03/13/2015
a few stitches...
A few pretty pictures and a tiny bit of sewing.....some bumps and a little lace.....that's all. Enjoy the quiet while it lasts. This time next week you won't be able to shut me up.
03/12/2015
it's mostly been ledgers....
I've been doodling a lot through the day this week. Housework has taken a back seat and doodling is very relaxing when you sneeze every ten seconds or so. Yesterday I dozed for most of the day, hence not much needlework going on. So what you have today is a snapshot of the past few days. How am I feeling today? I'm not sure to be honest. Definitely not as bad as yesterday but nowhere near as good as last Thursday. Make of that what you will. The consolation for me is that with each day that passes I am one day closer to being normal again.....
03/11/2015
two seams....
Another pouch, the one I spoke about which was inspired by this. At the moment just two seams have been embellished. One of these has piping cord secured with a strip of cloth from an exceptionally pretty handkerchief, the other has a mass of bullion loops. I am hoping to progress this piece tonight.
This morning I have been doodling, yes again. I doodled yesterday morning too. In all honesty though, sorry I can't dress it up...I feel lousy. I may be quiet for a little while this afternoon......tissues and hot lemon are the plan.
03/10/2015
red dots....
I hadn't intended to add colour to this, it was going to be a white pillow. I then decided, like I said before that I am a little ''pillowed out'' so this became the start of a white pouch. It already has lots and lots of lovely bullion loops but last night I decided it needed spots too, red spots. I am now considering adding lemon to the mix to lift it, to cheer it up a bit. I most likely feel as if it needs lifting because of my cold....yes, still feeling sorry for myself. Thanks for all the hints, treatments, tips yesterday. I had a VERY early night last night. This morning I am less congested but more headachey with eyes that won't stop burning or watering.
That hasn't stopped me having fun though. This morning I had a wonderful time doodling and playing with ledgers. You can see some of those images on my instagram feed. It was quite rhythmic at times, doodle, sneeze, doodle, cough, doodle, blow my nose, sneeze, doodle....you get the picture. This mornings efforts were for the girls in ''swathed in stitch'' but they have given me more ideas for the new class, ''reinventing the page''. Don't you just love how the brain continues to tick when the body just wants to lie down....
03/09/2015
it's not a pillow....
It's a pocket not a pillow. It's a pocket that has inspired me to make a pouch, more of that later (and yes, it's all about the 'P' s here isn't it)...I really love this one. I love them all but this one? It's the hankie I used, gorgeous. This one also has buttons, definitely one of my favourites.....
Before I put this one together, folded it into it's pocket shape it looked like the next images...a perfect top for a pouch. So, a new pouch is already in the making inspired by this. Actually, two pouches are being made as we speak, one inspired by this and one inspired by nothing in particular.
In other news.....I feel lousy, a cold, lots of sneezing, blowing and feeling sorry for myself....let's hope I don't run out of tissues....
03/08/2015
white on white and glass beads....
It's finished, the pillow which has been constantly referred to as the ''gimp piece''. It measures 13 x 10 inches, took quite a bit of stuffing but was a delight to finish with buttonhole lace edges and a single edge of glass beads.....I'm happy, I'm satisfied, I feel as if I have accomplished something.
In truth I'm a little ''pillowed out'' now. I feel as if I have made nothing but pillows for so long. I took this image with my phone yesterday, a pile of pillows, pillow central.....enough for now perhaps.
Yesterdays images of my ''to do'' list in 3D contained 5 pillow tops. They will be finished, I want to finish them, I need to finish them but not for a few days and one of them I think will become a small pouch instead.
You will be happy to hear that along with this piece a pocket was finished yesterday . I will show you that tomorrow.....a break from pillows for you too.
