Stitch, Paint, Stitch

In the last post I mentioned a charity dog quilt I made.  Well I've had the photos back.  This is the lovely English Pointer Bruc snuggled up in his new home in Scotland with it and teddy.   

The request came at very short notice and with a lot of tooing and froing of messages.  We decided on a nice blue colour for him and to just keep it simple.  The Foster carers wanted a couple of days to have the blanket with them to make it smelly so he wouldn't be leaving them without something he knew.  

Couldn't have been a simpler design but i did manage to quilt his name into it.  

Summer returned very briefly at the end of August and it was lovely.  We had a good walk with friends and the lunch afterwards was rather nice too even if there was the most enormous thunderstorm.  Luckily it didn't come over while we were all out in the middle of nowhere! 

Did I show a pastel painting I did of Ruby?  I don't think so.  She's a Griffon and a mischievous minx.  Her mum says I caught that look in her eyes.  Bless her.  

I was recently given a box with some old and very, very decrepit bibles.  They are truly in a right mess.  Totally foxed, old damp and falling to pieces from what bindings they have.  I was given them with the reasoning that I make books and could probably use them in my art.  I was sad to see them in such a state and, as thier future wasn't looking too bright, I brought them home.  Now I'm not religious but I do have respect for a Bible and what it stands for.  I was in a bit of a dilemma over what to do with them.  In the end I asked the opinion of a group of bookmakers I am in and in the end the overwhelming consensus was to use them as they were only good for the bin, the words in them should already be in the heart of those to whom it matters and surely it's better to keep them alive in some small way anyway.  As so many of the replies were from practising Christians I felt better about that.  

I still only started with a hand sized New Testament, still dated 1880 mind, and looked up online verses which were classed as favorites.  I took the plunge and cut the verses from the book, mounted onto linen and then into a scroll book.  

I'd like to think I have made something good out of a bad thing. I won't feel so guilty over using the rest of the little book now but it is only 6x4 inchs.  Still not sure what to do with the others which are enormous tombs but maybe the fact that they're not in a tip or burnt is enough for now.  Am I being daft?? Who knows.