Heavenly Gardens Journal Returns Home

 I joined an International Journal Round Robin back in June 2010 and my journal entitled Heavenly Gardens returned home a couple of days ago.  Here it was back then, and here it is now, all fat and overflowing with gorgeous artwork!  It really is amazing, a real treasure so I thought I'd share it with you here.

It's been around the world, to USA, Australia, the Netherlands and Ireland in it's travels.

 Here is the post where I shared my inspiration for this journal

 I created the little pocket at the front of the journal to hold paper seed markers which acted as the sign in sheet for the artists and they decorated them with a riot of fibres, threads, charms, beads, foliage and flowers.

 Gabby

 Lynda

 Clairester - page dedicated to her  Aunt Molly

 Vera

 Lizzie

 Milliande

 Milliande

 Antje

 Monika

 Monika

 Tike

 Toos

 Toos

 Toos

 

Louise

 Louise

 

 Helen

 Helen

The pages are all fabulous, each artist adding their own unique take on my theme.  The last entry smells divine, with a piece of lavender from her garden.  I could comment on each page but I think that the image speaks for itself - showing the wonderful creative and giving minds of the ladies who have and still are participating in this adventure, (I think my journal is the first to make it back home, some are still travelling and at least a couple I have yet to work in).

So a very big shout out to these talented ladies - Gabby, Lynda, Clairester - dedicated to her Aunt Molly, Vera, Lizzie, Milliande, Antje, Louise, Tike, Toos, Helen and last but not least the most dedicated organiser you could hope to work with, Monika.  It's been a pleasure ladies, I'm so happy to have 'met' you and I'm blown away by your creativity and generousity of time and energy.  If you are ever up for another Round Robin just let me know....

Floral Abundance Continues

 Floral abundance continues sounds so much better than the wet season shows no signs of stopping!  June has been a washout and July is following in it's soggy footsteps.

Last week came the heaviest rains I had ever seen, at some points you couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you, it was that heavy.  Hail stones fell like ice cubes from the sky.

 But my little garden continues to flower it's heart out, despite the rain beating it down

 Jasmine, now scents the air with it's heady perfume

 and I continue to delight in the different shapes, textures and hues of pink, white, blue and purple.

Maybe the weather will change soon?

My First Fabric Bag

I went to a bag making workshop yesterday and made this bag.  I nipped out between rain showers today to photograph it.  I used a Sanderson fabric remenant in a soft floral design for the outside and used a cream cotton for the lining.  Just taken it out for a spin and it functions really well, plenty of room.  I might make the next one (yes, there will be a next one as throughly enjoyed making this one) with slightly longer handles so it can go comfortably, on my shoulder and I might round the corners, but really pleased with my first effort.

Floral Abundance, Machete Soon Needed

 The heavy rainfall and the relative warmth of the season has meant that the plants in my garden have just grown with abundance.  The borders are full to the brim and I love it.  All the shapes, colours and perfumes are a delight so I thought I'd share a few with you

 The first year my poppy has flowered.  Parts of it look just like velvet.

 My alltime favourite rose - Jubilee Celebration, I bet David Austen's sold a few of those this year :)

 My astrantias, unassuming but so exquiste, think these are Roma.

 Just a rambler from the local DIY store, so clean, crisp and perfect.

 My long awaited peony, normally well over by this time in the year.

 Pretty ground cover with this hardy geranium.

 This wonderful dark leaved shrub is flowering, no idea what it is but I love it

 My varigated jasmine is in bud.

And I had to finish with another rose, this time St Swithun, softly perfumed.  Now I just need some warm days to get out there and enjoy the garden :)

Another Rainy Bank Holiday

But are my spirits dampened, well just a bit but only because I've come down with a cold and I'm feeling sorry for myself.  Still, playing around with my free motion embroidery foot and some transfer paints sure raised my spirits again.  I'm along way from being proficient but luckily I don't mind it being a bit loose.

And I've made some birds to put on my deconstructed lampshade.   I'm loving all the lovely little floral prints I got from Fabric Guild.

Hoping you're having drier and happier times wherever you are.  What have you been creating recently??

Been Doing My Homework

 

But first I had to make a journal to put my homework in.  Whilst I love making journals I think it's probably more of a reaction to when I was at university and we were told what size sketchbook to use and we weren't allowed to decorate them which was crazy beings as we were doing a creative degree.  Enough said, rant over.

The theme for this term's embroidery class is Summer so I immediately thought of gardens (and daytrips to cemeteries) so I used pages from old gardening books and some of my stash of floral wallpapers.

 

I began playing around with fabric transfer paints.  When I was in class a stray thread had got in the way of the transfer but I liked the happy accident so decided to explore that further, using threads, lace and gauze as masks.

 I also painted a clematis design and transferred that to cream poly-cotton fabric, ready to embroider. 

Well, where do I begin?

How about with something I've finished. I made this little needlecase for a friend's birthday and now I want one! I got the idea from this little one on the Angel Eden blog

Think I might make myself a matching pin cushion as well - watch this space :)


I've been enjoying my embroidery night class and particularly the needle felting. I just love painting with the felts, such saturated colours and I had a bit of a play with this piece. It's been such a fun class that I've signed up for the 10 weeks after easter as well when we'll be learning different ways to put images onto fabric.

Ok..... a rather strange, non-descript photo you might think but I'm just so excited! My very own freemotion/darning foot, on my machine!!! I really thought I would have to save up my pennies and buy a new machine but then I met a wonderfully knowledgeable man at Fabric Guild and he found me a new foot. No stopping me now, I can write, well ok it's more like a scrawl for now, with it. I really love the look of sewing machine 'hand-writing' and hope to incorporate it into my journals.


Now a work in progress. I finally stripped back and old lampshade and have wrapped the frame in fabric.

I need a new lampshade for the dining room and I have a vague recollection of seeing a lampshade frame covered in rags, sorry I can't remember where. But I like that because then I don't have anything to follow and I can just get on with doing my own thing. I'm back at the pondering stage now, I could

• make some yoyos and use them like flowers on it
• make some fabric birds
• string some beads and dangly bits such as glass chandalier pieces
• or a mixture of all three

I'm not sure yet so in the meantime

I've been getting on with decorating the bathroom. Here I am trying out different arrangements for the floral china display I'm going to have on the wall in there. I knew there was a reason I was collecting it, lol. 'Country Living' photos of the bathroom to follow when I've finished it. Why does it always take longer than you think, still all the emulsion now done - white and Paradise Green (yummy colour honest) on the woodwork to do now, oh and the curtains, and another coat on the floor and something dangly and sparkly on the lightfitting I think. Hope you've all been doing something nice this Easter!