Happy Valentines Day .......

Happy Valentines Day to everyone out there ...... a special card ....  and Pauls taking me to the movies.

I have been stitching my protection cloth .... some nights only a few stitches....but it is coming along.  Slow and steady wins the race..... I'm not sure whether I will do any stitching on the dots/in the dots.  I think I will leave them as they were when I bought the piece of cloth.  It has been lovely to hear that others are doing some red stitching too.

I chose this beautiful print I bought from Magaly Ohika (one of her beautiful postcard sets)  for the front of my latest molesking journal (#5).  Love this series of her work ....and I love her art on the front of my daily journals.  Very inspirational.

Some new art supplies... some Daniel Smith watercolors.  I do LOVE his colours!!!!  Some new cobra water based oil paints and a couple of new sennellier oil pastels.  Fun, fun, fun.

And lastly a photo of my sweet old dog Oakey (16)  having a little snooze with his teddy.  He loves to rest his head on a pillow or his toys.  He's the sweetest little man.....and sleeps a lot these days.

I hope your  Valentines Day was special.....sending you all  LOVE.

LOVE THE ANIMALS,

LOVE THE PLANTS,

LOVE EVERTHING.

 

-DOSTOYEVSKY-

Jacky xox

stitching for protection.....

This is the beginning of my Protection Cloth... I read a while back on Judy Martin's blog where she was stitching in red thread for protection,  for Jack.....and at the moment I feel the need to make my own protection cloth...for my family and my friends.  So much is happening and you feel you have no control over much of it.  So this is my answer.  I will sit and stitch a little each night, and think about those who need a mothers protection.

A piece of cotton cloth from Zigu Zagu, stiff in texture,  with markings, circles.  I wonder if they were for a shibori design originally as this is very old cloth.  Approx.  15" wide and 2m long.  It will keep my busy.  The backing is a beautiful fine old silk kimono lining.  All will be stitched with a variety of red threads.

Some more dyeing.... a tin can that soaked for a few days in an old onion skin bath, ready for opening and a colour catcher indigo dyed with Nat.

This is a close up of the colour catcher (thank you Deanna via Nat).  The resist was made by folding and clamping.  I have something in mind for this....when I get a few more made.

The results from the tin can dyeing (method a la Deanna and Jude Hill).  I used a folded piece of very fine wool, from a deconstructed kimono from Zigu Zagu again.

Close up.  The internal rings remind me of the rings when a tree is cut down.

 

 

This week is more stitching and I need to do some painting...play with those neons.

 

I hope you have a creative week.

SOMEDAYS YOU

JUST HAVE TO

CREATE YOUR OWN

SUNSHINE

JACKY XOX

January .....

Here it is nearly the end of January....and what have I been doing?  Certainly haven't been blogging!
I have been very busy though.  Catching up with family and friends, relaxing.....

I finished another journal at the end of December and am well and truly into my next one.  Journal no.5

I've been doing lots of reading.  Beautiful books I was given for Christmas,  art books I bought last year and had time over the last month to have a good look and read of them.  And, my e-reader has been kept very busy too.  Mostly light, holiday reading. 

I've been dyeing with friends.   Last weekend I went to my friend Nat's and we did some indigo dyeing in her vat.  Two beautiful scarves.  Nat taught me how to make the fringeing to finish them off.  More indigo moons,  I can never have enough of these.  Lots of fun and our love of indigo continues.  See more of our indigo dyeing adventures on Nat's blog.

I picked up some lovely silks and linen samples while op. shop trawling with my friend Dot.  Some of these will find their way to the dye pot soon.

And I'm doing an online workshop at Tim's Sally..... I've never used neons before,  but these are used in the workshop, so I thought I would be brave and give them a go.  I will let you know how that went later!

 

Tonight I plan to do some stitching....with red thread  (Judy Martin says she uses red thread for protection .... I like that idea).

 

Tomorrow is the first day of February...I will try and post more next month.

 

WORK HARD

TO MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY

EVERY DAY

 

Jacky xox