Something different ...

I've long been fascinated by Zentangling, but never thought I would have the patience to actually do it!  Then I thought maybe I could combine it with stamped designs, particularly to make border patterns.  Here is a card I made which uses  a stamped boat from Stampscapes, with stamps for sky and sea texture.  The rest of the details are all drawn freehand by me.  Colour was added to the background picture with ink dusters, then the frame was mounted on foam to give a little dimension.  I'm entering this in the Craft-a-Scene May Challenge - Ships in the Night.  It's certainly different and a bit of fun :)

New Stampscape scenes ...

The other evening I was inspired to get away from the TV and stamp a few new scenes using some of the animal stamps I got following the online course I did with Sandy Hulsart.  The first one uses Heron in Water by Beeswax together with Stampscapes scenery.

The second uses Fishing Bear by Beeswax together with Stampscapes scenery.  Both were stamped on Kromekote glossy paper and coloured in with the Colorbox Stylus tool and a mix of Marvey and Distress Inks :)

Progress ...

Progress is being made on two fronts ... firstly the Batik quilt is now a series of 'parts'.  The half square triangles need to be trimmed and then I can decide on a layout.

... secondly, I've been practising my new knitted fabric sewing skills.  This was originally a round necked, 3/4 sleeve, plain green t-shirt that I bought for £1 from the local charity shop.  I changed the neckline to a scoop, shortened the sleeves and added navy trim to the bottom of body, sleeves and neckline.  The bottom of the body could have been better, but I'm very happy with the neckline and sleeves :)

The GBSB effect ...

The Great British Sewing Bee TV programme has created a real buzz around the sewing community.  If you haven't seen it (you can catch it on YouTube) it was a competition to find the best British home sewer.  It was all garment related and I thought maybe I should revive some of my garment sewing skills that have lain dormant for 20 years or so. 

I looked to see what courses Craftsy ran, as a refresher.  I am tall, have long limbs and a different size top half to bottom half (if you get my drift!) so commercial patterns do not fit without adjustment.  I found an interesting course on drafting patterns using ready-to-wear clothes that fit you well.  When I checked my wardrobe, apart from jeans, ALL my clothes are made from knitted (ie stretchy) fabrics - even my 'posh' frock is from a black stretch velour!  I've never sewn knits before, being rather scared of working with stretch fabrics.  Craftsy had the answer - a course called "Sewing with Knits" which gives you patterns for 5 basic pieces and the tips/techniques and instructions on how to make them.  That was the course for me.

So here is the first garment I've made - a sweatshirt/fleece hoodie.  Once I figured out how to work with a PDF pattern, adjusted it with reference to another similar garment I own, made a toile to check fit and followed the course instructions ... it wasn't that hard!  Can't wait to get started on the T shirt pattern next :)

Stampscapes April Exchange ...

I belong to a Yahoo group for Stampscape enthusiasts called StampscapesII. Every month they arrange a swap for any members who want to exchange stamped art and I took part for the second time this month. The theme for April was 'Reflections'. Here is the card I sent which used a technique demonstrated by Sheena Douglas where you apply Distress Inks to card, then use a damp brush to take out some of the colour to create lighter areas.

Here is the card I received from Nancy in Canada.  Love the nearly monochrome look and the atmosphere created.  Thanks Nancy :)

Batik quilt begins ...

My next project is using Batik nickels or charm squares.  A few years back I did nickel swaps with an online group based in the US and I've been hoarding these squares to make a batik quilt one day.   That day has finally arrived and I got out the background fabric I bought in a sale last year and started cutting.  Lot of half-square triangles to be made first :)

Herringbone Quilt Finished.

I had a lot of fun with the quilting on the centre of this quilt.  I created framed areas using pebbles, then filled them with Angela Walters' Plume Feather motif.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

To recap: the string blocks are called Herringbone blocks which I first saw on Vic's blog - I created my own quilt layout.  The quilting was inspired by Angela Walters' Craftsy course and book.  Quilt finished at approx 40" x 56" and all fabrics used were from my stash :)