Tulip's Treasure Box

I have to admit that I love beads. However, I hate beading. For this reason I am fascinated by beaded jewellery.

Take a look at these items from an Etsy shop. Tulip's Treasure Box features beautiful beaded items, and just three of them are shown here. Her shop announcement says: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." Thank you for allowing my joy to become yours. I am proud to create and present unique works of art





Enjoy the other works of art HERE

There are some times....

....When feet just don't touch the ground. It has been like that for weeks.

However, just to show that I haven't been idle here's a link to the Sassa Lynne at Etsy Blog

June Take it Further

June has been an eventful month. I won't go into too many details, but it has involved quite a lot of traveiling and meeting lots of people. Yesterday was my mother's birthday and we had a small family gathering to celebrate. Tomorrow we are having a larger party, so there has also been planning and preparations for that. She is now 90, not bad as she was only given a short time to live some years ago.

During this time I have been giving the June Take it Further Challenge some thought. The theme this month was 'stories that are and stories that are possible'. Not sure which way to take I suddenly realised that I could run it into a swap that I joined on Etsy.

I have a large 'stash' of dyed fabrics, but I am always adding to this as I dye on a regular basis. Although intended for selling, I often dip into these for projects. A couple of the 'new' fabrics went perfectly with some of the older ones, and suddenly they were transformed into a bag for ..... (I'll reveal the name when it is received and also the story of why I chose these particular fabrics).



The finished bag, and below a couple of closeups.





It's a practical bag - maybe it will take a trip to the shops and carry home new additions to someone's stash every now and then.....

Embellisher Network

Just how many users of the Embellisher are there? Wouldn't it be great to have somewhere where we could all meet up and share ideas and resources? How about a Network?

If you like the sound of this you will be interested in joining this. Be in at the beginning and help to shape this really NEW group. Will you be the first new member today? It would be good to see it grow. IT REALLY IS NEW

I look forward to seeing you there.

Embellisher/Textile Art Pack/Rolls

I just thought I'd tell you that I've put the first Embellisher Roll onto Etsy. Here is a picture of the contents and you can find more information about them by clicking on the link. If they have disappeared you can reach the shop via the link in the sidebar.



The contents make lovely surfaces for further stitching. This photograph shows one made using an Embellisher with a broken needle. Some people don't mind the holes, but I use this as a workshop sample to demonstrate the difference between broken and non broken needles.



This design including the fish is also made using the contents of a roll. The stitching is with a Serendipity Jumbo Medium Perle. Another Serendipity Jumbo is shown here.


You've seen this one before, but I thought I'd remind you that the background is also made using the vegetarian silk from the Embellisher Roll/Textile Art Pack.



By the way - I'm teaching at Missenden Abbey this weekend, and it just happens to be an Open Day there on Saturday between 11am and 3pm. If anyone is visiting the end of term exhibitions you are more than welcome to come and see what we are doing. We will be in the Carrington Suite, that's the old Lecture Theatre for those of you that haven't been for a while. I just ask that you respect the fact that this is a weekend workshop and we will be working away during your visit. I will have a few items for sale, but obviously don't want to be interrupted to a great extent.

What did I do yesterday?

Yesterday was a day of great concentration! I needed to dye a specific range of colours, but to do this I had to use a technique that is quite time consuming, so I don't use it very often. It is worth doing, though, as it creates well over 400 different colours within a minimum number of dyebaths. Of course 400 hanks means an awful lot of preparation, and once they are dyed they also have to be twisted into skeins, so the involve quite a lot of work.



Here are some of them drying in the open air.



They are shown in the early morning sun. By the time the sun is high enough to do any damage they will be in shade and fully protected.



This is just a small proportion, and may not seem very different to other methods at this stage, but there will be a wealth of colour change in these skeins when they are dry. Some of them may well find their way to Etsy at some time. I can't upload any more pictures as these are apparently just about at the limit of Blogger allowance.

Someone somewhere knows where most of these are going ;)

June Take it Further

By the time I come to write about the challenge I always have a problem finding the link. I'm doing this for my benefit, as well as that of everyone else! The June challenge can be found here

Now I'm off to read it .....!

