01/10/2017
gimp and bullion knots on a pillow top
Embroidery is happening on one of the pieces of cloth from yesterday. One of the pieces has been cut in two and a piece of silk Dupion has been tacked into the space created. I then added a curly gimp edge secured with bullion knots. So far there is a single bumpy bit on the silk Dupion...there will be more.
Yesterday I also spoke about my ''octagon'' situation. I ordered pre cut octagon templates. My excitement was mounting. They have just arrived. Only one problem......they sent me hexagons by mistake. Can you hear me crying?
(I will be calling them)
01/09/2017
three pillow tops and octagon lift off!
You might remember I have been wanting to play with octagons for quite some time. I ordered templates...they were too big, (you're right, I didn't read it properly!) So I allowed the urge to rest, basically I didn't so anything about it because I had other things to do and Santa was coming. However, the urge returned with a vengeance so I printed some onto paper which I then stuck to card, my printer doesn't like card. That was a bit of a disaster.....I am glue averse anyway so that didn't surprise me to be honest. Despite this I managed to get one card template cut out which I then used to draw around...result. There are only seven here, that's as far as I have got. I have ordered more pre cut templates...the correct size I hope.....I will play with this a little more when they arrive. It's those little squares which have got me excited...the possibilities for those open spaces.
The cloth? The snippet cloth surfaces? There are three of those each measuring approximately five inches square....not very big. I have plans for those, pin pillow related plans......
Embroidery School opened it's doors this morning. If you registered you should have received mail from me this morning about Flickr and about live videos. If you haven't received those please let me know.
If you think you might want to join us you can read more here.
01/08/2017
Suffolk puffs as an edge for pocket openings
The drip, drip of images taken of different sections of my happy cloth continues. Slowly this cloth is getting finished, titivation's added when I make a decision on what I want and where. The latest of these is the addition of Suffolk puffs to pocket tops. When this cloth is completely finished the position of these pockets on the surface will be evident in the video show and tell I intend to make for you. Meanwhile I have to decide what to put on edges, how many, which edge, a full edge or a partial edge....so many decisions, such an indecisive embroiderer.
01/07/2017
investigating
I'm investigating, making enquiries....sampling to be honest, nothing more complicated than that. It's not the surfaces I'm sampling or the mix of pattern, paper and cloth it's more my preference for one or more of these. These pieces are hopefully helping me decide what to include in my workshop packs for an upcoming London day of cake.....OK then, there will be stitching too if you insist.
I started this process way back....maybe 6 months ago now and I still haven't decided so expect to see more of this, similar pieces, lace, paper, maybe a little hand stitch too. I won't be finished when I have decided though....then the production line will commence.
A reminder.....Embroidery School opens on Monday.
01/06/2017
it's all about the happy cloth
I am completely consumed at the moment with putting my happy cloth together. It's all I am working on aside from one or two small things for the new class. The back is on, the edges are pinned, I have started to apply the finishing stitches to the edges and I'm deciding on buttons, beads, puffs and toggles to adorn the edges, deciding if I need more of those.
So these images are of progress with that taken with my phone over the last couple of days. There's also a couple taken whilst preparing for the new class along with one of some much needed new supplies and a little gift of cloth I received. (the sumptuous rust coloured cloth laid under my new threads)
This weekend I aim to finish the happy cloth. There will also be more backgrounds, pages, surfaces created with paper and delicate cloth.
01/05/2017
how paper might sit with cloth
Some of my stitched paper has been stitched to cloth. I wanted to test the idea, to sample, to try it out. Where you can see the pink and red papers here, they are merely laid alongside the stitched piece so I can look and ponder and make decisions on what to do next.
There's mileage here I am sure of it. Not only as finished pieces of embroidery but how about as backgrounds? as pages? as paper and cloth sheets for collage? I will definitely be doing more of this....
If you are registered for ''Embroidery School'', you should have received mail from me today. If you haven't received that can you please let me know.
