The quilt of the book of the quilt!

The Dream Quilt, design by Valerie Greeley.

I am pleased to report that I finally finished making a mini quilt composed of images from the book I illustrated- The Dream Quilt. You may remember I wrote about the book here on my blog.

I have been putting the finishing touches to a small fabric collection to enable home sewers to recreate the quilt featured in the book. I am just waiting to approve some fabric samples and then I will share a link to my fabric store. The fabric will be printed as a complete panel all ready to quilt, so no piecing will be necessary, instead you can enjoy stitching and maybe adding a few decorative stitches of embroidery?

One of these days I will learn to use a thimble, the quilt shown here was stitched entirely by hand- my poor hands are in bits!

If you wish you can order a copy of the book here in my Etsy shop, it is £7.99 and you can have it signed and dedicated if you send me a note first.

If the little pink hare in the foreground looks familiar it is the work of Stephanie Boudazin who has a delightful blog here

I'll be back soon with news of a give-away to celebrate the eighth birthday of this blog!

Beautiful Dreamer

"Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,
E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea;
Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!" by Stephen Foster.

This little sleeping dormouse illustration was painted as an illustration for my book "A Book of Days".
When the days shorten and the temperature drops I sometimes wish I could hibernate, possibly waking up for a brief spell over Christmas. At the moment I feel as if I am wading through mud and achieving nothing.

If you follow Rima Staines at The Hermitage you may have heard about her quest to raise money for a storytelling project and if you are avery quick you might be interested in this auction here at Hedgespoken.

Don't be like the dormouse and sleep all the way through. x

Tudor Houses

Illustration for "Can it be true?"
written by Susan Hill for Long Barn Books.

I thought you might be interested to see some of the thought processes and inspiration behind my recent illustration project for "Can it be true?” for Long Barn Books.

It was decided from the beginning that this book would have either black and white illustrations or restricted colour, we wanted to give a more simplified “printmaker” feel to this new edition in contrast to the very detailed water colours used previously.

When I had to think of an image to use to illustrate the towns page I immediately thought of Tudor style houses. This very decorative style of building lends itself to black pen and ink drawing and so was a natural choice. There are very many wonderful examples around our home and county town of Chester. Some date from as far back as Henry VII.

The illustration started as a black and white pen drawing, which I scanned into the computer. I then added colour and a lino print texture on Photoshop. The original idea was to have gold on some of the pages but to do this would have added considerably to the costs. We decided to add a gold effect instead, this was also done on Photoshop by scanning a piece of gold leaf and then “pasting” the effect in the windows and onto the stars. (see top)

The illustration suggested a repeat pattern so when the book was finished I turned the page into a textile design. To see how this would look on fabric I decided to try out the Spoonflower site. This is a place where you can upload your own designs and have them printed for your own use or for sale in an online shop.

The problem for me was choosing the right fabric, in the end I opted for Kona cotton, thinking it might be nice to quilt. The obligatory sample arrived in due course and when I saw it my mind turned back to books again. I thought it might be good to try out the fabric as a book cloth;- here is my very old and tatty address book sporting its new cover. It seemed an appropriate choice.

If you feel so inclined you can try out the fabric yourself, you will find it here-

You can find "Can it be True?" here-

Picnics and a Giveaway!

The picnic illustration is taken from ‘Where’s My Share?” one of my picture books which is in the process of being made into an App by Auryn Inc- more news of that to come soon!



After what seems like an eternal winter we finally have our much longed for summer and we have been out and about.

Firstly, a quick visit to our son in London and a walk along the river and a chance to admire the open space and fresh air. We found an array of interesting sights, buildings old and new and a small garden themed exhibition. It is heartwarming to see how pleasant the Thames is now and how nature can regenerate if we give it a chance. This quote was written on a metal container filled with plants and formed part of a larger garden display.

“There are indeed many good things in life which may be unequally apportioned and no such serious loss arise, but the need of quiet, the need of air, the need of exercise, and I believe, the sight of sky and of things growing, seem human needs, common to all.” By Octavia Hill who did so much to protect our green spaces and went on to found The National Trust.



