5 minutes sketch´s

Milliande.ning has started a new group, The Raw Sketch Group. I have done a few, as you might have seen in previous posts. Yesterday and today, I did a quick 5 minute sketch, I can only reccomend it, its good practise.

Round Robin

Stacey, over at http://www.milliandes.ning/ is hosting a Round Robin. 17 Artists, 17 Journals, 17 months. And I have signed up! I have themed my journal:  "Blue Is The Colour Of...." This idea came to me, after reading a poem of Dante, called  "Dragonfly". My Journal is handmade, by me, using paints, inks, stamps, paper, glue, sewing machine....and more glue!

 Front cover -

 Back cover -

 Inside the front cover - room for all to sign in and comment.

 Title of the Journal - Blue is the colour of......

 Last page - Pocket - to put something in, along the journey -

 Back - my own sign in tag -

 My own journal page, inspired by the poem "Dragonfly"-

All ready to go out into the world, for the next 17 months! Have a nice journey, and come back in one piece!

The Dragomfly-
`The visible silence, still as the hour-glass / Deep in the sunsearched growths the dragonfly / Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky :-/ So this winged, hour is dropped to us from the above. -Dante 1826-1882.

Summer in a bottle.

 Went and gathered all the apples that had fallen off in the storm, and that filled the sink.

 Bottles all clean and ready......

 Push the botton, and voila!

3 l. of pure pink appel juice. Desided to put most of it in plastic containers, and in the freezer. A lot of work, but it will be nice when the cold weather sets in! Very satisfying, and healthy!

#2 "House by the Sea".

This is wall hanging #2  80 x 80 cm.

I have just made a deal with my mother, who is a mean quilter... and she has agreed to bind my pictures. She will make a much nicer job than me, and as we all know...it is the finishing touch that matters!

This, and the following photos are small close ups of the big picture.

Work in progress...

I am just about to finish this wall hanging, that I started a while back. All I need to do now, are the finishing edges. I have been given and bought a lot of old scarfes, which I sew together and quilt/stich on, to make up a pattern. This one is approx. 80 x 80 cm.

The "House on a Hill" is #1 of what I think will be a series of 5. I shall keep you posted.

A good year for the roses....

Some of you might remember my frustrations in early summer...when all my roses got nibbed in the bud, so to speak? Well I was SO pleased to see, that a second bloom was on its way, and just yesterday, I checked them out, thinking, yeah, one more show before the autumn......Then this morning I looked out the window, and

 NO No no .........Not again! Not only is she back, chewing away, she brought her baby!

 Or should I say todler?                 "Hey Kid! What are you doing?"

    "She´s got roses here too mum!"

   "OkayKiddo, we are done here, are you full?"

 "Well let me just check these out...no to high...!"

"Been there, there, did I miss any buds.....Nah, All done"

          "Are we going now?"

      "Yep, now kid, say thank you to the nice lady!"

     "Thanks, we will be back!"

And this is a photo of The one that got away! From the first raid! No survivers this time......

Inspiration, new ideas....

My beautiful friend Maria, has inspired me to frame some of my Art. I now have to deside what kind of frames I like best.

And in the meantime, I took the scrap paper and made the cover for yet another sketchbook. I like that there is no waste, and I really enjoy sewing on paper, as you might have noticed! I shall go and finish this one now.......

Okay Girls...I need help to manage my blog!

http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/spirit_cloth/the-magic-feather-project.html
This is soooo wonderful a project

Now I would like to learn all about my right side of my blog....(or brain...)!
 How do I , what do I do to put all you wonderful followers stuff there?    HELP!

Sunday clean up!

 Today I actually managed to finish ALL my swaps.
These prayer flags are a swap, as all my swaps, over at http://www.milliande.ning/
I have done all five almost alike, as they are going out to 5 different people. I chose the dragon-fly, incoorperated all the 5 prayer flag colours: Red-white-blue-yellow and green, and the words: Follow Your Hart.

 The dragon-fly is a print of the plate I made at the Traquair Art Fair, at "Anna´s" stall, The Edinburgh Printmakers. Also tissue paper, fabric, beats, embrodery thread, ink and tulle.

 This is for the "Owl´s" postcard swap. The photo dos´nt do this fellow justice. He is actually nice...well. no, he is a bit scarry. I don´t know where he flew in from...! But he ended up as something like a American Indian Totem bird, I think......

 These two ATC´s are going out to New York, in the TREE ATC swap. And that was the last of the swaps. All the rest are already wrapped up and ready to be posted...ATC´s for the LAYRED SWAP, to Boulders Creek CA, match boxes to UK and USA, so now I can start a fresh!

First I cleared my desk, the floor, the other desk, emptied waste baskets, water jars, made nice piles of stuff...then I put some of my journals up and opended them, as the pages are really sticking together, with the high humidity. Not good! Went and got herbs from the garden, and voila, ready for the new week.

End of summer..

 On my walk to day, I noticed that all the berries have taken on their autumn colours. The hedges between the fields and the sea, are a beautiful mix of dark yellows, oranges and reds, even purple. Sure sign that we are getting near the end of summer.

 So much rain this summer. My normal path home has disappeared. But there were big huge frogs all around. Lucky for them, all our storks have moved to southern countries!

 End of summer for the tourists/summer-house people as well. This will be the end of their season, until the october break.

 Another sure sign, that autumn is knocking on our door, is the mice! Catching one a day right now, and that will only increase over the next few months! And why...??

 Because of this giant monster! Yes, the farmers are bussy this sunday, no rain in two whole days, so they are out saving what they can. Flour prices will rise.......

 This is RIGHT out side my front door...how many mouse steps is that, from field to living room? Not a lot!

 And on that autumn note.....I made an apple cake. Picked, no not true, gathered from underneath the tree, as the storm blew a lot of last night, red apples.

And to go with the cake, a glass of mint tea. Thank you garden ;-)