01/04/2017
ingredients for a pocket
One piece of silk dupion embroidered, appliqued, added gimp, added French knots, added bullion knots. One piece of silk velvet embroidered, appliqued, added gimp, added French knots, added bullion knots. Put them right sides together, stitch three sides and hey presto you have a pocket. This pocket will go in the seam between the front and back of my happy cloth. It's a happy pocket. I will be sewing my front and back together in less than an hour.....I am so excited.
01/03/2017
damp stretched
Here it is, damp stretched, pristine, titivated to within an inch of its life. When my happy cloth is completely finished, edged, adorned, backed I will make you a quick video.
There's a kind of hole left when a big project like this finishes.....it becomes part of your every day and although this one isn't quite complete yet I can feel that ''hole'' creeping up on me.
01/02/2017
stitched, paper and beads
There is a stitch marathon going on here, working on my happy cloth to get it finished before the new class starts. I mentioned yesterday that embroidery on the front was finished and that section is now damp stretched. Meanwhile I am working on the reverse. I am almost there, almost. Alongside the happy cloth I have been stitching paper and tiny beads/buttons . The buttons are for an edge of my cloth, the paper is a kind of ''warm up'' exercise for the new class and a gathering which is happening in London, in April.
The paper and beads have been happening in snatched hour long segments during the afternoons...my evenings being devoted to my wrapping cloth. Tomorrow there will be images of the damp stretched, completed front section.
01/01/2017
the last one
It's the last one, it's November and December. These will be more familiar maybe as they are more recent. November and December were busy. I went to London, I went to Berlin, I had a decorator camped here for almost a week. I mostly worked on my happy cloth but there was a little bit of other stuff going on too.
The stitching, the paper, the collage, the ledger work, the buttons and beads and titivation's I've shown on here over the last week or so will all be present in one form or another in my new class which starts next Monday.
I would like to say a huge, humongous, massive, enormous thank you to all of you who have stitched with me this past 12 months. It's been an absolute joy! I hope to see some of you in 2017.
12/31/2016
ledgers, bling, silk, velvet and titivations
Better late than never.....Typepad had a bit of a meltdown earlier. Today it's September and October.....it's like a Ledger convention! Pages....pages....pages. It's also the end of Clara and the start of my ''happy cloth'' which by the way is now damp stretching! Yes, the front is finished, embroidered, titivated.....all I need to do now is finish the reverse and we're good to go. It's momentous.
I'm not a big celebrator of ''New Year'', it's just another day to me and besides.....I want you to always be happy not just in 2017 so I will share something I posted on Instagram earlier this week which was written by someone else....
''Merry everything and a happy always''.
12/30/2016
pockets, pages, lace and swatches....
July and August appears to have been a never ending stream of video....wow. How did I find the time? I still have September, October, November and December to get though too. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
(Embroidery School. Begins Monday January 9)
A tiny green spotty pocket
A page and a scrap of lace
Blue and white, lace and silk.
Pinning cloth
A lace edge
Swatches, a page
Sample portfolio
12/29/2016
an hour of play
I spent an hour on my sewing machine this morning with paper scraps, a fine cloth background and a paper background. I would have spent longer but life got in the way. This was a little distracting too, a new app to put together a little flip show. I can't figure out how to get this on Instagram. If you know can you please tell me. ( I tried to embed it on here too but no luck? Any experts on Stellar out there?)
Then I went thorough July and August. You were so spoilt in July and August...so many videos. I am going to post those tomorrow.......today it's the images.
12/28/2016
getting back to normal
Hello! How are you? How have you been? Have you had a good time? Was the big guy good to you?
I had a great few days, domestic goddessing, kitchen, cooking, eating, washing pots.....loved it, really. Good company, lots of chat too....I'm tired now though, I could sleep for a week.
I have made it to June in my little ''look back over the year''. I think I will be doing two together next time......can't leave any out! June of course was the month of this event......I remember it well.
There was a video too.....