Further along the river we visited the Bankside gallery, which was hosting an exhibition celebrating fifty years of wood engravings by Simon Brett. Inside we found Simon sitting quietly working and demonstrating his craft. I even had the chance to chat to him for a while and he gave me some advice on hand burnishing. I have admired his work for many years now so it was very pleasant to actually meet him in person and to watch how he engraves his blocks using a vast array of engraving tools.

Simon has a website here where you can learn more about his life and work.



On our return from London the lure of the summer sun won over indoor pursuits, we took Ted (foot now healed) on a lovely long walk up Bickerton Hill and and remembered the words of Octavia Hill as we admired the beautiful view across the Cheshire Plain. We packed a small picnic and ate our lunch to the hum of the bees and sound of birdsong. It really is a most lovely spot.



I attended another bookbinding workshop, this one was all about headbands and how to sew them. Our instructor was Nicky Oliver from Black Fox Bindery
It was an enjoyable and very companiable day, in the morning we made a single core headband and in the afternoon we made one with a double core. Like so many bookbinding skills it is easy when you know how. Nicky made it look so easy but I struggled to make a neat job, still I am determined to practise some more. Here are some photographs from the day and the work of class members.



Finally, I was contacted again by Novica who asked if we would like to have another giveaway, to which I answered, “Yes please!” Novica supports the work of craftsmen and women from around the world. I have a $50 gift voucher to give away, if you would like to take part in the draw please leave a comment which includes your desire to take participate and I will pick a winner from random in two weeks time- that will be on Tuesday 30th. Please bear in mind that the gift certificate does not cover the cost of postage and there may be taxes to pay depending on where you live.



I have been particularly attracted to the work of a Novica designer called Ritu Agnihotri who specializes in textile design featuring a blend of embroidered work with strong print lines. Her blouses would be great to wear on warm summer evenings-

Or maybe you would prefer something like this?

In fact, there are so many lovely handcrafted beauties; it is hard to make a decision.

Hope you are enjoying your summer, good luck everyone!

A Celebration and a Giveaway.

We recently returned from a family holiday in The Lake District where we did a little walking and visited old haunts. The weather had finally turned from bitingly cold to warmer and wetter, more typically bright and breezy days. The fells were dotted with newborn lambs and daffodils dutifully danced in the breeze.



It was my first time to climb to the top of Orrest Head; that is me in the photograph, hanging on for dear life as it was extremely windy and head staggeringly high, although the image looks deceptive. The view from the top is wonderful and you can see for miles in all directions. Hills, mountains, lakes and valleys with Lake Windermere being the closest. Wainwright said of this place “Those few hours on Orrest Head cast a spell that changed my life forever”.



I have always loved the Lake District and have fond memories of childhood visits with my parents and later as a pupil. Our school had a house on the shores of Lake Coniston and we would stay there on field trips. Years later we went as students and visited Dove Cottage. It was the garden at Dove Cottage that made a lasting impression on me, so much so that I was reluctant to visit again in case the spell was broken. It was the home of the poet Wordsworth where he lived with his sister Dorothy and it was here that she wrote her now famous journal and shared the delights of her beloved garden.



I particularly loved the view of the garden from the little kitchen window. The garden is very steep and climbs up the hillside in such a way as to present the viewer with a green tapestry, filling the window frame with layer upon layer of lush vegetation. This time it was daffodils but the first time I went the entire garden seemed to have been embroidered with wild strawberries. When you climb to the top of the garden path you can see way above the rooftops to Grassmere and the surrounding mountains. Wordsworth loved this place and referred to it as “a love within a love”.



I wonder if Dorothy would have kept a blog had she been alive today? She certainly had many interests; her love of nature, her garden and poetry would have been well suited to the medium of the blog. All of which brings me to my little celebration; on the 25th of this month this little blog will be five years old! I have never been very good at journal keeping and any diary I have attempted to write has been short lived, so it has been interesting to look back on the past five years via these posts. I thought it called for something of a celebration and so I am having a little give away. On offer is a “Little Lamb” (see above) print of an illustration I did for “A Book of Days” which was first published in 1984. Goodness how time flies, my work is now vintage!
You can read a little more about the print here in my Etsy shop.

If you wish to take part in the giveaway, please leave me a comment indicating your wish to do so. If you have a special place that you hold dear maybe you would like to share it with us? I will choose a winner on Sunday May 5th.

