Hello

Thank you for looking at my blog. My latest passion is applique which I have been doing since 2015. I love making things and learning new crafts On this blog you will see some of the things I have been working on. You will also see wonderful items created by other people. When I am not crafting I enjoy being with family and friends, singing and family history. My favourite place in the whole world is anywhere by the sea and I have to get my fix every few weeks. My favourite colour is PURPLE but I love turquoise too!



Monday, December 26, 2016

Seascraps

After finishing my hearts I took a notion to do some pictures using scraps of fabric. He is my new Seascraps Series. I really enjoyed keeping these very simple. My stash of shells came in handy but I must visit Cunnamore and Coral Strand to collect some more. I think I might do some Landscraps too, perhaps moorlands??
 


 

Santa has been to visit

My lovely sister knows me SO well. Here is the bag she bought me. It transforms into a bucket bag too so it will be perfect for my new stitching bag. It even has a little notebook for capturing inspiration when it strikes.
 
 

Frosty Fred

Kevin made me a snowman for the front doorstep. I helped by making a scarf. I think this one looks a bit lonely so we have to find some more logs to make a companion. I was also busy making rag wreaths. Here is one in Di's new home. I made 2 nautical ones and a sea one too. Now who needs an Easter one?
 

 

Monday, December 12, 2016

Bridgets Place

I was visiting Kerry this summer and stopped off to see the homeplace of my grandmother Bridget Connor. She lived in Rossdohan near Sneem until she left to go to the USA as a young girl. She met and married my grandfather there and they returned to live in Bandon.  
 
My mother visited her grandparents there every summer during her teenage years. She would cycle from Bandon to Sneem in a day. I took her back to visit and to meet her two 1st cousins. It was 70 years since my Mum and Jack had last met and they were overjoyed to see each other. I could see the young people they had been. Shortly after my Mum died I went to tell Jack but he already knew. He could see how upset I was so he sat outside with me and told me how to forecast the weather by looking at the sea and the mountains. I have never met a wiser man. He was content with what he had and with living out his days in his homeplace.
 
It is sad to see it empty now and it would be lovely to hear it ring to the sound of children's voices again.
 
 
 


 
 
 
A very special place.

Friday, December 2, 2016

EbbandFlow

Julia made some hearts last year and that inspired me to have a go. I have been wanting to play with layers of fabric for some time and  this was a good project to start on. I used the embroidery foot to sew the strips to the slub satin background first. Joan me a good tip. She suggested I hold the strips of fabric in place using strips of paper which I could remove as I went along.
 
I will do things a bit differently next time. The shells were very difficult and most of them fell off even those I had managed to get some glue on. I think the best shells would be cockle or mussel. I must keep the beads and embellishments away from the edge so they do now catch the sewing machine when I am sewing up. I sewed the hanging ribbon in as I went along but I must be more careful and make sure it doesn't slip. The ebbandflow words fell off too. I will need to sew a layer of chiffon over to make a pocket.  The finished hearts are too big and the next time I would have a more rounded shape.
 
They are cute though!
 

 
 
 

Winter Workspace

I am all set up for my winter jewellery making sessions. I had two lovely days with Jo and Maureen and that inspired me to leave everything out so I can dip in and out. I love these new metallic druzy agate beads that I found.
 

 

Big Birthday

I
I have created this for a friend who had a big birthday recently. The granny square pattern is called sunburst and the border is V stitch from Lucy at Attic 24's blog.
 
 
 

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Grouted!

My mosaic is finished. I decided to use white grout rather than the sand colour we were given. I am pleased with the end result but I have learned how important it is to have a clear line. My wave would have been better if I had carried the light blue tiles all the way over the wave.
 
Planning the next project now!
 
