Moving Away from Neutrals!

 On my desk is a little needlecase I made this week.  Last week I was wanting to move away from the neutral colour palette that I work with so often,  but despite envisaging a bright and colourful week of embroidery, somehow it just didn't happen!   

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week

WOYWW 12th Anniversary

  It's the 12th Anniversay of WOYWW this week - what an amazing achievement, and huge thanks and appreciation to Julia, our host over at the Stamping Ground.   It's still the amazing, friendly and fun group it was when I first joined in 10 years ago.

 Last week I started hand embroidering a couple of ATC's for this week's celebratory swap but it took me so long to make two that I had to forego that idea and re-think the plan.  All ATC's have been re-thought and made - amazingly for me most have been posted - and the embroidered panels are very slowly becoming card toppers!

 

Mossy Doodles and Old Postcards

I've been doodling and using up little bits of old velvet.
Little mossy seed heads on old postcards - inspired by my lawn that's about 80% moss with a few weeds and bits of grass thrown in!

I'm linking up with Julia over at What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday.

More Winter Embroideries!

 I've been finishing off the last of my unfinished work from last winter - these two only needed beads adding and some hand embroidery.
I do love working on that soft, fluffy background - it's actually off cuts of thermal curtain lining that a friend donated to me - very appropriate for winter!

 

I'm linking up with Julia over at What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Christmas Postcards

I've finished off a couple of small collages which threatened to hang around unfinished throughout the coming year, 
and that's me finally done with Christmas stuff!

I had a lovely surprise right before Christmas when a little parcel arrived from my very good blog friend Lynn over at One I Made Earlier Today - 

she had sent me a pack of beautiful postcards depicting different plants used for dying, with information and dye recipes on the back of each one - they are  gorgeous and inspiring, and I think the Cochineal card is my favourite - who could resist those dear little embroidered beetles!

 Thank you so much Lynn!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I wish you a very Happy New Year.

Autumn Postcards

A couple of small autumn postcards needed to be finished off, but that is all that's been done at my desk this week - Christmas festivities are taking over!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

Loving Red

I'm so enjoying working with red.

It's festive and wintery and I think I might turn some of these into Christmas cards!

Some garden inspiration

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW

Autumn Art

Time to leave my summer/night garden behind.

I''m being overwhelmed by spectacular autumn colours - so I decided to celebrate the season with vintage postcards, thermofax screens and embroidery threads!

This has to be my very favourite time of the year!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW for another week of sharing what's on our desks!

Night Garden Sketchbook Pages

Not much on my desk this week, some printing onto the silk I eco dyed a few weeks ago, and some more pages from my sketchbook.

Thermofax printing - supposed to be the night garden in the moonlight but looks more like frost and snow!  Will have to re-think that one!

 The lighting somehow turned the black butterfly and lace into shades of brown - but I rather like it anyway!

I'm linking up with What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Night Garden Sketchbook Pages

Some pages from my Midnight Garden sketchbook.
My favourites in the garden at the moment are Poppy seed heads, Bracken (a vigorous invader from next door!), Fennel and Agapanthus.

Pen and ink drawings - silver moonlight and soft shadows

I'm linking up with WOYWW - why not pop over and see what other people have on their desks this week!

Midnight Garden

Some sketchbook pages on my desk this week, for WOYWW.

The theme being the garden at night - one of life's pleasures is sitting in the garden as dusk falls and seeing the changing colours and shapes, the moths and  other creatures that appear - we have a hedgehog that has been visiting us over the last few weeks - and even the scent of some of the plants seems to intensify later in the evening!

Seed Head Embroidery and WOYWW #307

There is not much happening on my desk this week I'm afraid.

Some post-op complications mean I'm waiting for more surgery and I'm finding it a bit of a struggle to keep my enthusiasm going!

 However, I've been doing a little embroidery - it's very relaxing, and it's quite different for me to be working without a plan in mind - I'm just seeing where it takes me!  

  

I'm linking up with What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Winter Garden Ring Box and Paper Artsy

As soon as Paper Artsy announced that their next challenge was to create a piece of miniature art I knew what I wanted to do - I have a collection of old ring boxes and I wanted to make a winter garden with one of them!   

I used old linen, twigs from the garden, pearl beads and matte glass beads, seed heads, wire with beads on the end, and a vintage pearl button.  I also used a little Treasure Gold around the edges of the ring box and on the twigs to give a soft shine when the light catches them. 

More of my Winter Garden art can be seen here, and why not pop over to

 Paper Artsy to see their beautiful and inspirational miniature art - I was inspired by the little village on a rock, and I wanted to create my own tiny individual world.

Winter Garden Seed Heads

On my desk this week is a collection of seed heads and dried flowers taken from my garden - I've been using them as inspiration for the series of works I've been doing on the Winter Garden - you can see some of the work here.

I have also glued some gelli printed deli papers onto A5 handmade paper ready to collage and embroider. 

 I am linking up with What's On Your Work desk Wednesday so why not pop over and have a nose at what other people have on their desks this week!