A very Merry Christmas to one and all, have a great time and a very healthy New Year,and many thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this blog and comment it is much appreciated

My husband who is in deep trouble moved my bay tree about 9 months ago it was about 12 years old and I had nurtured and pruned it into a lovely round ball on a straight trunk,well in moving it he killed it off.So my lovely daughter from Oz has sent me these two beautiful trees to replace it,I am a lucky lady,and husband will not be allowed to touch them. His worst deed to date concerns my catalogue,I am taking part in Maggie Greys online tutorial and the catalogue has been out in the garden since the summer and he was asked not to move it.Well for a man who never puts anything away or clears up he had a sudden rush of blood to the head and put it in the recycling bin,and it has gone forever,I am contemplating a quick divorce or even murder.

Hard grafting, no crafting

Spent most of my spare time and this W.E decorating our bedroom I think we are getting too old for it groaning up and down ladders and in my case unable to get up after painting skirting boards.I used to do all the decorating and quite enjoyed it but when my husband said "I think I will get another ladder when we next do some decorating" I was thinking "No fear I am going to pay someone". I think it would make more sense for me to treat patients feet and pay someone to do the decorating especially having just noticed how uneven the top of the wallpaper is.Well I suppose we can whack up some coving,we have a Victorian house and they have high ceilings and very uneven walls. Have also made 200 Christmas cards for my patients seemed like a good idea at the time but even using the gocco to make the screen print they took quite a time,I have had the message inside printed so that made life easier

This little fellow has been born at Sydney Zoo he is a Pygmy hippo,and my lovely daughter is going to try and get me one for Christmas a bit of a messy feeder but very cute.

Another masterclass

At the start of Angie`s masterclass we all show and discuss are projects and journals,Cheryl who does some lovely paintings brought in some of her machine stitched pieces,they have a very appealing quality and I could not resist this one, which is titled "Two redheads" I am really pleased I got it.

Three of the sections I cut from my piece on the Sue Dove technique

Angie had us doing the Sue Dove technique of ripping paper and colouring in between it is very effective,we did it on a piece of A4 paper and looking through a view finder we cut them up,below is one of Angies This monstrous cat was made by Annie

Cheryl`s piece you can tell she is an artist

The next two are mine the first one is supposed to be ammonites

And the next 2 are Angie`s which he has cut up

This bird was made from an idea in Tesco`s food magazine,my husband who does the shopping keeps bringing them home in the hope that I might get keen and cook something different,not much hope of that, they showed theirs made in white felt but I decided red would look more cheerful

Well these are some of the screen prints that took me 5 evenings and cost me £120.00,I do have quite a few and I am thinking of papering the downstairs loo with them.The whole course was very rushed and would have been impossible to get the final printing done had not half the class not turned up.It was not what I was after as it was for printing on paper and any questions I asked about blocking a screen for fabric just got dismissed so it was for me a waste of money,but you live and learn.I did ask him at the start of the course what we would be doing but it was a wait and see answer, I did feel I ought to tell him that it was too rushed,but when we talked about it ,it was the first course of that type he had done and I couldn't bring myself to criticise it.I am just a coward.I did smile to myself on the way home he showed us some prints that were going into an exhibition and although I can admire the skill I just do not like them as a piece of art,so what a nutter doing the course.

Finished pieces and grandchildren

A very proud Grandma went to see Olive aged 9( it was her birthday the same day) in her school assembly she was the narrator.Olive is sat at the front legs crossed with a headband on,she was brilliant,as every Grandma would know! The next day I went fossilising with son and grandson aged 5, poor Sam had trudged along the Severn at Aust for miles looking for fossils last W/E without much luck, so this W/E I suggested Hock Cliffs down at Fretherne, well know for its devils toenails , but we really wanted ammonites.He was very good walked a long way again and we did find a few broken ammonites but when I gave them to him he said" I don't want them Grandma they are all dirty", so I don't think we will make a fossil hunter out of him ,lovely as he is.

Well I even got around to doing Maggie Grey`s online course for her book Textile Translations, below is the finished piece, it is a book,

This is the book opened I decided to use chinese symbols as English did not seem quite right.

I decided to put tissue paper on yheinside to cover up the threads, this was then painted with interference violet and lightly touched with treasure silver.

I finnished the corset it is on the board and ready for Angie to inspect tomorrow.

I sewed beads along the top and in circles in the ammonites and hemmed the edges.

I finished the bag off with some embroidery and sewed on the handle, and with the piece cut off the flap I made a small purse/ phone holder.

This is the finished scroll from the Textured surfaces workshop it was great fun to do and turned out quite well,I seem to get on better with a distressed effect rather than a "perfect" finish. This is the inside which is xandaprint through a stencil then coloured.

I also managed to finish the book, its not the right measurements but it turned out fairly well,I must give up the red wine when I am supposed to be concentrating,but yippee my Mother has just sent a case of 15 bottles an early Christmas present and I might just have to sample them to make sure they are satisfactory!The front of the book the design is made of Tyvek and the back has xandaprint through a stencil then rubbed with treasure copper,it is wonderful stuff.

I have put my samples inside with a description of the process used, aren't I a good girl.

These are samples I did for different textures below left seeds, and right
fabric strips and thread.

these are split lentils, string and rock salt.

Below are pieces of pelmet vilene with budgie grit and budgie sand in fabric medium before painting,great textures, could be very useful for my ammonites theme, this is all from Lynda and Carols on line course.

This is budgie sand through a stencil and then coloured.

The best £30 I have ever spent

The book cover having been quilted and painted with white paint waiting for the next layer of paint.This is from Carol and Lynda`s Textured surfaces course which has been brilliant,it is so great to get to do some of the superb effects you see on their blogs all this plus a really humming forum for £30 I think it is the best money I have ever spent and I would recommend it to everyone. My rusted sheets of tyvek.

Book cover painted and covered in fabric medium

Along the lines of June Barnes type of quilting this piece was quilted on plain calico,over wool wadding it also has strimmer cord between the calico and the wadding as this distorts when the piece is shrunk,it is then dyed in the low immersion way.I hope it is going to end up as an ammonite

corset once it has been beaded and the edges sorted.

This is how far I have got with the Sharon`s course it is taking ages and as I have not been on any long car journeys it has been put on the back burner.I did do some at the Quiz night at our golf club,we win more often than not,and I got quite a few comments about being able to sew and get the questions right,I did point out that as a female I could multi task,but in reality I play with 3 very intelligent people and I just make up the numbers.

Part of the ammonites theme a small bag felted in one piece e.g. over a plastic former,well a question for any felters,when you cut the bag out the bottom with care stays in a bag shape but the flap then has 2 thicknesses,which were to thick to go under the embellisher,which is how I did the "ammonites" in the end I cut the 2nd layer off and it has worked well.Does anyone know the right way to do it.My son and I and Sam my grandson went down to the Severn at Aust to look for fossils as he hold been told there were masses at the cliffs there,Well we walked miles poor Sam who is 5 had to climb over all the rocks which must of been huge to him and never complained once and we did not find a single fossil of note.Some lovely large pieces of quartz too big too carry.Sam love him' lumped all the way back a large plastic jerrycan which his reluctant Father put in the car for him,he did the same thing at Weston when I took him about a month ago. The last lot of cuffs my daughter walked off with one, a friend another so I made some more two copper and two gold.