Sky paintings.

Thinking about skies I tried some paint effects with water colour and using a scrunched up paper towel to remove paint for clouds.

Summer rain and water.

 My sister has been visiting and we have had some days out to our local haunts. First to Woodchester Mansion where we walked down the hidden valley into the park where no human habitation can be seen. We saw the dark clouds coming and ran to the boat house porch for shelter. Amazingly the door was open and we stayed dry inside while the heavens opened.

 It was a magical 10 - 15 minutes inside the cobwebbed boat house with water below us and in front and pouring down outside. (We would have been soaked to the skin outside, it was a lovely sunny day and no one brought a mac.) Then the sun came out again and we had tea outside the glorious gothic unfinished mansion.

On Saturday we went to Slimbridge Wildlife and Wetlands and hired a canoe for an hour. My sister in front, my husband at the back steering, paddling and taking the photos,

me in the middle. Magical again  with the wind in the reeds and being at duck level on the water. Do not get the impression I am adventurous, brave and intrepid, the water is only 1 metre deep! I still loved it. I will keep those moments and memories as treasure.

Sea shells for the puffin page.

I have been adding some sea shells to the puffin embroidery. These were found at Broadhaven where we were staying. You can't get to a beach on Skomer- it's all high cliffs, but I thought I would add some of my beach findings to the puffin page. I was pleased with the barnacles on the limpet shell white french knot with a smaller, dark, thinner thread knot in the middle of the white one.

Pennant hanging in the blue.

 It was a lovely morning yesterday so I washed my pennant from Mo and hung it on the washing line.

The blue sky behind gave me an idea. I have ironed and backed it with blue fabric and intend to make a feature of the holes. The sunshine brightened the fabric. I think it will be called Mending the Sky. I have an idea of birds in flight and darning stitches.

Puffins in progress.

Guillemots and razorbills added to the puffin page.

Wren - sketch and stitch.

A card commission for a wren. A little bird but a loud one, hard to spot but easy to hear! I don't usually do commissions but this one was quick and enjoyable.

In the summer garden.

 A little look around our garden in very welcome sunshine. All, well most gardens in the Cotswolds are on slopes, ours slopes upwards. The miniature garden

 on the steps.

A new pot for this one it has transplanted beautifully, the old pot was frost damaged last winter.

 The new patio

 and pond in progress.

Yesterday it was the big butterfly count- red admiral on hemp agrimony at the top of the garden. All these things, the colours, textures and sights are inspirational for my stitching work.

That is outside! In the studio, more work on the Skomer page.

Back to the puffins.

A few more spots completed on this applique piece that I haven't named yet. Also getting on with the embroidered puffin page, I am going to put in some razorbills and guillemots. It won't be a direct copy of the sketchbook page, just adjusting the composition at the moment.