Preparations for Crafts Alive at Rodmarton Manor.

Making a few more cards and getting everything packed, labelled and sorted. It always takes longer than you think. I will be stewarding at Rodmarton Manor on Thursday 6th and Sat 8th. On Sunday 9th I will be in a tent on the front lawn demonstrating stitching, printing and painting on fabric. Another thing to sort out! I hope it warms up a little or I will be the one in a tent with all the layers of clothes on. Luckily just finished knitting a shawl so that will be another layer. Definitely Autumnal here now.

Rose Bay Willow Herb - in stitch.

We have been away visiting family and we have had internet troubles too. So this is the third of those sketchbook diary pieces. August 7th 2018. We walked along the green lane and came out on the road to a huge patch of rose bay willow herb. The sky was bright blue and the flowers bright pink, what a contrast. It is a mixture of hand and machine stitching.

This is my walking stitch, a theme that will be coming up in my next series of work but now it is eyes down getting ready for the Rodmarton Manor exhibition next week.

Stitching into a monoprint.

Stitching a little bit of one of those monoprints. For fun, mark making, slow stitching. We have had Haggis, the -dog-who-comes-for-holidays, staying so been doing more walking than usual especially around the enormous field. The field is golden and the barley harvested.  This is a walking stitch around the enormous field. That is my next theme for an exhibition at Quenington next June/July.

Playing with paint and monoprints.

 A wet Sunday afternoon so I got out my acrylic paints, rollers and geli plate.

 Just playing around with ideas of the enormous field with crops at different times of the year.

 These are on paper,

 then on fabric.

 One to stitch into. A pick up and put down piece for slow stitching.

Also working on a Rose Bay willow herb in stitch. Another diary story, third in the series.

Rodmarton Manor 2.

 Yesterday we picked up the brochures for Crafts Alive at Rodmarton Manor. Today we are taking them into Tetbury to distribute about the town. Other members will be doing the same in the county.

 The manor has beautifully decorated drain pipes. Here is a monkey and my interpretation.

 I am making a few cards but it is slow progress.

Perhaps it is the weather! This pied wagtail because I watched a pair by Lake Coniston on holiday, bobbing and weaving on the edge of the water.

Crafts Alive at Rodmarton Manor.

Save the date! This is going to be a very interesting exhibition. A must for Arts and Crafts fans. The house and gardens are very lovely and then there will be the exhibition too. It will cost £8 to get in but it really is worth it. The gardens are like Hidcote- little rooms- but without an army of gardeners to keep them weedless. There is lots of Arts and Crafts furniture. We had a visit last Sat. It is only open normally Weds and Sat afternoons. 6 miles from Cirencester, about the same from Tetbury.

Summer garden colours in stitch.

 Too hot and dry in the garden but some flowers like it. The colours are bright and beautiful.

 I wanted to have a piece I could pick up add some stitches to and put down. So I gathered together some fabric scraps and loosely based on these abstract collages I made ( Sue Dove online workshop)

 assembled, played, pinned and stitched down. Then it gets addictive like a jig-saw puzzle.

Then it takes over so you can't think of anything but swirling bright colours and which bit to stitch next in which colour? Such is embroidery for me. The backing is a bit of blanket so it is quilting nicely. I have put a little free machine embroidery in patches of colour to help blend, catch down and contrast textures. I don't know how big it will get, just seeing where it takes me. I can keep adding as I go and layering over if I change my mind about colours. Stitching is just running stitch- like kantha stitching.