Last class sample

This is my favourite, everyone is doing the same collage with the images that Gail provides. She makes it so easy - that is until you go to go and try to do one yourself and then you realise that experts do make it look easy. Quite different when you are not following instructions. However that said it is not putting me off. The possibilities are endless, Oh what you couldn't do with more hours in your day and boundless energy - ah well!!!

Digital Collage class sample numero uno

Oopsie, just realised why I am having so many problems trying to send pictures of the digital collages I have been making in class. I have been sending them with way too many megabites, my Darling DH has just put me right and needless to say he is gloating somewhat. I don't know, I just want to do things and not have to worry or think about it, press this button or that and it all should work- Duh, not likely.
At least I am learning!!! and what fun in the process, well sometimes.
The classes are so much fun and so addictive, drop by http://www.shabbycottagestudio.com/store/Default.asp and check them out. No affiliations just one very happy customer

We are having endless problems with our internet connection. I have been trying to post some images of digital collages that I have been doing with the new course I am doing but unfortunately I am not having much luck, so I think I will leave posting till we get this fixed as I have been spending ages trying to post.

Testing

Having problems trying to post yet again. Sometimes its so easy and at other times it is a pain in the proverbial......
We live rurally which means no broadband, we have satellite internet which is slower than broadband and seems to have a lot of downtimes which makes it very frustrating to use. Anyways, enough moaning.
I recently started a course with Gail of Mind wide open, it is Digital Collage and I absolutely love it. It is so addictive and I have been spending every available moment on the computer. Gail is a great teacher, making it easy for us, especially so for someone who knows absolutely nothing about photoshop and I mean absolutely nothing and whats more I find it very difficult to get around, but here we are. We all have to start somewhere.
The class is a series of vidoes that you download to your computer and so you watch Gail construct the collages. I can't wait to get home from work to get on the computer and play. Oh dear, yet another reason to not do housework.
I can't seem to post the link to Gail's classes and I can't seem to copy and paste, duh!!!

I am doing an online course that I first heard about through Pat's blog, (see side bar). The course is Digital Collage with Gail of Mind wide open . The course is a series of very easy to follow vidoes which you download to your computer. It is so addictive even for someone like me who knows nothing and I mean absolutely nothing about photoshop and whats more I do not find it easy to understand photoshop, but Gail is a wonderful tutor. This is my 3rd of 4th attempt at this one and had to decide to leave it as is. There is still room for improvement but I am reasonably happy with it. Since I started to course I have been spending every available minute playing and trying to digitally collage. I can't wait to get home from work to get the computer on and have a play. Fun fun fun!!!!

Bag version 2 This time I used some pfd fabric which I have dyed, stamped, used gesso as a resit, paintstiks and crayons and some other resists to colour the fabric. Also cut the squares half an inch smaller and thoroughly like the smaller size. I also used two layers of batting which I prefer , just meant it needed a little more tweaking while sewing. With the first bag I was using fat quarters which created a problem as the handles were meant to be long strips plaited together, so for the first bag I had to impovise using thick cord and rouching the strips. I prefer the plaited handles in this bag.

I have been trying to blog this post for days but Picassa and blogger just would let me do it. Could not figure out what I was doing wrong but Bingo!!! it has worked tonight. This is a bag I made with a pattern I bought a while back. It is made with Lonni Rossi fabrics which I absolutely love. The bag is a bit floppy if yo have too much in it but worked up really nice.

It worked, I managed to post to my blog. I can hardly believe it and I am using Picassa which I have never used before. This is a whole new ball game for me. I admit it (blogpost) or rather I am going to need a bit of tweeking but it worked and it was so easy, blog posts here we come.
Well as you can see this is the finished block and for once I am really happy with it. So often (read always) - I can only ever see the things I have not gotten right or am not happy with but this one I am happy with.
The roses are all hand rolled Dior roses mostly with my hand dyed ribbon, a few beads here and there and voila??!! Done.
You must go and see some of the other blocks. Also if you visit Vickies blog
http://www.itsonlyribbon.blogspot.com/
you can see two of the other finished quilts.

It is the time of the year when a few of us get together (not in person unfortunately) to participate in the Artbra wallhanging. This year's theme is PINK and ROSES, two of my favourite things. Making the block has helped drag me out of a big black hole that I managed to crawl into a year or so ago. I won't bore anyone with the details but at the same time I cannot promise not to fall of the edge of the earth of bloglands in the future.
This is the first stage of the block and as you can see it is not actually a CQ block, I decided to make the hearts and rose the features instead of the block.
To see the other blocks that are completed so far, pop along to Barbara's flickr site:-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artbraproject/

If I can successfully get this posted on my blog I will post a photo of my finished block but as I am very rusty with blogger, blame it on age, menopause does come in handy for some things, especially when you can't get your brain to work.

