Marigold, Textiles, Art and Adventures.

We haven’t finished our new web page yet, but I’ve received a lot of requests for information about our tours. So, I’ve decided to add details about the following three tours to our current web page and make it available for those who are interested. If you need more information, don’t hesitate to get in…

Re-purposing

I wanted some lampshades that reflected the environment in which the shack is situated.We are surrounded by Gum trees, native plants, the river and lake and of course the bird life.I found some interesting cane-based lampshades from Kmart that had white shades.I wasn’t sure I could draw on them, but at about $20 each, I…

The story of the ‘shack’

The phone rang; it was Easter holiday weekend; we were enjoying the peace of the four-day break.“Keith, I think the tenants have done a bunk,” said Jamies’ friend John. He also has a holiday property in the same area. Next door in fact. Our day plans changed, and with our son Jinda and his family,…

Aurifil Artisans showcase.

Thread painting over appliqué. I’m afraid I’ve been slow to put my projects up, however, I have a few and I will add them next month. In this project I used a variety of Aurifil threads. I began with a drawing on my iPad. I used a photo of the crow who visits us each…

Creating a design board.

This is a small drawing I created in Adobe Draw on the iPad Pro as we traveled in the bus yesterday. It’s Naive to say the least, but it’s what I saw in a pure sort of way. Components in the image could be used as stand alone patterns for fabric. The stripes, the trees…

A week of working.

Working for me takes many different routes. Sometimes, it’s giving a lecture, sometimes it’s teaching, at other times it’s drawing, writing, stitching and designing in the studio. In all honesty I wouldn’t have it any other way – I have a lot of different roads I want to explore right now and I am indeed…

Traveling to the Cape of Good Hope.

Notes from Yesterday. It’s early morning here in Cape town and the day is going to be busy. The mountain is grey still and when I finish this, it will be in bright sunshine. We drive on a very narrow road where hills rise to huge heights on the left. The ground drops hundreds of…

Morocco No 2.

Three countries later, and I have only just found time to add images of my Moroccan visit to the souks of Marrakech.  The photos in this blog were taken the day I left for Nairobi, but I didn’t have time to edit them. Now, 2 countries later and situated in Cape Town I now have…

Textile styles in the making.

It’s taken me a while to write this story. Most of you on my blog, are quilters or love the art of Textiles. We have a textile advantage that we take for granted so today I share a story of art and experimental reinvention. Dena Crain a quilter from Kenya, taught the local ladies a…