Abstractuary ... no, I hadn't heard of it either

Goodbye January, the month that feels like it's stretched out to be extra-long, the month we have to plough through to get to February and real signs of Spring. You may know, if you've wandered by this blog before, that I'm beavering away at Ann Wood's 100 day stitchbook challenge.

That's still going strong. Three pages done and I've started page four. But I've also stumbled across another monthly challenge, and this one originated with Tori Chatfield, a.k.a. Kool Kooky Kreatures. You can find her on YouTube and Facebook, and she runs something called Abstractuary. Tori's produced a list of prompts for each day in February, and the idea is that you produce something arty or crafty based on those prompts. You can stitch or paint or collage or use whatever kind of materials you want.

I won't commit to following these prompts every single day of Feb, but I'm certainly going to use several of them. Tori's also produced a Pinterest board with examples of artwork relevant to the prompts, and I'd urge you to take a gander at that. It's full of eye candy. Rex Ray wasn't someone I'd heard of, but he's today's prompt and I love every single example of his work that's shown. Totems, Sonia Delaunay and Basquiat are all calling to me too.

Maybe you'd like to take part in Abstractuary as well? Or at least dip a toe in the water? What do you think?

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Fabric bowls & electrical cables ...

To add to my seemingly never ending list of works-in-progress, I've started making a fabric bowl. Or should I call it a fabric basket? I'm not sure. Anyway, I've made the odd bowl or two before, like this blue & white one that I keep cotton perle in. I decided to use upholstery material, which has both advantages & disadvantages. On the good side, it has a certain stiffness, which helps the bowl stay in shape. On the irritating side, the kind of material I'm using frays like mad, and I'm forever picking up threads off the carpet. The bowl's a simple construction, and I've used a circle of cardboard covered with brown felt for the base. It'll look much better when I've embroidered and stitched into it. I've made a start on that, and appliqued on a rectangle of plum coloured velvet for extra interest. When not stitching, I've been catching up on my reading. I finished C J Sansom's 'Dark Fire'. Real...

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