Look at the lovely padfolio I received from Elizabet. This was a part of a swap in my group Textile Challenges. I chose Red and black for my colours and Elizabet has hit this on the nose. She has used embossing powder on the stamps and this gives a lovely sheen that the camera doesn't pick up. I love this padfolio and i am so grateful, this is the first one I have received rather than made. Thanks very much Elizabet.
| Your Dominant Thinking Style: Visioning |
 You are very insightful and tend to make decisions based on your insights. You focus on how things should be - even if you haven't worked out the details. An idealist, thinking of the future helps you guide your path. You tend to give others long-term direction and momentum. |
Sloth - an hour glass made from stencil film and glitter, the background is a photocopy on a very dark setting, transfered with an iron onto satin and washed with acrylic.
Anger - Fre machining on dissolvable and sheers over an acrylic scraped background.
Gluttony - Screen printed fabric with an overlay of silver mesh screen printed and pulled thread work.
Vanity - Collaged silver foil and magazine collage with needle woven mirror shards
Greed - Collaged credit card adverts with cable stitch and shisha pennies.
Envy - block printed jar dyed fabric and free machined on dissolvable eyes.
Lust - Free machined felt - melted/tortured over a mono print from a discharged screen print stencil.
I have been making a padfolio for Jo, for a swap on textiles challenges. She chose purples and copper. So I took a piece of the jar dyed fabric I did in a previous post and Then I stencilled it. I did this with the left over bit from a set of stickers for the keyboard (Craig has special black letters on yellow to help him with his visual impairment). I stencilled in a metallic purple. Then I over printed with a check block I made from foam and card. I then over printed with a block I made based on a pattern on my t-shirt and the fact that I knew Jo liked Gothic shapes. I decided to make the edge of the padfolio be shaped as the stamp, I hadn't seen anyone of the many people who have used Sue Bleiweiss' pattern do this so I thought it would make it a bit fresh for me, as I have made quite a few now.
This is the photo with the flash on, I don't know if the colour is more accurate or not! I sewed sequins (square ones) on to catch the light and did some hand running stitch on the check and some machine stitching around the Dark purple block.
I am really pleased with how this has turned out, including finding a nice old coppery button to finish it off. I wanted it to look like a piece of Gothic tile, or mosaic lifted off, and I think I did that quite well. Thanks Sue for such an inspirational pattern. Jo you nearly didn't get this one, I so badly wanted to keep it myself! I guess I will have to make another!
Months ago now textile challenges, my group, had a challenge based on an article in QA where two people worked the same topic. So we voted and chose windows and doors. I had already started some work for C+G on the deadly sins and thought this would fit in very well. I decided to make gothic doors, influenced by "The Gates of hell" by Rodin. So far I have finished 3 of the 7doors and have two more semi-done! I have worked on the insides of the doors depicting the sins and am really pleased with them, but I will leave that as a surprise for when they are totally finished. Well off to work on the semi-finished ones!
Then I collages the mouth for Gluttony with found papers, mouths from makeup adds and food, berries etc. I then coloured over with markers and wrote the word gluttony. I have lots left to do with this now, I am going to have the sins hiding inside the flames of hell. 
The rest here are pages from my sketchbook that goes with this work and my stitch work. i am nearly there with the stitch work and will show it when I am done. It has dragged on a bit!
Hope you like a little look in my sketchbook.
