And now for something entirely different....

Last weekend I took a workshop in Polymer Clay-Complex Canes.  This wasn't my first workshop, but I tend to make a bunch of stuff and then leave the clay alone for lengthy periods of time.  So what does this have to do with Needle and Thread?  I love to use the clay items in both my hand work and art quilting. Sometimes I use pieces as a focal item and design an entire small piece around them.  This is particularly effective if I use a background of needle felting, hand embellished , and then add a clay button or cabochon as the focus.  These pieces are usually about 8" by 10", and have sold well at craft and art shows--so well that I have none to show.

I also make beads.  One of my signature techniques of the use of mass beading on some of my more art-y pieces.  I love the challenge of making the pieces, and many of them have sold well, and for a good price. Again there is no picture, as I lost them all in a computer crash.  Oh Dear!

Well the best bet is to show you the items I created this weekend.
Beads, Cabochons, and some molded pieces. 

 Using the mold is very useful.  While one of the best features of the clay is the vibrant colours available, all polymer clay items can be painted with acrylic paint.  I've even toyed with the idea of using gold leaf on it. The grey faces are headed for the next reliquary I make, and the white ones may come into use, if the grey ones aren't quite right.  The discs are headed for a small embroidery.  The beads will just go into my collection of beads, to be used when the right project turns up. ( Oh do I have beads, more than I'll ever use, but great fun to play with!) The flat pieces toward the upper right of the photo will likely become focal pieces in smaller works.  I've got to think about the flat molded pieces, but tend to think they might end up in a reliquary as well.

And I still have lots and lots of clay to play with.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network.