Sailing around Italy - Stromboli and Capri

Later in the evening we passed the Aeolian islands and Stromboli put on a vivid display for us in the dark.
Stromboli was erupting as we passed and the red-hot lava could be seen running down the sides and exploding from the summit.

By the morning we were sailing along the coast and then dropped anchor off the island of Capri.
We transferred to a smaller boat and enjoyed a wonderful boat trip around the rocky coast of the island.

 After the boat trip we made our way by mini-bus along the narrow winding streets up to Anacapri for some spectacular views

We then made our way by funicular to the harbour to catch the cutter back to the boat.

In the evening we set sail for Sorrento.

Sailing around Italy - Italy, Sorrento

We woke up moored beneath the multi-hued houses of Sorrento. We went ashore and wandered around the narrow streets.

In the afternoon we set sail northwards towards Rome.

Sailing around Italy - Italy, Rome

In the morning we disembarked at the port of Civitavecchia approximately one hour drive from Rome.
We had a guided tour of the city of Rome by coach.

We ended our tour in the Piazza Navona where there was a beautiful fountain.

We stayed the night in Rome and flew back to Birmingham via Amsterdam the following day after a lovely holiday with lots of good memories.

Bunting

At my weavers' group we have all been asked if we can make 2m. bunting with 10 pennants for our 60th birthday in August.
I thought i would choose some flowery material suitable for August. I also chose some lace and flowery ric-rac braid to trim the pennants. see below

 I cut out the triangles with pink gingham one side and flowers the other side. I attached a flower and a leaf on the gingham side and then sewed the braid over the lace at the top.

The pennants were zig-zagged around the edge and then attached to a pink heading tape and the bunting is ready for the weavers 60th party.

All that is needed is a fine day!

Tea bag Embroidery

When you are thirsty there is nothing better than a good cup of tea. Like most people I now use tea bags which means I throw hundreds of used ones away each month.

However, you can dry the teabag, empty out the used tea and you have tea-stained paper that can be used for embroidery.

When dry the tea bags are stained various shades of brown and tea bags come in a variety of shapes. A few of the herbal teas stain a different colours. A slit is made at the back of the bag and the tea emptied then a piece of iron on interfacing is attached to the back to support the stitching.

Six tea bags, embroidered and decorated with lace and pressed flowers. The embroideries are attached to hand-made paper.

Embroidered squares cut and attached to angelina covered tea bags and embroidered again.

Tea bags covered in frayed material and the velvet gathered and embroidered.

Blue scrim embroidered with metallic threads on tea bags displayed on hand made paper.

Rust dyed fabric embroidered onto creased tea bags.

Another way of using tea bags is to open them out and glue onto hand made paper producing a background which can be printed onto or additional printed  tissue added.

Tea bag paper background with added tissue and printed spirals.
Fabric flowers embroidered over the top.

Tea bag background stamped in gold with machine embroidered humming bird and flower attached. The centre of the flower is a dried flower found in a garden and given to me by a friend.

These are the samples I have prepared for a workshop I shall be leading in June on tea bag embroidery. Who would have thought that used tea bags could be such fun!