Leek Embroiderers and LK Sewing Academy

Since Friday my left hip and lower back have seized up and i was struggling to move, asked my OH if he would take me out for a drive as sometimes the vibration from the road helps ease back pain even though it exacerbates the Fibromyalgia, i really can’t win.

The lovely Lorna Knight had tweeted about the Leek Embroiderers having their work out on show so off we went to Ipstones and St Leonards church to see their embroidery. I had a lovely surprise when we arrived as Lorna was there talking the visitors through the embroidered pieces and we managed to have a chat. Thank you Lorna for a wonderful time, so glad you tweeted, wouldn’t have known to visit so keep up the good work lol.

This is the view from where you can get a wonderful cuppa and a cake for £1. The ceiling has been taken back to it’s original wood, there are hand embroidered kneeling cushions and the main attractions are close to the Alter.  Didn’t take any images of the embroidered pieces but their beauty is in my memory bank along with some of the amazing couching and real gold thread techniques that were used at the time.

The pieces are very delicate, the main Alter piece is being sent away for restoration, the church is trying to raise just over £2000 to make this happen.

Have to say thank you to the ladies who baked the most wonderful cakes and especially to the lady who makes the jam, managed to get a jar of greengage which is my favourite and very hard to find.

Tried this on some seeded bread with butter and wafer thin ham, it is mouth wateringly wonderful…

On the DLP prompt this week we are to use feathers, isn’t this a fantastic stained glass window and there is a feather being held. Whilst looking outside the church we found four real feathers which i plan to add to my journal.

 

The full stained glass window.

An image for my background textures, this is the stone the church is built from.

View of the graveyard attached to the church. The church and grounds are well taken care of, here are some of the flowers that are still growing around the building.

On the way home we drove to Lorna’s new Studio and had a look around.

The building is beautiful, loving the colour of the bricks that have been used and the colour of the paintwork is a fabulous grey.

View from the approach to the Sewing Academy.

View from the front of the Studio and the cottage that Lorna lets next door.

A sneak peek into the Studio from the window outside, there is loads of room to play.  Would highly recommend attending any of Lorna’s workshops, she is patient, very knowledgeable and you will come away with more knowledge than you bargained for.

Well, that was our day out on Sunday. The good news is that my back felt better when we were driving but not so good when i had to get out of the car. Am no better and waiting to see the GP, meanwhile i can think of ways to use some of the techniques used by the Leek Embroiderers in my sewing projects.

Thanks for dropping by.

xxx

Creative Blog Hop

Thank you to the very lovely and talented Deborah Wainwright aka lilacsparkles for asking me to take part in this Blog Hop. Deborah is an inspiration, she hasn’t been blogging long but her work speaks for itself, i hope you pop over to her Blog and be inspired by her too.

The Blog Hop is about getting to know each other by answering some questions.

Here goes…

Something About Myself

I am female, closer to 60 than 50 but don’t feel old mentally, physically i battle each day with a myriad of medical conditions, each one developing from the other. These medical conditions have really slowed me down, i used to cycle, jog and swim most days, i miss being that fit!

I started making things when i was in my twenties, the first items i made were balsa wood Christmas shapes. The shapes were painted with non-toxic paint and were about 1.5 inches tall, in a set of 10 all for £1. Next it was bookmarks, then it was umbrella lavender bags. I also taught myself to knit and still do this today.

Hand warmers for sale in aid of Kidneys For Life Charity in 2012.

A very comfortable cushion cover.

I drove a taxi for four years to put myself through college where i studied and qualified in the following: Clinical Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Thai Massage, Swedish Massage. Then went on to learn Kinesiology, Magnified Healing and Reiki. I cannot practice any of these as both my physical condition and medications would be an issue.

Went on to study for a Teaching Degree, as i don’t have a degree in any other subjects i received a Certificate of Education. I taught IT to 16 year olds who didn’t want to be there… Followed this by specialising in English and took a L4 Qualification to teach adults English.

My health took a turn for the worst and my adventures into the multi-faceted world of crafting began. 

I now like to play in any of the following areas of craft:

Rubber Stamping

Papercraft

Altered Art

Dyan Reaveley’s new flower stamps June 2014.

Speed challenge 01 September 2014.

Altered Pringles can, 2013.

Hand and Machine Sewing

Embellishing

Needle Felting

Thread catcher 2014.

Free hand embroidery panel for a small box made with WRMK box board.

Dry needle felting 2013 using shape cutters to make the leaf shapes then needle felting them together. Added a brooch back.

Digital Crafting

Front and back of card made in CAP2 for a friend who had just visited India.

Front and back of iCard for the Craft Barn Q&L Challenge.

Stamped over the edge of a card i was making, scanned into computer and turned into a digital frame using CAP2 programme.

Creating my own die cutting files using my Pazzle Inspiration electronic die cutting machine and software

Raspberry Pi case.

Vinyl shapes for mugs, hand wash only.

Shaped Christmas card designed by me and cut out using my Pazzle.

Using the Pen Tool on the Pazzle. I made the design using the PI Software.

Jewellery Making

OH bought me the focal lamp work bead for Christmas 2012, i threaded the matching beads including some Swarovski beads.

Made for OH’s mother for her 70th Birthday.

I also love other crafts like weaving and kumihino but am just starting to play so have no images to share.

Watching Formula 1 racing is a joy i love all the behind the scenes goings on.

Technology is a passion, i adore what we can do with the advancements being made and love to find gadgets that will help me with all of my crafting.

