More sewing, stitching and such.

I have been busy with costumes again for the local drama group.  This dress was waiting for a transformation into a spanish dress when seen here. The transformation is now almost complete and I have a number of other items to make and alter before the costumes are required at the end of April.

Apart from this, I have been busily mending a couple of coats which had been torn and a couple of pairs of trousers. These last had had the hems badly scuffed since they had been just a fraction too long for the wearer. Not me, I hasten to add.

There has been little in the way of quilting, although my third journal quilt is nearly ready to stitch.

I can't get over just how messy my workroom looks in the photo above. It is time for another tidying session before getting stuck into something new. The list of projects certainly doesn't get any shorter. At present it looks like this: Complete Spanish dress; make shoulder pads for a ready-made blouse; alter an apron; make a jacket out of fine net and decorate it with flying birds (don't ask.......); complete a black pair of palazzo pants, along with a separate waistband to give the illusion of a high waist; journal quilts for March and April; quilt for the Sky's the Limit group challenge; start textile book for the beading group; start textile book for the Machine Embroidery Group; finish the one stitch challenge piece. Those are just the sewn items.......

No matter, it will all get done, though I think it is only the costume items which will be completed on time. I must get some photos taken ready for my next post here.

A busy time - sewing and such

Frosted ground from my garden.

It was quite a shock to realise that a month had passed since I last posted anything on my Blog. It has been really busy here. I organised the Contemporary Quilt stand at the recent Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts Show at Event City in Manchester. That was really enjoyable, especially being able to chat to others interested in textiles.

"Contrast" - for Sky's the Limit group

I have also been sewing - this is the piece I made for the February theme from the Sky's the Limit group. The design was taken from some work I did on Notan whilst on a workshop back in September 2011. I couldn't see how to use the ideas at the time. It does take me rather a long time to work out how to use something. Do go and have a look at all the other pieces shown on the group's Blog.

January journal quilt - Journeys 1 Walking boot.

This is the finished journal quilt. I had shown the beginnings of it in my last post. I added sheer fabric and net under the drawing of the boot just to add a bit of colour. The boot has been hand stitched.

February journal quilt - Journeys 2 Walking with Ella. 

Again, I showed you the start of this piece last time too. The background fabric is a collection of dye catchers sewn together with a free machine stitched map drawn over the top. This shows a  little of the area where I go for walks with Ella. The landscape round here has a number of these electricity pylons looking as if they are striding across the land like giants.

The salt mine, River Weaver.

The river was so still this morning and there was such a bright blue sky, I really just had to record this image. This is a pile of salt stockpiled ready for next winter.

Tree felled by the recent bad weather.

Sadly, we have lost a number of trees round here due to the very high winds. This particular tree fell across one of the paths through a copse. For a few days I found myself having to clamber round the fallen tree. Now the tree has been chopped into pieces. I just loved the colours of the wood inside the bark.

Spring is on the way - new lambs.

Another sight on my way home with Ella. Two newborn lambs snuggling together and enjoying the sunshine.