Tea with Jeri.

I first came across the work of Jeri Landers when I saw her fabric designs several years ago. This lead me to her website and later her blog at Hopalong Hollow Gazette.Over the years we have become better acquainted but distance has not allowed us to meet, however let that not be an obstacle. Today we are taking tea together and invite you to join us, so pull up a chair and prepare to be charmed by this amazingly creative lady.

How do you take your tea and in what kind of cup do you like it served?

My tea of choice is Red Rose, a simple black tea. Since 1969 they have placed a small porcelain figurine inside the tea box, some are quite sweet, and I like the tradition. I take mine strong and very sweet, please. I love this tea cup, because it is covered in acorns.

If you could choose anyone, past, present or future, who would be joining us for tea?

Our tea party would include the writer James Herriot, (he would delight us with his marvelous animal tales), Anton Pieck, Dutch Illustrator and master of meticulous detail and perfect perspective... (Perspective is my nemesis; maybe he could give me a few tips). And last but not least, the beloved Beatrix Potter. How she would delight in the fact that her "little books for small hands" are still in print, over 100 years later! But, I would actually love to talk to her about her sheep, because I have sheep as well... in fact, one of them is named Beatrix.

Will you tell us a little about your background in art and design?

My only formal art training was an oil painting course, straight out of High School. I learned 2 things: Oil paints are very expensive and I do not like using them. We were required to turn in 3 canvases at the end of the class and I turned in 3 eggs. Really, I did. I painted miniature gardens upon the surface of blown out eggs using model car paints. My teacher was impressed and I passed the class. Aside from that, trial and error have been my constant guides. I probably do everything the wrong way, but it seems to work out for me.
Growing up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado was perfect for an animal and nature lover and I spent many years creating realistic wildlife art, until I discovered Traditional Folk art, and taught myself German and Swiss style Scherenschnitte and Early American - Painted Papercutting



This was a complete flip from realism, with a naive look and a folky feel. Over the years, I’ve utilized watercolor and papercutting for the basis of much of my work, including a line of greeting cards and lithographs. I also “grow” papercut gardens.



My art is an odd combination of folkart, realism and illustration. A few years ago, influenced by my love of beautiful storybooks, I wrote and illustrated a book about a character on one of my greeting cards, a rabbit named Hopalong Jack. During the year it took to illustrate the book, I wrote 8 additional stories and Hopalong Hollow was born. Nowadays, I spend most of my art-life working on these books, which is pure joy!



Where are you based and does it influence your work?

Twenty-one years ago, we bought a 40 acre homestead with a rundown century old farmhouse in East Tennessee. My husband and I have spent years bringing it back to life. We’ve filled the property with cottage gardens and all creatures great and small, everything from donkeys to peacocks. It is here that I get my inspiration, my models and my stories. It is the world of Hopalong Hollow.

What have you been doing/working on today?

I am finishing up a book illustration, here-


I hope that you have brought along something wonderful to show us, what is it?

We started with tea, so I guess we should end with another cup poured from the acorn pot. This is one of the latest illustrations I have completed for new book. Thank you so much for inviting me!



Thanks for coming all this way and for sharing your world with us. I hope it won't be too long before you visit again. Your work is a delight. I especially love your paper cuttings.

Bluebells and bookbinding

We have had a peculiar May this year, as I write this the sun is shining as we would expect but earlier in the month we had miserable, grey, cold dreary weather which cast a gloom over everything. The bluebells have been lovely but not so plentiful as previous years. On one of our dog walks we spied a fox near the canal path. We watched as she made her way to a dense patch of brambles and wondered if she had any hungry cubs to feed. The young fox illustration comes from “A Book of Days”, a birthday book I illustrated for Blackie and Son Ltd.

We had a very pleasant visit from artist friend Celeste Goulding, who had traveled to England on holiday from Australia. You may remember Celeste from a previous post? This time we enjoyed an actual rather than a virtual cup of tea. It was so nice to meet her in person.

Work has been busy, getting design collections ready for Surtex, an annual trade fair in New York. I did however find the time to attend a bookbinding workshop with Glenn Malkin, a bookbinder from East Yorkshire. Glenn is an amazing and inspirational craftsman who has a bindery called Signature Bindings Glenn specializes in affordable bindings and repairs, journals and fine bindings. His website contains useful information about forthcoming workshops and events as well as showcasing his award winning designer bindings.