May, Take it Further

What a chapter of accidents! I have had to write this post in fits and starts. Many interruptions caused me to save and return to add more. The problem arose when I had more than one copy open in several windows (I still don't know how this happened). The result was that instead of publishing the final copy I saved the first! All the time and effort (well, almost all) was wasted and I have had to start again. Hopefully I can remember what I wrote, at least in gist.

I know it's June now, but I had actually completed the challenge by the end of May. As I thought, it was a holiday project, and here are my thoughts and results.

I gave the question a lot of thought because it goes much deeper for me than it would at first appear. My name is Welsh, but as soon as I open my mouth you will think I am English. It was a quirk of 'fate' that caused me to be born and brought up in England, but in spite of living here all my life I still regard myself as Welsh. I experienced Hiraeth long before I knew there was a name for it, and travelling over the border always makes me feel as though I am returning home.

In my working life I wear many figurative hats. I am a dyer, stitcher, artist, enabler (I feel that that is different to just a teacher). I work in textiles. My other hats include wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. At different times and if different places my 'title' needs to be different. With regard to my working life I consider myself to be a Dyer first and foremost. If asked 'what do you do' I always say 'I dye'. Of course, that could be for the impact, as it often raises a shocked glance as the 'y' isn't apparent in speech! I then go on to say that I'm an Artist who works in fabric and thread. I used to say that I worked in textiles. However, that seems to conjure up pictures of sheets and tea towels to the uninitiated, and I most definitely DON'T work in those!

Thinking along all these lines made me want to create something that harked back to my roots. Here is the result



This was made during our holiday. Fortunately I had an embellisher with me, and each layer was made using a different technique. There is also some hand-dyed fine viscose felt there, and some of the layers were made using an embellisher roll. It was good to make something from start to finish while still in the area. From first sketch to finished piece took about 3 days, but I certainly wasn't working all the time. It made me realise just how much I love creating, and how rarely I am able to fully indulge these days. However, dyeing is creative too, and I do LOVE mixing colour. Don't forget that you can see some to the colours I create on the website and also on Etsy.

Back to work

We had such a lovely time in Wales. It was hard to get going when we returned. This is a photograph taken from the cottage. The whole place is surrounded by such beautiful scenery. That's Cader Idris on the horizon, we saw it every day in all its glory.

As always we came back to earth with a bump. We arrived home late on Saturday, and had to be up early on Sunday to go to Urchfont. Always a pleasure to go there, though, as the students and tutors are lovely. Make a date in your diary for Sunday 6th July. It is Open Day at Urchfont, and, having already seen some of the work that is being exhibited, I know we are in for a treat. I'll post further details when I know them, but I'm guessing that it will be open from about 11 until 3. There is also an Exhibition of Art in the Garden, and this year it includes some textile pieces. They have already been attacked by sun,rain and wind, so it will be interesting to see how they change over the next while.

On the run again

We are off to Ledbury Artplace early in the morning. If anyone is around tomorrow evening do drop by and say hello, we will be open between 7 and 9pm. Say an especial hello if you are on the workshop the next day.


If you are in the mood to trade postcards or ATC's have a look here. A whole new batch is now available. They will go quickly, so hurry over.

Catch 'em early!

Now I'm not in the least bit biased! I promise, I'm not saying this because I'm a devoted Grandma! I'm not saying it because I'm soon to be spending a whole four days with him!.

However:

Isn't this just the cutest picture?



And to think I'm showing you this on the day I learn I will have to lose a tooth.

Oh well!

April Take It Further

It has been a very busy month. We have travelled the country, and it is only 10th May! Our travels are not yet over, later this week we head for Ledbury to both sell and teach a workshop, but first there are also selling venues at Urchfont and another workshop at Grayshott where we will be making a pair of boots on the embellisher. After Ledbury we travel further north and west to Dolgellau for our spring break. It is to be extra special this year as our little grandson is bringing his mummy and daddy to visit for a few days. I'm sure there will be photographs to load when we come home.

At last I am finding time to load a corner of the Take it Further sample for April. I said that I would combine and old and new technique, and this shows an ideal example of that.




