floral theme

I promised my self I would stitch every day - even if just for 10 minutes and put every thing to one side and see what comes from my efforts - below is one of my samples:

and I am still playing with the paint brush:

paper bark

Paperbark, some stitch and acrylic paint.

Paperbark trees have such lovely colour and texture and are always shedding - can't help but collect it when I pass and I have a large piece of bark still pinned to my wall. For some interesting bits about these trees have a look here.

Cheers

blue bouquet

Each year I ask for buttons for Christmas - occasionally that request gets a response. I actually think I just like the look of a bottle full of buttons - the complexity of colours, shapes etc. I have started to put a few of the buttons I have received together into a flower format. This is the result so far - I have worked a 10 cm (4") area. I will cut some mat board shortly to see how it comes up framed and what more work it needs.

Cheers

well is is so hot and before that it was humid ... and I am not inclined to do much at all except sleep.

I have been stitching a bit recently but I can't post a photo yet. It is a sample done in the company of friends - a test stitch for a class submission (but not by me - I was just the happy paticipant). I have been beavering away since Saturday and I am nearly finished. It has been very enjoyable and just the thing I need to kick start myself into more sewing - especially as I am participating in two different exhibitions next year - see http://mapsby11.blogspot.com/ for more information about an interesting project kick started by an interest in Captain Cook's voyages. And my home group at the Embroiderers' Guild NSW is planning an exhibition about mid 2012 - snippets of information and teasers can be found on the Stitchers Plus blog in my links.

Of course - with these commitments on the horizon I have been procrastinating and picking up drawing and painting tools instead of a needle... sketch club has started again and I have posted my pick of my drawings last evening - I left before the longer poses as it was so hot - the drawing is from a 15 minute pose with a horrible foreshortening of the right arm. I spent my time grappling with it and here is the result:

I have been painting too - when I was doing art classes we did an painted an item of clothing using a palette knife. I tried this again - this time a silk kimono jacket:

Not as successful as my first attempt last year but the fun is in the doing and I had fun.

I have also been sitting on a painting I did before Christmas thinking I would add something to it - I have decided I like it as is and will frame it:

Well after this I think I should sort my sewing requisites for the pieces I have planned to do in the coming year - some are definitely going to be based on cactus plants and flowers after my visit to Cactus Country.

Cheers all

blackwood and gardens of st. erth

Sights in the main drag of the country town of Blackheath in Victoria included these wombats on a roof. The owner of the Two Fat Wombats created these wonderful animals. Not to mention the dog below. There was a pig in boots leaning up against an outside bar drinking an ale (albeit through a straw) at the bar next door and a few other creatures were about town too. Not to mention bits of garden merging into the street scape.



The Gardens of St Erth are just out of town and were looking marvellously green after all the summer rains (which are now flooding parts of Victoria not so far away)

This is part of the vege garden -

I didn't take many photos in the main garden but this plant is amazing:

Will try and make it a stitching post next - I have heaps of flower (and cactus) photos and will work on a sample in the next coupl of weeks.

Take care

cactus country

This cactus garden at Strathmerton, Victoria is full of inspiration - there were lots of flowers and wonderful spiky plants to provide a great kick start for some textural fiber art and painting involving modelling paste. I have linked the post title to Cactus Country's website - click it for a virtual visit.

Our visit was full on for sensory effect - fragile looking flowers in the heat of the mid day sun and birds flitting about. The strong sun goes without saying and we were thoughtfully provided with an umbrella by Julie when we started out on our walk around the gardens.

I can't imagine cactus without heat but I was surprised where many of the plants came from - some from very high altitudes which I imagine would have issues with the cold rather than heat.

Here are a few of the many photos I took:

And yes - the sky was that blue!

oil slick

the last day of spring brought some rain and lifted the oil in the tarmac