Woven Cards

I bought some fabric which is impregnated with glue on one side. It is similiar to the one we used in our pin weaving. I used it to make little sea pictures using yarn and merino tops. I cut a sheet of baking parchment and laid the merino and yarns on top. Remember you are working face down. Lay the fabric on top and then another piece of parchment. Iron the piece using a hot iron and leave to cool. The yarns will have been bonded to the backing. You can then cut small pieces to use in aperture cards. I paid £1.20 for five cards with envelopes. Thanks Maureen for the inspiration.

   

Lunch at Trag

My pin weaving project is finished and I am very happy with it. Kevin made a great job of his first box frame. Thanks! The colours remind me of the sea at Tragumna. 

WIP

At the knitting group one of the women asked me if I ever knitted anything on needles larger than 2.5cm. Here is something being knitted on 10cm needles. It will be a twisted cowl for Katie. The yarn is Malabrigo Rasta and I love the shot of citrus green amongst the blues and purples. The stitch is a new one to me called brioche stitch. It is basically garter stitch but you knit into the bottom of every second stitch and it forms a very dense fabric. I hope it will keep her warn on her trip to Budapest.     

Christmas Tree

Before our lovely old alder  tree was taken down I rescued some of its branches and dried them. They make a wonderful Christmas tree. I will keep it up until the spring and the glass will twinkle on sunny days. 

Blue Moon

The shape of these lovely agate beads when they are face on remind me of the full moon. I used a striped agate in between and made it longer than usual so it is a statement chunky piece. Wonder who will choose this for their Christmas present?    

Bye bye lovely tree

The alder tree in our front garden has died. We have had to cut it down and the garden looks very different without it. In the spring we will plant three new shrubs and hopefully they will grow quickly. Thanks lovely tree. 

Berry Fruits

These tourmaline beads are such lovely deep colours. I was going to use just the large ones with one bead in between but decided they needed more space round them to shine. This also means I have enough of the large ones left to make another necklace.  

Tragumna Days

I have been spending my lunch times by the sea at Tragumna again, I love it there. I also love these Aquamarine beads, the colours are just so translucent. I bought enough beads to make three necklaces. One is for me and I know who the other two are going to. 

  

Winter Skies

It hasn't been like winter at all, so far the days have been lovely and sunny and bright. I like the winter colours though and these agate beads remind of winter skies. The round beads are Botswana agate and the faceted beads are Persian agate. I like the way the same stone can be different colours depending on what region of the world it comes from. I have combined the agate with grey freshwater pearls. 

Persian agate

Botswana agate

Inch in Winter

I have had this photo of Inch Strand for a while now as the colours inspired me. We had a half day art class and the subject was a SMALL winter painting. I found a small subject to paint but just in case I took this photo along and a huge canvas. There was plenty of room to spread out and no time to wait as we only had three hours. Here is the end result. I was so busy painting that I had no time to stop for a break but my very kind friends kept me supplied with mince pies and mulled wine. I

need to paint in one sitting like this more often.

    

Inspiration

We stayed in a gorgeous barn in Yorkshire, decorated in all my favourite colours. It would make a great studio for me. Perhaps I should stay there and paint some of the wonderful  skies we saw on our trip out round East Yorkshire?  

Ardnamurchan

When I was selecting the colours for my pin weaving I was thinking about the colours of the sea when we visited Ardnamurchan on the west coast of Scotland. After a long drive on a fairly grey day the clouds broke up and we were left with stunning views of the sea in theses deep blues and greens. My sea painting is now finished and when it is dry I will mount the pin weaving. I am looking forward to seeing it completed. 

Pin Weaving

I have finished my seascape using the pin weaving technique. It was a very creative process as you could break all the rules. I think I will now paint a seascape in oils on board and use the weaving over the top. Must think too how to frame it. In a box frame?

Is it a bird?

No it is half a baby cardigan! I am knitting the strangest pattern I have ever come across. It is a free pattern on the Drops Yarn website. You just have to trust the pattern and follow the instructions and you finally end up with half a cardigan. You then complete the other half and sew them together.

 I love the way the Drops Delight yarn stripes round the corner at the front. Now..... will I try to find the same colours and try to match the two halves or will I just knit on randomly and see what happens?  

Down by the Salley Garden

My love and I did meet.......

Kevin has always wanted to know how baskets are made so we did a beginners course in Lyre yesterday. It was a great four hours.  We learn't how to make a flower decoration and a little basket but the most fascinating aspect for me was learning about the craft of basketry. Our tutor Diane was a mine of information and was willing to share it all with us. She has endless patience and made sure that everyone on the course got plenty of attention.

