Busier than I look

I have just finished writing this post and was about to click 'Publish' but I have to make an addition. Alex was asleep next to me while I was working on this and he just woke up all disoriented and in a feeble little voice cried out 'Mum'. It's a bittersweet moment whenever he says it. He only ever says it when he's in some kind of distress, but on the other hand, it is my most favourite word of all the words he's learnt to say. He is so unbelievably gorgeously cute.

Okay so here's the original post:

Okay, I've been dubious to start a post as I'm having a major issue with my laptop crashing every time I try and do anything on the internet and I can't get an appointment with the 'geniuses' - or is that 'genii'? Well, either way they'll be neither if they can't fix the damn thing - until Wednesday. So fingers crossed that when I come to insert the images the Mac (or as I call it 'the boyfriend' hey, this contraption has been in my life a very long time! It's chunky, clunky and it's running 10.5.8) doesn't blow its mind.

Anyway, as well as spending the summer with my angel Alex, I have been very busy drawing with the sewing machine. Plus, I have finally opened an Etsy shop. Now let me be very clear that I 100% expect to sell nothing, and I'm fine with that. I think my actual aim in doing this has been to force myself to put my art into a frame rather than onto a shelf to gather dust. Obviously the subjects as birds and citrus fruits. I really like the way the leaves turned out and also the shadows below the fruits, especially under the grapefruit. Incidentally, these were also the bits I most enjoyed doing. It's typical of me to prefer the periphery over the main event. I think this is because I start off with the subject of the piece and want it to be good and so get a bit tense trying not to stuff it up but then I relax once that's over and just enjoy doing the rest. I definitely see that as 'getting to the good bit' as it were, which is daft because free-motion should all be free flowing. It's actually given me an idea that for the next piece I do I'm going to ditch the birds and the fruit and just sew leaves and veins and shadows. Don't you just love how art projects evolve like that. It reminds me of the book 'Zoom' which I'm sure I have mentioned before. If I haven't it is called Zoom and is by Istvan Banyai and it (together with my illustration tutor who introduced it to me) literally revolutionised the way I think about composition. It's awesome. Read it (or don't because there aren't any words so just look at it)!

Warbler. Black and yellow thread and applique on grey-brown linen.

Puffin. Black and variegated colour threads and applique on bleached calico.

Pink Grapefruit. Variegated threads and applique on grey linen and bleached calico.

Lemons. Black thread, applique and Promarker (yes Promarker!) on bleached calico.

Bird bird bird, bird is the word!

Alex just looked at this blog post, pointed at the picture and said 'bird'! That's a new word for him and I'm overwhelming proud of him so I've deleted what I'd written and am boasting about his achievement instead. 'Bird, bird, bird!'

Back to business, I have been sketching a little bit but to be honest it is shockingly bad and not really worth posting. Not that I mind sharing my bad art with the world but quite frankly it is boringly bad. However, the free motion embroidery workshop I signed up to ages ago finally came around. Grandma looked after Alexander while I went across town to Heart Space Studios.  I had a great teacher Susi Bancroft who was able to teach me about applique and shading and very usefully to help me when I went wrong which is something Youtube videos just can't do.

I was going to work from something in my sketchbook but as I was sitting in the studio I noticed some postcards of rather exotic little birds. Susi had an array of very delicious variegated threads the orangey one of which I have used for my little bird's bonce and tail feather. Variegated threads are basically threads that are multi-tone and work really well at recreating the iridescence of feathers.  Obviously I came home and went online to buy my own stash immediately and then discovered how expensive they are!

I've also just made this little bee for Alex for his upcoming birthday. We do this daft thing whereby I tell him there is a bee nearby and I go 'bzzzzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzzz' all around his neck and it tickles him and makes him giggle. He's so cute when he laughs, he closes his eyes and can't stop.

This is 99% not my own design though. I saw a little bee like this in a Poppy Treffry book and thought he would be just the thing. I added the legs (that's the 1%!)