Hello. That's another one finished, I think. I say I think because I'm not so sure that the frame is right, but it will stay like this for the time being. I found a frame yesterday at a charity shop for £1, which was the exact size I needed. It's a metallic gold and there isn't a mark on it.
The paint is household emulsion from the sample pots, the black outlining done with a fine liner felt tip pen. I found a small Body Shop lip brush in my ancient makeup box, it was perfect for this job. Doubt I shall ever be using lippy again.
And this is the piece of fabric before I started. It's quite thick, like a heavy curtain fabric. Some of the colours only needed one coat, some two coats.
I did think that a black frame would look good to give the colours extra vibrancy, so I stuck some tape around the edge. Not so sure now. I am now thinking paint the gold frame silver, that might give it a more modern style.
The picture size is 10 inches by 12 inches. I love it. Think I'm going to keep it.
The bad weather is here, snow this morning though it was gone within an hour of falling. It's still windy and cold. I might do the yellow sticker dash tonight, if I can be bothered. Need to fill the car with petrol as well.
Thanks for popping in, the weekend is here, enjoy, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. Apologies for my absence, something else cropped up yesterday which took a bit of time up. Anyway, here I am with another good idea for brightening your home up. You might like to copy this.
My very old telephone is looking a bit scruffy, but it is in perfect working order. Seems daft to chuck it out and get a posh new one. Besides, I like the big buttons and it has an amplify facility so I can actually hear what people are saying to me. Hmmmm, what to do? I have cleaned it with a damp cloth, removed all the gunge which accumulates around the buttons, and cleaned the flex. It needs some COLOUR
WOW, that's tons better. Now it looks pretty pretty sat on my desk next to the computer. I didn't paint the handset because it would have worn off in time being constantly picked up with grubby hands. Some pink sticky back plastic is just the job to complete the transformation. I'm chuffed. It makes me want to paint more stuff in the house to brighten the place up.
Here's something I have just found on yoootooob, you might like to have a go at this, it's so easy. All you need is a plain piece of paper and a felt tip pen, or crayon, or pencil. If I can do it you can. Looks quite complicated but it isn't.
Just follow this video. Let me know if you have done it.
Then when you have mastered the basics you could try this and make a picture.
Wow, you're going to be busy then, ha ha.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. A few more pics of my visit to Hull on Thursday. The main attraction was the amazing light show in Queen Victoria Square. I saved this experience for last. Glad I did, because a lot of people were heading out to The Deep when I was coming back into the centre of the city.
The three main buildings were the screens for this epic show. They all had the same images and sound playing simultaneously, so no matter which way you were facing you didn't miss any of it. The story of the last 70 years of Hull's history was played out in fabulous sight and sound panoramic views. I stood facing the Maritime Museum. As well as spectacular it was also very emotional to watch.
A shame that part of HULL was missing in the doorway of the building.
By the time I had watched this I was shivering with cold and thought it best to make tracks for the bus station. I would have liked to see it on one of the other buildings but I was cold, and there was an hour in between bus times. I caught the 6.25pm bus. It was busy with passengers from the South Bank all making their way home.
If you want to watch the whole show, it's here on yoootooob, thanks to Adam Reeve's excellent video. Thanks to Lesley for sending me the link. Put it on full screen, it's very emotional.
I must get on. Dog to walk. Thank you for popping in. Have a nice weekend. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello and good morning. I enjoyed my visit to the Hull City of Culture light show yesterday. Even with a huge hoody parka jacket on it was bloomin cold. I drove to the next village where I caught the bus, easiest way to get there, no looking for car parks and no Humber Bridge toll to pay. There seemed to be more passengers than normal, so the journey took a bit longer with all the stopping and starting. Everyone had the same idea, lots of people from the South Bank, using their bus passes to have a free couple of hours entertainment.
At the bus station there were volunteers in their distinctive blue uniforms to hand out leaflets with maps, showing where all the attractions were. I set off crossing the busy Ferensway and went down Jameson Street to Queen Victoria Square. This is where the big light shows take place. I was too early as it was still light, so I carried on down Whitefriargate. There were a few shop windows to look at which had been filled with relics from the past, a trip down memory lane.
Along the route I came across some people left over from the Sea of Hull a blue art instillation which was photographed last year. You may remember I wrote about hundreds of volunteers who had stripped off and were painted blue.
Along the way I walked across the new Footbridge. I quite liked this cloud formation which reflected a red sun going down.
Arriving at The Deep I was lucky enough to get a shot of this amazing sky just as the sun was dropping down below the horizon.