I got home and put my log basket out in the rain so it will absorb some moisture. If I remember to do that once or twice a year it should last a lifetime. 

Will I make more baskets? We would certainly like to do another course with Diane where we will learn how to make square baskets. I am drawn to the ones using natural materials where you incorporate things like larch cones. I will be keeping my eyes out for material so if you have dogwood, ivy or even bramble in your garden watch out!

My flower is a little organic

Kevin's lovely flower

My flower basket will be very useful

I love the colours Kevin used in his

     

Sea Shades

The sea is that milky blue/green colour under grey skies at the moment. I am not sure which of these new strands of beads are the right colour. I wanted to try some new shades of turquoise beads so I have amazonite, blue jasper, natural dinosaur jasper and blue howlite turquoise. I am going to enjoy creating with these.  

Gobstoppers!

I couldn't resist these multi coloured agate beads, they remind me so much of sweeties! The largest (not my favourite colour) is 22mm. I will probably not use the black agate in the smaller 4mm beads. Who will want this necklace when it is made?

Who says Grey is boring?

My latest package of beads arrived on a very grey wet day but when you look out there is still lots of colour, just like in these beads. I LOVE the colours in Botswana agate and every strand is different. I think they will look beautiful with these grey pearls. 

Work in Progress

We learnt a new weaving technique at the Guild last week. It is simple and fun to do and would make a great introduction to weaving for beginners. The background fabric is impregnated with glue and when you have finished weaving you iron it to keep the threads in place. We were asked to bring a selection of yarns in one colour with different textures. Wonder if mine will be a seascape??

Creative Stash Busters

Nora and her friends used my bead stash to make some jewellery. I think they did brilliantly for complete beginners

made by Roseanne

made by Rossanne

made by Claire

made by Claire

made by Nora

made by Marion 

Safe Home

A very very kind artist friend of mine has painted a picture of Knockgorm. This little West Cork farmhouse holds a very special place in my heart. I have memories of the wonderful times I spent there as a child. The people it sheltered will always be precious.    

   

Flower of Scotland

Will I buy a painting or some jewellery on my trip? NO, it has to be tartan. This bag is made by Ness from tweed woven on the Isle of Harris. Pink is THE colour this winter!

Blue is the Colour

I have had an unusual request for a painting. My sister has repainted her hall and her painting no longer matched the decor. The painting was exactly the right size to cover a rough plaster patch on the wall so she asked me if I could change the colour of the flowers in the painting from red to blue. She has great faith in me! I had a go and it did not turn out too bad and she is pleased with the end result. It was good practice for me in using different brushes.

Spinning a Yarn

All of this new treasure is hand spun or hand dyed. Can't wait to start knitting with it. Will it be socks or a lace shawl or maybe both together?

A Life on the Ocean Wave

I have finished Kevin's socks. Knowing how seasick he gets it is unlikely he will be wearing these on board ship. 

He says they are too nice to wear fishing but I couldn't resist taking a photo of them with his cushion. I LOVE this sparkly yarn and Colin will get a pair too. The yarn is created by Sheena and you can buy it on Etsy. Her shop is calling Lammingtonlass. I have bought some in purples/turquoise and asked her to produce a darker version of this too. Not only are the colours magical but the yarn is very good quality.     

Fast Learners

I had a fun day beading with Heather and Maureen. Heather used a chunk of fleurite and some freshwater pearls in her necklace and Maureen used green/blue chalcedony beads in her necklace and earings set. Great to have company on a beautiful Indian Summers day, thanks girls. 

For my lovely Sis

Breda has given a new home to two of my paintings. They are now framed and on their way to hang in the new room she has created in her house. 

Harvest Moon

The huge moon again this month inspired me to use moonstone. I love the milky glow of this stone. I have used it here as small stones in between multi coloured cracked agate. The dark blue are my favourite as they remind me of the night sky. I am going to keep this one for me and it will remind me of a blissful evening sitting (outside!) in Glebe Gardens listening to the wonderful Julie Feeney.

Au Natural

Some stones are too lovely to do anything with and here is an example. I used small polished grey labradorite with chunks of unpolished labradorite.

 

A West Cork Day

It was a wonderful sunny morning so I dragged himself out to Bantry House for the Cork Craft Month Fair. I wanted to see the new work by Hilary Nunan who is one of my favourite Irish artists. Her partner had made some stools using recycled Irish timber and I treated myself. I just love the honesty of this stool and I know it will bring me pleasure for many years to come. We then went on to Akhista for lunch in Arundels. The sun was shining and the sea was sparkling so I couldn't resist taking a photo of my stool and here it is.