Some time back I was approached via my blog to swap with someone in France;
This week,the upper ATC arrived from Janine.
Unfortunately my photography does show the detail
: the black background fabric has "LANCEL" woven into it.
My attempts for overseas swaps once again feature Australiana fabrics featuring Wildflowers;the lower card is encased in bridal tulle,because I choes to add some Australian Wildflowers stamps to the reverse side.
I've finally completed some........not only did I use Japanese stamps,but some Australian stamps I thought she might like.
Three of the Atcs are worked on offcuts of deconstructed kimonos...........regular readers may recognise the orange and the green fabrics!
Two were worked on offcuts of painted Timtex from another project;
One I used aqua Habutai silk to tone with the stamp's colour
and the final one used Australiana quilters fabric.
The green fabric ATCs have both Australian & Japanese stamps.
The gold cards are the painted timtex,with appliqued leaves cut from Rainbow Pellon.
I tried to keep the embellishing simple,in order not to distract from the stamps impact.
Each block has a different treament,ranging from micro beadsto hand embroidery to needle felting/embellishing.
Also of interest is the paper she mounted the art squares upon;
For more information on how she achieved this surface from crinkled magazine pages,do go visit her blog SuZ Stuff~~~~~a journey from point A to pointB~~~
at
I finally managed some postcards over the weekend:
The first two were (hand) needle felted as I watched TV as the Wallabies lost the Bledisloe Cup
to the NZ All Blacks.
I n/f the tomato red wool on a foam block,cut them to 6by4 inch size,mounted them on Timtex and further embellished the pieces with n/f abstract shapes featuring wool and "Glitz" mohair.
The next three
I developed using Australiana themed fabrics and Australian stamps.
Maybe they won't appeal to some people,but my idea was to give a taste of Australia to my overseas friends.
One of the groups I belong to Embellisher_Art_Squares is currently running a challenge to produce twenty four 1.5 inch sqauers for swapping with other members;
They need to be constructed using an "Embellishing/needle punching machine.
Using white wool as the foundation I overlaid and needle felted/punched some tomato red merino wool,plus the odd soupcon of navy blue to form the felt.
I also used Dissolve4X WSS as the base.
When I had a piece of felt ready for embellishment I tried several methods:
Some had butterfly sequins stitched into position;
Others I used micro beads and stencils to apply swirls;
Still others were couched with Sari silk yarn/fibres;
And on others I used a Gutterman's black metallic thread that I normally use to depict insect wings in embroidery.
on some I chain stitched swirls,on others fly stitched "branches"
I hope the recipients of the above squares don't mind that I have not done a "finished" edge...........
as I felt that edging would overwhelm the work on the actual square.
This morning I escorted my husband to his Oncology clinic appointment……after “visiting” with his Oncologist we went down to the main entrance /foyer of the hospital to wait for transport home.
Not long after we got there,a gentleman (who I recognised as a doctor in the Specialist’s clinics) passed us and waited outside with his luggage.
After a wait of some ten minutes,he left his case/portmanteau outside and came back through the foyer to disappear into “somewhere” in the hospital!
( and yes,he did have a mobile phone)
In view of the media grabs we see on TV regarding “suspicious left luggage” I was a little apprehensive……
I recognised him as a doctor;
he had left luggage in a conspicuous place and vacated the scene.
I was standing near LARGE plate glass sliding doors…and I wondered (as silly old women do) which way a blast would cause the most damage.
There were no obvious security persons to approach!
I reasoned that as the luggage was the OTHER side of a concrete pylon,if I turned my back and stayed in my semi sheltered corner (if there was a blast) my back would be splintered.
Add to this, that ,at the moment,an Indian doctor (in Brisbane,Queensland) has been held for over a week pending investigation into a possible relationship with recent bombings in Great Britain……..
I KNOW the media goes ballistic in these situations……
but……………….
WHAT would you do?
Thankfully,nothing happened at Redcliffe Hospital today……..but rest assured,if I see that doctor when we visit again in two week’s time,I will front him,and tell him to be more careful.
----- Original Message -----
From: <maurcurl@bigpond.net.au>
To: <merely54set@photos.flickr.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 8:59 PM
Subject: flowers & mini Purnie
>
As part of group 19 FAT Plus sized Inchie swap,I chose midnight blue with silver
for my colour choice.
The top set was the first set I made,but these did a detour to USA with the hope they might be included in a magazine photo-shoot.
As they seem to taking a loooooooooooong time to return home,and I've committed to a Swap with other FAT members,I thought I'd better attempt a second batch----
And the lower photo is the result.
After seeing the quality of the two sets I've received,I feel that I should attempt a third batch,
but.............
I've run out of time!
Today's mail delivered two surprises.........both green
....
The first,is a truly dainty set of PSIs from a FAT (Fiber Art 
Trader) , Diane B from
Washington state.
Three of the four feature small metallic charms applied to machine stitched/quilted backgrounds;
Isn't that spray of flowers cute?(my favourite)
The fourth block is a shaker block:
Diane has applied a layer of organza over a sprinkling of loose stars.
I need to find out how Diane attached those shapes---craft glue? heat fix?
Then,
from Susan N of Art2Mail group 29 sent me this "Curves on strips" postcard.!
A clever use of strips of fabric ranging from apricot through to deepest green, and machine quilted in curving lines,with a rainbow variegated thread.
I may be wrong,but it looks to me as though at least one of the fabrics used may have been sun dyed.
Also in today's mail..........was my ISP account!!
I'm glad I looked at my treasures first.
Two more beauties arrived in the mailbox today.......
The upper one is from Marylee D in CA
:
She has appliqued two fabrics to a third/foundation to produce a great picture.
The beading across the figure's chest and the strand of beads being held add extra dimension.
Marylee!
It's great!! Thank you!
This second leaf shaped card comes from RoslynP in NSW.
Ros and I have participated in several swaps together.
It's obvious that Ros is better with her machine than I!
Apart from Ozpost attempting to cancel on the front of the leaf,it travelled exceptionally well.
The lady-bird beetle is so cute!
Ros..did you place an extra layer of fine batting under the beetle,or is it the quilting that gives it extra depth?
And hey! you should see Ros' lovely neat printing....it makes mine look like chicken scratch!
Thanks Marylee & Ros
Last weekend I was complaining about how the cova-crete ended up being two shades.
Fingers crossed,it's been repaired!
Bart came back on Friday and re-applied a generous coating of sealant.
No rain last night.....so,hopefully that's one less hassle.
A few years ago,a dear friend was bitten by the stitching bug,and amongst other forms(of stitching) she decided she would try BDE (Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery)
and Stumpwork------
After a while,she decided this was not her "thing",and I have benefitted.
Today,she came to visit and this is part of what she gave me
To say I'm overwhelmed by her generousity is putting it mildly;
I've always loved Stumpwork....(not that I have much to show for my attempts so far)
Hopefully I can produce some worthwhile specimens in the future.
Thank you Gail!
p.s. some time back I blogged photos of three BDE pieces I did for her,I haven't found them in the archives as yet,but Dec10,2005,shows a Swingle I made her from some kimono fabric she gave me
