Stitching in Sunshine

Good morning folks - hope the sun is shining where you are. We've had some torrential rain over the last couple of days but the sky is blue - mostly! and the sun is shining this morning. Weirdly this has not helped my indoor photography so apologies for that.

We've had a pretty quiet weekend, and today appears to be just strolling along gently. I am going for a walk and popping in to visit mum on the way back. She was quite up-beat when I last saw her, looking more herself, less the bewildered and wizened old lady. I have a couple of textile commissions to finish so will be working on them today, and this evening it will be a spot of music and gossip over at Rob and Marj's. They have just returned home after a wonderful week on a narrow-boat on the Welsh canals.

 Following on from my last two posts, both of which included stories and photographs of narrow boats, I have been pondering about the resurgence in interest in this gentle form of transport. I have a friend who lives full time with her husband on their narrow-boat, the Lady Arwen, and they love their life. Another friend and her family live between their house and their narrow-boat, purchased initially as 'digs' for her husband who lectures at a university too far away from home to commute. Yet another young musical friend (all these people are musicians!) spends most of his life renovating his narrow-boat and holding epic parties-  it seems to me, from the photographs, on-board as he progresses! Other friends are tentatively taking their first narrow-boating holidays, having caught onto the current 'zeitgeist'.  I would love to try it myself - but I suspect our visit to Brecon earlier this month is the closest I am likely to get!

So, back to textiles - here a few photos of the wool cushion I am making for the next craft fair.

Close up of the front, I am re-using the Big Blue Bird, which also featured on one of the cushions which sold at Open Studios. The main fabric is a charity-shop blanket which I dyed in the washing machine - I love this raspberry colour.

Here a close-up of the reverse side, showing a hand-stitched button-hole and two hand-made felt and cardboard buttons - yes, they will have stitching -holes punched into them before I attach them!

Here is the front of a cushion cover requested by a visitor to Open Studios. She wanted a small cushion with the image of a naive vase and flowers which I had included on a small folk-art quilt. I sized up the image and appliqued the pieces onto the background, which I then stipple-quilted to give that antique effect she had so admired.

I added a little hand embroidery here and there, and attached the two borders. I now have to make the back, which will be constructed form a man's thrifted shirt; I shall use the front, so that the buttons will provide a ready-made opening for the cushion pad to be inserted.

This last is an unfinished commission which I can't tell you any more about because it is a secret! Again, as I said in an earlier post, the greens just do not reproduce well on my camera, but I am using pieces from the two blankets I dyed, the green and the raspberry. I need more blankets!!!! I am really enjoying using them and can choose my own colours by dyeing them myself.

So, the sun is still shining - I am off for my walk and visit. Have a lovely day yourselves, won't you!