puffs and Japanese folded patchwork - or should I say down there. I wouldn't willingly do this again - unless there were substantial sums of money involved. Lets see what next month brings.

My neighbour kindly brought me fresh, homemade, sushi round this evening for my tea - yum - a new word for No3's vocabulary - sushi - first time she tried it and along with T1 loved it! T2 decided his Spider man sticker book was more interesting.

BQL Calender Challenge - July WIP

This month's challenge is a bargello piece - not being a fan of the result has given me a 'reason' to wait till the end of the month so that I could see the work of the others taking part and decide how I would like mine to turn out.... inspired by the sea, watermelons and the sun - I didn't have yellow in a big enough piece..... more to come....

Wordless Wednesday

5 x Prize

Leilani at FAT hosted the 5X challenge - since I won one of the 5 sections I got a prize - neat eh? This is something I've wondered about for a long time - decorated 32 count matchboxes - I've seen as a trading item - at last my own example. It was stuffed (in the nicest way!) with beads, buttons, yarns and other goodies. It's great to get something when you don't expect anything!

Giant Foozball at Istinye Park

Why?

Happy Birthday

T1 and T2 are 5 today - we had a low key party since most of their friends are out of town with just a couple of guests as well as Nana. The flags were hung, the cake was eaten and musical chairs was played. The twins will hi-jack No3's party no doubt - since it's not far away.

Birthday Cakes

Birthday cakes are the subject of much discussion through out the year in our house - these have morphed between various ideas, finally coming to rest this evening at 8pm as a Spider (it should have been black - but food colouring was in short supply) and a butterfly - a pink and sliver butterfly like the tattoo from the packet of Cheetos..... thank goodness T1 changed it from the proposed giraffe. Spider boy, T2, was a killer whale, a dolphin and various other seaside accompaniments previously. A spider was WAY easier. I made up a double batch of the MM Fondant as per the other 'school' birthday cakes and we used some piped icing, Smarties and chocolate sticks for the spider and just food colouring and silver sugar balls for the butterfly. I'd made the chocolate sponge earlier in the day and there was a modest amount of butter cream. Nana was my able assistant for this endeavour - she is a prize winning cake maker who judges at her local village fete - she thought both the cake and MM fondant were delicious. It was the first time she'd encountered MM fondant and thought it hilarious to watch..... of course the ultimate judges were fast asleep waiting for their 'big' day!

Incy Wincy.... Monster Spider

For various reasons we’ve only sprayed our trees once this year – I have seen a large number of spiders, and they are HUGE – this monster has a body over an inch long – then the legs – it’s yellow and black striped and has a cousin living amongst the hydrangeas. This one made a web high – it was difficult to photograph, but inspired the whole birthday cake theme.

So bad it's good or So good it's bad?

My mom has come to visit. She brought me chocolate - amongst other things. Being a self styled Lindt purist, I didn't expect to enjoy this 300g bar - I can safely say I probably ate 250g of it.... it's good - if you are passing through Schiphol Airport, then they sell it..... mmm....

Wordless Wednesday

a similar view last year

Shadow box table - Dotee and ATC's

My FAT ATC's (I think one has gone walk about) the prize matchbox and the Same Cloth dotee, all share this section -prize matchbox will get blogged soon.....
Not many sections if the table left now - I had a bit of a play with the table and now have 2 empty sections, for new bits of stuff....

Shadow box table - Bits of NYC things

A few moons back I'd planned on doing a NYC quilt, I lived there for 2 and a bit years - from 1999 thru 2001. The apartment looked over to the Statue of liberty, Eilis Island, Staten Island, and the Liberty state park -It was a fabulous old building and being 'down town' was more affordable (like Manhattan is ever affordable) I used public transport or walked, it was fantastic, liberating and you got to see (and smell - NY smells) the city living it's life, one of my best walks was from the Smithsonian on the Bowling Green all the way up Broadway to the 80's and stopping when I got to Zabars, must be 100 blocks..... but I would get the subway home... you would see all of life, Wall St., Canal St., Garment District, Tourist/Musical 'Hell', the no where land around Columbus, then back into civilisation of the Upper West Side..... I ♥ NY I miss Zabars....

Last Recycled ATC

This is the last of the 5 traded ATC's - from Diana in Ky, featuring Ferreo Rocher foil and cup of all things - very delicate - they will go as a group into the last empty slot in the shadow box table.

Rebuilding history - update

The aqueduct to is still being worked on – the change is stunning (before) the straggly plants growing from the joints cleaned off and new stones put in. Good work ISIK.

