light and shadow challenge

'light and shadow' is the theme of the international quilt challenge  for september. after a number of damp squibs, i finally had a rush of blood to the head and finished mine in an hour this afternoon. i can't show you the whole thing until this friday but can show you a few glimpses of the work in progress.

 and i can show you another work in progress - another sea themed piece

 and today's prize acquisition - a reel of plumber's hemp! the chap in the shop it was the first one had had sold since he had started working there (presumably sometime after Armistice Day)

slack

i have been a slack blogger and even slacker artiste. little progress has been made on my traveller's blanket but it is evolving in my mind.  and no progress has been made on my challenge piece.

on the other hand i had a birthday last week and Kind Dog gave me this most beautiful ring (and matching earrings)

the house is full of spring flowers

and i had messy play this afternoon making paper with lots of silk in it

 and this afternoon we strolled down to alice's bookshop in rathdowne st and picked up a few gems viz.

at last a finished object

ormer ecstasy - inspired by richard lord's wonderful undersea photos

a liberating and comforting quote via mags' blog - thanks mags :) 

But why explain pictures?No meal can be made more exciting by a running commentary analysis of the flavours. Everyone has a different tongue. Pictures need no literary introduction. What they always need are open eyes and minds free from preconceived ideas.

sur le weekend

2 blog posts in 2 days!  - after the recent drought that seems like a minor miracle. but given the Excess of Life Events over the last few months, a slow blog is hardly surprising.

this weekend was free of commitments and we spent it gently. i tried my hand at low immersion dyeing for the first time at home (i had a play with it at grampians texture last year and loved it) and ended up with some quite usable pieces

this green batch reminded me of the plane view of darwin harbour and will be used in an aquatic piece:

i am starting dijanne cevaal's online traveller's blanket next week and am really happy with this combination. i dyed the purple/blue piece and the green is a length of silk chiffon.

deep macbethy reds and cerulean blues are out on the washing line but just as exciting.
and here are some more pics of our beach adventure yesterday. Kind Dog is showing a natural bent for collecting :)

beach therapy

this evening we drove south to get a dose of ozone, ocean therapy and beach treasure collecting.

  i played with the camera apps on my phone - the tilt shift one is especially addictive.

  and the panorama one

 more photos tomorrow - especially of the beach treasure and Kind Dog was very pleased that i didn't ask to bring either of the two dead seagulls home...

july