Spooky Conversation!

I have always felt that these three gravestones which lean towards each other, are having a conversation. Totally spooky!

Inspiration can be found anywhere!

These bubbles are a sign of pollution in this rock pool but they actually have provided me with a lot of inspiration for machine embroidery. To really see them the picture needs to be clicked on to view enlarged. The different shapes and colours of the stones and seaweeds are also inspirational.There is a silver lining in every cloud though it is distressing that so much junk gets put into the sea to produce this toxic effect!

Reminders of a By Gone Age!

This is an engine house for a tin mine near where I live. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of these ruined engine houses in Cornwall. One can only think when they were working how polluted the atmosphere was!

Waterfall in Scotland

This torrent of water was tremendous. Just look at the scale of it compared to the tree! It was a misty day with no sun but the gloom adds to the atmosphere I think! Considering the picture was taken from a moving car I was quite pleased with it!

Exeter Cathedral

I have just read a series of books by Bernard Knight about a coroner (Crowner) in the medieval days set in Exeter. They were fascinating especially the references to the building of parts of the Cathedral. We used to live near Exeter and that rose window is wonderful! While I was reading the books I wanted to rush up to Exeter and look at the Cathedral again they were that inspiring!

Interesting Fabric!

I love this piece of fabric as it reminds me of ferns. As well it has a 3-dimensional look. In fact I find it so fascinating that I haven't been able to bring myself to use it. Perhaps if I dye some more fabric in this style I may be able to cut into it!

Sun on the cliffs at Godrevy

Godrevy is on the north coast of the Cornish peninsula. Not far from Camborne it was a favourite haunt of ours while the children were growing up. Not good for swimming but lovely shells and golden sand. I've always felt this picture, which I took a few years ago, would make a good applique picture, especially with the seagull in the foreground. Maybe one day soon.....

Falmouth

This is Customs House quay in Falmouth. It is a small enclosed harbour on the River Fal. The pubs on the water front are very old with beams. At the side of the entrance road is a small chimney known as the King's Pipe where contraband tobacco was burnt in days gone by.

Dandelion seed head.

I love the ethereal look of this dandelion seed head against the foxglove leaves. I'm sure that there is a piece of work here just waiting to be started!

From beginning to end!

Three photos today and a photo of the piece of work which they inspired! The three pictures below were taken of leaves on the water at Pickett's Lock near Edmonton in London. The water was quite scummy and oily but the reflections and the way the light hit the water gave it character. I combined the pictures into the finished piece of work in the last picture. The background was woven fabric, some of which had been stamped with leaf shapes, to reflect the bittiness of the water and broken leaves with whole leaves layered on the surface. I really enjoyed doing this and had great fun playing with the leaf shapes. I work with leaves quite a lot as I find them very inspirational.

Treasure!

When I was a child I used to love digging in the garden to find broken pieces of china and crockery. As our house was a mid Victorian one there were some very interesting pieces and I had a really large collection. Sadly I didn't keep it as little did I know that I would find those small pieces of china so fascinating as an adult. Seeing this piece on a beach brought back memories of my childhood collection. I wonder where this piece came from and how old it is. The pattern looks interesting.

Carved in Stone

I think this is a wonderful stone owl. Well I'm assuming it's an owl. It could be a mythical creature! This is in the grounds of a castle in Scotland. And this proves the point that if one doesn't label one's pictures at the time of taking them then one will forget the details - as I have done. I can't remember which castle or where! But I love this carving!

Sand!

I love the look of wet sand when the tide goes out. Very inspirational patterns for quilting! And pasting glue onto board and drawing in the wet glue makes a great tool for rubbings when the glue is dry! Try it!

A bit of the past!

Today's picture is of an old pillar box from the time of George VI. This was before 1952. I have put a close up of the inscription on the front. When I was a child it was possible to see pillar boxes from Victoria's reign onwards but nowadays it is hard to find any old pillar boxes at all. This one is in Penzance on the quay. I love the various shapes!

Lilies

Beautiful lilies which my son's fiancee gave me today. The scent is superb! Very exotic! Shame I can't download that as well! This is the kind of colouring that inspires me with my hand-dyeing of fabric. I love the strong stripe up the petal with the softer pink on the edges and the speckles which are nearly brown in colour. These can be added with fabric pens and I especially like using a gold pen to add speckles and dots to fabric.

The sea!

Today's picture is of the sea at Swanpool, a beach near where I live. I use the sea a lot in my creative work and love the challenge of re-creating the effects of surf onto fabric. My favourite way is by free machining on scrim and then applying to a base hand-dyed fabric.