Finally i enjoy gardening in my OH’s garden, oh and of course chocolate and cake.

I think of myself as mediocre at most things and master of none…

What are you working on at the moment?

Catching up on the Documented Life Project journal i started in January 2014, i have enjoyed taking part in something that is all about getting you to play with different crafting skills.

Also working on some Christmas cards and Presents and of course the different Challenges i enter for fun.

Why do you create what you do?

I create things for challenges or for presents or to raise funds for my local Kidney Charity and other charities.

Donated to Lin Brown’s appeal in May 2014.

Donated to raise funds for MacMillan in June 2014.

 How does your creative process work?

This is a difficult one to answer; I get lots of ideas floating around at all times of the day and night, i write these down and when i am able i try to make them. I struggle to draw so have a few different journals for practicing doodling, shapes, colouring which i add the floating ideas to. Sounds complicated but my inner control freak needs the order to function without getting frustrated as to where i put that idea down. Oh dear i do sound weird, don’t i. lol.

I need to get the colour scheme right before i can move onto any other part of the process, this is imperative. Once the colours are right i then think about all the other items i might add so i rummage around until i find what i am looking for then place them close by so i can have them within eye contact, i am sure this is what every other crafter out there does, don’t they?

Working with the Documented Life Project has taught me i can use some colours i dislike because it’s just on paper and i don’t have to look at them in my house or wear them, boy that was a huge revelation!

How do you stay focused / motivated?

I stay focused and motivated most of the time because i have to, i use craft as a pain distracting tool so i choose a different craft depending on what i am able to do.

For example my hands are starting to lose feeling and grip so i use hand sewing to keep those skills going, when i need a break i digi-craft or design my own cutting files. As soon as i am able, i go back to rubber stamping as this is my first love and probably always will be.

I hope this little getting to know session has been worth your time and hasn’t been too boring for you. Thank you for taking the time to read all the way to the end.

It’s now time to introduce the three lovely and creative people i have chosen to hand the baton over to.

Sarah Dunkley aka as SezzieD78 on Twitter.

Jacqui Hall aka Jax1369 on Twitter.

Claire Snowdon aka @claires10 on Twitter.

Please pop over to read their inspirational stories next week.

Thanks for dropping by.

xxx

SDC 164 Birds or Animals

Another Wednesday has brought a fresh challenge from the wonderful Stampotique Designers Blog.

This week Sue has chosen the theme of Birds or Animals, here is what she has to say:

Napoleon once said that the English are a nation of shopkeepers.What he should have said is that we are a nation of animal lovers. Nearly everyone I know has got a cat or dog, a pet rabbit or bird, and I know that my Stampotique teamies have their pets too. So this week we're celebrating the fur and feathers and I challenge you to create something with either animals or birds. So put your best paw forward and bring it on.

I am also taking part in a new adventure called the ‘Altered Playing Card Challenge’ hosted by Claudine Criner, the link is in the sidebar as well as here, so both of my cards will be entered there.

My first sets of playing cards to alter.

The blue backs and the fronts, they are not brilliant quality at £1.99 for the duo but good enough to alter.

Followed Claudine’s colours and instructions for the background as i have these products. The yellow/green card didn’t look right, so added a little Bora Bora Fresco Paint to the top left side.

Took a little while for me to finish them as i rummaged about to find pieces from my scrap/stash that i could use.

The houses, the hello rub on, the dragonfly, the clouds are from stash.

The tree stamp in the background is a huge foam stamp from Donna Downey from Prima, the  circle stamp behind the little Chihuahua is from Indigo Blue and the wonderful pom pom flower is a Darcy Wilkinson mini 08. The Chihuahua is from a set called Patterned Pets from Inkadinkado.

The Chihuahua card i am entering into the SDC 164 Challenge is called Elise, but her social network name is ‘Uptown Girl’ as she feels very special whenever she hears the song being played to her by the lady who feeds and bathes her. She is pretty isn’t she…

Hope you have enjoyed your visit and have time to leave a comment, thanks for dropping by.

xxx

Q & L challenge 18 Childhood or Easier

Over at the Craft Barn Challenge 18 is to use the words Childhood or Easier. I found this challenge easier than last weeks and really love the quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Growing up is a terribly hard thing to do.

It is much easier to skip it and go from one childhood to another”. 

Created another iCard using CAP2 and many many digi kits.

The Front

The Back

I managed to visit all the entries for challenge 17 apart from Fiona in Spain and those using Facebook, i am sorry i cannot leave a comment for you all and much appreciate you leaving a comment on here.

Hope you have time to leave a comment, they are very much appreciated.

Hope to see you over at the Craft Barn sometime taking part in this very educational challenge.

xxx

Q&L Challenge Peaceful or Grace

Oh boy has this been a doozy of a challenge over at the Craft Barn, really found this one difficult but after much searching i found this quote:

Grace is Peaceful

 

Grace is the feeling of utter peace and tranquillity of being fully embraced by the grounding of perfect love.

Grace is when we are at peace with ourselves, our communities and the world.

On this site:

http://www.artofgrace.org/whatisgrace.html

Created my iCard in Craft Artist Professional 2 using images from different digi kits.

Above are both views of the iCard, will be printing them out when i have a new printer as my Canon died last week of a terminal fault, am hoping to get a replacement in the next few weeks.

Thank you for dropping by, i hope you get time to leave a comment.

xxx