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.

 

 

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.