New and old.

Debby had been given the opportunity to go on a workshop about foundation piecing, which she said was out of her "comfort zone'.

It was to produce optical boxes which relied on fabric choice to create the illusion.The strips of fabric had to be accurately cut, then 'stitched and flipped' before being assembled. We think she did a pretty good job, see above.She came away pleasantly surprised, and now has another skill to add to her already impressive arsenal.

Below, we see Debby's more familiar work and style.The fishes were a remnant from a leaving gift for a colleague so she stitched and added colour with Intense for herself.

The cactus piece is a development from a piece shown previously, where she used some commercially produced fabric  This one is all her own and even contains a piece of her pyjamas!

She has taken recycling even further in this piece, using acrylic paints to colour the little plastic squares used to separate cheese slices.They have been stitched ironed and melted.Genius! Perhaps we should all set ourselves a challenge to use plastic in an innovative way.

Debby had picked this little gem up in a scrap box at a Quilters'Guild meeting.

Viv thought it was Chinese and probably from a jacket or robe.The stitching was exquisite wth lots of tiny Peking knots.Then we realised it had been cut into to make hexagons, we wondered if the person had any idea what they had done.

September's glorious colour.

Sue had been busy with her embellisher using lots of vibrant colour.She commented how differently the red circles looked on the long piece on the right. The top circle had been worked on to the piece and integrated so much better than the one beneath which had been placed on the surface.

She had been cutting up and reworking pieces already made like the flower above.The piece below uses lots of lovely ribbons and cords which are then further embellished with stitch.It echoes the kind of sunsets Sue experiences where she lives overlooking the Bristol Channel.

She had been  working on her idea of the Planets and created a whole array of

Planet samples.

After showing us her quick 10 minute sketches last month Viv had a go at mono printing using them as inspiration.

It was her first ever attempt ! you'd never believe that from these results, they are so full of colour and movement and reflect her enjoyment.

After success on paper she decided to try on fabric, using acrylic paint with added fabric medium.

The results are just as good and the fabric has remained soft so will be good for stitch.We are sure she'll go on to create a couple of stunning pieces.

And the bonus is, she has some fabulous drop cloth pieces to use  from just cleaning up.Win ,win!

In three dimensions.

After comments about the free motion letters on the saucer being too hard to read ,which she agreed with,Jenn had tried again .This time much bigger and in blue thread.

She had also thought about including some of the drawings of the people overheard and observed in the cafes.How this might be done is still to be decided but she had tried a quick sample and enjoyed drawing with her machine.

Kirsten had asked if there would be a teapot included in the work so Jenn had found a small pattern online and fiddled with it until it was a reasonable size.This just constructed in paper and masking tape, it might get to fabric.......or not.You'll have to wait and see!

Liz had also been doing some construction in paper ,though these are much more flash.

She spent three days doing a paper architecture course taught by a Cuban.The piece above was fascinating as just by a different fold the piece either collapsed or held its shape.

Nothing was measured just folded very accurately.Liz hopes she can translate what she learned into using fabric.

This quilt, below, appeared in her stand at UWE.She and Debbie Pawle displayed work inspired by African textiles.

this has a base of an African cloth to which Liz has added patches and stitching to 'mend' .

Deryll had been continuing to work with her surplus samples.They were cut up to be reassembled.She decided to paint over them with gesso and emulsion but was not at all inspired by the results, so it's 'back to the drawing board'.We thought perhaps they needed to be more heavily coated to obliterate what was beneath.

Happier sampling had been done on her view out the back bedroom.This was a favourite place and now houses a seat in memory of her husband.

The trees on the horizon have been free machined and she is adding details with plain fabric and machine textured.

She was auditioning a frame for it ,lots more to do but well on its way to a trademark piece.

She is also entering this stitched card in a local horticultural show crafts competition.We'll find out soon how she fared.

Sue had been trying out ideas for adding wildlife to her stitched grasses piece . Irridescent nail polish had been added to the wings of this butterfly.She was given several other suggestions as to what might work.

Sue is mulling over some new work with a message .If you recall she had done some really very good likenesses of Trump,the new ideas again feature him.You'll have to keep up to see how it develops.

Ira had taken enjoyment of painting this cloth, which includes an old headscarf.She employed her usual method of just splashing on the acrylic paint as the mood takes her.Some of these will be cut up and morph into cards.

This last piece will become a piece of textile art.

These last two are photographs .The first is of the rock formations of a favourite Welsh beach, just look at those colours !No wonder Ira is inspired.

The second comes from a recent tour around Middleport Pottery where Ira's daughter works.They look like faces on totems ,but if you look really closely you will see jugs,pitchers and mugs.They are the slip moulds used in manufacture.Strange what the human eye sees.

Reasons to be workless......

Viv and Sally had been very busy preparing for the exhibition of Miao embroidery. There was little time left to be especially creative this past month.However Viv had made some 10 minute quick pastel sketches of flowers.

When things are back to normal she intends to paint directly onto fabric with Inktense paints before working her magic with fabric appliqué and stitch.

Carol had been busy organising and taking part in National Stitch Day at the museum.They had offered participants an opportunity to learn 'Chicken Scratch' which is worked on gingham.

She is also looking forward to her son's wedding which is taking place in September.She and her husband have been helping to get things ready and doing some gardening at her son's house.

She had picked up something called a Formcard,It comes in a credit card size and is mouldable with hot water. It reminded us of Funky Plastic.Go to the website to see how it can be put to use.

West Country Quilt and Textile Show

We have spent a lovely few days at this show in Bristol.We chose a selection of work from our Nature In Art exhibition last year.

We had a smaller stand this year which went up very easily and came down as quickly ,despite having to leave the venue in the middle of taking down because of a fire alarm!

These birds by Kirsten were new as she sold a lot of her work at NiA, and indeed the kingfisher and bluetits have gone to new homes.

The visitors to the show came from a wide surrounding area .People commented on the space ,allowing for room to see the exhibits without feeling hemmed in.There was also plenty of seating to allow for a bit of a rest, to have a bite to eat or drink,or a sit to chat before visiting more exhibits or to shop.

The whole atmosphere was relaxed and friendly.We had some lovely feedback both from regular followers of our work and those new to it. The show has got better year on year and so may it continue.