Opposite The Deep was a building loaded up with a bank of high powered projectors waiting for the sky to darken enough to allow the show to begin. All around were Lots of speakers which would tell the story of how people from all over the world made the journey to Hull.
This is The Deep, my picture from a previous visit. It's one of Britain's biggest aquariums. As you can see a perfect canvas for a light show. At the top of the pointy bit were spotlights reaching up into the dark sky.
I took lots of snaps, but discarded a lot of them. Here are a few of the best.
The story starts in 1800 and goes through to the present day, depicting who came to Hull, how they arrived here, and where they came from. It was fascinating. It was on a loop, I watched it twice. It's a shame that the tide was out and there wasn't very much water in the channel below. The reflections would have been a whole lot better.
I looked to the side and got this pic of the tidal barrier. Love the light reflections in the deep mud.
Now to cheat. Adam Reeve has done a very good video, it's on yooooyooob. It's 13 minutes long, with sound, well worth a look, and the tide is in.
There are too many photo's for one post, so I'll put more on tomorrow. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.
Hello. I'm going out later so I'm whizzing this quickie off a bit sharpish. I have a new picture project on the go, fancied doing a bit of painting, abstract style. Here is a little piece of it, it's not very big, 11.5 inches by 10 inches. I'm not much good at painting pictures but this is the cheats way of doing it, ha ha.
Have been meaning to get this snap for a week or more, just at the crucial moment Mayze leaps out of bed and spoils it. She sleeps on the bed with me every night. At around 4 or 5 or 6am I feel her little face burrowing down under the bedclothes next to my shoulder. I spread my arm out and she snuggles next to me, purring away with contentment as I stroke her. Then it's back to sleep for both of us for another hour.
Ooops, I disturbed her, she jumped out. What a cutie.
Must dash, got two parcels to post before the Post Office closes at 11.30. Then it's lunch, then off to Hull on the bus. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. Well it was more than just another stitch, it was ton's more stitches to finish the job. I had to secure it to a stiff cardboard backing which took a couple of hours. But here it is, finished. I have photographed it without the glass so no glare and reflections, it looks even better with the glass, gives it a professionally framed look. The dimensions are 14 inches by 11.5 inches. I chose green for the frame, it's ordinary household emulsion from my stash of tester pots, and I think the colour balances beautifully with the rest of it. It's a bright summery happy picture.
The yellow sandy beach colour is lost a bit in the closeups. The first picture is closest to the real colours. I made the beach huts out of plain cotton fabric and painted them. Then used felt tip pens to add a few details.
Most of the stitching is simple running stitch, with a few French knots on the trees, and some back stitching.
The orange sun is a circle of felt. It took me ages to decide which fabric to use for the sky. The natural choice would have been blue, but I wanted to steer away from convention, and there would have been too much blue with the sea already blue. So red it was. First I tried patterned fabric but it looked a bit silly, so plumped for plain red and added the sun's rays.
The back is now covered with the hardboard that came with the frame, and sealed with tape to keep the dust out.
I have really enjoyed making that. It made a change to work on something smaller, was much easier to handle. If you want to make the pictures bigger click on one of them for a slide show.
Have to wait now for another idea to pop into my head.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Almost the end of the year, have you thought about joining our Walking Group for 2017? Add your name to the post on the 1st of January, then update your mileage on the 1st of every month after that. Do yourself a big big favour and make 2017 the year you WILL get fit.
Hello me hearties. I really shouldn't be showing you this. I've been working on it all day, hoping to get it framed, but run out of daylight. Working under artificial light is not the same, especially when my work stations are spread about between the two tables downstairs and the work bench upstairs. When I piece pictures together bit by bit it takes ages to search out the right type of fabric, plain or patterned, the right colours, and the thickness of the fabric, so it's a lot of walking up and down stairs.
I think this is ready for framing. Just when I think I have stitched the last stitch I always find a little bit more to do. The frame is ready, an old one which was given to me has been painted.
I find hand sewing very therapeutic, even more so now I have discovered the gentle relaxing music on yoootooob.
I'll finish it in the morning and show the whole thing tomorrow. Right now Bugsy needs his hot water bottles refilling, it's perishing cold outside. I went to the church post office this morning to pay my last installment of Council Tax. Two free months now before it starts again. Picked up more free hearing aids from the medical centre because I've almost run out. Two packets last me six months. Fetched the bins back in after the council lorry has emptied them. Had a postcard from two of my readers, they are in London having a good time. Thank you for that.
I'll be glad when we start getting a bit more daylight. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
