A collaged book

This has been a bit of a diversion for me - not exactly stitching, though there is certainly stitch involved, and not miniatures, though it is small. Around three weeks ago I started an online class entitled The Thread That Weaves, with the very talented American artist Roxanne Evans Stout. You can check out the details of this, and all her other classes, here.

I've never really worked with paper collage before so I was very quickly way outside my comfort zone, and at one point did actually wonder whether I would continue. However, I persevered, and I'm so pleased that I did.

This is the cover ... (it now has a stitched line of thread weaving across it, worked after this photograph was taken).

 

Inside, each of the three pages is hinged in some way and each one has a surprise beneath it.

This is under the first page,

 Beneath the second page a seasonal poem by Robert Browning.

And under the third page a scrap of beautiful patterned silk fabric.

 I made a tiny book (less than 3" square)

 wit drawings,

 scraps of old letters,

 and snippets of poetry

 all about what spring means to me ...

 ... new growth, butterflies

and birds.

 I stitched the tiny book inside the main book.

And finally ... a few glimpses of my garden tulips after an early morning shower.

Red square in a pink world

Yes, that's right, Red Square is completed!

I really enjoyed stitching this piece - inspired by the trip to Russia a couple of years ago. The backing is interlaced strips of red silk - every shade and pattern that I had - and then I just played with gold and red threads. The peacock blue is there as a nod towards the brilliant colours on the domes of St Basil's Cathedral.

Why is my world pink? These are just a few of the flowers that I received from my wonderful son and daughter for Mother's Day last Sunday.

And of course, my rocking chair where I sit and stitch in the afternoon in my studio is covered in my lovely Liberty fabric quilt.

I signed up for another on-line course this week - at River Garden Studio. This one runs over four weeks and I'll be producing a mixed media book. Check out the photographs on the website - so inspiring! The course is entitled The Thread That Weaves, and so I got to thinking about the threads that weave through my textile art - the ones which already do, and the ones which I feel should become more prominent in order to more accurately reflect my personality and the things I love. Lace is a constant, as are the colours pink and purple, a little bit shabby/cottage chic, my love of flowers, small things, Scotland and Russia, faded grandeur and butterflies which speak of new birth/change/metamorphosis, a reflection of how this life I'm living feels.

What is the thread that weaves through your work and art?

Teddy bears and rocking chairs

We're struggling here in Yorkshire under a foggy sky which, according to experts, is a cloud of pollution blown in from Europe which is sitting underneath a cloud of dust from the Sahara desert. I really wish it had blown in some of the Sahara's warmth along with it but no ... it has felt really cold and damp and grey all day. It didn't stop me going into town for a warming cup of coffee though.

I finally got back to doing something miniature - it's been a while for one reason and another. So I just added these teddy bears in rocking chairs and sets of cushions to my Etsy shop.

Aren't those teddies adorable?!

And finally ...

 Some pictures of the auriculas blooming in my greenhouse

to remind me that it really is spring