03/07/2015
My ''to do'' list in 3D
These......from the pile that keeps giving...and growing. I'm hoping to progress them all this weekend, not finish them but progress them. There are two funky pillow things, two lace pillow things, one white on white pillow thing and two doodles on cloth. All the pillow things are for London. The doodles are happening in class, Swathed in Stitch. Yes, swathed in stitch and doodles. It does fit, it's all part of the bigger picture over there.
Aside from these, there's more. A pillow was finished last night, I will show you that tomorrow and a pocket will be finished today. There's also going to be some doodling on paper in readiness for the new class, ''reinventing the page''. You can read about that here....Doodles will be coming to London too. Did I mention I might need to hire a wagon?
And, speaking of London...again....I made the final video for those of you who are attending the cake..oops sorry...stitch day. I finished that this morning and you will have those next week. It gets ever closer.....
Back to the images though......do you like my new fabric? The bright green and pink fabric? Who would have thought that I would love working with those...Mrs white..white and more white but I do, they refresh, they energise, they make me smile, they say ''happy''.
03/06/2015
gathering....
Still sorting out here at Ruane towers. Gathering bits and bobs, samples, scraps, assessing what to mount and what to put in a ledger in order to take it all to London. It's a dangerous business laying samples alongside samples. It gives you more ideas. Take the first image as an example....three very different samples, one colourful the others white. Who knew they would look that good together? Who ever thought, 'create the coloured piece and use it with a white lace piece'? Not me, not until today......oh boy.....I must put it out of my head....you don't have time Karen. The pile that keeps giving does not need to be any bigger....
03/05/2015
sorting cloth, a new class, cupboards and the table
It's been quite a busy week. I've sorted cloth, tidied boxes, folded an awful lot of white, made a mental note of the cloth I have, the cloth I need and the cloth I want which I'm sure you know is equally if not more important than the cloth we need.
I've been to Sheffield. I watched a game where my team won....or should I say maintained their lead by the skin of their teeth causing yours truly a lot of angst and quite a few palpitations.
I've had an extraordinarily late night followed by a very early alarm call for which I am suffering today.
I made the first video for the ''London Gathering'' which will be sent out next week. I realised that the 'London'' cake day is approaching fast, too fast. (what do you mean it's a sewing day not a cake day?)
Sixth picture down, that's my foot bottom left....anyway, I digress.
The boxes in the top image, (I got asked about those a lot when they appeared on Instagram) The one with love on, it's a box not a book. It was a gift. The one underneath? That was full of Ted Baker bubble bath, lotions etc and Helen got that as a gift for Christmas....she gave me the box, she knows me well.
What else have I done this week?
I finished the lemon pin pillow. I embroidered on a new pocket top. I have finished the surface embellishment on the white gimp piece. I ordered some rather funky new cloth. I doodled on cloth and I listed a new class.....Reinventing the page.....which is like a ledger class but more.....it's about creating interesting pages, creating sheets of design work by use of overlaid paper, by folding, by cutting and scrunching paper. There's no need to worry that you have pencil, paint and art phobia, I suffer from those too. We will be playing, having fun, you will be holding my hand. If you want to come and play then just go here to read a little more.....
The rest of the week? This afternoon I will be piecing new pillows and hand stitching the edges of my white gimp pillow. In the next hour or so I will be stalking the postman hoping he brings my new cloth. Tomorrow? It's got to be doodling on cloth.....I can't resist....
03/04/2015
lace cloth and glass beads....
The surface of the white gimp piece is finished. As a final touch I added glass beads along the French knot seam which sits just above the area of appliqued lace cloth. It's quite hard to identify the beads in the images...they weren't cooperating......you can just about make them out if you look closely at most of the images.
This piece has now been backed and stuffed. I'm in the process of hand stitching all the edges with buttonhole lace now. That won't get finished tonight unfortunately because I am going here at 4 pm today. Wish us luck...I'm a bit of a jinx. We tend to lose when I appear...yikes...if you are wondering who to cheer for that would be my team!
