Inspiration under your feet

I have found some great inspiration this summer wandering around with my camera.  These are a few house  front paths and steps I found. 

Sadly many of them have been ripped up and replaced due to wear and tear of lack of street parking.

Play date with VE1

I have been thinking about this photo of a vitreous enamel sample plate for a month, so today I played.

No planning, I dragged out a few blues and I was off, making it up as I went along.

All the yellows were pre-cut so I went with the sizes I had for the yellow blocks.


I'm not really a wall hanging kind of girl. I do need to experiment more and there is no point in leaving things in a plastic bin, so this will be my first wall hanging.  There are plenty of plain walls to hang it on as I don't have pictures up either!

#1  Log cabin construction

The colours are a bit bleached in this photo.  Simple log cabin construction to be enhanced with machine quilting after I have sketched from this book.....

#2  Strings

The blue string bin was out,  so that one was next.  I have to force myself to deviate from the original brief and get creative, it's not a easy process for ma at all. I'll just have to practice (;@]


I needed to use up some old blue curtaining........

#3  Curtains and rectangles

#4  Big squares

 Next........................

#5  Reflection

And finally.......the light blue centre picks up the reflected skylight in the original photo.  I'm not sure about the borders, they were just what I had leftover.

I could go on for a week on this theme, planning and sewing more samplers!  I'm happy I have had a creative splurge and now I can get on with unfinished projects, having started yet another one!

Booksnobbery

This weeks read was the Sugar Camp Quilt, which I read via Bookcrossing.   I have realised I'm rather snobbish about my reading having studied it at university level~these books are well enough written, sometimes a girl needs a gentle easy read with a bit of history, quilting and romance for good measure!  It did me the world of good in a very stressful week.  



On to this, that I was sent by the author in a RABCK (random act of Bookcrossing kindness).  I will be sending it to the International Sweepstake winner in Canada when I'm done, so its back home to Continental America for this book.

Next,  The true history of the Kelly Gang, for a swap with another Bookcrosser.

Sewing is still Kiss in the Corner, I am approaching the second corner!!  One long side, one short side done by the weekend!  I think my technique is improving slightly, though its a good job there is a 'busy' backing.  Moo!


I have been watching shows from thequiltshow.com whilst I sew.




A few brown hexies over the last week or so at lunchtimes and at a picnic.......

Remember these from past posts?

Vitreous enamel sample plates from work as design inspiration.  I asked if we had a manual of defects (not that we EVER make aything like that!) and we did.........

Dry old reading for most people, I know, but it's an atlas of quilting inspiration for me!

I'll be doing some design work on this at the weekend.

A stroll round work

I found this little lovely-we make vitreous enamel signs. This is a sample plate of yellows on dark blue for a customer.   The yellow is matt because its been screened but not fired a second time to set the yellow.  This would make a simple but effective 'man' quilt in dark/light blue, and yellows.   A few partial seams  of light blue (where the light blue skylight is reflected) against the yellow, but not too difficult.

Sewing is much the same, pink and kiss in the corner; nothing new as I'm trying to FINISH something!







I saw this in a Sussex village the other day. I was amused. It called this nursery rhyme to mind-I had to look it up, I couldn't remember it from my own childhood, it wasn't something my boys would have been interested in!

 

 

"The three little kittens, they lost their mittens,"

The three little kittens, they lost their mittens,

And they began to cry,

"Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear,

That we have lost our mittens."

"What!   Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens!

Then you shall have no pie."

"Meow, meow, meow."

"Then you shall have no pie."

The three little kittens, they found their mittens,

And they began to cry,

"Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

For we have found our mittens."

"Put on your mittens, you silly kittens,

And you shall have some pie."

"Purr, purr, purr,

Oh, let us have some pie."

The three little kittens put on their mittens,

And soon ate up the pie,

"Oh, mother dear, we greatly fear,

That we have soiled our mittens."

"What, soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens!"

Then they began to sigh,

"Meow, meow, meow,"

Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens, they washed their mittens,

And hung them out to dry,

"Oh, mother dear, do you not hear,

That we have washed our mittens?"

"What, washed your mittens, then you're good kittens,

But I smell a rat close by."

"Meow, meow, meow,

Old Red Sandstone thread.

This is my spiritual home, Marloes, Pembrokeshrie

This is some of the fantastic geology in the area.  The fold is about 55 feet high.

This is Old Red Sandstone. The textures and colours are numberless.  The cottages built from the stone are chocolate box beautiful.  

I have been collecting red/rust/rock texture fabric for ages now, because the rocks in this area are so inspirational. These fabrics will be the background for my 'Evolution' wall hanging, still in the design stage but always at the forefront of my thinking (I have done lots of thinking in the last couple of weeks!) 

I did some playing a while ago with evolving prairie points.

 The reason for this post?  I found 5000 metre reels of rayon embroidery thread in the most perfect range of colours for this quilt on sale at Lords Sewing .

If you are a European machine embroiderer, check the site. 

This range is gorgeous!