Contemporary Quilt Group A4 challenge, May journal at last, EH8

I found it very difficult to get down to these next 4. Too many memories stirred by the first 4 I think.

Hand embroidered panels, machine quilting to mimic cortical folds.  Border fabric is on Sky Dyes fabric by Mickey Lawler, machine quilted with the postcode and with feather motifs.

This represents the left and right side of my brain when I was at university. Doing a science degree, my days were very full of formal teaching, I did not pay enough attention to making sure that I had enough outlets for creativity . The right brain has the brighter and more varied colours, larger thoughts surging through the cortex. Plenty of right brain activity going on in my life now.

First lily in all its Stargazer glory

At least two weeks later than last year, but burst in to bloom this morning.  The perfume is either intoxicating or overwhelming depending on whether you like it or not.

Morley, advanced textiles exhibition

I managed to have a dash around the exhibition from the Morley Advanced Textiles group this week.  So much inspiration, as ever.  I was originally disappointed at these photos, but now I am intrigued by the reflections and the shadows.

Nuno felt clothing, silk

Machine knitting and inspiration

Knitted butterflies

Lampshade from old embroidered tablecloth

Grinling Gibbons carving interpreted in felt

Inspiration

Small stitches and big skies

I've been at the seaside.  Substantially cooler than London, but warm enough to sit on the beach and contemplate the big skies of East Anglia.

and do some stitching.

It was also a chance to revisit the Scallop, seen in sunshine this time

and to wonder at the interconnected threads of our lives, as I rediscovered a series of favourite book from early childhood " Orlando the Marmalade Cat" and realised that they were written and drawn in Aldeburgh.  Somehow I missed the re-issuing of these when my own children were young, so I spent a happy hour in the terrific  Aldeburgh bookshop looking at the illustrations and relating them to walks of the previous day.

It is going to be so hot in London today that I'l be flopping about listening to an archive edition of Desert Island Discs about the author Kathleen Hale.

Unexpected art and music in the city

Starting a new job, based in the centre of London, in the summer, can be a hot and sticky experience.  However, it is worth it for finds like St John's Waterloo on Friday.  From the beautiful curves in the stone and metalwork


to the unexpected mosaics  and ceramics in the churchyard, courtesy of South Bank Mosaics


to the bounteous lilies and hollyhocks, currently in flower



to the juxtaposition of plant spikes and church spire


to the wonderful sounds inside of the rehearsals of South Bank Sinfonia, ( who do a free commuter concert on Thursdays at 6pm )

and the great jerk chicken wrap on sale in the courtyard,  ( no photo)
to the thought-provoking art of Clare Abbatt




one lunchtime was not enough.  Unfortunately, this exhibition finishes on Monday, so I won't get a chance to look at these again


which is a pity as they brought back to mind this installation at the Cass Sculpture Park from earlier in the year.

Feathers again

I am stitching, but most of it is part of the Dr Who stitch along, so can't be revealed here yet.  I am also continuing with the fascination of drawing feathers, inspired by the book, " Infinite Feathers" by Anita Shackelford.

These have been designed following the principles in the book, but using a pair of compasses and then freehand drawing of the plumes, rather than using her templates.  Whether I'd ever be able to stitch these to a standard that would please me is another issue.

Feathered fish?

Beside the seaside, beside the sea…….

I was on a training course this week in Goring by Sea.  Coincidentally the premises where the training was held, Courtlands, contains pieces of architectural salvage from a house that was once in Twickenham, Mount Lebanon House.  As it is only a few miles form Littlehampton, it was an opportunity to visit The Longest Bench and The East Beach Cafe, designed by Heatherwick Studio.

My photographs were taken on a drizzly, grey early evening, so they are not as joyous as those on the links.

I really like the way that the bench incorporates commemorative slats in to the overall design, a different take on the more customary memorial bench.

Back to quilting's roots

I am drawn ( literally ) to quilting's roots at the moment and have a bit of an obsession going on with freeform feathers.  When I started quilting, these seemed completely unattainable to me.  With the generous on-line help from skilled quilters, particularly Diane Gaudyinski, Sharon Schamber, Leah Day and Patsy Thompson, I've progressed through drawing….

 

although those right hand plumes look a bit more like segments of a satsuma now, this could be a new trend.

To stitched 6 x 4 samples

These samples were stitched on 80 / 20 wadding, with Bottomline thread in both top and bobbin, and with a 70 needle.  Once I'd got the tension sorted out ( using that finger thing on the Bernina bobbin case that I didn't know why it was there) this was lovely to stitch with.

The white rings were from playing with the dye-discharge method using Milton, then re-inserting colour in to some of them using Artbars