03/03/2015
extending embroidery
More embroidery is slowly being added to this pocket piece. I've also started folding, playing, deciding which way would be best when it comes to the final putting together. There's a strong possibility this one will have buttons. It just says that to me, that it wants buttons. I'm going to put some of those together this afternoon. I couldn't decide which images to leave out today so you got them all, I hope you don't mind.
This morning I made the first video for the ''London Gathering'', the first video of perhaps three in total which will be sent out next week in order that those who want to can put together a small piece of work to bring on the day. That is a major tick placed on my to do list, an essential and it's very satisfying to know I have done that one.
Yesterday, I forgot to say, I ordered some very exciting things. They excite me anyway. I got some of this, some of this and some of these (not these beads exactly...I can't find the actual ones).....now I'm stalking the postman. I was actually searching for white on white spots when I was tempted by the fabric. There was so much to choose from I could have been even more extravagant and am very pleased with myself for being so restrained.
Finally....don't forget the new class, ''reinventing the page''. It's four weeks of playtime with paper, doodles, stitch, ledgers, (sketchbooks). There's interaction, a minimum 2 videos a week, a group forum on flickr and 24/7 support from me, you've got me stalking you for four weeks. (in all honesty there will almost certainly be more than 2 videos a week...I don't know when to stop talking, ask anyone) You can look at that here....
03/02/2015
Reinventing the page.....
A new class, a leisurely doodling class,
a relaxing paper play class, for ledgers, for sheets of paper, for
examining colour and pattern. I'm too excited already.....
Reinventing the page.
To reinvent
''to change something that already exists and give it a different form or purpose''
***You do not need to have participated in any of my previous online learning programmes to participate in ''reinventing the page''***
***An advanced knowledge of embroidery is not required for this learning programme. Suitable for beginners and the more experienced.***
Commencing Tuesday April 14.
Lets play with paper for four weeks, transform our ledger pages or
create new and unique stand alone sheets of design, art and
inspiration.
We will begin with the basics of design/ledger work,
examining colour and pattern before we begin to add colour to doodles,
add stitch to paper, create overlaid pages, fold, cut shapes, scrunch
paper, manipulate images, create collage with snippets of cloth and
coloured tissue scraps.......all this and more will be used to create a
collection of original paper sheets or pages which will provide
inspiration for stitch and design.
All process demonstrated is completely transferable for future work, being applicable over and over again.
*** Video for this course will be delivered via e mail. There is no dedicated blog for this programme. There will however be a private flickr group where you can post images and interact with other group members and where I will give feedback and appraise work in progress***
Minimum two videos per week.
NO PREREQUISITES
YOUR ACCESS TO ALL RESOURCES IS PERMANENT. Videos will remain in your possession forever.
NO DEADLINES
NO SET TASKS
Please allow 24 hours from registration to receipt of mail containing a list of suggested equipment
03/01/2015
bumps on the gimp piece....
Seven to be precise, seven bumpy bits added to the gimp piece. They are meant to be flowers, floral. They have stalks and bullion loop leaves. The second image probably gives the best view of those. I still need to attend to the opposite end of this piece, (not visible here but you can see the area I mean in this post) that needs more applique shapes of lace cloth. Since I took these photographs yesterday more loops have been added, two complete seams of bullion loops and a few French knots too. It's coming on, it's making me happy, it's making me feel accomplished.
The lemon pillow got quite a reaction yesterday, thank you! I have yet to begin embroidery on the other two pieces of lace and white which are tacked together and which I pieced at the same time as the lemon pillow. Hopefully that will start later this week.
Today, this morning and in a few minutes I have been and will be sorting cloth. I've been gathering white pieces together, pressing them and putting them in different boxes, trying to keep them together in a more organised manner. Wish me luck with that one as organised is not my middle name!!
02/28/2015
The first of three
This one is finished now, backed and stuffed, edges hand finished with running stitch and a little puff on one corner. There are two more pieces like this still to work on, lace, silk and white which need to be embroidered. This one measures 6 x 5 inches and the others should be around that size too.
