Wool Fest 2009

I went to the Woolfest in Cockermouth which is in Cumbria by the Lake District.. I had a fantastic time wandering around with my freinds looking at the various sheep including Alpaca, fleeces, wool stalls, spinning wheels..there were all kinds of wool stalls from the Shetland Isles, Scottish Highlands, Norway and Denmark etc. I bought lots of new stuff including some gorgeous sari wool which I have knitted a thin scarf with. I tried on a great felt hat which I wish I had bought now..oh well just have to try and make one! We stopped off at Derwent water in the Lakes on the way home..such a beautiful place.

TMTATC "face" challenge

 
Various fabrics used for this one with some embroidery..part of a quilt square that I am making

Theme Thursday "Time...to rock"

Had a play in Picasa with the tonal settings and added the words "Time for Planet Rock" all over the bookmark I previously made for Wed Stamper. Havent really done any digital stuff before so this was just a bit of fun. I am always listening to Planet Rock as I love rock music and our house is never quiet as my husband has got loads of guitars comparable to my craft stuff!!

Wed Stamper "rock n roll"

Here is a grungy bookmark I made tonight with some Michelle Ward stamps..her stamps really do rock and I love them. Added a faux metal background and some of my husband's bass guitar strings are sewn on...long live rock!! Of course I had to photograph it on a real guitar case..I am always tripping over them in our house!!

some more quilt squares

Hope you are not bored at looking at my quilt squares but I have never done quilting before. I am going to make the spacer squares next that go in between..then I think I will do more arty squares as now I know how to sew them.

cool sun quilt square

 Another sun quilt square I made tonight. Its been another lovely hot day here so have finished reading an autobiography of Ricky Tomlinson (Jim Royle in the Royle Family)..it was a good book and made me laugh so will pass it on to my dad as I am sure he will know a lot of the North Liverpool places mentioned in the book.

"here comes the sun" quilt square

 
Had a go at making a quilt square on my sewing machine today..its sort of based on the trad log cabin style in that it uses all pieces sewn together. I want my quilt squares to reflect me..so they are never going to be perfect but a bit wild!! The square measures approx 5" and its photographed on the red sofa I have got in my craft/kids sun room. I am hoping to make a big quilt to cover this sofa so expect to see more squares until I get bored!! It was another gorgeous hot day today but as I am typing this it has started to rain ..but at least I dont have to water my plants!!

Created by Hand "French" ATCs

 
Tried out a new technique to me (as featured in craft stamper mag)..stamped image with staz on and filled background with inks then used white embossing powder for flowers.

UK Stampers monochrome twinchies swap

 
black and white stitched scraps with newspaper prima flowers sewn with black thread

mini quilt square and comfy cushions

 
I had a go at making a little quilt square ...it measures about 5"x5". I got the middle coffee square from a show I attended in the Spring so decided to quilt around it. I think I will make some more of these and join them together. Here is also a photos of the cushions I have recently made. The back one is crocheted which I made to learn how to do double crochet stich..the other two are knitted using cricket poles!! They are so comfortable and my kids are always cuddling them

Finally made some cards!!

 
I havent made any cards for ages so as its Fathers Day on Sunday I thought I better make one. My dad has got a fantastic garden and loves flowers..he has a load of blue iris growing at the moment. I coloured in the flowers with lumiere paints and added 3d gloss to make them look like enamel. The iris image is surrounded by a faux metallic frame and faux metal word all done on my cuttlebug.

finished patchwork bag (Theme Thursday "beautiful")

 
I made this patchwork bag and decided to sew some art quilt squares on it so it is more me and less pretty!! I love making stuff as you definitely get a sense of achievement at making an original....now to start on some more patchwork projects! I had a nice peaceful time at the shop finishing it today and thanks Linda for taking the photo

Woolfest 2009

I am all excited as I am going to the Woolfest on 27th June held up in Cockermouth, north of the Lake District. It is nearly 3hrs away from me but I am going with some friends from a felting/textile group that I go to so it should be a laugh. I have never been to a wool festival before and it sounds a bit mad with sheep auctions, sheep breeds on a runway ....give us a twirl!!. Here is the link to the site if you want to go and live up North

http://www.woolfest.co.uk/

Wed Stamper "spider"

I am not that keen on spiders..they are ok in the garden but not when they run across the floor. Here is another art quilt square with a fabric bead and the marvellous quote "creative clutter is better than idle neatness". All stamps from Inka stamps which was such a great stamp shop.