Don't forget.....Embroidery school opens in just over a week!
12/24/2016
Four
May, my birthday and four videos and sample portfolios and Clara and the pink gingham and silk wrapping cloth. I can't linger today, I have domestic goddess duties to attend to. I have been up since the crack of dawn today, cheesecake made, trifle made, Ruane towers spick and span......I hope Santa got the letter where I asked for a maid.
I will be gone for three whole days. How will I manage???
Pattern
Complimentary Paperwork.
A collection, show and tell.
Bullion knots over piping cord.
12/23/2016
glimpses
There's no looking back today...this is now, this is current....embroidery for my happy cloth and some pinned scraps for accessories for said cloth. Then there are glimpses from this week, Christmas week, gifts, (last two images) I must have been very good this year...shhhh. It was my wedding Anniversary last Saturday too....beautiful flowers.
I hope you are all getting excited about the upcoming visit from the man in the red suit. If he's not your type and you don't celebrate Santa then I wish you excitement and happiness in other ways. I will be back tomorrow. I can't keep away. I will get up half an hour earlier to get my chores finished.
A reminder.
Embroidery School Stitch Along
Begins Monday January 9 for 12 weeks.
Online format.... Private password protected blog.
Access.... Unlimited. Forever.
Materials required.... List sent upon registration.
Embroidery school stitch along.... an online learning programme, hand stitch at it's purest.
Be a fly on my wall for 12 weeks. Observe my creative process, learn from my successes and my mistakes as I sample, as I construct embroidered surfaces from patches of cloth, snippets of hankies and decorative trims along with other found cloth both new and vintage. Witness the development of paper based works for use in design sheets and ledgers, in sketchbooks. Create what I create or embroider your own pieces whilst observing and learning from my creativity.
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 and the manipulation of cloth. I will share thoughts along with the more tangible sources which drive me.
Through membership of our private Flickr forum join a very supportive and close knit group of stitchers who are there to encourage and advise, to share resources, process and friendship.
***No prerequisites, suitable for beginners and the more experienced.***
You do not need to have participated in any of my previous online learning programmes to take part in ''Embroidery School, stitch along''.
12/22/2016
one of my favourites
The first image here has to be one of my favourites from this year....yards and yards of lace cloth being put together, day after day for my workshop in France. The last two images are from France, my hand leafing through a little Artist Book and someone from the workshop group working hard embroidering, titivating. I'm on April just in case you hadn't realised. There are labels here which were attached to thread wraps for my workshop packs, colours named in French. (I hope you're impressed!) and lots of ledger pages, tiny samples, little doodles.
There were two videos in April too......
A page
Doodle Doo
12/21/2016
another video?
It's March today and there's another video. (from March) I made a lot of things in March. It must have looked like a button factory for one thing! I was probably panicking abut France, (teaching and exhibiting in April) . Sometimes I wish I had kept some of these things when I am looking back like this but then I think there would be no room for me in the house if I did that.
The wrapping cloth in the video I kept, that was always meant for me along with the cloth in the second image so I guess I don't fare badly when it comes to retaining things.
Will I get to April before the year ends? Maybe but I'm not sure I will get to December, we are running out of days and I've got sprouts to peel.
The video? A wrapping cloth show and tell.....
12/20/2016
how unfinished might inspire what's to come
Three unfinished pieces from 2016....I've been sorting out, tidying up, making room for Christmas guests, Christmas gifts, Christmas dinner, Christmas stuff, that's how I came to spend some time looking at these.
My focus for the early part of next year will be my new class and a little gathering which is happening in London in April. These pieces may well become the starting point for both those things. My new class will almost certainly involve some preparation for the April gathering. I will be working on pieces for workshop packs, surfaces of lace, paper and embroidery which we will embellish on the day. Perhaps I will create little adornments too, tiny little Suffolk puffs, cupped and embroidered ball buttons....there are many possibilities.