In the background, out of sight, I'm still playing with my scribble doodles.....I'm also mentally playing with ideas from yesterdays post, making lists in my head, wondering what I can mix with what, doodle and paper, doodle, scribble on cloth and what any accompanying paperwork might look like, what form that might take.
Later today I'll be cutting pages and sharpening my pencil not forgetting the embroidery I want to do too. Embroidery is the main focus, the pencil and paper a quick ten minute distraction every now and then.
02/27/2015
doodle or scribble....
I've been doodling on cloth over in class, blue and white hexagons and berry type things. They are laid here alongside finished ledger pages from last year. I think this was a bad idea...I now have a zillion new ideas which have jumped into my brain because I did this. If I can restrain myself for a week or so it may turn out to be a good thing. In a week or so I may have more time to develop the ideas, create new pieces from this playing.
This morning I decided I like the word ''scribble''. Its' more interesting than ''doodle'' don't you think? Having looked up both definitions scribble has a lot to do with ''illegible''......I will let you decide that one whilst I work on convincing myself I can change the English language to fit my needs.
02/26/2015
lemon
Lemon, I like a bit of lemon every now and then and I especially like how easily it lives with white silk, white lace and white stitch. One of the three white pillow tops is finished. Now it needs to be backed, stuffed, have the edges titivated....you know the drill, stuff and stitch. There's a ring to that...''stuff and stitch'', I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere.
I probably had more to say today than I've managed so far but it's gone clean out of my head because there has been a bit of a catastrophe at Ruane towers in the last half hour. A full mug of coffee launched itself from my hand causing untold damage, thankfully not to cloth....phew.....but to my computer desk and a pile of papers, letters, invoices. Oh my days, I'll be peeling apart wet paper for hours. Happy days.....what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.....the cloth remains pristine, safe, white, fresh and very relieved.
02/25/2015
the beginning
It's pieced, it's been pinned and tacked and it now has minimal embroidery. This will be a pocket. My stash of men's hankies has disappeared, all gone save for a few scraps, all put to good use as pockets or as part of the hankie cloth. Never fear, I also have ladies hankies stashed away. Those will be mixed with a few of the manly scraps and hey presto, there will be more pockets.
This one needs more embroidery, for now only the the seams have been attended to, bullion loops, running stitch, stab stitch and buttonhole lace. Meanwhile, out of sight, lemon has been used to embellish one of these........ it will come out of hiding tomorrow.....
02/24/2015
colour washed companions
The surface of this silk is slowly filling up with embroidered motifs......cross stitch roses and French knots clusters. I am conscious that you have seen this several times already and although I am adding to it sporadically it perhaps never looks any different to you. After all, a cross stitch rose and a French knot cluster are just that no matter how many of them you embroider. So....this morning.....a quandary.....how to make this even the slightest bit different?
Colour wash some tissue paper, scrunch it up and just lay it down alongside the embroidery was the answer. Complimentary colours, not a strict colour match, more an accompaniment, like salt and pepper.
02/23/2015
lace and silk, white pillows....
I mentioned these three pieces yesterday, three white pillow tops. Two of them are just tacked at the moment, I have begun embroidery on the third, just a tiny amount so far. In comparison to the pillow top from yesterday, these are tiny. Each of these will measure approximately six by four inches when finished. The pillow from yesterday will measure around fourteen by eleven inches when it's finished, quite a difference.
In theory these could be finished very quickly. Don't hold your breath...please. They will now go on that pile, that pile that keeps giving whilst I flit to something else for a day or two. ''flit'' mode seems to be default at the moment. Lots of irons in lots of fires. That's not to say that nothing ever gets finished, it does. I do sometimes wonder but thankfully the evidence is here.
flit
verb \ˈflit\
: to move or fly quickly from one place or thing to another
02/22/2015
extending pattern with gimp...
