A sketchy weekend ....

I had a great day yesterday. My 'better half' and I popped over to our daughter's for dinner as it was Father's Day. He got thoroughly spoilt and I spent the day sketching! This is the view from our daughter's back garden - she overlooks Dartmoor - if you click on the picture and zoom in you can see Dartmoor miles away in the background.

This is my interpretation of what I could see using oil pastels on a blue spread (previously painted with Brusho) The sun was melting the pastels while I was desperately trying to be creative!!

This is a view from a farm gate on the way to our daughter's home, but worked on a beige background (corn coloured). When I got home I worked Winsor & Newton Liquin Original into it with a paint brush, which blends all the strokes of oil pastel.

The difference the background colour makes to the finished sketch is amazing.

The first one on the blue background is a lot 'greener' that this one.

The vertical marks each side are creases I 'achieved' as they were drying, after I Brusho'd the pages. I shall have to be more careful next time!

This is on the other side of the road, and I sketched this in coloured water pencil on a greeny yellow background. The right hand side has been 'watered' - the left hand side has not.
Aren't I lucky to live in such a green and pleasant landscape.

Calendar Girls June Swap

This is Sharon's inspiration for this month - Ton Schulten the Dutch contemporary Artist.

This is Debbi's interpretation she made for me. She says she played with layers of sheers, but I think a lot more thought work and effort went into it than what she mentions! It is absolutely beautiful Debbi, and such a crisp finish. Thankyou again.

This is my interpretation I have made for Sandy. I dug deep into my bag of hand dyed fabrics, cut and pieced a few, then free stitched the trees and roof top. I hope Sandy likes it when she gets it!

You can link to all the Calendar Girls blogs by clicking on the logo on the right hand side. They are doing amazing things with Sharon's inspiration this month.

Lucky Me!

I asked my friend Doreen in Australia if she would make me a 5" Quiltie and I would make her a 6" Butterfly page for her Book. She agreed, and the postman delivered this sweet little girl this morning. Isn't she gorgeous?! Doreen tells me most of the laces are antique, and she dyed the soft brown one in the middle herself. The colours melt so well together the whole piece makes my mouth water!

I doodled a bit in my sketchbook on some purple pages while creating a design for Doreen, so a purple hand dyed piece of fabric was an obvious choice when it came to stitching it. Doreen was delighted I am pleased to say, but I know who I reckon got the best deal!

Doreen also sent me a 5" piece of her Killed Catalogue she did with Maggie Grey, and an ATC. It was great to get touchy feely with it, as it is quite textured but also has an overall smooth surface. Amazing..... Gorgeous colours

This little 5" Quiltie was made for me by Chris in New Zealand as the May swap for Unlimited Textiles. Chris says she was inspired by the Elizabethan costumes she sees on TV. She certainly has captured the feeling with the beautiful textures, colours and beading. Thanks again Chris - I love it.

This postcard I made for the May swap on Calendar Girls, using the inspiration of a Monet painting. My interpretation used a hand dyed piece of fabric, free machine stitching and some paint to highlight a few details. It is now with Carol in Wales.

These gorgeous postcards were made by Lynda (Purplemisses) using the same inspiration. Lynda sent me three actually, but I gifted one to Doreen. She says she laser printed lutradur primed with fluid matt medium then thermofax screen printed (the rose) using iridescent bronze fluid acrylic mixed with gold metallic paint! Lucky me!

You can see the other cards the ladies have made using Monet's inspiration is you click on the Calendar Girls Logo on the right hand side of the page. You can then also visit their blogs.