Commissioned Work - Sun and Earth

My commissioned work project is completed, sent and received. I can now blog about it and include the feedback from Debra Sposa.  Here is what she said: 

Hello Nat!!!

OMG, what a beautiful piece of art this is.  Stunning in so many ways.  Wow!  Just love it.  Your stitching is perfection, the design so alive but in a very tranquil way.  Just thrilled with the piece.

Thank you so much for taking on my challenge. 

Your biggest fan,

Deb 

Deb told me she really likes my work and would I create her something. I agreed without a deadline. I have been thinking about it for a while now. When I started one I couldn't stop, so I ended up making 4 little blocks together and combining them on a piece of vintage Japanese hem. I'm happy that Deb is happy with it too.

I met Deb through my blog many years ago. Deb is high school art teacher. She told me she often inspires her students with what I do and posted on my blog. I'm so thrilled to hear that my humble creations have a positive influence on younger generations. Deb regularly posts her students' work on her blog as well. 

Four little blocks together

Block #1

Block #2

Block #3

Block #4

I called my commissioned work Sun and Earth. The name came to me when I worked on the final block, block #4. It's actually gave itself a name when I accidentally stitched the Sun on it. 

I had a lot of fun creating these little blocks. I sometimes had stitching block. I'd walk away for a bit. When I took it up again I moved forward with stitching. It would tell me when it is done as well. Does that happen to you too?

Thanks Deb, for challenging me to create it for you. I have made a few little blocks for exhibition, and in future I might have to make more, but this is the biggest project I've ever made.

Until next time
Nat 

Dubai and Abu Dhabui

The first stop on our trip was Dubai where we stayed with my dearest friend Becky. Becky and I have been friends since we lived in the UAE. The stop was short and sweet. Dubai is unrecognisable since we left in 2002! New buildings and big buildings have popped up all over Dubai. Becky showed us the highlight of Dubai's tallest building Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Aquarium, Burj Al Arab, and the Palm Dubai. We covered a lot in a few days in Dubai. 

The next few days we spent in Abu Dhabi where we lived for almost 7 years. In Abu Dhabi our friends Cynthia and Mike kindly showed us all the new buildings and hotels that were built after we left in 2002. 

Catching up with Cynthia and Mike again was the highlight of our visit to Abu Dhabi. I was glad that I had a chance to show Cynthia how to make 'real' Coptic Stitch binding. 

We are now in the UK after stopping for 5 days in Zurich, Switzerland. I will share my experience in Switzerland in the next blog post. Check-out the captions in each photo for more details:

Travel journal cover

Dubai Aquarium

UAE flag on the tunnel walls

Burj Al Arab

Storage jars in Dubai Souq

The Abra, water taxi Dubai

Herbs and spices, Dubai Souq

Burj Khalifa at night, Dubai

Burj Khalifa water fountain

Typical Arab door, Old Dubai

Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi

The old defence tower, Abu Dhabi

Salama Residence, Abu Dhabi

Gold flakes cappuccino, Emirates Palace Abu Dhai 

ATM for gold, Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi

Etihad buildings and copper tower

Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque

Coptic Stitch books

It's taken me awhile to update my blog. Travelling is quite busy as you know! We arrived in Wales this afternoon. We are staying put in the same place for a few days. No running around shopping, no bus and trains to catch in Wales. We have wheels again while we are here. I hate not having a car while travelling. Suitcases are too full and heavy to lug around. I'm most happy behind the wheel!

Click on the link to see my Instagram page for daily photos.

Until next time

Nat

Moving Forward

My birthday came and went in a bit of a blur. The day started with a welcome hugs from the lovely Ben and Jodie, my two sweet young colleagues working with me. Jodie who is a whiz in paper crafts made me a lovely bouquet of paper flowers. Other friends brought me pot plants and  cut flowers. 

In-spite of a pre arrangement that we would go out for morning tea/coffee, when the time came the team had their own plans. One of them sneaked out and got us all coffees and we shared them together. More gifts arrived. I feel so special and loved on my birthday!

Another group of friends past and present took me out to lunch at the famous Taste Baguette restaurant on the campus. Taste Baguette is famous for their smooth coffee by a number one barista! 

My desk on the day turned out like a florist shop with all the fresh and paper flowers I received that day. The many coffee cups weren't only mine. The team thought it would be fun to build a wall with empty coffee cups from Taste Baguette! 

I have been working on a commission piece for a go-away gift using my eco-print fabric. The recipient is a furniture designer. She is moving to New Zealand. I had a free run with the fabric and design. The fabrics speak for themselves. I only added stitchings. 

The photo didn't do it justice!.

I have given it to her and she loved it. The fabric was dyed using Eucalyptus bark, leaves and iron mordant in some places. The simplicity is in the prints and lines. I called it Bush Colour. Laura is taking a small piece of Australia with her wherever she goes! 

On my daily walk last week I noticed that the Eucalyptus iron-bark (Sideroxylon) were in full colour so I couldn't resist to photographed them. I use the leaves from these trees when I want an instant result. 

I unwrapped these bundles and jars a couple of weeks ago, but I missed blogging about them on the last post. Some of the jars had been sitting for about a month. 

Here are the Eucalyptus leaves, tea-leaves bush berries and copper pennies from the jars after the bundles have been removed. The goodness is still in the jars, so I preserved the dye to reuse again next time.

And here are the results from the jars and bundles above. So much nicer to put them together like this. Below is another piece from this batch too. I'm very happy with them!

BTW, if you are looking for that special handmade gift for a special person in your life, I'm taking orders for commission pieces using my eco-print fabric. The pieces can be handmade journals, wedding journal, bags, purses, wall hangings, wrapping cloth (Furoshiki or Pojagi), quilts or anything you may think of. 

I have also been thinking about opening an Etsy shop sometime in the future. You can guess by now that I have lots of dyed fabric. I need to make some room in my stash so that I have an excuse to dye some more!

Until next time

Nat