I had hoped to add more than three applique circles to this piece last night....stuff got in the way. I did manage to add some gimp to the three applique pieces though and I love how it looks, it really does enhance. It also mirrors the gimp that sits on the other seam you have seen before which you can see again in the first and third images.
Gimp has only recently been appearing in my work again after a long break. I used it a long time ago and it just fell off my radar, no particular reason I can think of for that but I'm so glad I ''remembered'' it again. You can read a little more about it here if you aren't familiar with it and I know there are other blogs where it is spoken about if you do a quick Google search.
I was up very early this morning posting about gentle, quiet embroidery over in class. After that was done I put together three tiny pillow tops, nothing like the ones you saw yesterday. I will share those tomorrow....
02/21/2015
three
They're finished, three pieces of piecing, stitched, backed and stuffed with little pin pillow tags attached. There is no embroidery to speak of on these, a few stab stitches securing the strips, points and loops. I'm keeping these for myself, to use in London and any other workshop which may or may not appear in my future. These will be trusty companions, tools, table additions....now I need to make another three.
The plan was to put the next three together today but I have just read an e mail where the word ''gimp'' was mentioned and I now have a hankering for gimp. See how easy it is to distract me? to throw my plans off course? I can resist anything except temptation.
02/20/2015
Tabs in action....
As promised yesterday, tabs and how they work, where they live, how they fit into the body bag. Tabs lay across the pleated muslin, they represent binding, wrapping, holding, keeping safe. They adorn the muslin panels, enhance the pleats whilst mirroring the embellishment on the silk panels.
I need to make quite a lot more of these, my guesstimate is ten but that could be wrong. Truth is I don't really know for certain until the body bag nears completion, nearer to completion than it is now anyway. Later today I will be adding pleated muslin panels to the main piece along with a new tab, the one from yesterday and perhaps another finished silk panel. It is growing. I don' think we are speaking in terms of months until I have a finished body bag. I think it will be weeks.....I hope it will be weeks....
02/19/2015
pleated muslin and a tab....
We're focusing on the body bag this week over in swathed in stitch. Panels are being joined, (after I have decided which piece I want where. I change my mind a million times before anything is actually stitched down!) These pieces, the pleated muslin and the tabs are an integral part of the body bag too. I can't have one without the other. The tabs bind the muslin, lay over the muslin panels as if securing them. Tomorrow I will show you this in action so to speak. I will photograph those sections of the body bag where this is evident. I hope it will become a bit clearer then.
Just a word of warning now. I feel another list coming on. Later today...I need some clarity of thought. I need some kind of plan. I have ideas coming out of my ears. I have pressing things nipping at my heels. I need to prioritise. I seem to float along for a few weeks, lost in my own little world of cloth and thread when suddenly reality jumps in and reminds that this tiny corner of the world isn't all fluffy and pretty. Well, it is but not exclusively. Some of that fluffiness and prettiness needs a little order from time to time, a little more focus maybe.
02/18/2015
just this....
A paltry offering today I think, I do apologise. I have had visitors for the last few days and much as I love them, much as I had a ball, much as I wish they were still here....it does play havoc with the embroidery schedule. These are from my phone, not much happening there either except new needles for my sewing machine, new thread for my sewing machine, new labels, pleating muslin and playing with snippet cloth. There you have it.....
02/17/2015
unhurried....
White cloth, white on white, unhurried, worked on slowly. I most likely won't pick this up again for a couple of days but don't worry, it won't take as long as the body bag. This piece is much smaller, no prospect of it being a bag of any kind. It will be a pillow. A white pillow with lots of bullion knots, lots of loops, gimp, applique created using lace cloth snippets and there will be French knots too.
This one will go on that pile, you remember, the unfinished pile or as I now like to call it ''the pile that keeps on giving''. Never fear though, three pieces, yes three from that pile will be finished before the week is out and I know exactly which three, these three....
