Monday 6 October 2008

The day before the next day


What lovely folk you are - all those comments. I shall pick one of your names out of the hat when I get back from the show and send a thank-you pressie. I'm so glad you like the book, such a relief when it comes from the printer at last, but I'm only really convinced when you lot give it the OK. I took it to Beyond Stitch today and they all liked it too. Spent the day doing my samples for Ally Pally and they were all getting excited and coming up with more ideas. I can't understand tutors who won't share new ideas - I find that for every one you give away, six come back. I once went to a class where a student asked about a piece of work on a board and the tutor said 'That's another class and I can't tell you about it'. Mean.

Here is what the Beyond Stitch girls were doing today.



Books with Glynda Morison, one of our members. We often do workshops within the group as most of us are teachers and it helps to try out new stuff for our classes. This is one of Glynda's books. The cover was a computer design resulting from one of the group sessions we had with Ruth Issett. It was printed on a heavy linen and built up wth stitch. Looks great.

This is by a lady whose name I have forgotten. It might have been Helen Tudor - I shall ask Glynda and report back. It was a travel memory book or Formosa and each page was delightful. This page is a tree made by blowing ink with a straw.



This page has a small envelope containing mini paintings of her daughter in law, who travelled with her.



I promised to show some of Jane Wild's drawings from her painting holiday in Italy. These are both charcoal studies. She did some super paintings too, but the charcoal does it for me every time. This was the face of a sitter that came to the class.



And here's a study of an Olive Tree.



Looks so much like figures, that I turned this detail upside down.



Comments.

Thanks to all of you who pointed out that they'd forgotten my name on the Quilting Arts article. Lots of folk who emailed me added - we knew it was you, as we know how you work. Is it time I changed my style, do you think? I'm sure they will give me a credit in the next issue.

Sara - hope your pain management course works for you. My mother suffered badly with nerve pain, post shingles, and the pain clinic really helped her. Horrifying kitten story, he sounds even worse than Smudge. This morning I was lazily cutting into a huge roll of fabric without putting it on a table. He jumped up after the scissors and caught his paw, luckily they were not very sharp and didn't cut him but he looked very sad for all of five minutes.

Jude - you will have a great time with Sue Rangeley. We very much hope she is going to do a d4d book next year.

Ibby - we can't get the 'old-fashioned pelmet Vilene now and they call the new stuff craft Vilene. They are very similar. I shall do some more work on the glossary after the show - keep 'em coming.

Annette - my elf has been on overtime! She thanks everyone who has commented on the swift delivery. She really does try to send orders out on the day they arrive and hardly ever fails. We are lucky to have her. I can't believe how quickly they've arrived overseas.

Diana - so glad it turned up. I was about to send out another. We will have fun when the classes start. I shall put up requirements in the week after the show. Mostly working with Vilene or felt, gesso and Hearty/Model Magic to start with. I have some new ideas to build upon the ideas in the book.

I love the smell of books, too Lynne. Clive has just had a birthday and got lots of new books so I've been inhaling them. I have borrowed 'The Book Thief' (after he read it, of course) and can see why he was so caught up in it.

I have had such a giggle thinking of you all with the decaying catalogues. Mags R (Digital Gran) has a hilarious post on her discovery. The pic looks just wonderful. We will be spraying them with disinfectant before we do the final dry out and then they will be coated so they shouldn't be too nasty to touch. Gloves are advised until disinfected! Yes, we are mad (there's alot of it about).

Hi Helen - glad you popped up. Do introduce yourself at the K&S.

Well, I'm off to make some more cast paper and then crash with a bit of hand stitching.

23 comments:

Digitalgran said...

Hi Maggie. I still shouldn't be drying mine out then? It really is squishy and breaks into huge chunks when you touch it. I shall spray it with nice smelling disinfectant tonight just in case (BG)

pascale putz said...

Hi Maggie,
I got your book today. It's fantastic and the pics are beautiful. What a shame I can't share my enthousiasm with a fellow stitcher here in Luxembourg

Wabbit said...

Oh I am feeling like I'm in a time warp! My books have not arrived yet (in all fairness, they would have had to have taken Concorde in order to have arrived in Arizona by now). And today I bought a Quilting Arts I didn't have yet and came home to discover it is the one before the Maggie-without-a-writer's-credit one. How behind I am! I'm off to my workroom to pout... maybe something interesting will turn up in the mail when it gets here.

jac said...

I have my book and its worth the wait ! Wabbit I promise .

We are very luck here as Fee , Maggies helper sent my copy out as soon as she had the funds and brillent post office it was here next afternoon .
Jackie
Norfolk

Heather said...

