Beaks & Bills...

Charles Darwin noted that bird beaks (or bills) have evolved to suit the ecological niche they fill. This has resulted in a great variety of different shapes and colours. Use of the term beak or bill seems to be associated with some confusion! Using some watercolour pencils I attempted to draw a few birdies.
The Arctic Tern, a strong seabird with a dark red beak, which dips down to the surface of the water to catch prey close to the surface.
The Common Teal, a dabbling duck which feeds on the surface without diving.
And the beautiful Kingfisher, with its long pointed bill for swooping to to water to get its prey.

Tranquility!

Tranquil tapestry is finished, coursework is ready to be posted. Bliss! I am quite happy with the way the tapestry turned out. Its size is 29cm x 13cm.
In hindsight I should have actually attached the cartoon to the back of the loom, rather than just glancing at it occasionally! Oh well, it is an artistic interpretation! And although I brought all the yarns from the same company, they varied in width, which meant I had to compensate in certain areas. A learning curve! :)
I can't relax too much though, as I have set myself a deadline to finish project 10 (my final OCA textiles 1 project!) before my holiday at the start of May. Must get on with my birdies...

Weaving away...

Progress on the tranquil tapestry is slower than I'd imagined due to an attack of the dreaded lurgi.

As bright as a button!

I love buttons, certainly no koumpounophobia for me, some proof of this can be seen here. One of my favourite things is the feeling of putting my hands in to a big jar of buttons! This, luckily for me, has been a button filled weekend. Yesterday my local EG branch had a very informative talk on buttons from Jane Freshwater. She shared her amazing collection of buttons, everything from intricately made Dorset buttons for holding up your smalls, to brightly coloured 1930s bakelite buttons.
Today it was the 1st birthday of the Glasgow Central Stitch 'n' Bitch group. To celebrate we had party games and a wonderful cake, with a very apt topping!
One of the games was 'guess how many buttons in the jar' and at a guess of 165 - I won! Hurrah! And my prize... the buttons!
Quick update on my tranquil tapestry, after two hours of weaving I have achieved a grand total of two inches. Now, I really must get back to work!

Tranquil Tapestry

For project 9 I've decided to base my tapestry weaving on the word 'tranquil'. The OED defines it as 'free from disturbance; calm'. But what does it look like?

Calm seas, water flowing, muted natural colours?
Gentle blended colours, blurred edges?
I have collected my threads, now to get weaving!