We had a busy day today

so I have used the lazy woman's design methods. The bonus [as long as you are not bored to tears with all this] is that you get several images , not just one.

The lazy method - for me - is doing simple things on the computer. So this was done in Picasa - I turned my original image to black and white, applied 'film grain' [I think!] several times, and then a graduated tint. Looks like someone had a very hot fire on the beach!

I think it might be interesting to try a Julia Caprera approach on this - lots of repeated stitch changing gradually from orange to grey.


This is the same image 'Hockneyized'. Possibly one for techniques from Maggie Grey's 'From Image to Stitch', for example weaving two copies of the same image through each other.

This is the image 'Warholized'. I love the colours here, especially the purple. It looks like layered resists - randomly applied batik wax, followed by dyeing, more wax, more dye etc. After all that it might not need much stitch!

The same image again, turned into an 'Amazing Circle. It reminds me of a glass paperweight. Like a lot of the images in this series, my first reaction is applique, possibly under sheers to get the shine.

So that is today's design exploration. The rest of the day was spent at the Stitch and Creative Crafts show at Sandown Park. This show probably appeals most to card makers, scrap bookers or cross stitchers and doesn't compare with the Knitting and Stitching Show but is the most local for us. As parking is easy I have made some big purchases there in the past, like sewing machines and embellishers, because we didn't need to carry them far. No expensive purchases today although I was very tempted by some beautiful devore jackets. At nearly £100 I decided I couldn't justify buying one - especially as the only occasion I could think of to wear it was to college - so I could try to persuade A. that I had made it myself. [A. does beautiful devore - I, as she very well knows. don't.]

I did buy this lot - well, almost all of it. The big book, 'Above the World' was a freebie for spending more than £15 with Yorkshire Books.

You will notice that there are no threads or fabrics in there [the pack at the bottom is paper.] Threads and fabrics were on offer, including Oliver Twists, but I stuck to my textile diet. [I did look for some red yarn to knit for Babybel but as all I could find was nasty bright acrylic or 'hand wash only' I passed']

There is no book diet though.

At the risk of sounding like a newsreader - and finally... one of my annual 'harbinger of spring' photos - some ratter tatty snowdrops. I post these more to encourage myself than anything else - I hate winter, although it is more tolerable now I don't have to go to work and come home in the dark.

The cherry tree isn't out yet, so it isn't really spring. And as the British Gas engineer has not been able to repair our gas fire due to a lack of the appropriate spare - there could be another cold spell. Once he has repaired it, all danger of snow will be over for this year.