spring design

I think the second workshop in early STITCH CLUB days was that by
Merill Comeau
and I did love that one very much !
No wonder I was quite HAPPY to "see" her again
three weeks ago !!!
She introduced a fun way to start a(ny) project
but I was very sure I knew already what my design would be :

SPRING !

In our garden there were lots of aconites
showing their yellow heads
and the snowdrops were not far behind either.

Apart from using the "normal" fabrics, Merill urged us to paint our own
and also use homemade stamps on them.
However, the downside of that is that you have to stitch
through quite hardened fabric.
(and arthritis hands don't like that very much!)

Hmmmm . . . and working on a big scale doesn't help either,
but now I'm very happy with the finished piece !

the start with some stamps

the first lay out

and choosing more colours

Taking TARLATAN as backing  (because my all time favorite
Dutch textile artist Leslie Gabriëlse does that too !)

Slowly going, first with lots and lots of pins !!!

And after many hours of stitching
(and breaks in between !)
I finished it !

(hmmmm . . . the video doesn't want to load)

"night friends"

Here's the finished little painting

(only 9 x 14 cm ,   3.5 x 5.5")

The new fine brushes I bought lately

are just fine for this

(I had some older ones with hairs sticking out : grrrrrrrrr)

Because it is such fun

I started on the next one immediately.

(in progress)

mandala and more

Yesterday was our last evening

with the mandala group this year.

In the meditation we had to stay in the "now"

no other thoughts than that

with music a.o.  music of Sarah Brightman.

It was a wonderful evening.

The last few days I was busy making the post cards 

for our Christmas and New Year good wishes.

A few years back I made a lot of stamps

out of eraser blocks.

(HEMA) 

Geninne Zlatkis, a very talented artist,
had made a wonderful tutorial

that showed it isn't a very difficult task

if you have some lino cutters and some special soft blocks.

(but simple eraser blocks work just as well !)

I made some new ones 

because I wanted two stamps facing each other

holding a bit of Washi tape

with 2015 on it.

(yuk : the washi tape is awful to write on !)

Now they are all ready for the mail.

waiting

We are just waiting

days ..... a week

who knows

...

I must confess I'm a bit tired of my secret projects

the last one needs to be completed

but somehow

it seems I can not get started again

So the last few days and today

I did some drawing
with my Derwent Inktense pencils ...

(the last one was made while listening to "Cats")

... and made some new cards of my old stamps

just for the fun of it

Always good to have some cards

to send a little message to someone dear

(I made two little drawings for some far-away blogging friends,

won't spoil the fun, so just show them

when they've arrived there)

(hmmmmmmm ... waiting ...)

card

By now the christmas / new year cards that we sent this year

will have been delivered I guess

so :

here it is for all my blogging friends

I have to explain a little bit

in Dutch the words for "fairy" and "eleven" are the same :

elf !

Happy holidays and an enchanted magical 2011 !!!

keep on going

YES !

She likes her skarf very much, just the right colours.

This afternoon we had her party and later a lovely

dinner with children, friends and family.

She was wearing a wonderful jacket in those purply colours

(could not have chosen better !!)

This is the mandala I made last Wednesday.

We are working about "animals of power"

The Owl

And I started making the Christmas / New Year cards

for this year. Some years I just buy them, some years I make

them myself. Last year I used the stamps I made when I broke

my wrist in May (that was the only thing I could do instead of

sitting still for four weeks in a plaster bandage)

This time I wás thinking about felting but ......

I made another stamp.

(out of pencil-eraser : nice soft to cut,

and just the right size !!!)

Not finished, but I didn't have another block ... so I will buy that tomorrow

( when I'm off to the knitting group, for the last time this year )