Tepe Home

I spotted this cushion in Tepe Home, a place I often browse but rarely buy from for some reason – I love the stripy holographic sequins – I’ve never seen them before, I’d love to use these guys – postage to Turkey is the issue sadly… I can oogle for the time being.

Shadow box table - Metal buttons

Due to a day doing non-blogable stuff - another section of the table, this one has the metal and ceramic ones, some other bits have sneaked in there - silver napkin rings from a wedding.... and of course strawberry and dog buttons - how could I live without them??

Wordless Wednesday

Shadow box table - Spools and bobbins

I have a lot of wooden spools, from my home 'town', alas, most of them are too big to go in this section so other tapestry bobbins and bits have snuck into this section...

5 x Sorrow

I've done a bit more work on 'Sorrow' today - though it was removing the wrong colour stitching and adding the strawberry seeds around the edge, so it hardly shows! A day of varying news, some good, some mediocre, some surprising - both good and bad... one of the good surprises, was that this section 'won' the FAT vote. There is a prize, but the kudos, is great, one of the others came second.... The other good surprise is that t1 and t2 go back to school on September 7th - less than 8 weeks to go - not sure if I should laugh or cry! I console my self that others don't go back until September 28th.

5 x Love

After a long lazy brunch with friends, interrupted by a beautiful butterfly, a wandering rat and a swimming dog..... I worked for a while on the 'love' section of the strip - all that seed stitching is time consuming! I did bead in other sections, but am flitting around the piece since the urgency has gone somewhat.

5 x 5 x 5 - in progress

Fear

Sorrow - just small sections - the whole has been stitched on today, though it's not finished. Will show the process when it's done..... though will have to upload it partially finished to the challenge....

5 x 5 x 5

Somewhere I read there is a red thread linking events... wish I could find a link as all the stuff coming up with google isn't what I read - unless I'm thinking of something totally different - too late.....

FAT are having a challenge this week - they've given 5 emotions (Sorrow, Joy, Love, Surprise, Fear) and using a 5 inch square on 5 days you are supposed to produce a small piece. Alas the first 3 days I sat thinking and then wanted to make the whole 5 in a strip with the red connection. I'll then cut them apart. This is a piece of old Hungarian cloth, linen or cotton linen mix, with the thin red strip set into it. I have just straight stitched the divisions between each of the 5 sections as I'm going to work on this and want the sections to blend into each other a little.... may get most done tonight as there is a fantastic thunderstorm which, no doubt will throw the power into a spasm and make any technology useless.....

Shadow box table - Coins

Another section of the table - not too many to go. Over the years I've travelled a lot - in the pre-Euro days this meant multiple currencies which lurked in draw bottoms as the bureau de exchanges would only ever take paper money back. Now I have coins that are no longer used because the currency has gone.... I do let the kids play with some of it, but these are the good looking coins, hence stashed away.

Wordless Wednesday

Shadow box table - Stamps

Another section of the table, I do like stamps, the decorative ones - I occasionally use them with mixed media stuff, but I mainly look at them and admire them. Today was spent doing chores and running about, then mending - I have skinny kids, so am always adjusting waistbands - boring..... nothing creative - again....

Here's one I made earlier...

Here's one I made earlier - really - I whipped this up yesterday afternoon, using the same FME technique as the other little gems piece. They are both winging their way to York for the Little Gems tombola.

Acanthus Mollis

Way back in May it looked like this the bracts are beautifully papery - I love this plant..... even the fading spines that I leave there all winter till they look plain scruffy....

Scarce Swallowtail in our garden

I planted a patch of Verbena bonariensi and Nicotiana sylvestris they attract winged things like a magnet, usually bees, boring cabbage whites and some red butterfly that are ten a penny here. We were in the garden after lunch, I noticed what I thought was a piece of paper then realised it was a huge white butterfly, (I later identified it as a Scarce Swallowtail) - I managed to catch it and put it in our special bug jar (one with a mesh top) whilst I ran and got my camera. We admired it and then took some pictures, and released it - sent it home to his mom for his lunch... according to T1.... I think we were lucky to have been visited as they are quite rare!

Shadow box table - Glass buttons

A day spent hanging out in the garden and with freinds... so....another bit of the table.
Each and everyone of these buttons is at least 17 years old, I got them whilst researching my degree dissertation - Studio glass button making in the inter war period - they were old buttons when I got them, older now..... I was in search of illusive Bimini buttons

It finally happened!

Sand between my toes. We got to the beach for the first time this season - the sea was warm, it was quiet and not too hot, first of many trips.....

Wordless Wednesday