02/16/2015
behind the scenes....
A little glimpse for you of what we have been up to in class ledger wise. I'm not sure if you have seen any of these before but it's been a weekend of pulling things together, assessing, deciding what I don't like, deciding what excites me enough to take it forward. I am not 100 % over the moon with everything here but there are aspects of these pieces which will feature in the future for sure.
Nothing here was a wasted exercise. Everything has informed, I've learn't from it all, what I love, what doesn't inspire, how some things may work better with a different approach, using a finer thread for example or a different fabric....learning, sampling, learning......
02/15/2015
embellished
Another panel of the body bag is finished, embellished, titivated, damp stretched. It's laid here on the ledger which started this whole thing, this mammoth journey that has gone on for longer than I can remember and which still has a long way to go. The body bag is a leisurely cloth, a calm cloth, unhurried, quiet, beautiful to pick up and put down, let it rest, pick it up again.
Ideally I would love for this to be finished in time for my London class. It's possible but not guaranteed. We shall see. I can't bring myself to rush this one. It could spoil the piece and would almost certainly tarnish the memory of the making. It will have to come with me finished or not, as will the ledger.
02/14/2015
ten days....
I didn't actually count, make notes, use a mathematical formula or anything but my best estimate is that these pieces were all finished during the course of the last ten days or so. When you look at it like that it allows you to focus, to check that you're not being frivolous with your time, that even though you may also have had a creative meltdown during that time the fingers were still prepared to slog it out whilst you hid in a corner desperately searching for your mojo. (any doubts re the meltdown just ask the girls in class, they were witnesses, eye witnesses.)
As I have been finishing these I have been putting them safely away in a glass cabinet and moving on to the next thing. This post happened today because I needed something from the cabinet, it also holds precious cloth, scraps, buttons....I then thought, oh, that's quite a lot of stuff, get it out Karen, have a look. I am so happy I did.
Today marks the almost half way point of our ''swathed in stitch'' 12 weeks. We have created ledger pages, embroidered with gimp, made our own lace, titivated cloth, doodled on paper, doodled on fabric, made buttons....phew. I can't keep up. If you want to join us you would be most welcome. This class will not be available as a work on your own, if you want to do it you have to be quick. We are almost half over!!! Time really does fly when you are having fun....
02/13/2015
a white silk pillow....
Another piece from the ''unfinished pile''....finished. A white silk pillow that if I was keeping it would be used for pins. It's not really big enough to be of use in a normal pillow situation, it's 7 inches by 8 inches. I suppose it would look very pretty and dainty on a bed but I would much prefer to use it, handle it every day, see it every day.
The unfinished pile is getting much smaller. There was a pocket on there which will be ticked off very soon. A panel for the body bag from the same pile is now finished embroidery wise and just needs to be damp stretched and then there are these things which I can't finish yet because I am waiting for labels.
One thing I just realised, the pile will increase by two later today because I have other stuff to put together. Oh well, it's going to have to be renamed the pile that keeps on giving.
02/12/2015
snippet cloth
One finished piece of snippet cloth, one in progress. This differs from this which I showed you the other day. The cloth today is sturdier, a cotton background with cotton cloth snippets and metallic silk tissue. The lace cloth from earlier this week has a scrim background with lace snippets added. That one is much finer, more flexible, lighter.
Snippet cloth, this cloth today is stronger and has very different applications. Areas of this are quite thick and harder to embellish by hand yet that is possible in the finer areas. It is a wonderful base for applique, it's a brilliant fabric to use when creating applique shapes. It layers, it holds it's shape when used to create vessel like structures. I can't choose a favourite between snippet cloth and lace cloth, they are both so useful in their own way.
It's good to spend an afternoon on the sewing machine putting these pieces of fabric together. I could start a production line, keep going, break more machine needles ( I have broken three this week. What's that all about?) just make sure you keep the coffee coming.