Created by hand challenge "own theme"

Stamped a flower and coloured material with distress inks for this art quilt square...love the stamped quote "Take a little time for yourself"

mixed media monday "numbers"

I am making a quilted bag at the moment but wanted to jazz it up a bit with some arty quilted squares. The numbers part is stamped on the green and there are also numbers on the Lost Coast stamped image

a sort of quilt!!! plus more goodies in the post

I got a load of goodies in the post for winning the May fibre arts junk mail challenge with the plastic bag bin I made. I love the dyed material, journal, misty fuse, artisans bag etc patterns and ATC so a big thanks Sue...be sure to visit her blog as its excellent..www.suebleiweiss.com. I have been looking a lot at quilting sites lately and have always wanted to have a go but not in the strict measure each piece so its perfect way! I decided to do it my way!! so have cut a large piece of interfacing ironed randomly cut squares on it and am in the process of sewing it all together. I know it will probably fray but that will add to the character. I hope to make an oversize tote bag with it all similair to the pattern given to me by Sue. I am not a very precise person and didnt want it to look too neat so hence not spending hours getting once quilt square piece perfect!! Will post up the bag when its finished (my laptop is not running very well at the moment so blog posts may be intermittent). Isnt the material gorgeous ..a big thanks to my friend Liz at the shop who brought me bags full of material that she didnt want!! I am lucky in life sometimes

UKS summer twinchies

Made some twinchies today for the swap over at UK Stampers using some fused fabric made with my soldering iron and stamped sun image on teabag paper.

UKS stampboard fridge magnets

They are holding a stampboard fridge magnet swap over at UK Stampers so I had to join in. Diane kindly sent me some stampboard squares so a big thanks. I am reading New Moon the sequel to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer so I think the reddish one is influenced by that as its very gothic!

lutradur, felted flowers, lace textured canvas page (mixed media monday "lace")

I have come to the end of my second canvas book so wanted the back cover to be really textiley and textural. The background is various layers of lace burnt over with chiffon and burnt lutradur around needle felted flowers. I burned the lutradur and chiffon away with my fabric master heat tool which is superb. I painted the lutradur with lumiere paints and found it really took the paint well and didnt seep in..it also glistens slightly. For lutradur and canvas books vist the C&T shop...just click on the badge to the right. I want to do a textile design course in September (hoping I can fit it in around the school day) and have an interview for it this Friday so think I will take this book along..do you think they will be impressed???

playing around with timtex and board books

I am part of the design team Creative troupe for C&T in the US. Here are a couple of designs I have been working on lately for them to display in various shops. The gothic arch ATC holder is made from heavy interfacing called timtex. I have spray dyed it then used acrylic paints, glue, plasterboard tape, burnt chiffon and faux metal embossing to create a highly textured piece. The house board book is covered in acrylic paints and distress inks, burnt lutradur with a little charm in the window and more metal embossing. Click on the badge link to the right to get to the C&T shop for lutradur, timtex etc

More charm goodies in the post!

I got these gorgeous charms in the post today from Terisa (Running with Scissors). They were all wrapped in a Coca Cola distressed package..very US. Arent the charms gorgeous especially the little sundae charm ..it reminds me of the film Diner.Be sure to check out her blog http://SabiiWabii.blogspot.com. I also got some great books from C&T. I especially recommend Fabric Art Collage by Rebekah Meier as it is full of really good fabric collage ideas.

Yay I won the Fibre Arts Junk Mail Challenge

I got a suprise email last night to say I had won the May Junk Mail challenge over at the Fiber Arts Mixed Media forum. I dont know what I have won so it will be a nice surprise. Here is another pic of the junk mail bin I made using fused plastic bags and junk mail. I use it everyday so it was well worth making. To join the Fiber Arts Mixed Media group click on the badge link to the right.

love collage canvas page (mixed media monday "layers"

Decided to use the faux metal pieces I did yesterday on a collage canvas page. The background is painted and stamped with some burnt lutradur in the middle which has a heart needle felted into it. To buy lutradur or canvas books click on the I love fiber art badge to the right and that will take you to the C&T shop. There are quite a lot of layers on this page with the background, burnt lutradur, faux metal, beaded safety pin and stamped canvas tape so I guess it qualifies for mixed media monday's challenge!! Very pleased as this was nominated for Art of The Week on the Mixed Media Monday site..thanks Gillian!