01/04/2014
arranging cloth
You could call it playing I suppose....moving bits of embroidered cloth around on backgrounds, looking, thinking. The purpose is to inform. Did it? Not sure yet, you can be the judge of that when I'm done. These are all pieces which will be added to the ''lemon pouch''. That should be finished before too long and then you can let me have your verdict.
I'm getting frustrated at inconvenience today. Nothing serious in the big scheme of things, just normal, every day things but at the moment they are an annoyance because I just want to be reclusive, be left alone to play, to stitch, to make notes, to plan. Remember when you were a small child and you thought that if you couldn't see people then they couldn't see you? Like hiding under the covers in bed? (maybe that was just me!) anyway, I'm considering whether that is an effective strategy for an adult, considering putting a bag over my head in the hope it makes me invisible.
Before I disappear though, become invisible....Simply Stitch 4......read more here......
01/03/2014
Simply Stitch 4
***you do not need to have participated in any of my previous online learning programmes in order to take part in simply stitch four. There are no prerequisites for simply stitch four.***
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Simply stitch 4 has no deadlines, no set tasks. Groups which are
formed through my online learning programmes are communities, friendly,
interactive, supportive communities. It is my hope that each individual
course takes place within a relaxed, informal and ''comfortable'' online
environment.
You are welcome to dip and and out of our experience as and when it is convenient for YOU. Access is permanent....forever.
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Access to a private
blog with regular, minimum twice weekly blog posts which will be
created specifically for this group included. These posts will NOT
appear on my public blog, they will be exclusive to this group. Video
posting fortnightly minimum.
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Commencing Monday February 24 for SIX MONTHS Simply stitch 4, a gathering of cloth and embroiderers is my latest online learning programme born from a desire to get ''back to basics'', hand stitch at it's purest. This online creative experience will take the form of a very relaxed and gentle gathering of cloth and embroiderers, those who have an affinity with handling cloth, working with cloth. We will gather together and embroider, I will discuss my plans, my inspiration, the preparation and creation of embroidered cloth. I will demonstrate technique and process throughout. I can guarantee that there will be embroidery, embellishment, manipulation of cloth. I will share thoughts along with the more tangible sources which drive me. I will doodle, you will be encouraged to do the same.
It is my hope that you bring your own work along with you, to share and discuss with the group. We will guide and support each other, sharing tips and process, a gathering of girls for ''online'' afternoon tea.
You are welcome to continue and /or begin your own projects within the forum of this class. You are also welcome to observe and plan work around the pieces I create. If you do not wish to embroider then that is fine too. You can just follow along with us as I record my personal, creative process. You will be given access to me, my day, my embroidery with demonstration, discussion and instruction throughout.
*** There are no deadlines. There are no set tasks. This is an informal and relaxed process which is purely concerned with enjoyment and companionship.***
Video will be hosted on our private pasword protected blog and there will be a dedicated flickr group where you can upload images and interact with your peers by means of private discussion.
Upon registration you will be sent a brief e-mail to confirm your seat at the table.
Suitable for beginners and the more experienced.
01/02/2014
back to white for a short time
I have a lot of pieces ''on the go'' at the moment, mostly they are wrapped up in SS3. I finished one of those SS3 pieces last night, quite early, a few hours before bedtime. That was damp stretched and then I had a choice, thumb twiddling or embroidery. No contest...is there ever?
White came to the rescue. A few pieces which no longer fit within the ''body bag'' yet will fit together perfectly and form a white silk pouch. Lace was added to a seam and one single solitary web stitch was embroidered. (I can't believe I didn't photograph the web stitch, capture it in these pictures if only as proof that it exists. You will have to trust me on that one)
This may well be laid aside again for a few days. Tonight will be about a hexagon...yes just one hexagon and perhaps a little cross stitch.
01/01/2014
a closer look and dreaming of turkey
Happy Wednesday everyone. I said I would and I am. Show you the lemon work close up I mean. Here it is. One of these pieces is new, the prominent piece with the plain background. Laid next to the other pouch pieces it appears to fit, to be at home. A hand bound buttonhole has also found its way into these pictures and that will form part of the surface of this pouch too. I feel as if i've never been away. One week on and I've slipped back into my usual inane rambling easily, without as much as a stutter. It's all pouches, embroidery, buttonholes, cloth.....
