That time of year

Saturday spent sitting. Watching .....

Wordless Wednesday

Varicose front in progress

Varicose front in progress

A couple more days passed.....

Varicose front

The front is slightly different to the back in theme, this is like twisted ribbons - or I had the idea of twisted ribbons....

Varicose in progress - Back

This is the later picture of the back with lines......

Wordless Wednesay

Wordless Wednesday

Homage to varicose veins

I have been making leotards for rhythmic gymnastics of late. This one is for Diana, and the first one I've painted. Back view... Not yet finished ... I recently discovered that an ex found the couple of very small varicose on the back of my knee nauseatingly disgusting. I dedicate this beautiful work to SE. May he get over it!

Three little fishies

Things come - things go......

Stunningly Ugly

When I lived in a previous life. I bought this quilt - I bought 2 quilts, the 'better' one never made it to New York - mysteriously eaten by the USPS on it's way from Florida - this one had a lot of promise.

Kind of funky and bright in a Gees Bend type of way - slightly pre-dating Gees Bend too.... I waited for this baby to arrive with great anticipation. Like many things in life it looked fantastic, had a great review but was a total let down. I have honoured it by using it in the garden for tents, sunbathing and being a pic-nik blanket. This is a great honour believe me - it in turn has turned out to be indestructible.

I am not quite sure what 'cotton' it's made from - but there seems to be both a lot of polyester in it or jersey - though I guess the stretch terry might struggle to make it to 50% cotton...... The bat is made from tapioca - it's lumpy and non-descript. I do quite like tapioca but that's what this beauty looks like from the back. It's self bound, in a fashion - a regular shape might have been achievable - but it didn't happen.

I do slightly like the corner in the detail. Whilst none of the corners seem to meet, there is a profusion of cobbling (as in cobbling together) it's various block sizes add to the chaos..... I often wonder if there was a plan involved in this quilt - or if it just happened.

For some strange reason, each time I get it out I want to make a copy - not an exact copy - I do some strange things but that would be over the limit - but a kind of 'in the spirit of' type.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Once again a big thank-you to Amy for organising the bloggers quilt festival.
This piece is in the style of kantha - the Indian technique - whilst using other techniques - this type of heavy stitching is soothing to me - it eats fabric like small children eat chocolate - and has a fabulous tactile quality. It is unfinished - it could be stitched to death - but I am unsure about it's destination so it remains in this kind of limbo - I will decide at some point..... I love the way the Caran D'Ache crayons melt - how the colours flood into each other in a slightly unpredicatable way. I don't claim this technique - but adore it's unpredictability.
This was a FAT Follow me blind challenge, the instructions were posted to the group. The piece started around 1 inches square, but has shrunk massively with the stitching. it's around 10 by 12 now.
Now what to do with it? not sure - it's decorative at the moment - I would prefer for it to become functional..... watch this space!

The rest of my blog - click here!


The start was a piece of plain cotton, which was coloured using Caran D'Ache Neo-colour II crayons, sprit with water. This is my beloved technique - the results are unpredictable and rich.

Writing followed then FME, finally intense hand stitching - using the FME as a border of kinds. There is a second piece of muslin behind (US Calico), but no wadding.

Writing followed then FME, finally intense hand stitching - using the FME as a border of kinds. There is a second piece of muslin behind (US Calico), but no wadding. The text is snippets from the Beatles, Golden Slumbers.... Which suited my mood a lot at that time.....

Ready to go... but...

Bu siteye erişim mahkeme kararıyla engellenmiştir.

Translation - A court decision blocked access to the site.

I have so much to blog about - pictures ready - stuff to say.....
Blogging is painful - I have to use a K-tunnel to access blogger - it will not allow me to upload pics..... grr....
all because someone decided to stream live Turkish football over blogger.....

Bloggers Quilt Festival

It's been 5 months since my last post, and we are back again at the Quilters Blog festival - organised by Amy.