Most beautiful rose

If you happen to drop by this blog you must go and check out the most beautiful rose I have ever seen in ribbon.
It is here
http://rosesonthewater.blogspot.com/

THANKS

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have dropped by and and left me your lovely comments. I have lost the plot a wee bit recently. Dear Pat of Gatherings wrote a few words about me on her blog recently which warmed the cockles of my heart. http://gatherings100.blogspot.com/2008/07/award-from-sweet-diane.html

She is a creative lady who is a good friend and someone who I admire greatly. Her words were balm to my soul and such a thoughtful thing to say. She has spurred me on to get back into life again. Anyways won't bore you all but I really wanted to say how much I appreciate you for continuing to stop by.

Holiday

A couple of months ago we had a fabulous holiday with my family in Adelaide, Australia. My sister and her family live there as does my Dad. Of course when you are in Adelaide you have to go to the Barossa Valley, which is one of the best known wine areas; here we all are. The patriarch of the family is in the middle with his two girls on either side of him. My DH on my left also my two boys and two of my nieces and their husbands and my nephew's fiancé.
The other picture is all the cousies together, what a gorgeous bunch but I am totally biased.

Finished ? nearly, maybe, not sure.

I started this a little while ago, wanted to have a go with the Melanie rose which I have mentioned before. It is a beautiful rose created by Marie Alton which she named after her daughter. I still need more practise but it is a delightful rendition of a full blown rose. Not sure whether I like the stems at this stage.

Long time no Blog

Been missing in action for a while, no stitching to speak off but we have recently gotten back from a lovely family holiday in Adelaide Australia, but this is the view from my window this morning. Twas snowing most of yesterday and through the night. It had stopped but has just started up again as I was loading these photoes.
You can see the snow on the power lines which is always a course for worry. My husband who is a computer guy has just had to get into town to help those who's systems are down, and as it is the start of the school holidays as well as the start of the ski season and we live in the very centre of the North Islands ski area, well ..... all said.

Autumnal garden

This is what my husband had to do yesterday, the cut up trees were damaged and ready to fall, infact one of two already had a lean on them so they had to go. A friend came around with a huge chainsaw and helped David cut these trees down.
The other picture is the view from the bathroom window, a glorious tree in its autumn splendour, the leaves are dropping rapidly now, the trees are battening down the hatches getting ready to go into dormancy and sleep away the winter. I know how they feel, I also am tired, would love to go to bed for a few months and wake up refreshed. Raring to go and face the future. Instead at the moment, no stitching, no inspiration, no motivation, just weariness. On a positive note though, we are off on holiday real soon. A lovely family holiday with my boys to visit my Dad and sister in Adelaide Australia. It is my Dad's 80th birthday, and we are going there for a couple of weeks, it will be lovely, nothing nicer than being with family.

Sshh' don't tell Ebony or Doreen, these are the two ATC's that I am swapping with them. The one on the left is for Doreen, a mixed media background, little bits of cut up fabrics, angelina fibres then painted fusible web was ironed over that and finally a sheer organza over that. It looked like a celestial type landscape so I stitched a little over that. Ebonies is a felt background with various fibres needlefelted on that then organza again. Just a little plug for SharonB
http://stitchinfingers.ning.com/
It is a stitchin community that she has started up. Pop on over and check for yourself.

First ever ATC

I know I am somewhat behind the 8 ball on these delightful pieces of art work but Doreen of Creative Meanderings Granddaughter Ebony is exchanging cards and I really want to play. I have received one from her and several from Doreen, I will post pictures later of them. Doreen gave me a tutorial and sent me samples, and voila here it numbero uno.
It is made from a piece of felt fused with little bits of glitzy fabric and angelina, then painted fusable web was ironed on to that, finally a piece of organza was fused to that. Cut to shape and a little hand stitching added.

Little finishes

I decided to get these little embroideries finished and framed up. I learnt an other valuable lesson, well two really and they are both lessons that I know already.
1) Don't use little scraps of fabric when doing embroideries, because you can't frame them properly.
I know this but persist in trying to save fabric. Then you are stilted in what you can do with them.
2) Take your embroideries out of the frame when you put it away for the night. Yet again, I know this, but did I do it, No!!!

A few years back I purchased Richard Box's book "Flowers for embroidery" He had a little lesson in it which is the poppies sample that I have posted here. I had forgotten all about it and found it stuck away in a folder, so I decided to get it out and frame it so that I could use it. It is something that I always liked but as it was a sample I never thought to finish it up, now I am pleased that I did. It was my first foray into machine embroidery. Not that I have done much more since then. It is done on painted hessian with tiny cut up pieces of fabric to make up a collage. I don' think it is something that I would do again, at least not on a large scale like Richard Box does. His work if fabulous as is the book.


and a close up