This time last week it was so very different. It wasn't pouches, embroidery, buttonholes and cloth It was turkey and rich food, gravy and tasty morsels. Today? Nothing at all of any excitement taste wise is to be found in this house. The memory of last week has me longing for last weeks food. Today, for lunch, I had a slice of chicken that was drier than a desert dwellers flip flop.....the cupboards are bare. I say sack the housekeeper, (yes that's me. I live in hope). Or, an even better idea, if you are planning a turkey dinner anytime today please invite me, save me a seat.
English definition of “flip-flop”
flip-flop
noun [C usually plural] (SHOE) /ˈflɪp.flɒp/12/31/2013
continuing....
Yes, continuing yesterdays cluttered theme but with different stuff. You will be astounded to hear that I spent over an hour ''sorting out'' yesterday afternoon. I know, I'm shocked too. I am delighted though. I quite like this clutter free existence, the catch? I can't guarantee it will last very long. For now I will enjoy it, appreciate the lack of chaos.
The final things to get sorted were my ''in progress'' embroideries. Don't get me wrong, I always take care of these pieces just not in any organised kind of way. Sorting through them reminded me of what they still require in terms of embroidery, technique, process. So that's all clear then.....at least I hope it is.....I did make notes......get me, making notes.
Tomorrow I will show you more of this embroidered piece, the piece which is festooned with lemon.
12/30/2013
stuff....
I thought I would show you a small amount of the ''stuff'' that is piling up in my front room, my dining room, my computer room, my sewing room, the room multi tasks. I have my mojo back. I have a new list, a long list.
I dived straight into creating and planning after Christmas without doing any ''sorting out''. I will take a few minutes to do a bit of that later. It will be two minutes sorting out and two hours embroidery, then another two minutes sorting out and another two hours embroidery......you know how it is.
I also wanted to say, in advance, that I will not be wishing anyone a ''Happy New Year''. I have a problem with that in so far as I wish you a happy Whole Life......and when all is said and done it will just be Wednesday.
(SS3...there will be a chatty video for you tomorrow.)
12/29/2013
Busy!
I'm not skiving honest. It's a hive of creativity here.
Sent from Samsung Mobile
12/28/2013
Inspire
All printed images in these photographs are c. Sara Fanelli
Hi!!!! Long time no see. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, holiday, break, time, few days. I hope you ate wonderful food, shared great days with your family, your friends, your dogs, your cats your cloth.
I had a brilliant Christmas, good company, too much food, lots of domestic goddessing....that will be the last of the domestic achievements for a while I can tell you....it's embroidery time!!!
My visitors left this morning. The house seems empty yet it's good to have our space back. Does that make sense? I have tidied, I have restocked the cupboards, (I intend to have an embroidery induced reclusive phase, not going anywhere except maybe the shed) and the washing machine is working overtime. I am only ''sort of'' back. I may not make it here every day for a little while but today I am on a mission, a mission to get my mo jo back. I didn't lose it really but I have become distracted from it. I went to London then it was Christmas. No embroidery has happened here for sooooo long.
This morning I played a little with this amazing book I was given by my son and his girlfriend. A beautifully illustrated edition of Pinocchio, artwork/illustration by Sara Fanelli. Check out the link her work is amazing.
I printed some pages, I laid pieces of my embroidered work on them, I imagined embroidered backgrounds. I would NEVER copy anyones work but how could this fail to inspire? Just owning this book, having the art to admire, being lucky enough to examine the colour and pattern....it makes me feel good, it motivates me...I aspire.
12/22/2013
Liberty prints and embroidery
Home again.......did you miss me......OK, I know, you were glad of the rest. I had a brilliant few days in London, seeing the sights, Christmas shopping, taking pictures and overloading instagram!
I bought gifts, I bought vintage cloth....more of that after the holidays.......and I bought some snippets of Liberty printed cloth. There were so many to choose from and at £22 per metre I couldn't possibly afford to get them all so I bought offcuts instead, a good plan don't you think?