In the one-day workshop we managed to complete three books. One wrap around binding, one Japanese stab binding and a little single section cased binding. All the materials were supplied including the lovely marbled papers. I was especially pleased with the book, which utilized part of an old map, an idea I am sure I will use again. Maybe next time I will remember that as this structure is covered with a map it has a front, back a head and a tail. I managed to create a back and a front the same way up but would have preferred the back to be the front, although in Japan it would have worked perfectly! Finally I have been creating an online print shop with Society6, the shop currently offers art prints and stretched canvases, and I hope to add more images in due course.

HURRY! HURRY! Book Giveaway and two interviews.

I am having a very lazy week, my blog friends are doing all the work for me! I have two online interviews; the first about art licensing and you can read it here on Alex Colombo's art blog The Moon from my Attic

Secondly, for a chance to win a copy of my book "White is the Moon" all you have to do is visit "Good Books for Young Souls" where I have been interviewed by Wendy.

To enter the "White is the Moon" giveaway all you need to do is leave a comment on Wendy's blog, following the links and leave a comment but please HURRY because the giveaway finishes on Thursday. Please note Wendy can only ship to a USA address. However,I will be hosting my own giveaway on this blog next week open to everyone.

You can also try out the "Look inside feature" in the Amazon shop to give you more idea about the book.

Thank you so much Alex and Wendy and good luck everyone.

Tea with Frances.

I have on my bookcase, nestling between the works of Gennady Spirin and Cicely Mary Barker, a small collection of sumptuously illustrated books by another gifted illustrator of equal stature by the name of Frances Tyrrell. She is one of those artists whose work deserves to be more widely known, so I decided to invite her round for a cuppa for a chance to get to know her a little better. We hope you will join us.



How do you take your tea and in what kind of cup do you like it served?

Thank you so much for inviting me. Hot, milky and sweet is how I like my tea please, and in a bone china mug or a cup and saucer – perhaps one of those beautiful mugs with a Valerie Greeley design?.

( Blushes, I did not pay her to say that! )

If you could choose anyone, past, present or future, who would be joining us for tea?

William Morris, to humbly hear whatever he would care to say about art, design, nature, literature and inspiration. If it were possible to invite one or two more I would include Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen, and I would love to have tea with Charles Kingsley too, and ask him for a story.



Will you tell us a little about your background in art and design?

I grew up with beautifully illustrated books in the house, second-hand volumes that my mother collected. I remember in particular a gorgeous edition of The Idylls of the Kings, and a charming nursery rhyme book from the 1920's, all of which fired my appreciation for design, detail and romance. I took fine arts at university but had to learn the illustrators' trade in the field, first with a major greeting card company and then with book publishers here and abroad.



Where are you based and does it influence your work?

Oakville, Ontario is my home, and my house and upstairs studio are just a block up the street from the lake. I have always lived in suburbs, with sidewalks on the one hand and on the other a glimpse of fairyland in nearby woods and fields. The long winters here can seem straight out of Hans Anderson's Snow Queen. As a youngster I was enchanted by the beautiful, complex frost patterns on windows and, like Anderson's Kay and Gerda, would press a heated coin into the frost to make a peephole. I still try to capture the magic of those sweeping snows and gardens of ice in my paintings.



What have you been doing/working on today?

Fairies and more fairies, as I prepare for an art show coming up in June, to coincide with International Fairy Day on June 24. Today I am sketching a fairy wedding, with a bride and groom and their attendants and a confetti of flower petals. This is the untidy stage, getting everyone lined up and properly dressed! The fairy wedding is part of the next Illustrated Fairy Gazette, the 6th in our series of miniature hand made fairy-to-fairy publications.

( Believe me, these hand made publications are exquisite, I bought a series a few years ago.)



I hope that you have brought along something wonderful to show us, what is it?

After the wedding the happy couple, fairy royalty, make their royal progress in this water lily carriage, inspired by the story of Thumbelina..

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat over a cuppa, albeit a virtual one.