Meanwhile I am beavering away on my happy cloth. I am behind, the girls are waiting. I do hope to spend a little time playing with paper tomorrow morning though. Before I can do that there are chores.........best get to it then.
12/19/2016
two videos
You were spoilt in February. Two videos?! I've been doing it again, looking back.....today it's February. (I have nothing else to show you, my days are filled with wrapping paper, domestic chores, laundry and school work)
Do you remember January? The same applies here....too many images, too much choice. I have managed to whittle them down though. Most of these things left me in France, the buttons, the pin pillows...... except the pocket in the fourth image which was always intended to be for me. I fondle that every day.
The videos? One concerns a page, the other a little titivation.....if you have seen them before, if you remember them then skip this next bit!
A five minute page
A few glass beads
Monday January 9. New class.....Embroidery School. Read more here.
12/18/2016
I wonder?
And then there were three....three little ''kind of faces'' on one piece of silk, one half of a pocket. This particular piece is finished now, no further embroidery needed here. The paper piece? Well, I got to thinking how could I extend both these pieces (individually) (If had time, which I don't) I can however still think....and? Well...what if I put some of the ''kind of faces'' in amongst some of the surfaces on the paper piece? Mixed them up? Took a little bit of one and added it to the other? See where thinking gets you? It gets you something else you want to do but just don't have time for.
( I know I'm late for school today....stand by your computers...I am just waiting for the videos to upload)
12/17/2016
just January
I had an idea to look back at 2016, look back at my blog posts, my images. Wow.....I'm a bit of an addict aren't I? This is a a small selection just from January....there were hundreds of images to choose from....you've had a lucky escape!
France was on my mind here, my teaching opportunity in Nantes. You can read about that here, there are a few posts about the prep, the products and the afterwards images.
I can actually remember every stitch from January, every piece of cloth, every hour spent on the sewing machine creating lace cloth for pillows, for workshop packs. It was a joy......January and the Nantes experience. (there will be more about Nantes I am sure if I ever get to April...the actually month it was held)
Don't worry, you aren't going to get 12 of these posts in a row but I will be doing February some time soon.
12/16/2016
and then there were two....
My happy little friend from here now has a friend of his own. I now have two....I need five....I'm on it. They're not ''peas in a pod'', they're not meant to be. I don't think there will be any more with noses but I do think they will all have the new, fashionable hairstyle otherwise known as the ''curly gimp, French knot and bullion coiffure''.
I'm still playing ''embroidery catch up'' but I have a hankering for paper, ledgers, colour, play. I'm wondering where I can fit that in today. Maybe I won't, maybe it will have to be tomorrow.....I am determined though.
12/15/2016
is it really two years since the hankie cloth?
At this time of year people usually look back over the last 12 months....I was going to do that but I got sidetracked, distracted by this piece. I see this every day when I make the bed. It lives there when I'm not sleeping. (I take it off at night) What surprised me was that it's 2 years almost since I made this? Really? Here is the post as it was written then...enjoy.
It started with a box of old hankies.
What do you do when you are given a box filled with old hankies, mostly men's hankies, checks, stripes, spots? You use nine of them to make a hankie cloth and some of the others to make pockets and buttons for extra surface titivation, at least that's what I did. You add a little femininity to the obviously masculine cloth by means of embroidery, knots, applique, snippets of lace, brightly coloured bullion loops, wrapped threads.........
In truth the images don't do it justice. It needs to be held, examined closely. You need to be able to feel the weight of it, appreciate the surface texture, appreciate the areas where the buttons make it heavier and get a sense of how the pockets lift to reveal the embroidered and embellished reverse which each of them has resulting in backs which are equally as lovely as the front.
I feel very lucky in that I will be able to do that every day.
12/14/2016
give me cloth and thread....
The last time I touched cloth properly, spent a long time sewing......my class last week before I went away. It's not a complaint, ( I had a great break and can highly recommend Berlin) no....it's more an acknowledgement of how much I miss all this when I'm not here and how desperate I am to get back to it again.
