Take it Further - April

I decided to use the colour palette Sharon gave us for this month's challenge as the theme of change felt a bit too close to home at the moment. The colours aren't ones I would ordinarily choose but then the whole point of the challenge is to push me out of my usual range and subject matter.

These are the colours but when I printed them off they looked completely different so I'm not sure if the colours I chose were exactly those intended. I felt particularly uncomfortable with the burgundy and dark green so the green is just used for an accent and the burgundy is the velvet paper the canvas piece is mounted on.

A while ago I produced several pieces of canvaswork that were completely unplanned and just tried out different stitches and I've been meaning to do more like this especially after reading Jill Carter's book New Canvaswork. Looking through it again I was inspired to try drawn thread work on canvas based on this picture of a book cover by Jill:

I soon realised you can't actually just pull the threads out like you can with evenweave fabric because of the size so I had to cut the apertures and the resulting fabric wasn't terribly stable. Also I didn't want to buy any thread for this challenge so was limited to tapestry wool as it was all I had in the colours. So I didn't try as many variations as I would have liked to but I like the finished piece and it was an interesting technique to try. I covered a notebook with brown parcel paper and then mounted the piece on the front.

Thank You

Thanks to everyone who's left a comment on my Coffee Rings book - I'm glad you liked the rather quirky idea! The whole process of the Take it Further challenge and the supporting comments I've had on my pieces has been a real encouragement to me and a real help in developing what I do and 'taking if further'.
Blogging is such a wonderful phenomenon and blogland such a welcoming place.
Thanks!

Take it Further - March

At last here is my finished project for March's Take it Further challenge - Coffee Rings. Sharon challenged us to notice the little things and I decided to embrace the little things that annoy me e.g. coffee rings and explore the design possibilities. This picture shows the whole book made of brown parcel paper 5 and a half inches by 5. As an aide memoire I wrote how I did each page on a tag and I mounted the tags on a ring and incorporated it into the stitched binding. The wording is done on the computer and printed onto acetate.

I started off with actual coffee stains on paper and fabric and played around with various ideas and using rings and circles with other media. Techniques include stamping, stitching, beading, reverse applique, air dry clay, markal paint sticks, needle felting and embossing. The pages are just samples of techniques and ideas and any one would need developing further to become a finished project but I feel I have met the challenge by turning my dislike of coffee stains into a positive design.

Progress??

Yes, there is progress - very slow progress and nothing to show yet. My coffee ring book for the Take it Further challenge for March is nearly there - 2 more pages to finish and then put the book together. Maybe at the weekend....
All I can say is that I'd better find something quick to do for April or I'll never catch up!