Requirements for Lynda Monk's course

Wow! What a response to our book giveaway. We've increased the number of books to twelve to give more of you a chance. Still time to try your luck - see my last blog.

I promised that I'd put the list of things needed up on the blog before the class. I imagine you will have most of them. I've never tried rusting paper but I shall join in and have a go. Looking forward to it. Do join the Flickr group - the details will be on the d4d site on Saturday morning.

We go singing on Saturdays so I shall be joining a little later but I will make sure all is up and running before I go and will pop in to Flickr as soon as we return. I do love our singing class - it is called Local Vocals, such a great name. We sing four part harmony without any instruments and our teacher is amazing - she sings our parts and we sing it back to her. We are all in touch with our inner parrots and it is surprisingly good for one's soul, as you have to concentrate so hard that all worries vanish. In the spring we are going to do Guerrila singing - works on the flash mob principle - a text message and all who can, will turn up at a shopping centre, sing and run away before we're moved on! With my voice, I think I need to run away!

Anyway here are the requirements. I'll answer comments in the next blog, there were some lovely ones.

Here is the list of materials for the first lesson.

Different types of tissue paper as described in the book
Fusible webbing
Steel wires, steel wool, anything that will rust
Water-based media for colouring
Acrylic wax or PVA
Transfer foil
Walnut ink

More news soon.

Book Give-away

We've been busy setting up the site for the free clases with Fabulous Surfaces. I'm quite taken with Flickr and can see that it will become another obsession - when I've got time.

We are doing a book give-away, either a choice of d4daisy books or one of Dale Rollerson's Sari Ribbon books, which she has kindly donated - your choice.
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You've got to work for this one, though. On the d4daisy home page http://www.d4daisy.com/ you will find a pdf download of a useful glossary. What is the first item described? Email me on maggie@d4daisy.com - don't comment here or everyone will know the secret! Clue - it is something that Lynda Monk uses in her book. Closing date January 23.


I have instructed Clive to lock me in my workroom this week to finish my book on Dissolvables. Luckily I smuggled this laptop in so I could write my blog, possibly spend my itunes voucher and generally engage in displacement activities.

First I have to turn this chaos into a space where I can work.
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Comments
Glad you all liked Ted, but Diane is quite right - I really suffered with my poor thumb and haven't been able to finish him. I had decided not to have the thumb operation yet but it has been so bad lately that I'm re-thinking it. I know someone who is having the same operation next month so I might wait and see how she gets on. I am booked in for the end of March - after the next book publication.

Interesting about people making a living by selling work. I agree with Diane about having to teach - I'd encourage anyone to write articles as well, if you can write and produce good work you will be much in demand.

Happy New Ted

Firstly, a Happy New Year to you all. May it be good and stitchy.

We had our first 2012 meeting of the Beyond Stitch group and decided to do something just for fun so Jane W led us in a feltmaking class. We were making animals, using the single needle technique and it was great. I’ve only got a Ted Head so far, but I love him.
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My granddaughter knitted teddy heads to sell for a school charity project. She made them as bag charms and called them ‘Shrunken Teds’!

Betty made a Persian cat, with flat face and all the shading in the ears. Not a good pic but you get the idea.
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I have been to Eastleigh College to talk to Sue Chapman’s graduate class about making a living out of textiles. It was supposed to be based on setting up a business, and we did that as well but I think most people start by teaching, selling work etc. I posted about it on Facebook and the general consensus was that it is very hard and selling alone is not enough. I think I agree with that. Even if you are top flight and get taken up by a gallery, they take a huge commission so I can’t see how it works.


Excitement! The Lynda Monk free classes begin on 14th January and they are great. The first one has exciting ideas for rusting. I have never even thought of rusting tissue paper. What a clever girl she is. There are three classes and each one will be followed a week later by a project made using the technique. We will have a Flickr group (ta Wabbit) to chat and show photos. More details later so make sure you go to http://www.d4daisy.com/ and get the book.
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This is my first free day to go to the sales so I’m now dashing off to see if there is anything left.