I also spent a fair amount of time drooling at the V & A.....I would recommend a visit there in a heart beat.
So I'm off again now, some big fella in a red suit is coming on Wednesday and I'm supposed to be getting ready....I just wanted to say hi...I missed you....
12/21/2013
This beautiful cloth forms the
This beautiful cloth forms the window display at the Levi store on Regent Street. I'm guessing it's denim. Whatever it is it's beautiful and made me happy.
Today I'm off on a vintage hunt. Wish me luck.
Sent from Samsung Mobile
12/19/2013
The most exquisite lace cuff
The most exquisite lace cuff from the V&A London.
Sent from Samsung Mobile
12/17/2013
more lace
I'm not having a good day.....this is lace, it's white. I have a lot of white cloth, lace, white embroidery in my house as I'm sure you can imagine. So do I need THIS in my home? I don't think so. It's all explained in the link.......deep breaths Karen, count to ten.....
OK...moving on. This is ''old'' work, lovingly cared for, stored behind glass, (thank goodness considering the above link, big sigh of relief) It is what I have left the SS3 group to ponder over the holidays.
In the New Year I will be talking about SS4, a new format, more relaxed, less cracking of the whip!!! Would you be interested? Pray tell......
It seems the world has retired behind close doors for the holidays. Visits to this little place of rambling are plummeting, I am going to London, I have a turkey to cook. So I am retiring, taking leave of you all temporarily. I will most likely return on 28th.....stuffed full of turkey and all the trimmings.....visitors gone....gifts unwrapped...
Wishing you all everything you wish for yourselves. To those of you who do not celebrate Christmas I wish you the same, I wish each and every one of you happiness every day...not just on December 25.
(SS3....I will be seeing you on flickr from 22nd....you don't get rid of me that easily!!)
12/16/2013
working with lace cloth
I'm beginning to wind down for christmas. Embroidery is still happening, as if that would ever stop but other things need to be done too and I am going away on Wednesday, a few days in London with my daughter. My plan is to leave the house clean when I go so that when I return all I need to do is cook. Yikes!! Cook???? But cook I must. Home made sage and onion stuffing. Home made trifle. Home made cheesecake....who knew I was a domestic goddess? Then again, the proof will be in the eating.
Meanwhile I have been working with lace cloth. I had a couple of days last week of making lace cloth and those three pieces have now been joined, titivated only slightly but that is on the to do list, titivate, titivate, titivate and cook.....
12/15/2013
lace cloth, silk, body bag.....
I was gathering bits this morning, laying stuff out to take stock, to make a tentative plan in my head of where to go next. Wouldn't you know, another distraction appeared, something else wormed its way into my head, a plan, an idea. I will have to put it out of my mind though.....I will. It's nearly Christmas. I'm going to London for 5 days on Wednesday. I am visiting the V&A where no doubt there will be more distractions. I need to go and lie down.
It was the top picture that did it. The lace cloth laid on the body bag. Doesn't that look like it has potential? It does to me. They are two completely separate pieces of work but they have morphed into something marvellous in my head.....Be gone!!!! Oh my....what's a girl to do????
The lace cloth is evolving into a worthy piece in its own right. I have worked on it, changed it, added to it. The body bag, well the body bag, (insert a huge sigh of happiness) I am completely and totally in love with the body bag. It has a certain quality to it that I can't quite put my finger on. It's the drape, the weight, the softness of the seams where the silk meets the muslin....enough already there's work to be done.
12/14/2013
sections....taking shape
I have joined two pieces of silk which were created as part of the ''body bag'' process. I'm not sure now whether they will stay as part of that project as it is evolving in terms of colour, pattern etc. and veering away from the original concept (in my head) to a stronger palette in terms of colour and to more defined surface patterning. Does that make sense? I do speak about this in tomorrows SS3 but for those of you who aren't in that group I have just put it the best way I can without actually verbalising. Basically I'm not sure these pieces fit there anymore.
