Tuesday 5 February 2013

I've got a new baby!


I cannot tell you how much shrieking went on this morning when this lovely trolley bag arrived courtesy of Sew Divine in Reading.  Totally out of proportion to the actual object but I have been struggling with an inappropriate trolley going to and from classes and clubs for weeks and now I have a trolley case that my machine fits into safely and that I can put straight in the boot (trunk) as is.  No more standing in the rain/snow/ice prising my machine in or out of a too small artcart to collapse said artcart to get it in the boot.  Bliss!  Thank you Bob for your very prompt service.  (BTW rumour has it that Janome and possibly Benina are stopping supplying these bags.)

You may have heard of erosion bundles in your travels around the interweb and last year I placed several said bundles around our garden and left them to the mercies of the elements.  I recently brought two of the bundles in and put them in the freezer (in plastic bags) to kill any unwanted visitors.  Yesterday I undid one of the bundles  and carefully pulled the materials apart.  Some had rotted completely because the bundle had been out for a full year.  I've put together some collages to give you a general idea.


The image above in the left bottom corner is what's left of a photograph and is almost transparent when held up the light.  


 There are some beautiful layers occuring in the various pieces where I had layered bookpages, sheep music, fabric and various coloured materials together.


I can see some of these surfaces being used as layers in Photoshop.


These too will be fun to play with in Photoshop.

Some of the pieces are a bit suspect in terms of mildewy marks and I did think of rinsing them but I think I will actually use them as they are and seal them with Matt Medium as a lot of the surfaces are paper. I wonder if some could end up as a Journal Quilt?  

Last week at Stitchcraft I did a taster day for a Delft Quilt and came away with a panel that hopefully tomorrow will turn into a cushion cover.  The workshop was led by Liz Hands who I have mentioned previously.


These are the efforts of all the participants and as you can see there was a good variety of colours.


For my square I used some of my snow dyes and fussy cut to get some detail in the flower.  Tomorrow I plan to finish the embroidery and then construct the cushion cover.  I've already added the borders so once the mebroidery is finished I only have to add the back panels.  Watch this Space!


12 comments:

Heather said...

I could have done with a wheeled trolley all those years ago when I travelled to college with sewing machine and large bag of stuff, by bus. It looks very smart and will make your life much easier.
Love the flower panel and the erosion bundle results are fantastic. They would make great journal pages. I must try one myself.

Mrs Mac said...

nice looking new toy!!
You are so creative Julie.I always love your work, and all your experiments, too!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic bag for your machine. Now it will be a pleasure to move around. Love all those bundles. I had really fun with those projects, still have one collage hanging on my inspiration board. These will be swell.....xox

ju-north said...

Great erosion bundles - definitely further use for them!

Maggi said...

Fantastic idea to use those wonderful textures digitally. That's a great trolley and I'm sure that you will get plenty of use out of it. The cushion is going to look good.

sharon young said...

What great Eco bundles, may have to have a go at this now we have the allotment. I love the flowers and your snow dying fabrics look fantastic on yours with the embroidery, looking forward to seeing the finished article.

pam said...

The sewing machine case is fabulous and they do make life so much easier. The flowers are great look forward to seeing the cushion. You are always so active and busy.

Emma said...

Oh I'm positively drooling over your bundles, specially the first pic of 4, lovely layers....poor unwanted creatures!!!!I bet they crawled into your bag of chips, hehe ;) Great trolly bag, I'll bear it in mind for when my wrists, elbows or shoulders give up the ghost completely!

Anonymous said...

Love the erosion pieces. Looking forward to seeing how you use them.

imac said...

Bag full of Goodies.lol.

Anonymous said...

The textures from the erosion bundles are wonderful and a journal quilt would be a great way of showcasing them. I love the stitching on your Delft tulip too.

Angela said...

The erosion bundles look great and I'm sure you are going to make great things with them. I look forward to seeing the results.
Your delft quilt looks very nice.