02/11/2015
two embroidered panels
Two more panels for the body bag. If you're not familiar with the body bag there is a short video at the end of this post which gives an overview of this piece. It's not a new video but you may have missed it first time round.
One of these is finished the other isn't. They have both been damp stretched but I want to 'scatter' cross stitch across the piece on the left in the second image.
(swathed in stitch girls.....I didn't put the other piece together whilst you weren't looking. I found it, it was hiding, it was finished apart form the damp stretch)
If you are going to ask me when the body bag will be finished, which let's face it would be understandable as it has been in progress for eons then the answer is 'how long is a piece of string'? Ideally I would like to finish it for London. I am determined not to rush it though. I want it to be as I envisaged at the start, a human sized pocket, cocoon, no compromise on size.
02/10/2015
moving sampling forward
You have seen the silk piece before here. It is getting added to gradually, more cross stitch roses and French knot clusters. New lace has been created on the sewing machine which still needs to be embellished with hand stitch. I am going to throw hexagons into this mix some time soon and create a new piece combining all three but not in this manner. That piece is the sample which inspired what is happening here, which informed on placement and surface embellishment. I am going to mix it up a bit now...........
02/09/2015
French knots and a little bit of gimp
There's a new white piece taking shape here. Lace and Broderie Anglaise with some vintage cloth, pieced, tacked, ready to be embellished. (in case you are wondering, this was already on the pile yesterday. I haven't added it since I gave myself that pep talk)
So far one seam has been secured with French knots and gimp has been embroidered to the edge of that section almost like it is spilling from the seam. Tiny glass beads will adorn this seam too, just not yet. I am desperate to add them now but experience tells me it's better to do that last. I just hope I can restrain myself.
As for the embroidery across the rest of this piece.....there will be a lot of gimp, almost certainly there will be zillions of loops, the rest? I haven't decided yet.
02/08/2015
added buttons and hand stitched edges.
A pillow, this piece titivated and finished. I did make buttons, not as many fiddly ones as I had intended as I didn't have enough metal discs and backs that were small enough. I think I've compensated by varying the button size though, some medium, one quite large and one teeny tiny one.
So what's next? My ''unfinished'' pile did get smaller at one point last week, it's now gotten bigger again. There are two new pieces languishing on top of that. Today I'm going to choose the piece which needs least work to finish it off and get going on that. The pile will then diminish by one. The key thing here Karen is to stop starting things and adding them to the pile because if you do that it will never go away......
02/07/2015
lace and mirrors...
A couple of hours each afternoon this week spent on my sewing machine has resulted in this cloth, lace cloth and a piece of snippet cloth on silk net. There are mirrors and a little embroidery on the snippet cloth, the lace cloth is just that, unembellished cloth. At least it's unembellished in terms of hand stitch. There is none of that and there won't be any added, not by me anyway.
I'm a little bemused by the lighting in these images. They were all taken at the same time around half an hour ago yet some have a greenish tinge, others a pink one. We must have very strange sunlight here in Lancashire.
02/06/2015
my jobs for today....
I actually don't know why I said ''jobs'', it is in fact one job, back the silk and cross stitch piece, titivate the edges and add fiddly buttons. OK then, that's more than one job and some lace cloth might figure in there too but in terms of these images the pocket is finished. It's very small, tiny in fact, 4 1/2 inches by 3 inches.
The cross stitch piece now has more loops and some buttonhole lace finishing a couple of pin tucked seams. The next task, square it off.....
