The paste papers dried nicely, almost their best property being how nice they feel.

I wanted them to use for the spine cover of the two books I intended to make from the For Sale board.

 I have to show the sewing cradle as usual just to prove to my son that his efforts in making it were worthwhile. By looking at some other sites showing paste papers I moved on to draw into some of them, and on one that I didn't like particularly I used a string block to make an additional pattern. It improved so much that I put a piece on the front of my sketchbook. Another thing that came to me this week was to use a stamp pad with a string block; it works well. No doubt some of you think this is a pretty obvious idea anyway.

I like the new lightbox feature on blogger, and there seem to be a number of updates in the pipeline, but I do wish they would sort out the commenting problems. Sometimes it takes me ages to make a comment, and often I have to start all over again, which makes it easy to give up at times.Well I've now discovered that the Lightbox feature has been scrapped as it broke a number of blogs. Shame, I was in the minority who thought it worked well. It does make one a bit unsure about trying any of the other new features just in case all is lost.

'For Sale'

The house we stayed in near Windermere, in the Lake District, was for sale. The weather was rainy, with the wind literally howling round the house. An old for sale board had been knocked down and was in a broken state by the rubbish bin. Well ,just imagine my excitement. My husband just could not unerstand why I wanted  to find space for it in the car with the inflatable boat, bike frame etc...

After a good shower it is perfect for making book covers.

I decided to make some paste papers as part of the binding. Here is a link to a really helpful tutorial.

 

 Be aware that I only made half the amount of paste mentioned and still had enough to take into my day centre group for them to have a go. It really works best if you use your fingers and enjoy the tactile quality. You will need plenty of paper and space to spread it out.

Close up.

Here are a few more pictures of my work from West Deane practising with my macro lens this time.

The next sample seems to have lots of potential for a fabric tunnel book.

I received my sketchbook and textile piece back from Sue Bleiweiss today. The book is due out in April and at some stage will be available for preorder on Amazon; how exciting is that! You will, I am sure, hear more about this. It is kind of strange to get it back and to think of it over in America, being photographed etc... Hard to explain, it’s like it had another life I know little about. I suppose its something to do with what you create being part of you. I had a similar feeling when I sold something in an exhibition and never met the person who bought it.

'Unfurled' Sketchbook Challenge.

'Unfurled' Sketchbook Challenge., a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

September's challenge. Digital stamps made using a photo of a paper spiral combined with some doodles.

Samples

Back from holiday yet again, this time a family gathering in the rainy Lake District.

The giveaway winners have all been in touch and I will be going to the Post Office next week.

Here are some photos, taken during the course at West Deane, of my samples.

 The course with Dionne Swift focused on 3D structures and there was an emphasis on working with the sewing machine and the cloth itself. Dionne is a fan of going back to using the treadle sewing machine and, therefore, feeling more in tune and part of the machine. Now having used a hand machine and briefly a treadle I can’t say that appeals to me but I get her point and I think it all tunes with the ‘slow stitch’ idea, the use of natural dyes and generally a move away from throwing lots of paint and goo at the fabric; not that that wasn’t great fun at the time!

 Dionne was an excellent tutor, particularly because of her enthusiasm and fresh approach. I would recommend a course with her if you get the chance.If you look at her Facebook page you will find more work from the course,in particular the samples from odd bits from the £ shop, which were made by the jeweller on the course and were very intricate and fascinating.

We used a number of transparent fabrics as backgrounds. It doesn't show up well here, but the use of a shiney transparent fabric gives a new twist to this old favourite.
 One lady came all the way from Dublin for the opportunity. Next time I plan to post a few macro shots of my samples.