Seriously Christmassy Post

Hard to believe that Christmas is just a few weeks away, but have to start getting ready.  I'm taking part in BQL Postcard Groups big Christmas swap, which so far has 12 participants so 11 cards to make (but will make a couple extra for contingencies).  I made 4 by Saturday but since I took the photo I have finished a couple more.

 These are completed ones

and more in progress

I wanted to make Christmas collages using my assortment of Christmas fabrics that I've accumulated over the years.  They are appliqued onto a background mounted onto felt to give the effect of a picture frame.  It kept me busy on a very wet Saturday.

The next thing I can't show just yet, but suffice to say that I am taking part in another swap this time organised by Quilting Bloggers called Christmas Stocking Swap and I've been informed that I'll be swapping with Merrill from Melbourne so I'm looking forward to finishing them and sending them all the way to Melbourne.

It doesn't happen very often, but I did a proper bit of embroidery for the stockings while I was watching Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday evening.

On Friday I went to the textile art course that I signed up to and this time we made some silk paper using gummy silk fibres, which are dampened and ironed to bring out the gumminess of the silk to create a sheet of silk.  This was coloured with spray paints.  I only decided to take a photo with my phone after I sewed some ribbon yarn onto the paper.

If you thought these colours looked lush, then wait until what I did after lunch

Using encaustic wax in blue, orange, copper and gold colours and working the iron into the fibres changed it completely.

I had a Google about gummy silk fibres and just had a go on Saturday morning with an assortment of fibres that I have in my stash to see what would stick together or not.

 Tussah silk works quite well and the orange and pink pieces worked and held together OK.  The yellow piece did to begin with but its beginning to come apart so not so good (I didn't know what type this was)

A couple of other indeterminate pieces in red and blue didn't work too well either.  What I may do is needlefelt these and the silk will hold together better, but I had a lot of fun find out what worked and what didn't. Seeing these photos, these pieces are a riot of colour; one way of brightening a rainy Saturday morning.