Hedges and edges.

I started this piece in March and have just finished it. It is called Hedge and Edges and is about the fields and green lanes near here. An aerial view, or bird's eye view of the layout of the fields. The hedges are bare but beginning to green up. The trees seen from above came from some rubber tree stamps my husband rescued from his office when the landscape designers went digital. I have used them before ( the winter quilt has a large one in the centre.) It is a winter turning into Spring piece and the trees and hedges are twiggy and quite 3d -will take some more photos to try and show that. It is all hand stitched on linen and stretched on a frame to keep the fabric taut. I love these lanes and fields, they are imprinted on my minds eye. The red running stitch is the footpath.

After all the excitement of the exhibition.

 I sold 6 pictures and a concertina Sketchbook at the exhibition so I have put their labels on this post so hopefully if you bought a piece you can track its story on the blog. This isn't always possible as I have only recently started to document all my work. That is my intention for all future work.

 A quiet corner of the studio with my new square sketchbook purchased over the weekend, made by Ursula Jeakins and my new 'Swallows' painted glass piece by Annie Rie. Life getting back to normal after all the excitement! Managed a walk to take in the Autumnal countryside.

Winter quilt finished!

 When you finish a piece you see the things you did wrong and would change another time but overall I like this cloth that has taken years to work on and has lots of myself stitched into it.

 Black tailed godwit

 and avocet from Slimbridge WWT bird watching days

and small bird you have to hunt to find. Lots of different textures from machine embroidery and hand stitching . Aprox 45 cm square. It will be my largest piece at the Newark Park exhibition in March.

Stitching at the Guild at 51. Glos Guild of Craftsmen.

A couple of photos of me stitching at the Guild gallery yesterday. I was putting some running stitches into the borders, keeping it simple because it was quite busy for a Thursday January day. The running stitches feel like water below, sky above and reeds on the sides.

winter quilt - work in progress.

 I am continuing to work on the Winter Quilt.

 Putting it under the machine embroidery needle to decorate some seams,

 adding a few little birds that you have to hunt to find.

Putting some running stitches in the borders to even out some wrinkles. It will still have plenty of those wrinkles but hey haven't we all? Really like the texture that has developed. I am taking it with me to Cheltenham today because it is my turn at the Gallery at 51 ( we all do some stewarding each) hope to be able to get some more stitches in those borders.

Winter quilt

 You may remember this winter quilt of bare branches and tiny patches with running stitches, well I am working to finish it now for the exhibition.

 There is now a swan in the top left

and a heron in the bottom right corner. In my mind I have the Gerald Manley Hopkins words ringing,
'o let them be left, wildness and wet, Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.'
They are written on the wall at Slimbridge Wetland Centre and I associate Winter with trips bird watching to see the Bewick swans and other wild birds that fly in.
I am also trying to do a little mark making each day- working on a little book.