As you see it here, laid on this section of the ''body bag'' ledger I think you can see that it was conceived from this, that it fits with this paper based work. It's the other pieces of work on cloth which have moved on, which have ''shoved'' these two out of the picture.
So there it is....clear as mud.....
I'm sorry. If there is a long winded way of saying something then I will find it. If you can hang on until I show the other sections, maybe tomorrow, then it will become clearer. Honest!
Idiom: Clear as mud
Idiom Definitions for 'Clear as mud'
12/13/2013
a list, of the best kind....
Yesterday I made lace cloth, two pieces. I am hoping to make another piece later today. I have a plan for these and the simply stitch group but don't worry, you will get to see it too. I have so many plans at the moment that I need a list. That's where the list comes from in the title. The list should be called ''plans''. This is a good list though.....it's a list of things I am desperate to do, excited to do as opposed to things I do out of necessity like ironing, cleaning, shopping, you know....the usual chore stuff.
Oh and before I go completely off topic........lace cloth....you can see more of that here, here and here.
So, plans......my plans.....
1 make more lace cloth
2 embroider on some handkerchiefs
3 pleat muslin
4 embellish seams on the body bag
5 extend the lemon pouch
I could go on but then I won't be doing any of it will I. Instead I will be tapping away here without a single stitch being created.
12/12/2013
cutwork on lemon
Well it's extremely dreary here in Lancashire today, damp, drizzly, grey.....the lemon brightens it for me though so I hope it does the same for you. More cutwork has been worked on the lemon pouch. They are similar yet very different. There is a mixture of edges, of internal embellishments. There are French knots, Bullion knots and some tiny surface knots that remind me of fried eggs! Who said I was boring....I even give you fried eggs......
The next time I pick this up will be the weekend when I will extend it in terms of length. I have a plan for that. I am excited.
12/11/2013
coming together....
Sections of the body bag/sampler cloth are being joined now, pleated muslin alongside embroidered silk pieces. For the moment they are just tacked, I plan to titivate seams this evening. There are also strips to be added, to bind the muslin, It will all become clear.
Going forward, I will need more pleated muslin and more binding strips. I'm not in a hurry but I am excited.
The lemon pouch from yesterday had more embroidery added last night. That is waiting to be damp stretched. I do need to extend that piece and I have a plan for that. I will be doing that over in SS3 this weekend and then you will get to see next week.
I hope all your Christmas plans are coming together. I have a HUGE list....I thought I was organised but I ran out of tags and wrapping paper yesterday so this afternoon I must go out and replenish my stock. My turkey was ordered last week. It's so big it probably needs to go in the oven tomorrow!!
12/10/2013
lemon cohesion
Did you think I wasn't coming today? I nearly never made it. I don't know why. I've been awake since 6 am. Everything is taking twice as long as it usually does and then I had an appointment I had forgotten about.....at least my feet are happy now.......
Another pouch today, the lemon one. Can you see the theme extending across the piece? A little lemon here, a little lemon there. We had a lemon sun this morning too. It was very ''yellow''....I can see the effect of that on these images can you.
I like the ''prettiness'' of this one but I will need to extend it size wise I think, make it longer...otherwise it will be a ''pretty'' yet tiny pouch.
Now a question for the Simply Stitch group. Does the cutwork from yesterday still look like a dogs dinner? Or have I rescued it?
12/09/2013
the second white pouch
I am working on another white pouch. This one is very different. This one has metallic silk tissue and off white fabrics alongside vintage trims and old cloth. The first one, this one, was a much brighter white. I am still surprised at times when I see the variations of ''white'' and the subtle differences between different pieces of white cloth.
I am adding a lot of ''bumpy bits'' , applique and cross stitch to this one. Bullion knots are creeping in too. I had hoped that this would be finished and in the shop before Christmas......ha...not a chance. There are far too many distractions around here.
It would appear that ''the sore throat'' is a common affliction this week. A few of you are suffering too. I empathise. I wake constantly in the night unable to swallow, it's like having glass in my throat. Then, when I get up and have a warm drink it eases considerably. I think the answer is to have a coffee drip inserted before I go to sleep.....
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