 

Moorland Magic

I love the work that Lucy at Attic 24 does. She sits in her studio and works on colour combinations for crochet throws, cushions, bags and lots more. She is SO generous at sharing her patterns. I seem to have got into the habit of completing one throw a year as they take a long time to do and I fit them around other things. I am planning for 2017 and have just received her Moorland pack from Wool Warehouse. It is based on a view she passes often in late summer on her walks on the Yorkshire Moors. The throw will be graduated colours and will have a wave pattern which is new to me. I am looking forward to starting when the CAL starts in January. it is my first time doing a crochet-a-long.
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Music and Mosiacs

I had a fun weekend in Killarney learning something new. We sang songs with Caz, played instruments with Ruti and made mosaics with Hilary. I got to play an owl and made lots of whoooooooo sounds!
 
This was my first time doing mosaics and I really enjoyed it. I was surprised how quickly we all learnt how to to use the snippers to cut the tiles. Hilary suggested we choose a simple image and I choose a wave. I am fairly pleased with the end result and now I just have to grout it. The next time I would use more defined lines for the edges of things like the crest of the wave. Kevin and I are now thinking about doing a mosaic on the garage wall. This will be a summer project so we have lots of time to plan it.
 


 

Card making

I had a session making cards for the next time we exhibit our stitchings. I used the collage photos on Snapfish to print 2 small photos on one 6x4 photo. These work out at 11 cents per photo. I am pleased with the end results and now have plenty of cards for birthdays etc.
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Trout River

Trout River actually exists. It is a very small place on the border with Canada and the US. We crossed from Canada there in 1980. We were with our friends Jan and Jerry and were going to visit Jerry's folks in upstate New York. The border guard was thrilled to see us because his people came from Ireland. He loved the fact that between us we had 2 Canadian passports, 2 English passports, 1 Irish and 1 US passport. There was lots of stamping! I remembered all this this year when our friend Jan made her first visit to Ireland.
 
Kevin says my trout is very realistic so that is high praise. He was very difficult to do because the fabric frayed and fish have very clean lines. The gold coloured organza on his back had to be done twice because of fraying. Sukey gave me a good tip - use the selvedge edge of the fabric as this is bound and doesn't fray.  He looks good in his Matalan frame, their frames are a great bargain.
 
 

Keepsackes

I keep thinking of new ways to keep hold of the stitchings that I have completed and now live somewhere else. I have recently discovered the collage photos that snapfish.ie do. They are a perfect size to cut up and use on small cards so I have ordered some. I also like their lunch boxes and have ordered two with my images on. They are quite expensive but when there was a 40% discount offer on I got two for 18euros including postage.
 
The idea of using small jars and keeping the scraps of material is another one I like. You could add one of the small collage photos and you have a record in case you want to do it again. They would look cute displayed too.
 


 

Monday, October 3, 2016

Druzy Days

It feels like winter is round the corner and the nights are drawing in. It will soon be time to set up my jewellery making workspace in the conservatory. I found some gorgeous beads so it will be great to make a start.
 
The beads are metallic coated druzy agate and are shades of turquoise with a sheen of purple around the holes. I may use some silver with them or perhaps some rock crystal??
 
 

Silk Paper

I had a go at making the silk paper using mulberry silk and wallpaper paste. It is very messy! The end result was ok but next time I need to lay out the silk more carefully and be aware of the amount of shrinkage and that the design moves. I have dried some sea aster flowers so I am going to have a go with them next and I will add some lace and stitch into the paper when it is done. I ordered more silk from Oliver Twist.
 


 

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Crossing the Borders

I crossed three borders to get from West Cork to Northumberland. There were no borders or barriers at the Border Textile Group meeting though. I was welcomed with open arms as their first International visitor!
 
It was a great afternoon and I learned how to make paper using mulberry silk and wildflowers. I bought a kit and have ordered some mulberry silk from Oliver Twist Fibres on etsy. I found some wild sea asters on the beach at Bamburgh and Joan has given me some of Aunt Florrie's lace so I can't wait to have a go myself. The process looks easier (if a little messier) than wet felting and you are left with a much finer product.
 
 I took a few photos on the day, my favourite piece was the snowdrops.
 




 
 
 

Friday, September 2, 2016

Crazy Wool

I bought some new solvable fabric and have been wanting to have a go at crazy wool for ages. August was the perfect time as I had banned myself from stitching. I had plenty of odds and ends in my stash. I used quite a few silky yarns and added some strips of sari silk too as the experimental one I did a while ago was a bit scratchy.

