Watermans Sky

A double rainbow and a spectacular sunlit streaky sky Walking home from Watermans Art Centre after a Friends wine tasting (choosing wines to stock in the bar and restaurant) and an excellent lamb pasanda and vegetable dansak. There's far worse ways to spend a Monday night....

National Quilt Museum USA 2012

 I'm thrilled to say that 'Strindberg Shore' will be going into an exhibition highlighting UK contemporary quilts  at the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, USA next year! Appropriate as it was made for QGBI  'In the Spotlight' exhibition on behalf of Region 1 (London) at Festival of Quilts 2007.

 A turning point in many ways (it was made during the time I was moving house!) it was  my first large scale foray into painting with acrylics on quilted fabric. Working with African fabrics brought the challenge of how to mark for stitching (I used  more than one spool of 1/8 inch masking tape ) and then after months of stitching the sharp intake of breath knowing there was no going back once I applied the first brush stroke....

 You might find it difficult to believe that these  fabrics lie underneath the paint ( sample above and below,  before and after) but they make all the difference to the texture and vibrancy.

Compact and Bijou

Second attempt - last nights post disappeared into the ether with not a trace left ( and long deleted comments reappearing - what IS going on ?!!! ). On my travels, my watercolour kit is a Winsor and Newton 'bijou' - the one pictured is an updated version - a bargain £19.95 from Cass Arts complete with paints and proper metal strips to secure the pans rather then the lumps of blutack of my old model.  Having finished off my travel mints, I had the inspiration from seeing the watercolour exhibition at Tate Britain of making an even smaller box for when even the 'bijou 'is too cumbersome. Isn't it sweet?!(pun intended- sorry) . I did try it out with Pentel waterbrush but not so good if you want to mix colours. A spray of water and old Cotman field  brush did the trick in a dry run (sorry, another intentional pun)
I packed it in my handbag for work trip to Brussels but didn't get the chance to use it as came home a day early. The combination of  stifling 4th floor hotel room under the eaves and meeting room at European Commission so hot the projector overheated frazzled my brain. Save the city break for another (cooler) time.

Cretan Seascape Watercolours

Cretan Landscape watercolours

Cretan watercolours of buildings

Innovative Solutions

For washing clothes when on holiday we always take pegs and wire coathangers but had forgotten the elastic washing line. However a suggestion from the group about using a spring loaded trekking pole worked a treat even in a stiff breeze. Definately one to remember.

On our return we found that the neighbouring cats had been using our gravel garden as a giant cat litter tray - removed 8 piles of poo !!  Until we get an ultrasonic deterrent, yesterday I purchased from TK Maxx a  pump action water pistol (Water Warrier 'Titan' ) Now just waiting for the supercilious ginger cat from down the road. As Ian says , the inner child is never far from the surface...