A little scroll book.

Firstly, apologies for this awful photograph.  I don't know how I managed that.  This is a large wooden thread reel 3ins tall - the depth of the scroll is about two and a half inches, and it is 36 ins long.

I cut a disc of paper to fit the top of the reel and stamped this lovely bumble bee on to it, adding a touch of colour and then glued it in place.

The first section has a quote from Charles Dickens which I think you will be able to read.  I must be honest and say that I stamped the butterflies and bees but drew and wrote everything else directly onto the calico strip.  I coloured everything with Inktense crayons adding a tiny bit of water to release the colour.

Next comes a favourite of mine which I have thought so often: "I've watched you now a full half hour, self poised upon that yellow flower; and little butterfly indeed, I know not if you sleep or feed." William Wordsworth.

Now we come to another favourite:  "Oh, velvet bee you're a dusty fellow.  You've powdered your legs with gold."  Jean Ingelow.

My camera has washed out so much of the colour but you can just about get the idea and read the quotation from John Clare.

"Stay near me - do not take thy flight. A little longer stay in sight."

I can't remember the name of the poet.

Or of this one - I am slipping.

This one is by Robert Graves - "Strawberries that in gardens grow are plump and juicy fine, but sweeter far, as wise men know spring from the woodland vine."

I was running out of space here, right at the end of the strip.  I would have liked to have added one or two harebells but was afraid of spoiling things.   It reads "The tiny harebells in the turf, the velvet sound of bees".

Note to self:  Get to know your camera better!

You never know what you might find ..........

........ when you decide to have a good clear out!  These came to light yesterday and were experiments using the top layer of  patterned paper table napkins bonded onto felt and then machine stitching added.

The mesh on the one above was made by machining diagonal line all over a double layer of napkin tissue (the bottom two layers which are plain) then making it wet and rubbing the tissue away.

This had the tulips outlined with stitching and then the background torn away.

This apple design was an attempt to achieve a pointilist effect using just French Knots to create the blend of colour.   It was an exercise for a course I did some years ago.

 This still life was handstitched directly onto it's calico background.

And here I had to draw the same arrangement directly onto the background, using just feltpens.  Two  more exercises for the same course.

Hoping to have some new experiments before long, now that I have reorganised my work room and got rid of things I no longer want to work with, and can now find the ones I do like more easily.

I am ashamed at the number of note books and sketchbooks I discovered - most of which had about four or five pages used then abandonned.  I am set up for life, even if I live as long as my mother did.  She reached 102!