Beaded necklaces

These necklaces have been made using a strip of fabric, with enough material at each end to tie in a knot or bow when wearing the necklace.

The “black background, patterned material”, with the dusty pink beads, is a Liberty Print, the others are cotton prints.

The necklaces are made with alternating 1.5cm (approx) polystyrene balls and pony beads. Each necklace has 19 or 20 polystyrene balls and 19 or 20 pony beads, and each is approx one metre long.I thought these would make great presents for friends, (thinking - get organised for Christmas) or to wear myself with a choice of colours to suit different outfits!

Twiddle muff

Volunteers are needed to knit these for dementia patients (see various internet sites) - mine has buttons inside and loops outside, for twiddling, plus an owl pocket for a hanky/specs/phone/purse - and the different textures of wool add interest.

Silk painting

This is a new venture to me, so I've had to do lots of internet research, and buy lots of new equipment.

I'm not sure if this is the right way to paint on silk ... I did a design on A4 and traced it onto freezer paper (plastic coated paper) which I then ironed onto my piece of silk. Next I traced all the outline with gold "gutta", trying to make sure there were no gaps for the silk paint to leak through. The gutta is like a resist (barrier) to stop the paint spreading into areas you don't want that colour. Then came the fun bit of painting ... and after removing the freezer paper and ironing the silk to "set" the colours, I put the picture into a double mount using double-sided tape.

Turquoise-blue patchwork bag

Happy to say the turquoise-blue shades bag is now finished