This one is a bit clearer.  The sunflower is flat and the leaf is curled up.  the fantastic holes in both are made with the soldering iron, and you can see in the petals of the sunflower how part of the petal has been snipped away to create differing areas of transparency.



And this one is really rather arty - you cannot really make out the different flowers, but I actually like the photograph.

But then I got thinking a bit more about curled leafs.  And I have also done another small quilt, this time a proper quilt (in that there are layers of fabric and wadding) with curling leaves.

This little quilt was done at another workshop, this time at the Nimble Thimble in Buckingham.  the tutor was a lady called Ferret (yes - I am not making that up).

For Judith here is a detail of that quilt too.  The leaves on the main quilt were simply quilted and then painted.  The textured leave are two layers of fabric joined by bond-a-web and then stitched onto the main quilt.  All the fabric was hand dyed, but some of the attached leaves also have additional painting.  You can see that the leaves begin to curl a bit.  The overall effect is reminiscent of autumn leaves so the curling is a lovely affect.


So, if you are inspired by And Then We Set It On Fire and want to have a go (once the turkey has been cleared from the dining room table, the washing up has been done, the presents opened and, in our house anyway, the dog has been walked) these might inspire you.  If you are a bit unsure of the techniques I have described, do leave a comment and I will try to explain them better.

Last Friday I was up and tippity tapping on the laptop before even the dog could be bothered to stick his nose out from under the blanket, and this week is just the same.  What is it about Fridays?

It's dark outside, the orange glow from the street lamp was permeating through the curtains and my mind was racing so much that once awake I was wide awake.  So now I have a warm coffee to set me up, my to do list by my side (all work) and my laptop balanced on my knee.

The highlights of this week have been the Daughter has been staying with her new dog, Koda.  Now Whippet X does not really like other dogs, with a few noticeable exceptions.  He has a particular aversion to spaniels of all shapes and sizes, staffs, Labradors (except Oscar), Floyed (the big standard poodle here in the village), puppies, other whippets, anything snack sized and buzzy - you get the picture! It is probably true to say that we have a 'bit of a reputation' both here in the village that I stay in in Northamptonshire and at home in Hampshire. So it was with slight trepidation  that I said yes to Daughter visiting with Koda.

But Koda is a delight - Whippet X has adopted a stance of stoic acceptance of the 'if I really must' variety - with a bit of nose curling and tooth bearing if Koda has overstepped the mark.  But Koda is just 'whatever', doesn't rise to the bait and just gets on with it. It has been a joy to have him.

  He is demolishing a chew here while Whippet X is under the dining room table working very hard on his 'if I really concentrate hard enough the young upstart will disappear' look.


Meanwhile, Daughter has been working on some dolls.  I have featured a few of her dolls before.  She usually uses a combination of cloth and air drying clay but the latest dolls have real porcelain heads that she made at college.  She has been painting them while here, and is now on the body.




She is a member of a great site called Cloth and Clay Dolls and, if the link works, you can find more photos of here work there.  I am not really into dolls, but there a quite a few doll makers in the states, a few here in the UK and at last years Quilt Festival there were a couple of doll entries.

The other highlight of the week was that I bought a Christmas present.  That's me all organised then!!

On my own creativity front though I am afraid I have been very remiss.  Dogs, work, daughters - it has all been a bit of a distraction.  But I have Saturday to myself and a bit of quiet sketchbooking is definitely on the cards.

The Workshop Sale is an institution!

For over 20 years a group of crafts people and makers have been getting together in East Dulwich to sell their wares - samples, old stock, bits and bobs etc.  Over the years there have been some fantastic bargains.

And for the last 10 years I have been helping my friends Rob and Andy of Rob Turner China.

This year we were in a new venue - fabulous Push Studios in East Dulwich - and it really worked!  We had a very successful day on the china stall!  And other people also had a good day (including the fabulous Linda Miller, but unfortunately I did not take any photographs of her stall).

Now how did that happen?  Earlier this week I overslept, and I haven't done that for years and years.  Even the dog overslept!

So here I am, six in the morning with my first cup of coffee, the washing on, the dog still in bed and at my laptop.  Perhaps I woke so early because I think I may be having a mid life crisis!  I bought a lipstick yesterday evening in House of Fraser in down town MK (great for shopping if ever you find yourself on the MK grid network, and like me from time to time, unable to escape!).

So what, I hear you cry, a lipstick?  Get a grip woman!  Lipstick is allowed!  Well this isn't just any old lipstick.  It's red, and by red I mean Kirsty Allsop on the front of her craft book red!  (Have you seen that glamour photo?) Or on the front of that magazine.


Well now, I don't really look like our Kirsty.  For a start she has a few years on me (in the right direction, if you know what I mean) but the picture above gives you a hint of the transformation I hope to achieve with the red lipstick.  But, I don't have a professional make up artist to hand, nor an air brusher, nor a professional hairdresser (for goodness sake, I cannot even blow dry my hair without looking like some thing that has been dragged through a hedge!)

This weeks highlights (in no particular order - you can work out their priority!!):-

1. Bought a new dress (hence the lipstick!)  I never buy clothes unless from the local charity shop and on occasion a quick whizz through M & S because my work skirts are falling apart, or Sainsburys because I love their long sleeve tee shirts (they look pretty fab with a belt!) 
2. I got my registration form for the Bletchley Park quilt show in on time!  It's real now. I have a number!  This is a moment of quiet panic!  Is it good enough.  One of the phone boxes is on the squiff!  This is because the Whippet X was not being helpful and trod on the whole piece before it was stitched, and I had not noticed that it until I held the whole thing up the other day.  (If I was a proper artist, or did not need sleep! I would have made a number of pieces and then chosen the best - ah well, self doubt creeping in.)
3. I found how to create a fabulous new Gantt Chart on line using Team Gantt.  OK I don't think many quilters use Gantt Charts, but in real life I have a heap of hairy new projects which somehow have my name on them, and I needed a tool to organise my thoughts (and keep the boss happy!  He likes a Gantt Chart!)
4. Son No 1 has been accepted for a static at Fashion East next February for his A/W 2012 collection (what collection - he is still working on samples for S/S for ASOS!!)   This is a whoo hooo moment!  A very whoo hoo moment.  They launched all sorts of young designers - Gareth Pugh anyone?  
5. And tomorrow is the annual Workshop Sale in East London when I don a pinny and help my good friends Rob and Andy on their fabulous china stand. 
6. I bought some Christmas cards!
7. I have been loving the fablulous work over at Six and Friends and Flextiles.