More Play

 I have been messing about AGAIN ....  I bought this long thin sketchbook from Oliver Twists in the Summer which had a plain grey board cover.  I have been meaning to do something about it ever since I bought it, but you know what it is like.

Whilst up in Yorkshire recently I called in at Embsay and found some small cardboard letters which are just right for collaging with tissue paper.  Having decided on a word I glued the letters to the cover with PVA, covered them with scraps of scrunched kitchen foil, pasted crumpled tissue paper over the rest of the cover and then painted the whole thing with various colours of Acrylic paint, rubbing some of it back whilst wet to expose the colours underneath that had gone into the textured surface.  Once happy, I added some Treasure Gold. It may yet get a final coat of Acrylic Wax to give it a bit more protection.  I use this little book for doodling in and trying out patterns, stamps and techniques.  The disc and tassel are the beginning of experiments to find suitable ways to embellish my pages.

Book Cover

Managed to finish a second book cover over the Christmas period - you can tell how exciting my Christmas was!!  It is decorated using variations of Sorbello stitch and odd pieces of fabric out of my dyeing bag.  Not sure which one of the two covers I will actually use for my 'Travelling Journal' now.

A bit of excitement last Saturday before we drove up to Yorkshire.  There was an heron stood in the flooded stream looking rather forlorn.  Cannot imagine what it was doing as the water was muddy brown so no hope of seeing any fish or crayfish in it.  Suspect it was a young one.

Winter Wonder

I was searching through my stored photographs for something 'Christmassy' and found this image of ice crystals on my car windscreen.  Not sure when I took it, but it could have been last year or the year before that.  Thinking about it .... it could actually be the headlight cover and not the windscreen.  So like feathers.

Worcester Pear

Popped into Worcester on Thursday for a couple of things and remembered to find this piece of sculpture and take a photograph.  You can just see the twinkling stars underneath. There were also some rather splendid larger than life in-flight robins hung from the roof amongst the not so nice large heart shaped decorations.  Tried to avoid getting those in my picture.

The pears were not actually black, it is the colour they are depicted on the Arms of the City.  The emblem dates back to 1575 when Elizabeth I is reputed to have visited Worcester.

Running Stitchers at Compton Verney

WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

AND JOYOUS NEW YEAR

One member of our Venture Group took this seasonal photograph at Compton Verney when we visited.  We were just about to go home after a lovely day out  -  as there were ten of us in total I think the rest must have scarpered fairly rapidly when they saw someone with a camera!

Compton Verney

Spent some time doodling this week.  I hope to do some work based on an item from the Chinese collection at Compton Verney and I have been trying to work out the pattern on a large bronze bell (nao) from Southern China which took my eye. I am struggling at the moment.

It also has a fantastic patina which should give me some good choices for colour.

Travelling Journal

Apart from continuing to make slow progress on the roman blinds and curtains I am making I have also made a cover for my travelling journal.  I used up most of the purple bits from the dyeing day we had.  I even put a little pocket inside to store some 'treasures'.

The two fabric ties are to hold the book closed when it gets full of all the samples that everyone is going to produce over the next year!!  Which reminds me - I had better get on with my own contribution ....

New Running Stitchers Project

After seeing the Travelling Journals created by one of the EG branches at The Big Stitch held at The Ashmolean in Oxford last Saturday we decided we would like to start a similar project as part of the activities of our Venture group (The Running Stitchers).

I ordered some Pink Pig A5 landscape sketchbooks and, as they have now arrived, I have been playing around with the first few pages of mine.  I have added a page with my name as the originator, plus an address and telephone number to return it to should it get lost on its travels.  I then found extracts from a couple of poems(?) which relate to the word 'Resolve' as I thought the meaning of 'Resolve' was quite pertinent:-

Verb:
Settle or find a solution to (a problem, dispute, or contentious matter)

Noun

Firm determination to do something

Also included a page with a list of the participants so that in future years I can look back at the contents of the book and remember the wonderful friends I have met through the Venture Group.  I might make a nice cover for the sketchbook with some ties to hold it shut ... and then of course I need to complete my two pages ready for our January meeting.

Oriental Inspiration

On Saturday there was also plenty of time to wander around the Museum whilst trying to locate all the people who were dotted about doing demonstrations.  I loved this sun - the distressed surface, colours and textures in particular.  It was hung over some Indian gods and had an element of quilting stitches applied to it around the edges.  I am afraid it is a little bit out of focus as it was difficult to take pictures in subdued light without a flash.

The Big Stitch

Six members of our Venture group (The Running Stitchers) had an outing on Saturday to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for The Big Stitch.  We all caught the train at various stations and managed to locate each other so that we could sit and chat on the way there.  It was a very enjoyable day out and was well organised.

Several stitchers were demonstrating at various locations throughout the museum and there was something for everyone to see.  The exhibition 'Threads of Silk and Gold' was outstanding.

These two banners were displayed by the Oxford branch of the Embroiderers' Guild and we also took on board a 'Travelling Sketchbook' challenge that one of the branches had been participating in ... it may be something we will start in the New Year so watch this space for further details.