and now for something completely different

our beautiful hydrangea - when we bought it, I didn't realise

it was a lacecap

and such vivid purpley blue!

the middle bit has started to shed parts of the little petals

so there is a sprinkling of blue underneath the plant

the stems, which I didn't get a picture of

are very dark; almost black, which looks amazing next to the blue flowers

I bought some mini canvasses

so today have been playing around with them

love the colours of the background paint

dress patterns and other bits of paper I have added

I want to add some texture with textiles and stitching

guess I should have seen whether I can get a needle

through all this before I started.......oops

but will find out soon enough!

have to admit; this is kind of fun!

when they dry - I want to add

embellishments with stitching (if possible)

maybe some beads or buttons

and whatever else I can find

hope all is going well with you

thanks so much for dropping by!

__a

new family member

this is Sirus

he is our new kitty

he is 9yrs old

half chinchilla (apparently, that is also a type of cat)

half Persian

and yes, he is very fluffy

and likes to make sure every piece of clothing knows it!

he looks a bit scowly, but that is just the markings on his head

(I think)

practicing his movie star look

well, we are all getting used to each other

and settling in

two of my pieces have been accepted to go into a local show,

which I am VERY excited about

I was asked to be in it last year

but this year it was an open submission

so was unsure whether I would be included

Fri 8th-Sun 10th: Artists United – The Replay
Last July our front cover heralded the first-ever Artists United exhibition, a spectacular collaboration between Lewes FC and about 70 of the town’s artists, which saw over a thousand visitors to the Foundry Gallery in one hot, hot weekend. The show was a fine fundraiser for the community-oriented football club (though the artists got over half the proceeds from the sale of their pictures) and organisers are hoping for more of the same this year. A couple of changes have been made, however, as Artist’s United - The Replay is open to everyone, subject to selection from an anonymous board of judges, and to make the exhibition more affordable, there is a cap of £500 on the sale price of each entry. Last year we heralded the show as ‘the art event of the year’ and while this might have been a little unfair on August’s massive Artwave Festival, you know where we’re coming from.

Foundry Gallery, 1am - 5pm (closes 3pm Sunday), free

another project I am getting involved with is a tapestry

my town is making to commemorate the

Battle of Lewes

I went to a little workshop this week

to learn a few of the stitches

they commissioned a local artist

to make the “cartoon”

and local volunteers will be working on it

using traditional stitches

in order to qualify, I have to make a sampler

of the stitches I learned

we were given images to copy and fill with the various stitches

once I start mine; I will give you a little peak

looks like a nice weekend

think I might like a little BBQ tomorrow

oh; and husband is threatening a clear-out

he keeps focussing on the piles of clothes I have all over the bedroom

hm

have a lovely weekend!

__a

well, who’d have thought?

I finished the woodpecker!

haha

almost forgot to take pictures of it

to show what it ended up like

I think it turned out kind of sweet

I hope my mother-in-law likes it

I hope it cheers her up just a teeny bit

but.......where the heck did all those shadows come from?

I know the actual piece will be shadowy

since it isn’t flat

but I always seem to have mystery shadows at the edges

when there aren’t any I notice while taking the photos

sheesh

anyway.......

it is actually sunny out today

first day in quite a while

so am going to go out and enjoy it!

got my latest Cloth,Paper,Scissors

so will sit outside and peruse that

(thank goodness for International subscriptions)

hope everyone has a nice weekend

and a burst of creativity!

thanks so much for being here.........

__a

hello

thanks for stopping by

I really appreciate your interest and lovely, kind messages!

have been doing various things this week

I worked on this tulip piece to submit to a local show - not sure when they decide who is in

I am a little unsure about this one........is it finished? I usually add much more to things,

so am having a hard time letting go

maybe if it doesn't make it into the show, I can rework it.......or not

what do you think??

Tulips are my speech

I have to say..........

am getting a little tired of all this rain

I know it makes all the flowers happy and all

but I am getting a little mouldy!

the men of the garden

I also find it quite ironic that as soon as

the government declared the Southeast as a drought zone

it has rained non-stop!

ooh! just saw a sliver of sun peak out as I wrote this

at least it is trying

our upholstery class ended

I enjoyed it so much am planning on

signing up for the next session in the Fall

we didn't finish our chairs

for the black one; all I have to do is put the final fabric on

the other one is missing the springs!

(no wonder it was so cheap)

so.......it is partially started and will be worked on in the next session

and finally;

I am in the middle of a Green Woodpecker

a request from my mother-in-law

she hasn't been too well lately

we are visiting them this weekend

so I will need to finish this by Saturday morning

to take to her

I have done quite a bit of the stitching so far

and haven't a clue what I will do next

guess just see what happens

bit of lace......a few buttons......

the usual!

thanks again for being here

hope you are having a flower-filled Spring/Summer

oh! almost forgot

a few years have gone by since my beloved Sophie passed away

and we are getting a new cat!

we pick him up from the cat sanctuary on Monday

he is THE FLUFFIEST thing I have ever seen!

so, guess I am diving back into the world

of cat hair everywhere

__a

back again

huh.....

well, that didn't really go to plan

the plan of thinking, writing, relaxing, etc

the good thing is; my sister

and her daughter had a good visit

and one of the days they were there,

there were actual waves!

never been waves there before

it was fun

we were the only people in the water

the not so good thing:

husband spent almost the

whole holiday sick in bed

hence the no relaxation

oh well

did get a few lovely days together

before my husband was felled,

we all went to the Alhambra in Grenada

a Moorish palace

the architecture is simply amazing

so mathematical

and beautiful

and ornate

we weren't able to get into the actual palace

they limit the amount of tickets they sell

but we did get to walk around the gardens

such a beautiful place

now; back in the studio

(which I still haven't cleaned out!)

am getting back into my projects

have made a few more stuffed birds

am beginning to like them more

this weekend, we have another

upholstery class

so have been collecting chairs

these will be a bit more adventurous than the last two

I have several more projects

to get on with

for our open studios, Artwave

I have loads of time

but as usual, struggling with

procrastination

and uncertainty

wish me luck! ha

thanks so much for stopping by......

hope you all are having a lovely summer

__a

adios

just a quick note as I am going on holiday for a bit.......

our annual Spain trip

am really looking forward to some reading........

thinking.......

looking........

calming........

planning

before I go

I thought I would show you some photos I took

a couple of weekends ago

while at the Horse Trials

at Chatsworth House

what an amazing and beautiful place!

and this is just the gatehouse!

while at the horse show

we saw this amazing horse whisperer

Jean Francois Pignon

he had his horses doing amazing things

without any sort of yelling or whipping

they really seemed to be communicating

after the horses were lying down

the little pony came over and jumped over them!

of course, I didn't get that photo

it did make me a bit teary

missing my Dad

knowing he would have loved to see that

several times I have seen him stand by a fence

and all the horses come over to him

there might be several people standing

by the fence

but they always went straight to my Dad

I hope everyone is doing well

having lovely creative thoughts

and actions

thank you, thank you for coming by

maybe leave a message and say hello

have a good weekend

bye bye

for now

__a