I am sure that everyone enjoyed that interview and if you would like to learn more about Frances and her work you can visit her website here.
Frances also has a blog called Treasure Seekers Studio
an Etsy shop

Frances also has a very gifted mother called Avril Tyrrell who writes her stories, lucky lady!

Spider Silk

The little watercolour study above of an orb spider weaving its web is taken from “Animals at Home”, a children’s book I worked on many years ago. Whilst admiring the delicacy and intricacy of a spider’s web, it is hard not to find them more than a little creepy. I am not the sort of person who runs screaming from the bathroom when confronted with a spider in the shower but they do hold a weird sort of fascination don’t you think? So when I heard that someone had actually managed to capture this thread and weave it into a cloth, I was intrigued to say the least.



On a recent trip to the V and A in London we decided to see for ourselves and visited the Golden Spider Silk display. The two garments, a cape and shawl, are the work of Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley and are truly mesmerizing. The silk has been gathered from Golden Orb spiders found in Madagascar. It has taken over four years and the silk from countless threads; each thread being made from 96 twisted spider strands, to make the brocaded shawl. The resulting garment shimmers like sunlight on gold.

The exquisite cape has been inspired by the myths and stories, poetry and nightmares surrounding the spider. The original design is also displayed; this working drawing is a work of art in itself.



The cape has been lavishly embroidered with threads and stitches so fine that it is hard to believe that human hands are capable of such a feat.
It is said that over a million spiders and thousands of hours have gone into its creation. It is quite simply out of this world, I cannot imagine how it would feel to have it next to my skin but I am told that the fabric made from spider silk is extremely light. It put me in mind of the song from the Emperor’s new clothes, “The king is in the altogether!” If you get a chance this is a must see exhibition, you can see more here.

Books and Bargains.

click on the images for a closer look.


The photographs show Knutsford, a Cheshire market town close by where we go to for the odd treat. There are good places to eat, cobbled streets packed with galleries and best of all the charity shops. “Posh” people it seems, throw away the best stuff! Of course I had to buy something when we visited last week, I found a lovely old wooden blotter for £3.50 and a vintage toast rack for 50 pence which I just had to have.

We ate lunch inside a quirky little museum which houses a collection of Penny Farthing bicycles and later explored some of the buildings associated with Elizabeth Gaskell. The novelist lived here and immortalized the town in her novel Cranford. Some of the buildings have an Italianate feel to them especially the Gaskell Memorial tower, which would not be out of place in San Gimignano!




We had World Book week a few days ago so I thought it would be fitting to share with you some of my recent acquisitions. I love a bargain, don’t you? I found this gorgeous re-print of Walter Crane’s “Here we go round the Mulberry Bush” for 99p and a very tatty copy of “Mrs Molesworth’s Four Winds Farm” for less than a fiver. I shan’t tell you what I paid for the “Baby’s Opera” but I am going to attend a book restoration workshop so I have told myself that this will be an investment. All of these titles were illustrated by my hero Walter Crane; my heart still skips a beat when I come across his work.

The other two books I bought in London, “Engraved Gardens” published by Primrose Hill Press Ltd is a beautiful book about wood engraving’s inspired by gardens. I came across “Twelve Poems about Birds” by Candlestick Press in The British Library bookshop; I bought it to give a friend on her birthday so I am hoping she won’t be reading this!

Happy days and reasons to be cheerful, part one.

It has been a very busy time here; lots of lovely projects and illustration commissions have kept me busy, so please forgive me if I have not visited your blog. I will endeavour to catch up soon.

I started work on the dream commission mentioned in my last blog post. I have checked with the publisher and have permission to tell you about it, although it is a work in progress and a million things could go wrong. “There is many a slip twixt cup and lip” but so far so good. The publisher will be Long Barn Books, which is owned by Susan Hill, It is a dream commission for lots of reasons, firstly because I have greatly admired Susan's work for many years now and am thrilled to bits to be working with her. Secondly, she tells me to take as much time as I need, how amazing is that? Time is something I will need plenty of because I am working on what seems like an enormous piece of paper and I want to cover the sheet with lots of details. As you may guess from the photo, I am illustrating “The Owl and the Pussycat” and the result will hopefully be available as a limited edition poster if all goes well. I am touching wood and crossing my fingers as I type this.



