Saturday 12 February 2011

Silk and Sanitation

Amo - we are indeed holding onto our sanitation and at last have something in place to hold on to. We are very nearly there, as you can see. There is still a very slight loo leak for the plumber to sort out and a bit of painting, but I could at last clean up. As it's all shades of grey I decided on sharp pink accents but haven't had time to go and buy any so it was down to a desperate search around the house. I came up with an orchid, some tulips and a pale pink china box that Val gave me. Not bad for a quick sweep. The blind man came and measured us and rasperry pink blinds should soon be in situ. Oops, should have moved the toothbrush - just ignore it.

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So glad we went for the slatey tiles over the bath as I think the big pale grey ones might look a bit insipid all over. The hand shower is for washing hair in the bath - too much information?

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Back to things stitchy and lesson two of the on-line classes. We're continuing with a silk paper theme and I'm making something that I'm quite excited about. It's all to do with buttonholes. I'm also having fun with a large lump of silk that was purchased from Oliver Twists, I think she called it silk lapp - I'm no expert so does that sound right? It comes in a big hunk like this in wonderful colours.
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I'd had some success by making a very thin layer of silk paper with it and then pulling out more of the the silk into a lattice shape and laying it over while the base was wet.

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This produced an interesting surface which looks lovely when the light shines through it.
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Current experiments, for lesson 2, involve making use of the fact that the silk forms a tube - see below.
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If you want to join our classes, they are free if you have the Mixed Media: New Studio Techniques (written with Isobel Hall) details at www.d4daisy.com
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I am a reluctant blogger today as the weather is wonderful. It's one of those warm, sunny days that we sometimes get in February and we have been for a huge walk, exploring our new trails. Went through woods, a farmyard, a snowdrop bank and lots of puddles. All without getting in the car. Heaven.

7 comments:

Heather said...

Your bathroom is very elegant Maggie - love the colours but I had to read the bit about the blind man twice! That silk fibre looks like a must have - it's gorgeous. Great to have these lovely days to explore your new surroundings. I must get on with lesson 1 as lesson 2 sounds super.

Gayle said...

"I see said the blind man as he picked up his tape measure and saw."

The blind man made me giggle too.

gilby said...

Hi Maggie,
Bathroom looks great well worth all the effort.

JP said...

what a swish bathroom - so glad you are happy in your new home

Teresa said...

Maggie,
I feel quite silly asking this question, but when you talk of teabag paper in the Mixed Media book, can you buy it in lengths, or pieces, or is it just the paper taken from used or unused teabags?
The book is lovely & I'm lucky enough to be enrolled in Isobel's 2 day workshop in Brisbane in March, which I'm really looking forward to. I haven't done a mixed media class before, so hope I don't make her consider retirement!!
Cheers,

Diane said...

Oh Maggie your bathroom looks just great. I just wish ours was at that stage.
I am keen to get some of that silk fibre but I think I will wait until I finish the D4Daisy workshops.
I save up all my tea bags, tear them open, wash the tea leaves out, dry and use them that way. It doesn't matter if the stamp doesn't fit the shape. They look a bit more authentic when doing mural type work.

Wabbit said...

Love the brooch, Maggie! And yes, I had to grin when I read about the blind man. The bathroom is lovely. European bathrooms seem to be much more modern than most of them here in the US, though you see more modern ones these days.

I'd saved up tons of teabags until I felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of them and tossed them all out. When I start saving them again, I'll rinse them out as I go!