Tonight will be my first chance to sew again.....I'm going to create another ''kind of'' face to live with this one. Although this one has it's charm he reminds me too much of Rudolph and that's not a good thing. (shhh....don't tell him. I still love him)
The shop is open again if you want to register for ''embroidery school'' which begins after Christmas.
It's good to be back. I missed you.
12/08/2016
titivation selection
A selection of hand embroidered adornments that I will use to titivate my happy cloth when it is backed. There are a few new pieces here, the puffs, the wrapped buttons and the toggle you have seen before.
Later this afternoon I am going away for a few days.....I shall miss my happy cloth. I shall miss playing with these fiddly little things. Maybe when I am away I will find new and exciting things to play with when I get back.
This place will be quiet until next Wednesday. The shop will open again next Tuesday.
Miss you already.
12/07/2016
the reverse of my happy cloth
The reverse of my happy cloth, very much still in progress. I promised to show you this, I have promised several times and here it is. My happy cloth will have an embroidered and titivated reverse. There will be A B C and little bumpy bits surrounded by bullion knots. The contrast between the front and back is striking I think and my hope is it will be even more evident when the cloth is finished.
A reversible wrapping cloth, embroidery to the nth degree, silk and titivation's.
(My new class for 2017 is now listed. You can read more here. My shop will be closed for five days from tomorrow morning however, opening again next Tuesday)
12/06/2016
gathering...composition.....collecting
Scraps of paper, embroidered fragments, a few buttons, considering what goes where, which pieces compliment, which surfaces enhance ...paper, cloth, embroidery. If you think back to my mini design sheets and this post too...there is a connection and let's not forget the blue and white from earlier this week too.
I am surrounded by inspiration, by starting points, by prompts and nudges to future works. I am fortunate to have all these pieces in my possession. I can take them out and look at them, touch them, move things around, lay one beside another and then add something else.
A reminder.....my new class....
(my shop will close for 5 days on Thursday)
Embroidery School Stitch Along
Begins Monday January 9 for 12 weeks.
Online format.... Private password protected blog.
Access.... Unlimited. Forever.
Materials required.... List sent upon registration.
Embroidery school stitch along.... an online learning programme, hand stitch at it's purest.
Be a fly on my wall for 12 weeks. Observe my creative process, learn from my successes and my mistakes as I sample, as I construct embroidered surfaces from patches of cloth, snippets of hankies and decorative trims along with other found cloth both new and vintage. Witness the development of paper based works for use in design sheets and ledgers, in sketchbooks. Create what I create or embroider your own pieces whilst observing and learning from my creativity.
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 and the manipulation of cloth. I will share thoughts along with the more tangible sources which drive me.
Through membership of our private Flickr forum join a very supportive and close knit group of stitchers who are there to encourage and advise, to share resources, process and friendship.
***No prerequisites, suitable for beginners and the more experienced.***
You do not need to have participated in any of my previous online learning programmes to take part in ''Embroidery School, stitch along''.
12/05/2016
Embroidery School....stitch along
A new class for the New Year. What will we be doing? Everything....buttons, beads, embroidery, artwork, pages, paper stitching, lace fiddling........you name it, we will be doing it.
Embroidery School Stitch Along
Begins Monday January 9 for 12 weeks.
Online format.... Private password protected blog.
Access.... Unlimited. Forever.
Materials required.... List sent upon registration.
Embroidery school stitch along.... an online learning programme, hand stitch at it's purest.
Be a fly on my wall for 12 weeks. Observe my creative process, learn from my successes and my mistakes as I sample, as I construct embroidered surfaces from patches of cloth, snippets of hankies and decorative trims along with other found cloth both new and vintage. Witness the development of paper based works for use in design sheets and ledgers, in sketchbooks. Create what I create or embroider your own pieces whilst observing and learning from my creativity.
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 and the manipulation of cloth. I will share thoughts along with the more tangible sources which drive me.
