Posted on behalf of Margaret K

In 2013 we went to Ireland and just loved it.  I fell in love with many geological features – man-made and natural.  We went on search after search of rocks and folk lore.  So Finn McCool, known at the time for his prowess in battle, lived at the Giant’s Causeway (made of hexagons of basalt rock), but when he learned the Scottish giant Benandonner was going to invade, Finn relied on his wife to trick the Scot by dressing Finn up as a baby so the Scot would think if this is a baby, how big is the full grown man!  And Benandonner ran back to Scotland, destroying the causeway in his wake.  Isn’t that a fine tale!  Tis hard not to love the Irish and their land.  So this is based on one of my photos of these grand columns in Northern Ireland.  If you haven’t been yet, plan a trip – you won’t be disappointed!

Geode

I had a few ideas for this challenge, but nothing really resonated with me until I started playing with a pile of ice dyed fabrics I made last summer. This purple piece reminded me of an amethyst geode my grandparents had.

First I selected a section of fabric I wanted to play with.

Next I had to choose the opening.

Interesting but no. Next.

I like it! Need some layers.

Assemble & add beads. Ta-Dah! I present Geode.

Closeup

Always a challenge to make these pieces. But that is the point right! Thank you Gladys far an interesting topic.

Geology - Rock! Paper! Scissors!

This challenge rocked!  I loved the idea of it so much that I started Rock! Paper! Scissors! right after Gladys issued the challenge at the beginning of January.


I used earth-toned Copic alcohol markers to colour watercolour paper, which I had torn into random strips and fused to plain muslin.  I then added Silks Acrylic Glaze, Twinkling H2Os, and turquoise and rust-coloured alcohol inks and markers to areas throughout the piece and let the colours run to stain the muslin.

When the piece was dry, I added random hand embroidery stitches using perle cotton, and cotton, silk, and rayon threads in earthy, rusty, and turquoisy colours.  I added beads to some areas that were not covered with watercolour paper.  There are still some areas where I may add more beads and, perhaps, some more hand stitching.

I added a piece of batting and machine-couched some more embroidery threads and, of course, some glitz!  Then I trimmed it with scissors!

Thanks, Gladys!  I look forward to the next challenge!

Rocks rock

HAPPY EASTER all.  I know the weekend is over but trust you all had a enjoyable time and didn't eat too many choc eggs hehe!!!

Here is my challenge piece "Geology"   "Rocks rock"
I had fun and enjoyed making this piece. I used tea bags as a background which I stitched together
I printed a cross section of  a rock on a wash away fabric and free motion stitched the printed feature onto teabags.   I printed some photos of rocks and other forms on TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) and put these onto teabags and stitched the tea bags in place and added some small rocks as embellishments. I then mounted the piece on black felt to form a frame.
I was pleased with how it turned out. Thanks for this interesting title      
I can't wait to see the challenges