This week I made my annual pilgrimage to Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace for those of you in far flung places) to the Knitting and Stitching show.  There, those of a textile persuasion gather to indulge their passion…….. to look, to touch and to buy.  So much to buy…… and I did put my hand in my pocket: my purchase, a magnificent magnifying glass with daylight LEDs – wonderful.

Magnifier

This year the exhibition felt very different for me, I finally felt that textiles was no longer my ‘thing’: don’t get me wrong I still love fabric, yarn and cloth in all its wondrous variety but it no longer grabs me to ‘do it myself’, it’s been a long goodbye  but it’s over.  Contributing to that feeling was meeting someone from my past quilting life who was exhibiting there and it felt really good to catch up with her and hear about other members of the Quilt Art group of which I used to be a member but I have really moved on (at last).

Back to more pressing matters, the nasty stain on my drawing.  I don’t know how it got there or what it is but it looks like watercolour (but it can’t be).  I decided that I would try and remove it using ‘the Milton method’ that I learned from Ann Swan .  Milton fluid is used in the UK to sterilise infant feeding equipment.

The Problem

So the method is to use a cotton bud and dab the solution onto the mark, not rubbing and then to blot it off using tissue.  I tried it out on a spare piece of paper first  and then went for it!  Slowly as I dabbed and blotted the mark faded and I was left with a wet patch.

Waiting

Finally the paper dried and the mark was gone – amazing…..

Gone

Very happy with the result, now that it is fully dry it does not show at all, especially as the mark will not be as enlarged as the above photo.  I then tidied up my picture, erasing all the other marks and sharpened up my edges.

Finished image

Finished picture is called ‘Ripening’, I really enjoyed working on it and realise that may be because as a ‘recovering quilt maker’ I am very attached to repetition and pattern.