Busy and exciting weekend

I found out yesterday that I was the winner of a beautiful little quilt by Geta who does the most amazing machine Trapunto work. I am so thrilled and can't wait for it to arrive. Her blog is just full of eye candy so do try to visit is you haven't already.

Friday evening was the Jackson Browne concert which was awesome. He does not appear to have changed at all over the last 40 years and if anything, in my opinion his work has just got better. The photo is very poor I am afraid but the lighting wasn't really conducive to ordinary photography.




Sunday was also a somewhat emotional day with the opening of this year's F1 season in Melbourne. Although I have been a Ferrari fan all my life I was overcome by the success of the Brawn GP team. They have been through such troubled times and until about two weeks ago there was doubt as to whether they would even be in this year's championship. To come away with Ist and 2nd is an amazing achievement. I think Jenson Button's face says it all.






There has also been some sewing done as I managed to get the postcard finished for a swap with Monica in Australia. I think I am fairly safe in putting a photo up here as she is on holiday in Egypt at the moment so will not get to see it in advance. It was a piece of fabric that I had dyed recently which looked just like a flower garden so I couldn't resist it.



I will either get a lot of sewing done over the next few days or none at all as I am having my fireplace ripped out and a new one out in along with a wood burning stove. It is going to take them three days and although I will be relegated to my sewing room or the computer I think there is also going to be the need for numerous cups of tea and biscuits to keep the workforce sweet. I am not looking forward to the upheaval but I am looking forward to the additional warmth next winter. My main living room is North facing and although it is wonderful when we have a heatwave it can be hard to get really warm on very cold nights. I'll do a before and after pic when they have finished. I will still be able to at least keep up with what all my blogging friends are doing which will be a comfort.

Happy creativity to you all.

Maggi

Where does the time go to?

I can't believe that it is two weeks since the last post. They say that time goes by faster when you get older and if that is true then I must be reaching my second century. One thing I have been very remiss about is not acknowledging the lovely ATC that I received from Heather and also the shimmering postcard from Monica in Australia. I did acknowledge them personally when they arrived but it is so nice to see what other people are making. Thank you both.






I had a major dyeing session last week after finally making a table for the garage which is where I do all my messy work. I had been looking at an 8' x 4' piece of ply for a long time now and debating how to cut it down to a manageable size. Eventually a friend suggested that I use a jig saw but when I opened the drawer to get it out I found a circular saw so three hours and a lot of heaving large pieces of wood about I had my table - nothing special, just functional. I thought I had better show a picture of the garage after getting it all set up and tidy - it certainly doesn't look like that now. Any Mancunians reading this may well recognise the lady on the back wall.



And this is the result of the new table. I decided that I needed some lighter colours and this should keep me going for a while.



I have done some sewing, quite a lot actually, but they have all been journal quilts to try out different techniques ( I seem to remember they used to be called samples) and I have now decided that I need to do something on a larger scale. I have got several ideas and intend to start developing these soon. One that I did like was my first attempt at discharging. This technique has, I feel, a lot to offer.



Going back to the subject of time going quickly I cannot believe that the Jackson Browne concert is this Friday - I have been looking forward to it for so long and it seems to have arrived out of the blue. It will also make for a nice afternoon in Sheffield as an old school friend and I are meeting up to have a meal first.

And finally, Spring has arrived with a vengeance here and we have just had the most beautiful week. Hope you are all enjoying your gardens and your creativity.

It's not just about flowers.

In my last two posts I showed some flower pieces that I had done as a result of Beth Wheeler's Altered Photo Artistry II online course. This has been an excellent course and having done smaller pieces she showed how to create the lovely scaled up versions that she makes. I have done one, again manipulated in Photoshop and have printed it out on fabric ready to to do the stitching onto it. This one is 24" x 11". I am showing it here as it is because if anyone has been thinking about Beth's course the next one starts March 27th. She is an excellent teacher, always ready to answer questions and make suggestions and I would thoroughly recommend one of her courses. If you are not sure and want to know which on might be the most suitable for you you can always contact her and ask her advice.



This next one is only at the experimental stage and has not yet been printed as I am still playing and having so much fun.

Thanks Beth



I am now going to start stitching so hopefully I will be able to post the finished piece eventually.

Be creative.

Maggi

PS. If you do decide to do one of Beth's courses would you please mention my name. Thank you.