And Now for Something Different . . .

I've been doing a different kind of art today - textile art:

Journal Sketch Page ~ Oyster Catcher

In the hub-bub of life I sometimes hatch a little idea which I don't have time to pay attention to right away and it has to be quickly drawn into my sketch book so I can remember it for later.
This was one of those ideas, and it was born in September of last year whilst up on the Northumberland coast.

One very early (and particularly beautiful) morning, I was the first one up in our little holiday abode, and whilst enjoying a hot coffee I had a trawl through the rather fascinating book case that the owner had thoughtfully crammed full of fabulous reading material and discovered a very old bird book.

I wish I could tell you what the title of it was but I'm afraid I can't.  It was one of those little books bound in soft navy blue leather, and all the wording had been rubbed off.  The pages were well worn and yellowed with age on the edges, and did I just fall in love with those black and white illustrations?  You bet I did, and I hastily scribbled in my sketch book that morning as the ideas ran riot.

My idea was to create a journal type sketch book piece using mixed media mounted onto a small box canvas.
Using creamy white calico as a base to work from, I drew a lined journal background and my oyster catcher in pencil and then coloured it in with acrylics, adding a couple of smooth round pebbles he could nose about in and a bit of turquoise for the shoreline.

When the paint had dried, I ironed the calico and began my freestyle embroidery.  I used two contrasting colours of thread throughout as I like the fact you can see both colours if you look carefully.  It's also a nice way to shade.

I really love the freedom of this kind of sewing, it's a very organic process and I enjoy the occasional serendiptious mishaps that end up enhancing the work! 
To give it more of a page-like feel, I sewed in the lines and added text using a vintage typewriter alphabet stamp, and also a bit of my own hand writing.

To finish, the work was mounted on a painted box canvas.  What do you think?  
You will be able to find this in my Folksy Shop.

(Detail)

So onto other stuff:  I've been doing a bit more work on my shawl this week, in between looking after a poorly Small.  It's slow progress but it's coming on a treat.  I'm looking forward to sharing some new pictures of my current WIP with you very soon.

Talking of crochet...Oh my goodness did I go weak at the knees with the Wanties or what!?!  Being pretty much housebound this week playing nurse to Small, I decided to treat myself to a magazine - the ones I promised not to spend oodles of cash on anymore, except as a treat (but I reckon being a nurse qualifies to a bit of self indulgence).
Anyhow!  Flicking through the pages of a rather colourful and splendid Country Living I saw this:

Can you see it?  
Look closer...sorry to behead the poor woman in the picture but check out that crocheted waistcoat!!!  Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeals of delight, just LoOk!! LOOK!!!

Sorry the picture is slightly blurred - but you get the idea!  Apparently it's a CK one although I can't find it anywhere online to look at in more detail.  It's worth £68 squideroonies and you know what I thought when I saw it don't you?

I could make that.

It looks like a granny stitch affair to me - and it is ever so likely that this will be my next project once the shawl is finished. I'm already choosing colours for it - the other half raised an eyebrow and indicated with a slight nod of his head the rather full to bursting wool basket in Crochet Corner...'What about that lot in there?'  Well what about it?  It's all odds and sods, suitable for blankets and cushions, this is going to need New Wool!!  And that for me is half the pleasure of it all - picking new wool!


If any of you has a link to a better picture of this waistcoat, would you be a dear and send it to me please?


Thank you.


Sending you love ~ thank you for dropping in today, have a wonderful weekend!
Julia x

Daffodils and Bunting

Daffodils and Bunting
Acrylic on box canvas 20x20cm

Hello people!

I hope this warm March day finds you well! Im pleased to be able to share the finished painting 'Daffodils and Bunting' with you! After being inspired by Surfer Rosa, I painted in some cotton reels as the thought of the blackbird coming to find a spare strand of thread to line his nest was very appealing. Of course, I then sat wondering what the cotton reels might be sitting there for, all very well to have a couple of reels on the window sill and why not - but I felt a bit more visual interest was necessary and the idea of bunting popped into my head, and it seemed to bring the picture together! Do you agree? Im going to start putting some of my originals into my Folksy shop ~ 'Little Blue Bird' ~ so you will be able to find this, and other paintings and prints available to buy there too!


This morning I awoke at 6am - I lay under the warmth of the duvet for a few minutes but realised that the light coming from behind the curtains was tempting me to get up. Im not usually up this early, and generally Im the sort that will turn over and go back to sleep for another hour until the soft thudding of Little Girl's footsteps on the landing awaken us. But this morning, I felt compelled to be up before anyone else. I tiptoed downstairs, put on a pot of coffee and opened the backdoor...and thats when I realised what had happened.

Spring had arrived.

It's that wonderful moment that you get when the season is on the cusp of changing. A warm breeze was blowing (yes, at 6am - a warm wind) and I stood on the doorstep in my jammies breathing in this feeling of delight. It was here!! At last!! It's nothing actually noticeable, in fact, all looked the same outside as it did yesterday, but there was a very perceptible feeling of something in the air having shifted and changed. Oh isn't it delicious when Spring lands on your doorstep?!