Through membership of our private Flickr forum join a very supportive and close knit group of stitchers who are there to encourage and advise, to share resources, process and friendship.
***No prerequisites, suitable for beginners and the more experienced.***
You do not need to have participated in any of my previous online learning programmes to take part in ''Embroidery School, stitch along''.
12/04/2016
extending design
This is the last piece I worked on in the re run of ''an embroiderers ledger''. It's not finished, the overlay, the piece with the greyish cloth and partial embroidery. It lives with this spread in my ledger. The colours don't match but that's ok, it was deliberate as I was desperate to use a small scrap of some new Liberty cloth I have bought. Despite the fact it doesn't ''match'' it works...I think it works, it looks like it belongs.
Ninety percent of my time is being spent on my ''happy cloth'', embroidering seams, embroidering buttons and creating pocket after pocket but every so often I can move back to this ledger and add a littler more. That sounds like a good balance to me.
12/03/2016
seams and bullion knots
My embroidery time, my sewing hours, my focus......this cloth. I started to count how many bullion knots were on here and gave up. I didn't give up in desperation, I just thought there will be more bullion loops added to this before you know it so that little task would be best left until this cloth is completely finished.
Today? A video for you, a brief show and tell and a little bit of embroidery.....
12/02/2016
surface pockets
It's like a pocket factory here. Well who doesn't love a pocket? This is the surface of my ''happy cloth'' which I should maybe rename my ''pocket cloth''. The first image is the newest pocket, edged with prairie points. I thought you might want to see the other pockets on this surface....there's quite a few. Little hand made ''gimp'' puffs have been placed into each of them.
There are several more little pockets not shown here which are similar in shape and size to the one in the last image. This cloth is growing rapidly now. When it is backed and final titivation's have been added more pockets may well appear........actually......more pockets will definitely appear.
I made a mosiac.....just because....
12/01/2016
developing, sampling,
Remember this? I've been playing a little bit, sampling in an effort to decide what comes next. I did try a little blue ink but that didn't work out.....so I stitched more torn papers together, added a few white seed beads and began to lay the pieces side by side, move them around. I think I like the layout in the first image best.
What comes next? Your guess is as good as mine.....I will ponder....
11/30/2016
17 photographs
I may not be here....you may be happy about that......but......I found 17 mages for you. Images taken over the past week. (in case you are wondering I am here, my birthplace, the place where some of my favourite people live......I will most likely be eating cake)
There's new paper here, new fabric here, there are ledgers and somewhere you might spot a very untidy sofa. The last image? A gift of Liberty fabric printed for the Japanese market. I am one very lucky and very happy stitcher.
(if there's any cake left I will bring you some)
11/29/2016
a pillow for yours truly
A little pillow......for me. It will be used for pins because let's face it, you can never have too many pin pillows. This one measures 7 x 6 inches (not counting the prairie points). It's going to live in the dining room, the front room, the room where I work. There are four other pin pillows in the house. Why didn't you just move one of them you ask? Well, because I wanted to make another one. I felt like treating myself without leaving the house or spending money. I recommend it.
There are circular beads along one edge which are very tempting to play with, to run your fingers along. Let's hope I stitched them on securely! The toggle was added as a finishing touch (despite being created for my happy cloth. I stole it from my happy cloth stash)
11/28/2016
scraps of white, stitch and toggles
This little page was put together over in class, in the ''sample portfolio'' segment of our stitching marathon. Every so often we work a little on paper, a distraction, a change of method, a change of surface.
This one has the tiniest amount of cloth, a very small off cut from some lace cloth. The rest is comprised of torn and stitched papers, a few French knots, a few green glass beads and a little pin pricking. The little toggles were fiddly and then some but very much worth the effort. They have dangly bits, dangly beads......just because I could.
