rubykittyruby

  It's about 3 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon, and it's all grey sky and rain outside.  I'm slouched on the sofa, a patchwork quilt thrown over my legs, and am quickly writing this blog post before getting totally engrossed in a Belgian subtitled crime thriller on Channel 4's iplayer.  It's that kind of a Sunday.  Where you just want to nest.  To curl up indoors with the heating on and snacks to hand.   I have been doing something crafty, namely sewing.  Finishing off page two in my 100 days stitchbook challenge.  The second page is certainly different from the moody blues of the first.   I've also been stitching at a denim patchwork of sorts.  It's partly inspired by Jude Hill's style of working, but also by sashiko and boro textiles.  I've had to stop for a while because pushing and pulling a threaded needle repeatedly through sometimes tough denim has resulted in sore spots and tiny cuts on my fingers.  I had tried ...

  I'm taking a break from making a couple more triangular coin purses to fill you in on what I got up to yesterday.  It was another Stitch Art event at the city art gallery, a free monthly session that usually takes place in the drawing room just off the art library (also housed within the gallery building).  This month's event had a distinctly Japanese feel.   As usual, it was a group of middle aged and older women who attended - we're definitely their core demographic! - and we began with a demonstration of sumanagashi.  Suman-a-what?  No, I'd never heard of it either.  It's a traditional Japanese form of paper marbling.  There was a large table, and on it were several cat litter trays.  Not containing cat litter, but water.  We had a small bowl of black ink each, and one of water with a squeeze of dishwashing liquid in it.  The idea was that you dip a paintbrush in the ink and another in the water.  Then let a drop of i...