No slow stitch Sunday for me this weekend

Yet again the sewing things have been put aside while I continue my (probably temporary) obsession with gelli printing. I did manage an hour on the allotment, the rain holding off, and am harvesting the first of this year's blackberries.

My cultivated blackberries are slightly earlier than the hedgerow ones, I've noticed, and larger too. Sadly the raspberries are finished, which is a shame, but the apple trees are laden with fruit. My brother passed along a punnet of ripe plums from his allotment, which are sweet and juicy, perfect for snacking on.

Apart from allotmenting, I've been playing with the gelli printing again, though it's been frustrating today. All the colours I mixed seemed to come out muddy. I couldn't get the bright colours I craved. But I have had success with finding things to make marks in the paint and add texture to my prints.

Joining the bubble wrap and poppy seed heads are buttons, nuts and bolts, cotton reels, shells and bottle tops. I've also been cutting circles out of clear plastic document wallets.

I spread paint on the gelli pad, then drop on to the surface my plastic circles, then apply the paper to obtain my print. You get these lovely big loose circles. Sometimes I let them overlap, creating more odd little shapes between the circles.

The prints in these photos will have more layers added, so they're very much works-in-progress. But here's one that I really like -

I'm will have to put the paints away for a few days this week, and crack on with my quilting. There are Christmas presents I've got in mind to make, and I need to estimate how much time they'll take and write down a schedule for sewing them. Otherwise August will roll on, and before you know it we'll be into autumn and I'll not even have threaded a needle!

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Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....

In praise of wool

Just a quick post today. I'm offering you a short but peaceful break from the overwhelmingness (is that a word?) of Christmas. By now you've probably eaten your bodyweight in sweets//roast potatoes/pigs in blankets/cake/After Eights ... whatever your festive indulgences are. You're under-exericsed, over-stimulated, feeling broke and possibly guilty about an argument with a relative or friend you've never entirely got on with. So, here's something to take your mind off all that. I've two videos to refresh and revive, and they both concern wool. Interesting fact. Well, I found it interesting. About 1% - yup, one per cent - of the world's textiles are made of wool. Out of curiosity, I also googled how much is made of cotton. That's higher, but it's only about 24% and that's heading downward instead of up. Synthetic fibres are the bulk of all textile manufacture. Anyway, back to woolly wonders. My firs...

HOW TO MAKE: these decorative birds

I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes. I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made. It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer. (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern. For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.) WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER: Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures. Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns. You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're ...

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