This is a fabric postcard (4 by 6 inches/ 10 by 15 cm) something I have worked on over the past few months in small doses. All hand stitched and part of a larger panel of 9 that I sliced up. I love doing hand work - it is forgiving and portable. With a long humid summer and 3 littles to watch - it was my sole piece of work. I love this technique - the way the colours merge, the unpredictability - rather like having littles...

In the Kantha style - no wadding just 3 layers - one of which was Vilene ironed onto the back of the fabric for stability. I 'made' the fabric using water soluble crayons.
Kantha is an Indian/Pakistani style of stitching - it's very graphic - I love the work of Lynne Setterington. These cards went to BLQ members for one of their trades. The in-progress pictures are on the main blog.

Blue postcards - in progress

I usually use a base of good quality Egyptian cotton - that has a beautiful soft hand. It's cotton that is sold for sheeting - and has had a good hot wash.
I coloured circles of mainly blue onto it directly - no pencil outlines as they tend not to fade. I used blue, turquiose and some purple. Using Caran D'Ache - Neocolors.
I then spritzed it with plain water.

And waited - and spritzed some more - and magic happened.

It dries slowly and merges even more...

The whole was then ironed onto a piece of vileen and then stitched and a few sequins were added so that when it was cut most cards would have a group of 3.

Done! - it was around 20 inches by 14 inches.

The finished cards are backed with Watercolour paper and have a border of heavy cotton cord that is zig-zagged on. I send these through the regular postal system 'naked' - without a plastic or paper envelope

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Amy at Park City Girl is having her fabulous quilt festival again - I've decided to show these, they were a challenge I did last year with the FAT group. They are 'Sorrow, joy, love, surprise and fear' top to bottom, each is 5 inches square but still linked with a red thread....

I made them as one piece and then gathered the courage to cut them...

the original posts are here sorrow , joy, love, surprise, fear

thanks for looking - main blog home page

In the spring break

The pool that we use has this great Hamam, which we usually use, depending on who is in there - usually it's empty. The elderly ladies who we occasionally meet in there can be unpredictable when faced with several littles intent on a waterfight..... We keep the littles at the bottom end and get to sit and chat and do what you do in a hamam at the door end. This is a DIY hamam... no staff except for a grumpy door lady....

These are the marble 'sinks' they have no hole in the bottom, No3 thinks it's fabulous to sit inside these..... yes that is steam!

You pour the water over yourself with these copper bowls, or throw water at your friends of course. The pool we use is on the 'fresh' side temperature wise, the hamam is always so toasty it's very welcome....

Wordless Wednesday

I missed my birthday

How did that happen - my 2nd blogoversary got forgotten - the ticker no longer works, or is beyond my skills to fix..... so here is cake!
This is the most fabulous cake I have eaten for such a long time..... I have the recipe, in Turkish, which I will, translate, convert to metric and then try - it seems way too easy on first reading for such a great cake, it's creme caramel on a chocolate sponge, all cooked at the same time. The caramel soaks into the sponge.... I had a piece one day, and was dreaming all night of a piece the next day..... fortunately there was some left. mmmm did I say it was good??
My friends are bad, introducing me to something SO good!

Silly Halloween fun....

I keep falling off the blogging waggon. Every time there is a school holiday it seems to take 2 weeks to get things straight. Not everything in our life is straight.... but you do the best you can. After the excitement for the Halloween party in October, Lisajo said she was going to bless us with some Halloween goodies that were on sale...

The came at a fantastic time, smack in the middle of spring break, the clings were put on the window, the trick or treat bags were toted about and there was talk of making cookies.... we have yet to try the cookie cutters out.... The plate and bowl got stashed quickly

Weirdly I found the packing paper very interesting..... small town newspaper. Included was a piece of fabric - I think this will get made into a table cloth...... no hurry, it's only 6 months until then.... maybe I should start soon .... haha.... and a Sandra Dallas book too - the first one - will see what they are all about.....

Thank-you dear friend!