Sunday 12 June 2011

It's official!

Yesterday it was officially confirmed that large parts of the country are suffering drought conditions and garden hoses would be banned. So guess what happens? The heavens open and it's been raining relentlessly all day. There's no sign of a let up and since I'm a bit of a fair weather gardener any outdoor activities are out of the question. It's not all bad news though. There are few places I'd rather be on a cold wet day than in my kitchen.  I'm experimenting with the bread baking - all the recipes recommend slashing the top of the loaf before it goes into the oven; it's supposed to help the final rise. I've left mine uncut the last few times and haven't noticed any difference. These two are still warm from the oven and look pretty appetising I think.


I've always got so many different projects on the go that it's easy to swamp the little workspace that I have. While the dough was proving I braved the downpour and ran out to my studio (which is a converted building in the garden) to do a spot of tidying up. When you only have a small room it's important to be organised. The panel below might be familiar because I think I've showed it here before but this morning it got mounted onto a gessoed canvas.


It may only be small but it's still satisfying to finish something! This has a really deep canvas and I'm pleased with the effect.


When I stepped back and looked at it on the wall though I wasn't entirely happy with the colours so I rolled another fine veil of white paint over the edges to blend them a bit more.


I managed to avoid the embroidery with the paint, just picking up on the raised areas of the quilting. Much improved! Now it can be put away until we dress the stand at Festival of Quilts.



I wasn't really in the mood for dressmaking but I did manage to cut one of the jacket linings out so there was some progress on the fashion front. Laura keeps turning up with incredible drawings and expects me to know how to make patterns! It's all very trial and error but I expect we'll get there in the end.

Bye for now - Linda


3 comments:

  1. Funny thing, when you sew people think you can work magic on reconstruction, repairs and fit!

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  2. I agree with the idea of being in the mood to do something. My runner bean plants have been waiting to get into the ground for the past week but rain has stopped play and like you I am not in the mood for working in the rain.I'd much rather be stitching and listening to a play on the radio.

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  3. Love the swallows hanging, just bought a much longed for embroidery machine, have to admit am a bit scared of it, but after seeing your lovely work i am inspired to get stuck in, thank you.
    Actually your bread makes me want to get stuck in to!!!

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