Bad Science - read if you can

Not much stitching going on due to school holidays, but lots of reading being done by everyone. I've just started reading " Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre, which is excellent.
As a scientist, I am constantly frustrated at the lack of understanding about good scientific method and how the media manipulates the lack of understanding about relative risk.
Similarly, I am disappointed at how gullible many people are about miracle cures and superfoods. This book is a great starting point if you are beginning to question some of what you are reading or hearing in the media about science and how it affects our world.

Fabric flowers, a new way- Kanzashi,

So, I have seen lots of ways of making fabric flowers and then what do I find - a completely new fabric flower, called kanzashi.

I've tried to make a couple and they are coming along. Not enough to photograph yet, but they'll be here. This new book on a modern take to the technique looks as if it will be interesting.

No time for much more as I'm flitting between work and home computers this afternoon.

Round Robin, glimpse

I'm on the third stage of the Round Robin that our quilt group is doing this year. I tried out a few different techniques in this one, including: pentagon flowers from Fantastic Flower Folding; applying bias strips by using the space on the full presser foot to feed the strip under the needle; 3D strips as used in the June challenge from British Quilt List; copying some flower centres that I saw on a dress I tried on recently - didn't like the dress, but liked the flower technique ( 3 pinked circles, each one gathered separately in to a clump and then sewn on very close to each other).

I can't show more of this as the ultimate owner may be looking in.

Swan, Ferret and other wildlife

If you get a chance to do a workshop with Ferret, then I strongly encourage you to do so. These are pics of work in progress and my product at the end of the day of her workshop " Art Quilt by Numbers" .

She is a marvellous teacher and is very generous at sharing her techniques. This swan is made entirely from scraps of fabric. The quilting will be done this weekend hopefully, strangely enough I'm hoping for more rain tomorrow!

BUT, I'm not hoping for rain tonight as our family are off to an outdoor concert to see The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain. See them if you can - very good musicians and very witty performers.

Superb talk from Ferret on Monday

We had a superb talk from the fantastic Ferret at our quilt group on Monday. Is is great to see how she uses traditional techniques in modern settings. Lots of attendees commented on her use of black where white might have been a more expected colour.

We have a workshop planned with her on Saturday - "Quilt by Numbers" that we are all looking forward to. Off to pull the relevant fabrics from my stash - who knows I might not even have the right ones, so could be surfing those online shops tonight!

Pronk your home

I read the Dutch word " pronk" on a blog a few months ago and it really struck a chord. Pronk as quoted on that blog means " to display one's best" or " to show off".
This year I have decided to pronk in my home by using one's best rather than having is on a high shelf to protect it from marauding boys! Hence this little jug, which is " too small to be practical" ( to quote some in our house) now being used to store pens and pencils next to the phone.
I bought it at this art show a couple of years ago.

PS, I see other definitions of pronk on the web, such as "jumping straight up like a kangaroo" - hope this isn't what happens to my jug.

What to do with a tangle of threads?

I found a huge tangle of threads in the back of my car after the most recent Region 1 Regional day. As these are my favourite colours I didn't want to throw them away.

Here they are on a Little Gem, called " The Big Tangle" . The hearts are an experiment with water-soluble stabiliser, sewn straight on to the stabiliser using a sprung embroidery hoop and then sewn on to this piece with invisible thread. The little hands were made with polymer clay and a push-out mould - a bit fiddly but good fun.