My other VICES

Did I tell you that I'm multi-crafty? Hehe... don't know whether that word exist.... but yup!yup!yup!.. I love art and crafts of any kind. Some I end up indulging myself with... and some I just admire but don't have the urge to learn for some reason or other. I'm going to show you some of the other things that I've done here. So here goes....(...yeah...I know... I'm a big show off...muahahaha)

Before I started painting I was doing cross-stitch for years! Every year I would have a major project which would usually be a scenery. I just love sceneries. I would change the colour scheme sometimes and then gloat and bloat myself with pride at the accomplished project.

The first scenery of cascading waters took me 3 years to complete as I'd changed 80% of the original colour scheme. The gazebo in the garden took me over a period of 5 years, stitched only when the mood comes. That was my last piece and I swore... hehe...no more after that as I indulged in to other hobbies. The cottage with the swan in the pond is my favourite and the last is done in half stitches instead of the normal cross-stitches. These shown here are now on my walls all over the house.

After 10 years I got bored with cross-stitching and began looking for other hobbies. That would be around the time I left the teaching service and with so much time in hand I became very restless. Yup! me... not the type to remain idle for long. I started doing paper-clay modelling. It's a special air-dried volcanic clay from Japan...it's clean and dry with just few tools as opposed to modelling using real local clay. Messy!! I have but just a few small projects around the house to show off...this craze didn't last long though. It just didn't give me the oomph...know what I mean?

Then I tried my hand at patchwork and quilting. I fell in love with this for a long while. I have dear Forrest to thank for my then new love hahaha. Forrest...she lives in Albany,Western Australia...does exquisite quilts...love her heirloom quilts the most...*hint* muahahaha...I've got all the necessary gadgets for this....from the different types of machine feet,needles and threads (for all the various forms of quilting) to the drawers of fabrics to the sewing machines. I own 2 Jenomes for that!yup!yup!yup!...but now alas... I have 2 white elephants that I hardly use except for normal sewing of wear and tear on miscellaneous items around the house...*sigh* This is a very expensive hobby!! Haha I remember John (her other half) said that...women are crazy! He just does not understand why we have to buy perfectly good pieces of cotton fabric...that cost a bomb!..then butchered them to small pieces...and then sew them back together again to make a bigger piece!!!! Yup! Haha that's it John... be thankful we don't know how to cut you males up and sew you back together again!!!

As you can see from the pics, I do not go for conventional P&Q. I love to try the more contemporary styles... they let my creative juices flow...hahaha. I have tried snippets technique (the tree with the mountainous background), colour-wash style (view of the lake) and another UNFINISHED colour-wash (supposedly a garden scenery...ran out of mood and ideas to complete!!!). The T-pot and cups shown here is a sample of my hand applique.

I also like crazy patchwork and bagellos and I'd made countless bags and purses using these 2 styles. No pics to show off here though...here. Most I'd given away or sold and the rest are too worn out to show.

Though P&Q is very rewarding...esp when my friends admire MY work to the max hehe...but it is so time consuming and sometimes frustrating too because it's not easy to get fabrics to really match the colours I have in mind. I have many pieces that I put on hold for a very, very, very long time just because I don't have the exact colour match. 'On hold'... yup! that's the word... until the urge comes again...muahahaha... doesn't that sound familiar???? So where are they?... Aww...safely tucked away in cupboards and boxes all over somewhere... hehehe


Then I started dabbling into other crafts...silk ribbon embroidery, smocking and sewing kids' clothes (I was really into that until my girls told me "Ma, pleeaassseeeee no more dresses!!" *sigh* ). I even tried my hand at batik painting....but none of these gave me the satisfaction that decorative painting has given me all this while. Decorative painting is my life now....but again I'm a rolling stone but with UHU glue.. haha... that gathers moss...who knows...I might just find a new 'love' somewhere in the future ... but for now... where are my brushes??? I still have a lot more to paint for Nani...completed another 2 this week but I still have to consider them as 'finished but unvarnished projects' waiting for Nora's final touches. Will show you all that later ya...you think I'd miss the opportunity to show off huh??? hehe...think again muahahahaha