a nice cup of tea and a good book, Happy Birthday to Me :)

This is a small section from one of my tea towel designs, digitally printed onto a lovely sturdy English Cotton. The initial art work was created by my first carving out some blocks and printing into my Art Journal, then manipulating with Photshop and finally having it digitally printed. I am sipping from  a nice big hot breakfast cup of tea as I write this. Later I will be starting to put together my Art Quilt which will be called Conversations. All about the connection people have over a cuppa and the related paraphenalia. It's my birthday today and as per tradition later on I will be treating myself to a wonderful book. This years will be; '1,000 Artisan Textiles, Contemporary Fibre Art, Quilts and Wearables' by Sandra Salamony and Gina M Brown........can hardly wait :)

Dedication

appliqued table piece

Found this oval cotton table centre (35 x 30 cm) in my favourite junk shop. Its colours are very appealing with these flowers and branches as a full border. I love the simplicity and its tiny stitches. I can't help but wonder at the pleasure someone must have felt completing this and then seeing it on the table it was intended for....

the hidden corner of my garden

the hidden and often neglected corner of my garden, when the sun shines it catches it first thing and I like to sit in here in my jammies with my early morning cuppa

although it is neglected I enjoy the decay and the feeling of timelessness when I sit on the chair (just hidden on the right) the birds often sit within a few feet from me on the fence, once a mouse ran up the wall behind me, yep RAN up the wall, it was after the sunflower seeds I put out for the birds, if I had reached out I could have touched it!

I can feel a piece of artwork coming on looking at this, I'm drawn to the green and hessian coloured stringy stems and withered leaves coupled with the flashes of red from the berries

Beany and I like to share these delicious little wild strawberries for breakfast although we have to compete with the blackbirds

vintage crocheted blankets make me happy!

I found these crocheted blankets in the Church Hospice shop, so beautiful and they feel as though they have been lovingly made with a lot of care

this red and pink one is smaller and is my favourite, and of course Beany has to get in on the picture!

Beany is so sweet & is only 26 cm tall and follows me every where although he is definitely getting ready for the barbers.

my local Embroiderers Guild group

I'm a member of the Embroiderers Guild and I can honestly say it has changed my life. Now my degree is over I've been able to get to a monthly session here with the Preston Group and the embroiderers there were all very welcoming. There was a mix of traditional and contemporary work. The group had a small library to share as well as a supplies for sale. Oh and people brought some of their unwanted stash to share around. It was my good fortune to arrive on the last session before summer which was also a Cream Tea day. :)  I'm already looking forward to the next session in September. I also feel reassured that when I move south there will another Group that I will be able to attend so have no worries about being a stranger in a new place. Anyway here is a link to all sorts of other embroidery realted events and to the Embroiderers Guild site itself if you fancy joining.

http://www.embroiderersguild.com/whatson/listings/index.php

is it working now?

well the 'Follow' and 'Share It' buttons are back, so thats something.

so much to do before five o'clock tomorrow.....but looking forward to seeing the offspring and graduating on Friday

oh dear, not again....

well... in checking my stats  for this blog I was so excited to see that over 40 people had checked it out since Sunday morning....but...my follower button hasn't been working since Saturday, nor has my 'Share It' button so let me know by commenting here or tweeting me at textilequeenie if you want to let me know about your blog!

sketching with hand and machine embroidery

I did this embroidered sketch a couple of years ago but misplaced it until I was looking through my fabric stash yesterday, I had  wondered where I had lost it! I think it is time to really sort my workroom out now as I have also lost a block I've carved and one of my sketchbooks. Hope the rafters in the loft can take more storage!

I've finished my Sketchbook 2012 and its ready to be sent back to Brooklyn!



summer afternoon

thoughtless pain

me

why do we do art?

homage to Beany

My little dog Beany, a black toy poodle, is such a sweetheart, his Mum, Molly is also very sweet but she is my husband's dog really, Molly decided that herself. I think it is because they both hate the rain. Beany is mine and is always near me, my little helper.

 this is the link to the Sketchbook 2012 project, anyone can have a go.....http://www.arthousecoop.com/