Feline Assistance?

Only if you use the term loosely.  I only have two cats now, down from four.  Mollie and Merlin love textiles, and 'help' whenever they can.  The level of assistance varies .

Mollie is a quilt girl.  Here she is, trying out 'Borderlines' for size.

Oh, I like this one, Mum...

Mmm...comfy...   She later dozed off on it entirely.  Not quite what you expect for an art quilt, but...

Merlin, on the other hand, is more cosmopolitan in his tastes.  Here he is sitting on a lot of different things, simultaneously; my sofa does get a bit busy, as I spend a lot of time sitting on it.  I think he called it purrrrformance art; I called it all sorts of things, none of which were polite. 

My lino cutting stuff, is on that board, Merlin... be careful... and don't knock that box of notepaper over, or the pen... really, though, what he wanted to lie on was the small book I'd cut from hand made paper, again from Heather's parcel.  It had been folded for some time, so rather than try to iron out the creases, I used them to create another accordion book.  Which He's sitting on.  And here's the result.

That was flat, before he sat on it.  It now has a perfect impression of his bum.  Pass the iron, somebody... 

More about the work in progress tomorrow.  

After The Ball...

or, in this case, the FOQ, I started a new job, three days a week, doing job evaluation for a local council. It's interesting work, in a friendly team, but it does mean I'm stretched and stretched, as far as time is concerned at least. So, I admit there has been no blog for a while, but Will Do Better.

FOQ was, as always, fun. Busy, busy, this year, talked to lots of lovely people, including the lovely Lynda Monk, with whom I've talked on email, but had never met. It's great to meet people who follow this blog, of course, and lots of people who are like minded. It's interesting to hear how many quilters are moving towards mixed media. I've always felt that the designation 'quilting' is too narrow for my kind of work, at least; now others seem to be shifting that way, too.

Now, I'm planning What To Do Next. I'm attending a craft fair at Reepham later on in the month, and I hope to have a selection of dyes, paints and other materials with me, as well as the usual hand dyed cloth, books and the like. It's a deviation for me, but it seems to fit nicely with the books. I'm not planning to sell things that I personally don't use, so that I can talk about their properties with real experience. And it means that I'll be able to offer kits for the books, as well as for workshops. I'm quietly excited about it. And there's a book to finish, and another two to start... so I'm not exactly lacking work! I do feel a real need to get into the studio and actually MAKE something, even if it's only a few beads. It feels like it has been a long time since I made art without needing something for a book, for instance...and I have a lot of ideas to work with.

I've always thought that this is a good time for planning. The summer isn't quite over, but we're preparing for the schools going back, and for the more indoor seasons of late autumn and winter. I might even find myself hoping for snow, to keep me inside and working. And you know how I hate snow!!!

The image is of Merlin 'helping' to photograph some fabric for Etsy. The cats are a never ending source of joy and frustration, usually simultaneously, but I wouldn't give them up, ever. Not even when they cost obscene amounts of cash at the vets (bought flea and worming stuff on Friday and nearly fainted at the cost!). They are worth every penny, of course... perhaps I need to make another small cat quilt, just for them...and for me.