On the trail of the lonesome sprout

Facebookers among you will have heard the tale of the single sprout (in a plastic bag) that was the result of an online shopping misunderstanding - I thought it was one pack. There have been hilarious tales of other peoples adventures, including Dorothy's seven bunches of seven bananas. In view of the difficulty of sharing the aforementioned sprout I have decided to decorate it and put it on the tree. Watch this space!

I've been juggling work and Christmas - lots to do on WoW at this time of year but managed to find time for the annual train trip to see Father Christmas. This has been going on for five or six years now and we keep thinking that the older GCs will grow out of it but they are as keen as ever. Although Lauren may have to have a re-think as a Hannah Montana game is a bit infra-dig at eighteen!

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It takes place in our local garden centre and the track has been extended year by year and now is about a ten minute ride. All lit up with fairy lights and the track is lined with toys.

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Good for swoopy photos.

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When you alight from the train (at the grotto) Father Christmas is waiting. It was a new one this year and I think he was a bit unnerved by our GCs en masse. I would be, too! Anyway they grabbed pressies and we took a photo.

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By unamimous vote (theirs) the next stop was the scruffy pub for lunch. This is part of the golf course at the end of our road and is very unstuffy and slightly shabby but the staff are lovely. The boys like the table football, too.

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So a good time was had by all.

Not much about textiles in this blog but I'll just show you one of the pics from Alysn Midgelow Marsden's next Wow article - March issue. A fantastic mix of shrinking plastic, t-shirt transfer paper and stitch. I can't wait for after Chrimbo to try her techniques.

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In the meantime I wish you all a lovely, peaceful Christmas and here's a Displacement Map, (made from the swoopy light pic) to go with the wishes.

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Even fewer sleeps now

As you will gather I am having a few problems in trying to write my blog using my new galaxy tablet. I love it but this is hard work as I don,t seem to have much control over where the pics go.

The pic above shows Elli W, Jane W, Clive and I having a convivial lunch, complete with crackers and party hats. We had a fun time.

The pic below is of the Art Van Go garden. We called in on them on our way to do a talk at the Letchworth Christmas party, which was wonderful fun. I was so surprised at the lovely garden and there is an outdoors area for classes to be especially messy or smelly. Sounds just right for me and I got talked into doing a workshop next year. I always enjoy teaching there.

I am going to quit while I am ahead but if anyone knows how to move pics on a tablet, do let me know.

Apologies for the phantom heading -it was the blog that got away.

Not many sleeps to go

The Christmassy Edition

A lot has been happening here, as usual. It's a good thing that, thanks to the economic situation, I can't afford to retire! Sorry about the rant - I don't really want to hang up my needles yet, but it's annoying to sees one's little 'pot' disappearing.

The Lynda Monk book has been a great hit and I'm so pleased. Apart from being so creative, she is such a delight to work with.

The Christmas season always starts for me with the Stanpit Christmas party. This is held in the hall where most of us local stitchers learned our craft through City and Guilds courses. Sadly, these haven't run for a while, but the party has continued, currently organised by my Beyond Stitch Group. Maureen Beale has been the driving force - a fantastic job she has done, too - but circumstances have forced her to give up. Luckily, one of the other local groups is going to take it on, so it will continue. It must have been going for about thirty tyears and is always such fun.

This year we had Ruby Lever as speaker and she was just great. Look at her lovely work.
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Don't you just love the tassels?

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This made us feel very Christmassy so yesterday Clive and I set to, to wrap up the presents. We lit the fire in the baked bean can, put some Chrissy music on the ipod and off we went.

Clive does the wrapping and Smudge and I get in the way.

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Smudge was disappointed to find that he no longer fits in a plastic bag - even the outsize ones. He used to disappear in them and then scoot round the room at a great rate of knots.
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He had that look on his face that I had when I tried my Christmas glad-rags out the other day, 'I really must go on a diet!'

He has become something of a local character due to his fondness for dogs. As we live on a dog-walking route, he gets to see a lot of them and has made special friends with a Saint Bernard and a Labrador. Luckily they both like cats but it's funny to see him rubbing round them and we often have a little crowd of dog walkers gathered at our gate. He's such a show-off!

A Flickr group is a great idea for Lynda's free online classes, Wabbit. I'll get that going.

Sorry your birdie got 'roughed up' in the ;post, Heather. Is he OK? Do you need another one?