The picture above, is another view of our lovely 'tops' looking out again over to Derbyshire. It was slightly hazy at 8:30 this morning as we drove over to Mum's to dispatch the Little One for a day of adventuring. Im very fond of that view, it's one of my favourites and sometimes feels as if the whole, beautiful world is spread out before me.


You can see that Spring has arrived, Im waxing lyrical and Im all over the place in a skippy happy sort of fashion today! Which leads me to more skippy happy stuff, of the crochet kind.

Ive made some hearts!

I was inspired a few weeks back by a post on Attic 24's blog, where she had designed and made the sweetest little hearts you ever did see. Now, I was quite smitten with them and searched the internet high and low for a pattern. But you know what its like, once you see something you like, you want that one - and none of the other patterns I found really did it for me. So, last night I spent a couple of hours working out my own pattern - Im nothing if not determined folks - and eventually, with a whole lot of tweaking and unravelling, came up with these, which I think look a bit like what I was after!

Im going to try and make a little chain of heart bunting, as I feel that our home is very much in need of some heart bunting! However, for now that will have to wait, as a new painting is about to be started! I was halfway through Daffodils and Bunting when an idea struck. Now, for me, this is not always a good thing, as it means that I get so excited by the new idea I become bored of what Im currently doing and discard it in order to get on with the new stuff. However, Im practising being disciplined, and did a few sketches to quench the excitement so that I could finish 'D&B' properly.


The next painting will feature a cat, and I hope to be able to share it with you soon.

I can't say Goodbye this week without saying 'Thank You' to everyone who has visited my blog to take part in the Sunny Spring Giveaway! Ive been delighted to find wonderful comments from old friends and new ones, and because of this Im discovering some wonderful new blogs, so thanks to all of you for stopping by! There is still chance to enter the giveaway, as it doesn't close until the 21st March - so if you would like to enter and haven't already, then please leave a comment on this post to guarantee a place in the draw, which takes place on Monday the 22nd.

I'm looking forward to catching up with your blogs, its been a busy old week here one way or another so apologies for not being able to get to as many blogs as I would like (and believe me, I like nothing more than a good hour of peaceful blog browsing, with cup of tea and something sweet and nice alongside!).

Have a warm, sunny weekend - I'll be posting again sometime on Monday so "Good Luck" to you, if you're in the draw!

Mucho love
Julia x x x

A New Painting and the Big Blanket

Hello there!
Well, its been a week of completing things! Just this morning I put the final strokes on this latest painting which Ive titled 'Evening Stroll' and which is an acrylic painting on a deep edge box canvas (20x20cm).

Im very pleased with it, I love how the fox is skulking through the autumn flowers in the early evening light, and the unsuspecting hens are absent mindedly wandering about in the garden...!


Ive noticed that I like painting scenes that capture that lovely time of the evening, just between the fall of the night and the ebb of the day - crepuscular is the name for it! I like new moons, water, skies and working with ochres and blues on my palette. I find Im increasingly drawn towards nature, birds and animals as subject matter. I still enjoy character work very much though, and I think my next piece may feature some human beings...yes, already there is an idea on the cards for my next painting which Im rather excited about but which may have to be put on hold as Ive been asked by the gallery that stocks my cards (and some of my prints) to send some Valentine's themed cards asap, so Im going to be busy making those over the weekend.


But...without further ado (insert a tremedous drumroll here folks) - the Big Blanket is finished.

Yes, and oh how delighted I am with it. My first foray into crocheted blankets and already Im itching to start another one! Do you want to see it? Of course you do!! :D

Here we go....

Ta-Dahhh!!!

Just look at all that cheerful hooky gorgeousness!! All ready to snuggle into!!

Its about 1.5 mtr square, its taken me 10 months (on and off) and I love it to bits - I love that its unique, there is only ONE in the WHOLE WORLD!!! Right now it has pride of place on the back of our sofa, for snuggle emergencies and tent building (heartily engaged in by our Small Person with gusto when she found it yesterday morning!).

So there we are - a most productive week in our little house! Im still reading my business books and learning a bit more about the art of marketing and selling, and Im finding it very interesting. I think Ive surprised myself a bit, as that side of things never appealed to me before, but its certainly helping me see that whilst its good to have dreams and goals, the actions are what makes things happen!


Im just going to mention (before I go), a big "Thank You"of gratitude to everyone who comes to my little blog and reads my wanderings and ramblings each week. I started this blog after a friend suggested I do it as a weekly challenge (during a creative dry spot, to give me something to think about). I never thought that I would meet such lovely people through it, and it means such alot to me that you come by and comment and even read the thing!


So! Im looking forward to catching up with your delicious blogs now - its about time I put my feet up under that blanket with a cuppa and trawl through your inspiring posts!! Just the tonic if you ask me!


Hope you have happy weekends, sprinkled with tiny snowdrop discoveries and winter sunshine - chat soon

Julia x x x