while we were away .... again

we've been off in the caravan again - the plan was a week in winchester and off to the IOW for a week, but i got a nasty bug and wasn't fit to do anything so IOW was cancelled and i was on minimum activity - at least it was a cheap stay as i couldn't get to any shops :-( fortunately mick kept me supplied with tasty treats, notably 'maison blanc' goodies :-)

made some good progress on PHC piece despite brainfog - started with a couple of small weaves with bow-tie fabric - i had taken very limited supplies with me so improvisation was called for when i had ideas beyond my resources - i wanted copper wire so mick found me some scrap electric cable which i stripped ... perfect! - then the plan was to stitch in the outline of a map of mauritius, very faintly, but i only had white thread and wanted something less white ..... so i tea-dyed some white thread - all very much in the spirit of boro-man!

this detail shows a silk bow-tie weave with running stitch "darning" and blanket stitch in steel wire from dad's stash - i remember telling daddy that we had learned blanket stitch in school and he told me that he used the same stitch on gums after tooth extraction sometimes, so i've always associated it with him

since coming home i've started positioning various bits and pieces for embellishment - i need to do some more stitch and fabric work on the background so these are still in the development process- it's mainly items from my stash of memorabilia: electrical components, watch parts, hardware, coins from his travels - it's been fun putting them together, a bit 'steam-punk' at times!

i need to incorporate some photography references too, but not quite thought that through yet - maybe beads made from film negatives ......? and i'm wondering about some rust prints of keys - this really is getting to be fun!