End of the Year

 

The final pictures of 2011 – collages for December.
You can see these pictures in wonderful quality at Blipfoto.

Wishing everyone a
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Concentration

Getting in to Daisy

Drawn with right index finger on iPad.  First attempt.

OK, must admit I used the Tracing Paper app and a bit of practise would help (and I have DS sitting beside me and he keeps jiggling around as kids do).

Now, where’s that stylus….. AMAZON????  Quick, quick, quick on that delivery please!!

Merry Christmas

Hope you’ve had a great day.

Its a tradition with my favourite group of internet friends to light a candle on Christmas Day, its a way of feeling closer even though we are spread throughout the world.

I’d like to share this with all of you too. 

Hoping Santa was good to you, he went to Space NK and the Apple store for me!

Happy Christmas to everyone

 

Best wishes to everyone out there reading my blog.

I hope you all have a wonderful day with lots of laughter and happiness.

Helen X

Dancing Reindeer

by

Richard Cowans aged 11

Journaling December

Journaling December

Journaling Christmas

Snow!

Enough snow to play!
Taken mid-afternoon when a sizeable amount had melted.

Trip to Ingram

We took a short lunch time break so I could get more practise in Daisy (DH refuses to call it Daisy, but for me its stuck, Sue’s fault!)

Getting in is always a challenge (when laughing it’s even more so) – can you see how short I am how high up it is?

The head of the valley looked spectacular.

He waited for just one shot, then turned and walked off. 
Perfect.

Waiting…

 

Held - Awaiting Booking-In Date (GATESHEAD SERVICE CENTRE)
6th Dec 2011
10:34

Arrived At Depot (GATESHEAD SERVICE CENTRE)
6th Dec 2011
04:04

Departed Depot (HATFIELD TERMINAL)
5th Dec 2011
20:32

Arrived At Depot (HATFIELD TERMINAL)
5th Dec 2011
20:29

Parcel data received awaiting coll. (BRISTOL SERVICE CENTRE)
5th Dec 2011
00:00

It’s that time of year when it takes parcels far too long to arrive….. my parcel was only an hours drive away at 04.04am this morning.  Maybe they’ll get it booked in sometime soon?  Amazing they can know its arrived, but its waiting a booking in date – isn’t that the same thing?  Or are they deciding when to put it onto the van and drive north?

Harrogate, Part 2– I have been trying to write this but have given up for two reasons – 1. I realised that I couldn’t, because of copyright issues, post pictures of other peoples work that I liked and 2. I find as I get older that I’m less easily impressed and only really, really liked three pieces of work.  The days where everything excited me are long, long gone.    

Back in the studio I’m working on two very different projects.

Firstly a hanging for DS – he saw Frieda’s circle quilt and asked for one like it.  Having taken a class with Frieda on piecing circles I was well armed with knowledge, if not patience…. piecing is not my favourite task.  Not by hand, not at all really.  Each to their own and I know it makes some people’s bells tinkle, that’s wonderful, it just doesn’t tinkle my sleigh bells.

I wonder what Frieda thinks of the colour scheme!  Very different from hers.
(Sure she’ll tell me! Hello Frieda!)

Mostly chosen by DS himself and with a fern pattern to remind him of our trip to NZ (they are all fossil fern fabrics).

Guess what I’m stitching this evening – once he’s off to bed…

The second project involves using the inspiration of Bamburgh Beach and “Coast”, not a cut seam in sight (oh the freedom of ripping silk).

Journaling December

 

Journaling December

Journaling Christmas day 5 (3 and 4 to follow!)

I’m having great fun playing with digital scrapbooking (and positive thinking), its been too cold to head outdoors today so I stayed inside reading about farming in Neolithic Europe – and playing with Photoshop… and Facebook…. and surfing the web in general…. and a bit of housework and baking.  Not a bad day.

Sunday Afternoon

Today I took a break form art, stitching, thinking about art and stitching, reading about art and stitching and it did feel good.

This afternoon we all went out to Harthope Valley for a short drive.  Out of the gate, over the ford, up the hill and there we were…

Beautifully coordinated with the hills.  But the paint is changing just as soon as I can get it done….

There are some elements to mask off and keep – all part of its history (this car was new when I was 17 years old!)

And some wonderful textures (even on a day off I am still thinking of art, even though I don’t realise it).

No need for the gym either – arms have had a good workout with the non-powered steering!

Evening at the garden

Visit to the evening opening at the Alnwick Garden, love these sparkling lights in the stone… can we get these for the patio?

Below is my favourite photo of the evening, no tweaking in Photoshop required.  Its my Blip photo too.

Brrr… its cold out there

Journal your Christmas

New month and another new challenge for me you can see the class I’m taking here.

Last time I took a class from Shimelle (journal September) I used paper, pens and glue…. this time I decided to use Photoshop.  The red and white card was this mornings prompt and I’ve managed to waste use an hour of my morning creating this “page”

November Pictures

What a real contrast in November this year!

Autumn leaves in deepest golden browns along with flowers on Delphiniums and Lupins.

Really hoping my photo a day muse will return this month – I think I was subconsciously sulking as the light levels fall towards mid-winter.

You can see these pictures in better quality and read the captions at Blipfoto

Harrogate Report part 1

It was great going to Harrogate last week to the Knitting & Stitching show.
Good to have a break away, but great to be home (less traffic for a start!)

There are three sides to the K&S show – seeing friends, shopping and inspiration.  It was wonderful to meet up with Caroline and Fiona.

Todays post is shopping, tomorrows post is inspirational art.

There were some of my favourite shops missing, one being the Bead Merchant, their loss with the Spellbound Bead Shop’s gain.

A few beautiful buttons, the small number reflect the price rather than the choice.

The unequalled Habu yarns and Silk Route fabrics.

Indian trims

More silks from the Silk Route and Mulberry Silks – my colour choices are mellowing.

Most of this lace came from a vintage fair – a few metres from Harrogate.  The buttons are art nouveau in style and really beautiful.

There are plans to combine the lace with the pattern above, lets just says its going to be interesting as the instructions are minimal, as is my dress making experience.  Hopefully I can reveal the results in March at the Fashion & Embroidery Show.