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!

By George - she's got it!!

This photo should have appeared in the previous post and shows the cover of the little book I mentioned.

Here is a page of my drawings in the book.   The idea was to use pen and go straight in - no pencil and rubber to rub out any mistakes.

A slight change of subject - these are a stack of my twiddle muffs for dementia patients waiting for their embellishments.  Sadly our local woolshop has closed and I have lost my dropping off point.  However, I have plenty of wool to use up and have no doubt I'll find a way of getting the next lot to a hospital.

Now, here is what I have been doing with a bit more space to work on.  I love wild flowers and this little book is my way of celebrating some of my favourites.  I must be honest and tell you that the butterfly was stamped on but I did draw that little bee and the ladybird.

The rather splendid bumble bee on the left hand page was done with a stamp.

I used a script stamp on this page.

So there you have it.  I had to try taking fresh photos and posting them myself to make sure it worked.  Now I shall have a cup of tea and then lie down in a darkened room as my brain hurts!   Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks - I am feeling rather chuffed.

Partial success.

 I have been having such trouble posting pictures on my blog and had to catch my daughter when she had an hour or two to spare to help me.  She thinks there must have been an update of some kind which altered all previous procedures, so it is no wonder that I had problems.

The pictures here are from the little book I bought just before Christmas entitled My Year in Small Drawings by Matilda Tristram.    As you can see, each page is divided into small squares - roughly 4x4cms.  At first this was comforting to me but after three months of drawing daily, and sometimes more than one little drawing each time, I began to want more space.   I'll show you what I did next another time.  These pages were done between 22nd and 29th January. 

All I have to do now is keep drawing to build up confidence and remember how I got these two pictures posted to my blog!!

I want to say that it's nice to be back but that might be tempting providence.  Fingers crossed that I will be back soon.

It must be Spring.

Windows open,

Sun shining,

Birds singing,

Buds bursting.

It must be Spring - today at any rate!

A GREAT LITTLE FIND.

 Just before Christmas I came upon a small book called 'My Year in Small Drawings by Matilda Tristram.  There is lots of sound advice on making the effort  to draw frequently, and I am trying to do one or two tiny sketches each day.  It is more or less working - some days I forget so I make it up on others.

There are hints and suggestions for topics throughout the book, but I have decided to draw what interests me most though when I run out of ideas the hints are useful.

I started on 23rd Dec. by drawing my coffee mug, carriage clock and wrist watch.  Sometimes I will copy something from a photograph or book, or just draw my hand or a shoe - anything within reach.

Each page in the book is divided into 4cm squares which is not too daunting, and there are 12 squares on each page. I aim at filling three squares every day.  I am already starting to want more space, (which seems to be a good sign), and also wanting to add colour.  So far I have been using a very fine pen and putting up with the wrong lines, but am looking forward to using pencil and being able to correct any wrong lines.

 I have taken a few photos and tried to post them without success, and am beginning to wonder if the fault is with my camera and not with my laptop.  Oh dear - I don't want to have to get used to another new gadget!  I'll have to get one of my offspring to look at both for me and give their advice.

A Bit of Magic.

My daughter was telling me about a film she had seen called 'Loving Vincent'.  It is about the life of the artist Vincent van Gogh and  is presented almost like a detective story with various people who knew him trying to work out why he killed himself.   Far from being morbid it is poignant but magical, as all the characters are costumed and made up to resemble those in his paintings, and all the backdrops and locations are handpainted by a team of artists to replicate the paintings themselves.   It is as though his paintings have come to life.

If you, like me, enjoy Vincent van Gogh's work, you can find this film on Netflix.  I thought it was amazing, and quite beautiful - I have never seen anything like it and was spellbound.    It was made by a Polish film company and I hope they will be recognised for their skill and imagination.