11/27/2016
a surface pocket for the happy cloth
My ''happy cloth'' from class now has a surface pocket which is embroidered and titivated and which is also crammed with Suffolk puffs.....Suffolk puffs which are securely attached to the lining. I am at the stage now with this where it's all coming together, almost finished in terms of embellishment for the surface. At the moment there are a few panels which need to be attached to the main piece. The loose panels are mostly held together with tacking/basting...waiting for me to join them to the main piece with fancy seams, bullion loops and little tiny stab stitches.
Over the next couple of days I am hoping to make progress with those seams, that joining process. All that will remain after that will be the finishing of embellishment on the backing cloth, the damp stretching of the backing cloth and sharing the backing cloth with you for the first time.
11/26/2016
scraps of cloth and embroidered paper.`
Ledger class finished this week.....or should I say it's supposed to finish this week.....there may be more. However, today, the images, my latest page for class. Scraps of cloth stitched to paper, fabric and stitch added, decisions made about placement and here we are. It needs more work but so far I think it's a winner.
The blue and white piece from yesterday will be getting more attention soon and I have another paper piece started in my ''happy cloth'' class which is also waiting for a little attention. Let's just say I won't be short of something to do in the coming days.
11/25/2016
blue and white....the beginnings of a design sheet
I spent a little time playing with blue and white paper yesterday. I treated myself to some blue batik paper earlier in the week and couldn't resist adding a little of that to some of my own stitched paper. Things were shuffled around a little bit first before I added a few blue and white French knots. There are some tiny white seed beads scattered amongst the French knots too....sadly not very visible in these images.
I plan to extend this sheet with a little doodling, perhaps some lace and more embroidered paper. The paper here is from this post. You will see in the video that I considered adding some of the cloth too but it just didn't work for me.
11/24/2016
work on a pocket and complimentary buttons
You last saw this pocket here, minimally embellished with embroidery although the Prairie points were in situ and it was waiting to be embellished, adorned. Since then a large, pleated applique motif has been added as has a smaller applique pocket, a tiny little circular shape with a double layer of patterned cloth.
The buttons are new, created in class this week. These will most likely live on the reverse of my ''happy cloth'', added as a final titivation when the embroidery, edges, joining, finishing is complete. You haven't seen the back of my cloth yet have you? I have only completed a minimal amount of that up to now and I need to damp stretch it so it may take a few days but I will show you soon, promise.
11/23/2016
another collection?
Yes....another collection. This one is white, blue, paper, silk, lace and printed cloth. When I don't have a lot of time , when I am busy working on things for class and I find I have an hour I can sneak for something else then this kind of play is ideal. Gather a few scraps, stitch a little paper, embroider a little lace cloth, mix and match, lay things side by side. Occasionally I may have to add a little bit of doodling to draw it all together as I have done here with blue on one piece of stitched paper. I would say this is a very productive use of sixty minutes. If I mount these, use them to create another little sheet like these then it will have been even more worthwhile.
11/22/2016
pockets and toggles
I'm early today. That's because I am required to leave the house soon....twice. I will leave once then come back before having to leave again. Not good....I prefer to be incarcerated. So.....toggles and pockets all in the name of my ''happy cloth'' from ''wrapped and bound in stitch''.
The toggles will live on a seam I think. I need to make more. The pockets, the cutwork....that's a new panel. My ''happy cloth'' is now growing rapidly. Very soon I will speak about the reverse.....not the kind of reverse I normally use. There will be no throwing down of plain silk for this one. I have a plan which is coming together in class.
You will be pleased to know I found my buttons ( I spoke about them yesterday).....and my design sheets....such a relief.
11/21/2016
a small collection
There are two pages here, two sheets from my current work for the ledger class. This morning I wanted to generate ideas to move this work forward so I cut a little fabric, folded it, rolled it, played with layout. I am in the process of looking, glancing every so often and thinking. It's our last week, (yes, I was shocked too and if you are taking the ledger class and I am mistaken please feel free to correct me. I honestly can't believe it.)
Meanwhile.....my ''happy cloth'' class runs until Christmas. I have a lot of embroidery still to do on that piece so expect to see it regularly on here.
