Procrastination!

What does one do when one has a list of dull chores that have been put off and put off until they can be put off no longer? Well, one might paint little patterns on an old glass bowl and stand back to admire the shadows...

Then one might put some colourful balls of wool in said bowl, so as to turn it into something useful...

After a cup of tea, one might whip up some crocheted hearts to turn into bunting needed urgently for a craft fair (in July)...

Then there's always the matter of making motifs that aren't going to be a blanket, but may, one day, be a bag...

And, of course, one could also play around with painting linoprints...

And finally, one may concede that procrastination is a much maligned personality trait that may not get the chores done but does result in a lovely day in the sun!

Running out of space!

Whilst I love the linoprinting process, one aspect I haven't worked out is where to put all the prints as they dry (this usually takes 3 or 4 days). As you can see, I no longer have any work space...

I think I need to fashion some sort of washing line in the studio so that I can hang the prints up. My favourite version of the print so far is this one...

I'm also experimenting with collaging one part of the print on top of another.

I think I might also try a sequence of bird linocuts to collage together. In the meantime my studio stinks of white spirit and I've got nowhere to work!

Lino Bird - first prints

I did my first print of my bird design today ...

I decided the tree shapes were too stark so I cut out some more...

and more...

And now I think I prefer the first version! Oh well, there's not much I can do about it now!

I used some of these prints to experiment with adding watercolour..

And then, because I can't stop fiddling, I added some acrylic ink details...

Tomorrow I'll try printing on different coloured backgrounds and probably fiddle some more!

Linocut bird

I haven't done any linocutting for ages so I decided to spend some time this morning developing some  ideas and came up with this little birdy design...

I transferred it onto the lino and began to cut...

I find the process of linocutting very therapeutic (particularly whilst listening to a good audio book) and I love the fact that you can never be quite sure of the outcome. I plan to finish the cutting tomorrow, and then for the exciting part - the printing! Hopefully, I'll have some prints to show soon!

More sewing...

I finished this summery dress just as some snow flakes came drifting down! Will it ever be hot enough to wear?!

I think I might start a knitted jumper next!