Above is a photo of something I've been playing around with today, but more of that later. First off, I have to confess ... the kinda-lapsed Catholic in me feels the need to share this. Yesterday ... I bought some plants. Yes, I know it's not exactly the crime of the century, but I'm supposed to be having a low-budget gardening year. Not splurging on plants but using up my existing stock of seeds, concentrating on annuals.
However ...
I walked into town yesterday, admiring the greenery on the way. Including wild garlic that's starting to flower.
I nipped into Home Bargains in search of rocket seeds - of which there were none - but instead these little uns caught my attention.
Two pots of Dianthus Pink Kisses, a Saxifraga and a Hebe. How could I resist?
The Dianthas and Saxifraga have been decanted into ceramic planters, while I've yet to decide where to put the Hebe to best show off it's splashy pink foliage. You see, this is the reason why I can't go to garden centres, or even shops that have gardening aisles. Too much temptation, too little self control.
Anyway, on to today. It's a Bank Holiday Monday, and it's the first of May. And an idea popped into my head. I'm not quite sure why, but appear it did. I've decided to set myself a challenge for the 31 days of May. I aim to produce a mini piece of patchwork/quilting/some sort of textile art every day. The basic rule I'm setting is that the finished piece should be approx 6 inches x 4 inches. Sort of postcard sized. I'll start with a 6 x 4 rectangle of calico, and take it from there. I might base my piece on an artwork or illustration, a word or line of poetry, a certain colour combination or the pattern on a tea-plate or book cover. Anything that takes my fancy on that particular day.
For today's piece, I used a painting of Klimt's as a jumping-off point.
I was looking mainly at the bottom right of the picture.
The softness of the colours, the wavy lines, the contrast between the business of the pattern and the calm of the plain section.
I began rifling through my scraps basket, pulling out browns and creams. There's a mix of new fabric, plus upcycled material. Part of a vintage embroidered tray cloth from a charity shop. A chopped-up skirt, the inside piece from a men's necktie that I unpicked (saving the outer silk of the tie for another project). Gradually the textile postcard took shape. I added lines of machine and hand stitching, and a binding, partly made of a dress I'd cut up, having bought it for the princely sum of £2.00, another charity shop buy. I like the different textures, including a wee bit of slippery lining material, as well as liking the frayed edges of the partial-oval shapes.
I hand-sewed the binding on the back.
And this is the finished postcard. The first of thirty one. At the end of May I'll hope to have generated some ideas that I could take forward into larger pieces, maybe wall hangings or a full sized quilt. Also, it'll be interesting to see if themes emerge as the weeks progress. All being well, I want to try and post an image of the finished postcard on this blog every day, so I've got a visual diary of what I make.
My mind's already racing ahead, thinking about what I'll make tomorrow. I'll do some prepping this evening, cut out a stack of 6 x 4 calico rectangles so I've got those ready to go.
Maybe someone would like to join me in my challenge? If not for a month, then maybe a fortnight or even just a week? How about it?
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