You need two pieces of the fabric the same size. This is coated in glue so the whole lot will stay in place while you sew. You can buy a spray glue too. It makes your sewing maching a bit sticky so be prepared for a clean up afterwards.

Lay out your yarn on a strip of the fabric. I kept mine fairly dense but you can use less for a more open fabric. Put another piece of fabric on top and stitch the whole lot together in different directions. Wash away the fabric following the instructions and carefully lay it out to dry making sure it is not folded. I found it needed to be washed and rinsed three times as the glue makes it sticky. I might even have to wash it a couple more times. I am now trying to decide what to do with the ends. Will I leave them hanging, cut them off or sew them in? 
 
I do like the finished scarf and of course it is my colours! I have plenty of purple yarns and might make a purple scarf. I would make some felt in purple tones which I can cut into leaf shapes,  and perhaps embroider and add beads. That will have to be a project for next August as it is back to the stitching now!
 





 
 

Friday, August 26, 2016

New School Year

I used to love this time of the school year. There was an excitement about going back and sorting your new pencils and books.
 
I have bought new boxes to hold my treads for stitching. They are lunch boxes with a photo of two of my completed works. They are perfect for holding my notions.
 
The other thing about this time of the year is that the nights start to draw in. The only thing to do is light the fairy lights. Here is my new set.
 
 

 

Amethyst Days

I spotted this knitting pattern and had to try it. I would not normally make a baby garment in an aran wool but just loved the shape. I used Drops Big Merino wool and it is wonderful for stitch definition.
 
The waistcoat is knitted from the top down and EVERY row is different while you are increasing. I ripped it out three times. The most annoying bit was finding that I had changed the direction of one of the cables about 6 inches back. AARGH!!
 
It was worth it though because I love he finished version. I bought 4 balls of wool but only used 3 so I will buy some more and make another one.
 
 

Inspiration Strikes

I know what they say about waiting for inspiration but I really like it when you are minding your own business and you see something you love. I have been meaning to stop in Bandon for ages to take a look at the garden that Pat created. I noticed the verbena was out so thought I would stop. What treasure! An idea for a stitching, some butterflies to keep me company and lots of tiny seedlings that I can harvest next Spring and give a good home to.
 
A fine result!
 

 

Sunday, August 7, 2016

No Stitching

We are a few days into August now and the temptation to stitch has not hit me yet. I am back to the crochet and to knitting too. I am waiting for the urge to try something new to strike but so far I am content with getting my head round a new cable pattern and trying to remember how I did this Circle of Friends granny square.
 

 
 
 

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Hedgerow Heaven

The knots are finished! This piece began with a skirt from a charity shop given to me by Di. The inspiration came from all the wonderful June hedgerows we saw in Devon. I bought the frame in Matalan so the size was dictated by that. This is the first piece that I have signed my name to so I feel that I am moving forward. Breda has chosen this for her birthday present. I am thrilled that she wants it but I don't want to let it go yet!
 
 BUT.........I have been looking at the montbretia everywhere in the hedges so I think that might be my next piece. I need to find some orange fabric in the charity shop or otherwise I will be going after Mary's clothes with the scissors.
 
I am having a forced month off from stitching. I need to get some knitting done and finish the crochet throw. I hope too I will find some space to try something new. A bit of crazy wool maybe???? 
 
 

 

Sunday, July 31, 2016

French Knots

I hated needlework at school, mainly down to the witch of a teacher we had. She made me sew brown paper for a whole year.
 
it is wonderful to be discovering the joy of it. Julia taught me how to do French knots and they look so effective. I love, love, love, the slow, slow, slow stitching process. About 400 more knots to go!
 
 

Opening Night

We had a fine night for the opening of our exhibition in the Church of Ireland in Glandore, what a wonderful space. I got talking to a lovely young woman who liked my Imbolc piece. She liked the monochrome aspect after all the colour in the other works. Winter is more interesting than I thought.