Bits and Pieces

I recently got the opportunity to change my space...

so have been going through my "stuff "...

 

found a couple of lacy tablecloths... 

which became a curtain for the window...

a bit of a look at what I've been working on...

with the nose of the new machine...

sample fabric which still has the colour name stickers on...

trying to match up some similar colours...

to make a bigger size quilt...

also found this odd creation from my Grannie...

all the rage in my early teens...

baby doll face with crochet plastic raffia to hold a ball of string...

and the string end comes out her mouth...

funny...the stuff we keep...

an old box that I had covered in paper mache brown paper...

with the old Christmas images from a magazine...

and this box is full of maps...

places we've been...

and collections for use one day...

 

and a couple of Raylee's early works...

that I took from her stash...

a few years ago...

so everything old is new again...

different things to look at for a while...

till I pack them up again...

 

its no wonder that I cant throw anything away...

Creative Awakening - Wee Jasper Journal Pages

this afternoon i have been putting together some pages for "the wee jasper journal"........my earliest memories of people who sowed the seeds of creativity for me: in the beginning my mother & all my grandmothers, & my great grandfather.

 

 my mum with three of her uncles.

 my great grandmother "Nell". a collaged page for the wee jasper  journal......

 the old wee jasper school where my school days began. here is an excerpt from today's journalling:
 " i  started school later than most kids, i was close to nine! it was 1963, i remember it well as it was the year president Kennedy was assassinated. that was the biggest news during my early childhood.
my older cousin went to the wee jasper school, so my aunty volunteered to take me too. i was not keen on the idea, anyway after a lot of sulking & tears i went with them.
it was a one class room , one teacher school. the ages of the pupils ranged from about six to sixteen.
most of the lessons were all jibberish to me. i had no idea what the teacher was talking about a lot of the time.
i learnt three things at that school,: i hated boiled egg sandwiches,
                                                    lunch time was the best part of the school day, we played rounders i think it's like softball?,
                                                    the third & best of all was the first time we were told to go outside for a lesson.
what a surprise when we were introduced to a pretty young blonde woman - Miss  Nancy Cathles.
Nancy changed my mind about school, she taught us to weave - just the simple kind with wool & a piece of cardboard. this was major for me, i had only seen sewing & knitting until that day.
this was new & exciting & easy. i could do it without help from an adult!, which wasn't the case with sewing & knitting.
from that day on i looked forward to school, well just the days that Nancy came to teach us crafty things."

                                                  

 some of the kids i went to school with.

 Nancy was a pupil at the school in 1950 (kneeling on the right side of photo).

  i have stitched this page from the journal onto an old doily. i have decided to make a paper & cloth journal using embroidered doilies, calico & cotton florals.

 the embroidered side of the doily is the back side of the page......

a close up of the machine & hand stitching with tabs at the side. each page will have three  tabs.
  when all the pages are completed the tabs will be placed one over the other & held together with  buttons.
(raylee).

Some Days are Diamonds.....Some Days are Not

some of the feathered "gems' that have been visiting the back yard this past week.

i have had an up & down week, this quote more or less sums it up:
"God has blessed me
i have seen better days,
but i have also have  seen worse.
i do not have all my wants, but i do have all my needs.
i woke up with a few aches & pains, but i woke up!
my life may not be perfect,  but i thank God it is good."
i found this quote on pinterest, don't know the author.

while looking through old photo files i found another quote someone had saved:
"tomorrow will be better", i took that as a sign.
yes, each day has been better than the previous one......so i'm moving  forward this week.
i have been keeping busy & hope to actually finish some of the  projects that i'm working on & paintings that are kinda halfway there.
how are things with you?........all going well i hope.
(raylee).

Creating Texture on Paper & Canvas...... in my Pyjamas

 stamped moulding paste over an old collage on canvas, then two layers of different colour acrylic paint.......more to come.....

patterned wallpaper on old watercolour collage on paper, sealed with gesso.......hopefully some idea will magically pop into my head for this texture.....

my messy work table today.........

....& yes it's past lunch time & i am in my pyjamas........still!......who has time to get dressed in between working on three paintings all at the same time, layers of moulding paste, gesso, & paint. one dries & it's time for another layer on the next one.......you get the picture?
(i am not the only person who does this, but i will admit to it!)
hope you are having a creative happy day!
thank you to all our visitors.......we love to see you!
(raylee).

whale ahoy

found another new pattern to try...

hand sewn because I couldn't get to the machine...

 

 

material didn't really suit...

too stretchy and some stitches have pulled already...

 

he also has a row of teeth(?)...

using a strip if lace...

bit odd to me...

but his belly is soft and smooth...

Scoop Net For Live Bait

walked out the back this morning to ask husband if he would like a cuppa.
 he was sitting quietly in the sun stitching plastic mesh together.
 "guess what i'm doing"? he asked...... "sewing", he answered himself smugly.
 wonders will never cease......what next? i thought to myself.
"what are you sewing"? i asked, politely.
"i'm making a scoop net for  live bait"
ok....i thought to myself as i went about what i was doing.
a bit later he asked "do you know where there is any wire"?
my answer was "no i don't have any wire"........."don't worry i have some " he said.
later on......."do you want to take a photo"?
i must have looked a bit puzzled.
"it's recycled stuff, the mesh was around the gas bottle, & the wire is from the old clothes line."(he recently made me a new clothes line).
"you can blog it" he said , looking at me quiet seriously!
(raylee).

"The Red Bird"......

acrylic, gel medium, moulding paste, stencils, masking tape, bubble wrap all used to create texture over an old acrylic painting on board.

started as a vase of yellow flowers.

but it just wasn't happening........so i decided to try a different subject & try the colour green again.

  the background started.......now for the bird.....

 some of the texture from the flowers on the bird's back....

 & a close up of the texture created by using strips of masking tape.

i have been trying some of the  texture techniques in paintings that i used last year for the 365 creative challenge.
 these were much smaller  exercises on old book pages. putting the techniques into larger paintings is much more rewarding.
(raylee).

"The Red Chair"

re -using old canvas ......palette knife oil painting.
(raylee).

Cool Summer Dresses For Little Girls......

........machine stitched from embroidered table napkins & a doona cover, bought from the op shop.

 a pocket on the front.....the napkins came with the green border trim & the embroidered flowers.

 .....this green  pocket was a hankie....a lace trim stitched around the hem.....

.......the back of the dress.....

......& the back again.
this is my version of the pillow case dress, a very quick & easy dress to make for little girls.
 a sheet could be used to make the same style dress  for older girls.
(raylee).

Tea For Two.......

.......a pretty quilted wall hanging given to me  by my sister many years ago. she hand stitched the appliqued teapot, cups & reused an embroidered doily for the cloth.

 the hanging did live on a wall somewhere in the house, i can't remember where. 

it's next place of abode was on the seat of a chair, & as things come & go it went to a box in the cupboard along with other bits & pieces that had out lived their lives.

every now & then i pull these boxes from the cupboard to see what they contain, & to see if there is anything that can be reused.

 along side the wall hanging there were pieces of block printed calico left over from previous bag makings. most of them blue, my favourite. 

one can never have too many bags, so here is my newest. 

a good size for shopping or carrying sketch books, or lunch.

side gusset.......

 ......lined inside, with a pocket......

 .........the back, long handles.....

......or short handles.
(raylee).