The background has been created on the embellisher - the new technique - and for the 'old' I decided to use stitches from the first session of my City and Guilds course which dates back nearly 20 years. I hope you like it. I have used a Sassa Lynne Serendipity Perle 5 for the stitching

I have resisted looking at any reference to the May inspiration until I was able to do this. I'm off to have a look now, no doubt it will be my holiday project. And I don't think I told you about the wonderful 2 days we had in Cornwall teaching the embellisher. I'll have to remember to do that soon

Knitted Jumbos!

I thought I had loaded a picture of the baby jacket I knitted with the medium Jumbo Perle. I can't find it anywhere, so I've loaded it now.

Postcard and its destination

I promised to let you know where the postcard was heading. Well, by a very circuitous route I have finally found the link! Click here to see the Cyber Fiber Exhibition The picture above shows the one I sent and the one I received.

Have a good look around the site, if you want to take part there is another round coming up shortly. Go on, you know you want to.

A fleeting look at Etsy

This link won't last more than a couple of days, but if you haven't visited Etsy before it will open your eyes to the talented bunch of sellers. Pop over and have a look before it vanishes. It will open a whole new world. Each picture is a link to an item in a shop. You will soon find your way around.

Taking things Further

At last I can give some thought to the take it further challenge for April .

'How do you see change?'

Change is all around us, all the time. It is impossible to shut ourselves away and ignore it. From birth to death our circumstances change almost daily. Maybe these are imperceptible at the time, but in retrospect they are there. We love to watch babies grow and develop. Each tiny change is a mark of growth and a small step nearer to final independence. The seasons change, and with them the scenery and the way we face the world. How much easier it is to face a day of sunshine than a day full of grey skies and rain. Here in the UK, and I think in other parts of the world too, we have had to face a spring of strange and uncertain weather - climate change has certainly made itself felt.

I think I am going to approach this from the point of view of changing techniques. I haven't fully decided, but I am probably going to use a new technique and combine it with one from my past. Let's see what happens. I could always change my mind ...

Oh, and watch out, I think I have three posts 'coming on' today - and that certainly is a change!

PHEW!

Why is it that as soon as you agree to do something with a deadline you can guarantee circumstances will change and make it impossible without a lot of stress. The following postcard should have been in the post weeks ago, and most of it has been finished for some time, but it needed assembling. I haven't missed the deadline, but this should have been an easy quick task.



Finally it is ready to go into the post. The silly thing is that now I can't find the link to show you where it is going. I'll have to hunt for it and tell you all later. The background is made on the embellisher, from an embellisher roll. I will be loading some of these on the Etsy site shortly (it should have been today, but I've run out of time.)

If you have been following the Take it Further challenge I hope you wil be impressed by the fact that I have made this in blue!

I just have to keep running

So much to do, so little time. Does anyone else feel it too? There is still so much I want to create, but no real time to do it.

There are a few more threads to upload to Etsy, but so far I've just done one today.



The colours in the sunlight are truly stunning, and this picture really doesn't do it justice.

The quilties went into the post, and I have to say that it was a steep learning curve. Although it probably sounds simple to you I found the concept quite difficult. I couldn't be as free as I wanted to be. It was the restricted time that was the problem, and next time 'I'll do better'



Had a lovely day shopping for birthdays yesterday. Daughter and grand-daughter both had birthdays within the last week, so we had a 'girls' day out. Shopped 'til we dropped, then collapsed for the evening. Lots to do in preparation for teaching in Cornwall this weekend. I know a couple of you are coming, I'm looking forward to meeting you. The workshops are at the Roseland Mews Studios, link in the sidebar if you are interested, and a workshop in Grayshott tomorrow.

Another White Quiltie

I forgot to add this earlier.



Part of quiltie number 2, also to go in the post tomorrow. I have another 2 to finish. I'll try to post those before they leave the country!

Catching breath

Three images to add today, and blogger was very good, albeit slow. The first is a new addition to Etsy.



Next is a picture of the NEW TOOTH. Yes, happy Jack has cut his first tooth. He is just as proud of it as we are.



I babysat for him last night and he was as good as gold.

Finally a picture of part of a little quiltie that will be in the post tomorrow.



I'm not a quilter, so this is an unusual project for me.