Some new brooches

I'm in the middle of sewing some beautiful Scottish tweed into brooches - you know how you get inspiration just looking at fabrics, well that's what happened here. My sewing machine was making clickety-clack noises but I couldn't find the problem, so I changed the needle and it didn't help. Then I realized that the bobbin thread was a different thickness from the top - that was it - all's well that end well!!

Energy Low

I've just spent 2 days helping my daughter to move house and I'm so tired. When I got up this morning I couldn't straighten up. So it's been a slow relaxing day!! I did manage to make a brooch from some beautiful Scottish tweed though. Autumn is definitely in the air and the first leaves are falling - Summer forgot to visit us this year!! More tomorrow...

A few new things

I haven't posted for ages so it's time to rectify that. I've been needle felting and made a few brooches and unique necklaces which are on  Etsy,  here are the pictures:

I have also been having a bit of a tidy up. I've started a notebook "WHERE THINGS ARE" because I'm fed up with wasting time looking for things, and I've labelled everything - now I just have to ditto in my glory hole, aka studio hehe!

Birthday

I had a wonderful day on Friday. I started off by staying in my pyjamas till noon, feels deliciously naughty. Had a facial, put aubergine nail polish on and then I shared a bottle of bubbly with my mother. Had a snooze and then got ready for cocktails at a swish place called Tiger Lily. It was happy hour so we drank several - just checking them out, you know LOL. And tipped it all off with a lovely dinner. Taxi home - I was stuffed to the gills but oh so happy!!

At last here are my books

Finally I've got my photos ready for the Artists' Books I made. This first one is covered in bookbinder's cloth. The next one shows the binding and the book is housed in a holder (I like this one the most). Next is a fabric cover and paper pages.

This was the most complicated to make but hard to photograph - the concertina has pages and envelopes and is bound onto soft grey suede (I think this will be ideal as a quilter's book).

No.6 is a fabric book - love how this one turned out! And a couple of simple ones.

Hello

I still haven't posted pictures of my artists' books as they were entered in the weekly exhibition and I have to collect them (maybe tomorrow). Now I have all these new ways of making art all I need is 3 heads and 6 hands LOL.

In amongst my putting away supplies I've used over the past month, I thought it would be all tidy in no time and leave me free to start again. But it still looks like a guddle (mess) so I'll do what I always do, create on the usual 12 inches of space!!

Just when I needed them most..

.. my glasses broke on Monday morning when I was getting ready to go to my last week of summer school at Edinburgh College of Art. It wasn't just a simple leg breaking off - it was attached to a piece of lens. Thank goodness I have prescription sunglasses BUT I've had to wear them whilst the weather is grey and rainy so I look like a first class 'poser'. They'll be ready tomorrow.

The course is 'Intro to Artists' Books' and it's wonderful. I've made a variety of books and will post pictures on Saturday.

I must say that if I'd known that we'd be working with such minute pieces of wire, I mean you could probably fit 2 of them on a pin head!, I probably wouldn't have signed up. I don't have the eyesight and nimble fingers I once had, but I did learn a lot. The first couple of days were frustrating for me and I really wasted them trying to do the impossible. But all of a sudden I was off like a greyhound and enjoying it so much.

Here are the pieces I finished in time for the College exhibition yesterday. This is a found object, probably an inkwell top - I made the chain.

The second piece is something I picked up knowing that I'd use it when inspiration allowed - I wrapped it with pearls.

Assemblage in metals I've been wanting to make for ages - so here was the ideal opportunity. It's a mixture of tin, brass, and embellishments.

And the last piece hasn't come out very well in the picture. It's sheet copper which was punched with a brass frame - this required pickling and darkening to show the design, and various steps to finalize - patience is a virtue!!

All of these are wearable - can't wait LOL.