At the weekend I went along to my bookbinding group and took part in a workshop run by Mark Walmsley , we had a whole day of play - sheer bliss. The workshop was on Suminigashi sometimes called “cloud art” or “ghost art” and paste papers. We all made a great deal of mess and came home with an array of decorated papers for future projects.



I’ve also been looking for ideas for Christmas presents and once again I have raided this shop run by a very busy town mouse. Continuing on the handmade theme I have been covering little diaries with bits of decorated papers that I have accumulated over the years. Marbled paper, Tyvek recycled from Fed Ex envelopes, bits of mono print and a lovely new material called “stone leaf” sent to me to try by this company.

And, last but not least, we have finally got our children’s book application - "The Bird with the Rainbow Tail" which I have mentioned before here, into the iPad/iTunes store. You can see it here, if you are lucky enough to own an iPad, sadly I don’t have one but I know a man who does.

I hope your weeks are happy and busy too.

Gordon Setter.

I have been busy working on Easter artwork and a couple of commissioned pieces, none of which I can show you yet. This piece is something I did to illustrate a poem by Robert Burn’s; it was published by Kingfisher and appeared in “A Little Book of Dogs”. I am not entirely sure if the dog in question was actually a Gordon Setter but that was what I was instructed to paint by the editor at the time.

On Friday I hope to take it over to Chester where I will meet up with “Books Illustrated”, and so, in preparation for handing over the original I had the image scanned at my local repro house where they have a wonderful drum scanner. The repro house used to serve many of the local pottery companies; it is a sad sign of the times that in the last six months I was the only artist who used this facility. I dread to think what will happen if this scanner fails, it will be too expensive to repair and I have been unable to find another in my area. Of course I have a scanner here but there is no comparison in image quality. Before the world went digital I used to have my artwork photographed and put onto three inch by five inch transparencies, the problem now is the photographer cannot find suppliers of large format film. It is all very worrying and very sad, especially as I have to drive past so many closed down factories in what used to be the very heart of our pottery industry, poor old Stoke-on Trent!

On A Dog Of Lord Eglinton’s

I never barked when out of season,
I never bit without a reason;
I ne'er insulted weaker brother,
Nor wronged by force or fraud another.
We brutes are placed a rank below;
Happy for man could he say so.

Robert Burns

When life gets me down I find great solace in dogs especially my own little Jack Russell Ted. He makes me smile without fail; he lifts my spirits and keeps me fit. He gives me unconditional love and devotion and asks nothing in return except his keep. A dog that belonged to Lord Eglinton inspired this poem by Robert Burns but I think it will strike a chord with many dog owners.

Sky Walk at Kew.

Before too much time passes, I would like to share with you a wonderful day trip to Kew gardens; we actually went there in September but no matter. We caught a ferry at Westminster Bridge and sailed up the Thames on a sparklingly bright and sunny day. On route we passed many landmarks, houses and gardens of the rich and famous, gradually the scenery started to change from man made to a more natural environment; we saw many herons fishing and huge birds which I believe to be black cormorants which for some reason made me think of Edgar Allen Poe! They certainly had an air of mystery about them.



After a leisurely sail we eventually alighted at Kew pier and walked along the river to the entrance gate, remembering the days when you could go through the turnstile for a penny. The gardens are vast with so many delights on offer, far too many to relate here so I will just show you a few of the things we saw. We made a beeline for the newly constructed skywalk, I loved the idea of walking above the tree canopies and the climb to the top did not disappoint, although I did feel rather queasy looking straight down.



There was every kind of tree you can imagine and more, avenues planted with holly, each one different from the last, magnificent horse chestnuts, maples, alders, firs and beeches and of course oak trees, my favourite being the Lucombe Oak, which was first planted in 1773.



If you have ever been to Kew you will know how huge it is; we must have walked miles that day, in and out of hot houses, through Japanese gardens, we drank tea beneath the shade of a rambling vine and watched butterflies, bees and dragonflies until we had sensory overload! Foot sore and weary we made our way back to the pier in time to catch the last boat home and planned our next garden visit, this time to the Chelsea Physic garden, but that as they say, is another story for another day.



Generations pass while some trees stand,
and old families last not three oaks.
Sir Thomas Browne (1658).