Here is a finished letter further to the post http://craftconversations.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/new-ideas-for-new-year.html 

letter "e", in french knots 

©Christine Linton

Feathers in textiles

This tassel I made from dyed string, which had been used for tie-dyeing fabric, and from feathers collected locally - Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, Australian Magpies, Lorikeets.

©Christine Linton

©Christine Linton

©Christine Linton

For other feather-inspired textiles, see these or visit here.

A new blog

I have started a new blog to show my adventures with my new camera.  It is at
http://photographyartinnature.blogspot.com.au/

New ideas for the new year

At last my brain has jumped out of its Artists Block - I had been struggling with making a Book Cover at the end of last year, tried lots of techniques and didn't like anything, it all looked so dull, that's why I took a long break from it. I think sometimes your brain freezes up and has to take a rest.  Then I spent some time recently with my new camera, and found that I really enjoyed pictures where the main focus e.g. flower bud, stood out sharply from a soft-focus background.  This gave me the idea to try for this effect in textiles, so I tea-dyed some white cotton sheet from the Op Shop, to get a fuzzy background, and looked for a sharp bright colour to embroider with.  Here is the result - or at least the first part of it.  This is a letter T, almost finished.  Working with french knots, I used mostly doubles, some singles, and some loopies.  So I got lots of texture into it.  It is DMC perle cotton no. 5, thicker than I originally wanted to use but once I started I loved it, had to use a chenille needle for the thickness.  I love the colour, I wanted a beautiful bright blue to contrast with the background.

French knots on tea-dyed cotton sheet

©Christine Linton

Then I went to a natural-dye workshop at Pepper Street Art Centre, with Lizzy Emery as the tutor - who I first met as the tutor of a basketry workshop in December.  Multi-skilled lady!  We used mixed berries for red, onion skins and acacia flowers for yellow, the bark from the ironbark tree for brown - today I will show you the yellow.  I used cotton voile.  If you look at the left near the top, it looks like a frog leaping downwards.

cotton voile dyed with onion skins and acacia flowers

©Christine Linton

End of year break

I don't expect to be posting again until January, so here is a little something,  Mini Molly that I made for my dolls house.

©Christine LintonMini Molly in her sewing room

Back to Chooky

"Don't be late home" ©Christine Linton

Gathering spinifex for basket weaving

Having used up all my native grasses from the workshop, I went for a walk along by the river where I had seen lots of spinifex growing.  A small amount from a few different plants gave me plenty to work with, and I coiled a wider basket using green crochet cotton to stitch the spinifex.  The smell in my bedroom from the spinifex (which is where I was working with it) was really strong and very pleasant.  You can see that some of the spinifex has started to seed and I left those pieces in for the interest.  (look close to the bottom of the picture on the inside of the basket where there are lighter shades)

Fresh spinifex coiled and stitched with green crochet cotton
 

©Christine Linton