Blaschka Glass models

While in the brilliant National Museum of Wales in Cardiff recently I saw these amazing glass models of jellyfish

They were made during the late 19th century, by Leopola and Rudolf Blaschka

 They made these glass models of sea creatures for natural history museums and aquaria all over the world, see more here

Fowey River Gallery

Some of my map pieces are now on show in the Fowey River Gallery, they are all pieces based on the Fowey area using some lovely old maps from the 1950s. This piece has a green map frame made from one of my favourite maps, there is not much of it left so I am trying to ration it

Flamingo

Here is a lovely pink flamingo - he was a commission for a flamingo fan

Saskio Workshop

I went to a great workshop last weekend with Sue Bristow and spent a very enjoyable day handsewing some Japanese Saskio samples

Its very addictive and there are hundreds of patterns to try

I'm thinking about using some of this type of stitching on a layered textile piece as it gives a lovely texture and character to the fabric

Handsewn Patchwork Workshop

I will be teaching the block I made for this quilt on Saturday 17th March from 10.00am to 12.00 noon at Lychgate Schoolroom, Kenwyn Church Road, Truro TR1 3DR. Why not come along for an introduction to traditional handsewn patchwork using scraps and learn a new block.email me for further information at curious.things@yahoo.co.uk

Work in progress

I am still working on my Illuminated Boxes quilt, the quilting is taking ages

 but it is lovely to do so much hand work

The stitching makes such a difference to the pattern, highlighting and emphasising the direction

Diagonal wave cushion

Diagonal wave cushion front waiting to be trimmed and backed. This piece is handpieced and quilted from a mixture of new and old fabrics including beautifully soft upcycled shirt fabrics and some Japanese kimono lining. The quilt sandwich is made up with a piece of lightweight fleece which gives a lovely firm but soft feeling to the quilting

Quilt on Kirstie

You might have caught a glimpse of my diagonal blocks quilt on Kirstie's handmade Christmas on Ch4 in December, it was behind her while she was making chocolate marshmallows! This quilt is handsewn and quilted using a traditional paper template technique and fabric scraps. It makes a great winter project as you can make your blocks in front of the fire while watching tv or listening to the radio with the company of family and friends, I take my blocks on the train and they soon mount up. If you would like to know more why not come along to a workshop on February 10th at Cowslip Workshops in Launceston where I will be teaching this block and how to put it together to make a cushion, wall piece or quilt

New work

Chough at Lizard Point 2012

Stitched paper collage