My buttons remain elusive. I still can't find them and I'm also struggling to locate these. I have put them in a safe place whilst the decorating was going on. It's a very safe place, so safe even I can't find them.
11/20/2016
folds, points, stitch,
Yesterday was amazing. Yesterday was busy but in a good way........videos for both classes and most importantly, embroidery. This piece is for my ''happy cloth''. It's a long way from being finished , it will be a pocket. With that in mind I put some puffs inside it today, just to look, to play.
There will be a lot more of this going on now. Most of the sorting out is done, a place for everything and everything in its place.....Just one problem.....I just can't find any buttons???
11/19/2016
A glimpse
Lots of images today, images from the past week or so. Some from London, some pre decorator (the mess, the upheaval) a few from after the decorator (the paper isn't dry in some of those) and some rather lovely tulips I treated myself to yesterday.
The handkerchiefs were a gift from an old friend. (a little blurred, sorry) The box of 8 Macarons were a gift from my little girl. I raised her well.
Normality is slowly returning. I'm not quite up to speed yet but there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel.
We had three rooms decorated. The dining room where we eat as a family and where I work. (the yellow/mustardy paper). The lounge, all white floor to ceiling and the kitchen, the tiny cupboard which is my kitchen.
And finally.....some lovely London windows, cakes and decorations.
11/18/2016
Blue and white
I wanted to come back. I am itching to create. I still have an upside down house. I don't have any new work. I do however have millions of images. I was talking to my one and only blog reader yesterday. Put a video on she said. An old video I said? No she said.....your very first video. Well by the time I had stopped laughing and picked myself up off the floor I forgot to tell her that my video files are in more disarray than my house.
So you have blue and white. These images have made my creativity cravings worse so I best not linger. I need to finish normalising my surroundings then all I will need to think about is embroidery and ledgers.
11/14/2016
what's happening in ledger class
Shhhh......don't tell anyone I am here. The decorator has gone out for half an hour while his paint dries. Never one to miss a trick I have moved all his paint pots, his ladders and plugged my computer in! I don't think I will get away with it tomorrow so I am taking the chance while I can despite the paint fumes and the dust.
So, how are you? How have you been?
Today's pictures.....my work from Ledger class. I am sighing a bit because I would love to do some more of this. Sadly all my stuff is put away, stacked up, inaccessible......I feel as if my hands are tied behind my back.
The shop is open again too after my little trip to London.....
I am hoping and hoping and hoping to be back to normal in terms of the computer on Wednesday. If you could all hold hands and chant for me that would be good.
(and stand to attention girls....I will be visiting Flickr before the day is out)
11/09/2016
hexagons, applique and circular beads
Do you remember my new shelving from the other day? Well I figure that new shelving deserves a new pin pillow. I know....any excuse here to make a new pin pillow. This one will sit happily on the new shelves, adorning.....looking pretty.
Today is definitely my last day for a while. I'm not joking this time. As soon as I get access to my computer again I will be back. It could be a week, it could be longer. I will be having withdrawals, climbing the walls.
Miss you already....
11/08/2016
colour
Surprise.....I wasn't sure if I'd make it but in the end I can't keep away. A sore throat is no excuse. Well, a sore throat and not having any work I can share was the excuse but I found a way around that with these little compilations of recent work, recent colour. I actually like to do this every so often, it is confirmation for me of how I have been spending my time. It shows me progress I have made or otherwise. Tomorrow will definitely be my last day on here for a while.......I can hear your sigh of relief from here.
11/07/2016
day to day
Just a few from my phone today, from my Instagram. On Thursday I go to London for a few days then return to the decorators. I will be unable to post here for around 10 days or so from Wednesday.......but I'm not feeling tip top at the moment so may disappear from now. We will see what tomorrow brings but I wanted to say thanks for your constant presence. It means a lot x
(the last image is new shelving which will go on the wall when the decorator has finished)
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