Blue by Harriet Alice Fox

The August theme was Blue or Sepia.

A colourful choice for everyone this month.

I knew I wanted to work on an embroidery piece as I haven't sewn for a while.

 

I had seen someone online use the chain stitch to create these cute little flowers, so I set to work on making my own. I picked out a bunch of blue shades and drew out my heart shape.

Then I started sewing out the chain stitched flowers.

The embroidery hoop snapped whilst I was sewing this piece so I patched it together and used it as the frame for this embroidery. I think it looks great on my eclectic wall. : )

I've been fabric-shopping.....by Stephanie

Last week I visited one of my favourite fabric shops, The Shipley Shuttle. It was love at first sight for this gorgeous cotton - I adore pink and yellow/orange together!

I spent some of yesterday making this large tote bag and I lined it with yellow.

I cut out a couple of the flowers from the fabric and backed them with interfacing and felt.

I sewed them to some ribbon ( a perfect match for the spotty elephant ears! ) and tied the adornment around one of the bag's handles.

I had enough fabric left over for a purse...

A lovely way to spend some of my lazy Bank Holiday weekend.

By Stephanie.

One for Kaylie

I thought Kaylie would love this, so I'm posting it here.

It's the wonderful world of paper cutting from Michel Ocelot named Les Trois Inventeurs.

A new quilt takes shape...

Despite having two fairly large-scale patchwork projects already on the go, I decided last month that I would start another quilt. I am a recent convert to the combination of blue and white - I love the crispness and cleanliness of the two colours together. I thought that a little pink in places would be a nice way to warm up the work. The blocks are 7 inches square, and a relief to work with alongside the 1 inch square patchwork which is still ongoing. I am, as usual, stitching this by hand and using the English paper-piecing method. The quilt will probably end up as a lap-quilt to use in my sewing room in the winter months.

The fabrics will be a mix of floral, stripes, plain and some checks.

Here are my first six blocks. They are randomly placed together - I will not decide how they all fit together until all blocks are completed.

Posted by Stephanie.

Dawn by Kaylie Joy Black

I have finally been able to finish this piece of work. It has taken me longer than expected but I have definitely enjoyed the process I have gone through to make this piece of work.

I was trying to capture the moment when beams of light come through the trees in the morning.

I started by covering the wood in white emulsion. I then used different 'leaf' colours to cover the base of the picture. I then added different papers, card and fabric in tree patterns to try and give the piece some depth and texture. I then left the piece for a few days, the paint then started to crack. Although this was unintentional, I really like the effect it has had on the painting. It reminds me of bark. I then used a pencil to draw and shade the final tree shape and surrounded the pencil drawing with white paint to try and get the glow of the light beams.

I am really happy about the way that this piece has turned out and it has really got me thinking about painting again.

I hope you enjoy it.

Kaylie Joy Black at the Halifax Arts Festival.

 

I have been really busy recently with Forkbeard Fantasy's Summer School, Teaching at Ash Green Primary and Eureka, and having an exhibition on during The Halifax Arts Festival.

I have an absolutely amazing friend who was able to look after my work during the exhibition while I was galavanting in style. She also took some fantastic photos of my work in the exhibition space. Here they are!

Dawn and Birds by Kaylie Joy Black

I have been really busy this month with many different pieces of work. Therefore, I have yet to finish this piece.

I decided I have done any sort of painting for a really long time. I thought that dawn and birds is a great excuse to get my paints out! The colours and shapes made from this inspiration is perfect for my style of mixed media painting.

I began by just throwing paint onto the canvas, the quicker the white disappears, the better! I have then added string, fabric and card to add textures within the painting.

After this, I have scraped away some of the paint to once again reveal the white underneath. I was trying to get the effect of rays of light being caught on trees.

I have really enjoyed making this and so I can see it becoming a very big piece of work.

Be patient and it may end up pretty good!