Thankyou for sharing all those goodies with us Maggie - the travel memory book with the ink blown tree and Jane Wild's olive tree are both wonderful. I am still waiting for my copy of your book but I know it's on it's way. I'm also waiting for my Quilting Arts magazine and I just wish that all those very nice people who've already had theirs would just shut up about it!!!

Jackie said...

I am dying to know what the catalogues are for. Everyone is relating their experiences its too much suspense!

Unknown said...

I love the smell of new books too, which is probably why I buy so many. My catalogue is sitting on the shelf under the kitchen window being visited by the birds. I wonder if there are any diy nests in Argos. Luv Annette

Gina said...

Wonderful work you've shared on this post! Hope to see you over the next couple of days... and buy a book!

Sue said...

Hi Maggie,
Lovely book. I received it in less than 36 hours! Thanks for the advice on the catalogues. I lost both of mine until i realised that hubby had tidied up the garden and I found them in the dustbin. Needless to say, I washed them and put them back into the garden. Thank goodness we have had a lot of heavy showers today, or I might have had to start again!

Leanne said...

Hi Maggie: I am currently on 2 weeks holidays in Whistler British Columbia. My catalogues are still decaying in the garden back in Barrie Ontario. I hope they are not frozen solid when I get back. I will have to catch up with you on the next step. From reading the comments it seems some are drying the catalogues and some are still soaking them.

Liz Plummer said...

I'd have thought a spell in a low oven would disinfect it nicely.... and add to the texture!!! Just a thought...

Love the book - thank you!

peneller said...

Hi Maggie
Thanks for sending my book so quickly. It arrived on Saturday when unfortunately we were out so I had to wait until Monday morning to pick it up! It was worth it though and I am looking forward to the classes.

Heather said...

Just want to say how delighted I am with THE book - my copy arrived this morning and it's everything I hoped for a more besides. We are all going to have such a good time working from it. Fortunately I have recently bought craft vilene and already have several of the other 'ingredients' so am ready to play. Thankyou to all concerned for such a lovely book.

Sue said...

Have a great time at the K&S show. We are so sorry you cannot make it to Harrogate, either for the K&S show or for the Fashion, stitch and Embroidery show ( a great venue to talk to individual designers like yourself)Maybe one year you might grace us Northerners with your presence. There are a lot of textile and mixed media folks up here who would love to see you.

helen said...

Hi Maggie
I love your blog but this is the first time I've left a comment, what is the title of the book about Julia Caprara's work? - I can't wait to see it. I currently have no time for stitching as I have 10 month old twin girls but I enjoy reading about it and dreaming - wouldn't change it for the world really. Your raising the surface with machine embroidery was the first textile art book I bought. from Helen in sunny Christchurch New Zealand

Virginia said...

Dear Maggie,

I've just got to write and say how amazingly quickly the copy of 'textile translations' - all the way to the bottom of the world in about five days! You are amazing - and I'm just loving it! The quality of the pictures is fantastic. Thank you so much.

And my Quilting Arts arrived today too - also with an article by you! I'm going to settle down for the evening and greedily read right through both of them!

Wabbit said...

Woooohoooo! My copy of the book came on Tuesday, hardly the worse for having come so far. It is brilliant, Maggie! Every time I read a paragraph I get an idea. I can't wait to see the next one and Julia's.

JP said...

just arrived back from a great week in Northumberland to find my book had come already - WOW - the unpacking just had to wait and the cats didn't get a cuddle for the next hour!!! - now I'm going to have a good read this afternoon - well done

hippopip said...

The book arrived really quickly and now I am having the time of my life up to my armpits in gesso what fun

Edie said...

My book is here! I am alternating between devouring and savoring - I can't make up my mind!

Thank you, thank you!

edie
Zebulon, NC USA

Edie said...

Ah, I forgot my question, I was so enthused! I cannot find mulberry/kozo fibers here in the US - Deb Meinke doesn't have them, and Quilting Arts isn't showing them in the store, either. Does anyone know a US source? I can find mulberry paper, but not the fibers as described in the book.

Many thanks!

edie

Penny said...

Maggie your book arrived today, a quick dip into it but it looks marvelous.
Oh and the catalogue well I havent dare unearth it yet to see how it is or is not going!

Garnered Stitches said...

Hi, Maggie, I trust you and Clive had a good show? The book is wonderful and I am looking forward to the online courses connected to it. I was the woman who thrusted my photos of the distressed catalogs at you! Hope I wasn't the only one!
best wishes