Sunshine and Fishes

 

The sun's shining, it's warm, the central heating's off.  Those are definitely reasons to be cheerful.  My back garden's home to glorious cobalt blue, highly scented hyacinths and lots of cheerful yellow daffodils, and the tulips will soon be in flower too.  Yesterday I tidied all the ceramic planters and gave the cold frame a wash & brush up, ready to be used once more.  The birdfeeders are constantly in demand, and I'm enjoying watching the starlings demolish the fat balls I've put out.  The robin is smart enough to take advantage of their messy eating, and it hop arounds underneath the feeders, pecking at the crumbs they scatter.  

I've been carrying on with my Ann Wood stitchbook challenge, finishing a mainly yellow page, complete with green dragonflies and pink silk butterflies.  Now, I'm partway through my next page.  It's day 63 of the 100 day challenge, and I'm amazed I've got this far.  I've also decided to ditch one of the pages I've previously made.  I really didn't like it very much, and was annoyed I'd have to include it in my fabric book (when I get around to assembling it).  So, I made a new rule.  I've given myself permission to discard a page if it's really bothering me, and substitute it with a replacement that's more pleasing to my eye. It made me smile that I felt I needed that permission.  As if Ann Wood's going to suddenly appear and berate me for not sticking to the original brief!  

I've also got this stitchy project on the go.  I'd seen a fishy embroidery on Instagram, and couldn't resist trying to sew my version of it.  (Which in truth looks nothing like the original.)  I drew three fish shapes on a piece of white cotton.  Then used Inktense paints to represent the water they swim in, before stitching around the outlines.  I was wavering over whether to applique each fish entirely, or just applique sections of them.  

In the end I opted for partly adding applique to them, then painted the rest of the fishes bodies.  I added more stitching and am in the process of layering scraps of blue and green organza across the piece, which has also been backed with a layer of polyester wadding to make the fishes puffier against the seed stitched background.  

I really like the subtle effects of using organza, especially when I've been sewing underneath it and also over top of it.  I'll show you the textile piece again when I've made further progress with it.  

In other 'news', I had a birthday this month - no, I'm not divulging my age, so don't ask! - and had a lovely meal out, plus various goodies including a bag of Neal's Yard skincare products.  I had a couple of treats from businesses too.  If you sign up for the Hobbycraft app they give you a £5 voucher for your birthday, which I spent on a tube of Sissix gold coloured beads and sequins.  The Body Shop also give you a £5.00 voucher, which I used to cut the price of a bag of their Shea butter products.  

If you're wondering about the book in the picture, I finished reading Lucy Jago's 'A Net for Small Fishes' and have just devoured 'The Mad Women's Ball' by Victoria Mas which is terrific.  Though disturbing.  It's set in an asylum for (supposedly) madwomen, in Paris, 1885.  While the Salpetriere asylum is in theory for the treatment of the insane, many of the women are merely unconventional or rebellious.  They may be victims of abuse or familial neglect. The two main characters in the story are Eugenie and Genevieve, an inmate and a nurse respectively.  As the plot progresses they're both vulnerable to a regime that doesn't tolerate any nonconformity or independence of thought from women. 'The Mad Women's Ball' is a quick read as it's only around 200 pages long, but it's worth seeking out.  

I think that's about all the aimless chattering I have for now.  So I hope the sun's shining in your life.  Bye!