02/05/2015
this week
The first thing to say here is that my hankie cloth has a new home...on the end of my bed. It's removed before snooze time and folded carefully on top of a cupboard I have in there. Secondly, I can claim no credit for the beautiful piece of stitchery under my Hyacinth, it was a very lovely gift...thank you...:) Thirdly, the chocolate orange belongs to my son. It's a gift he received at Christmas, yes I know. What on earth is wrong with him that he hasn't eaten it yet??? I must be feeding him too well. (the jelly tots also belong to him, from Christmas, the yellow tube next to said chocolate orange)
The last image, the table of bits and bobs is from yesterday. I made lace cloth. I broke two sewing machine needles. What's that all about? More needles are winging their way to me as we speak. I ordered two packets, you never know when you're going to go on a needle breaking frenzy.
02/04/2015
three hearts....
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I'm late.....oops. Later than I intended anyway. Firstly, I got carried away doodling for class and then Typepad has been running rings round me. I do hope this blog doesn't go down later. I shall be keeping a close eye on it. If you have images missing, try refreshing the page.....
Three cross stitch hearts, my evenings toil yesterday. A pleasure from start to finish. I am so happy you are all aware of how long these things take otherwise you would leave here thinking I had been idle. I'm working hard, honest. Having said that, (the hard work bit) I still haven't made the buttons I spoke about. I ironed the fabric and got the button backs out and that's it so far. They will appear soon, I need them to finish this.
02/03/2015
finishing touches
You probably remember this one. It has been languishing on the ''to finish'' pile, which incidentally is getting smaller...high five!! I added loops and buttonhole lace to the hankie section, more French knots to the lace section. I edged a couple of ''holes'' with buttonhole and then for a final flourish made three very tiny puffs, (fiddle central), to add to a plain area....et voila. The vintage buttons have been there since the start, adding those was the very first thing I did. The next stage is to add the lining, then fold and then titivate the edges.
*I know that my e mail subscribers are not getting their e mails. It's out of my hands. I haven't a clue. I'm helpless......all I can suggest is you try subscribing again or better still, don't wait for the mail. Trust me, I am here every day.*
02/02/2015
inspired to doodle by cross stitch
Tiny cross stitch flowers and a cross stitch border.....both have been added to this white silk piece along with another edge of buttonhole lace and another edge of bullion loops which to me look like tiny rings, almost chain like, I love them. Later today I am going to make some little buttons for this one, very small, extra fiddly. I think they will be a perfect compliment for the delicacy I see in this piece.
London, remember London? One or two people, through no fault of their own I must add...life, it gets in the way, well one or two have had to pull out of our stitchery, cake, cup of tea, cup of coffee, chatter day. So, a couple of new places have been made available and here is the original information in case you missed it.
A London Gathering
The date......April 25 2015
The time.....10 am - 4 pm
The place..... 17 Stukeley Street, London WC2B 5LT.
Covent Garden. London.
An informal and relaxed gathering of those who share a love of cloth and stitch. This is a mentoring opportunity, a chance to receive guidance with your embroidery project, to observe the demonstration of hand embellishment process, to meet others who share your love of all things ''embroidery''.
This will be an ''open studio'' experience with added demonstration, instruction, mentoring, a question and answer session.
This gathering will not be a ''classroom'', ''lecture'' process. I must emphasise my wish that this remain relaxed and informal throughout. Seating will be available in group form, around cloth covered tables strewn with pin pillows, needles, threads, cloth, enabling face to face interaction and ''close'' observation of process, embroidery and surface embellishment.
In addition I will have available my own ''library'' of stitch
reference in the form of samples, finished pieces, ledgers and design
sheets that you will have the opportunity to browse, to handle. You can
turn pages, examine surfaces and pick up cloth.
Around 6 weeks prior
to our gathering I will send out links to exclusive videos. These
videos will demonstrate the creation of a white on white ''stitchery
doodle''. This will include basic instruction on creating a surface from
scraps of cloth. It will include demonstration of various hand
embroidery stitches. It is hoped that you begin to work on this project
prior to our gathering and bring it along with you, to add embellishment
on the day, to ask my advice on the progress of your piece, to share
your embroidery experience with your peers.
However, the completion of a white on white stitchery doodle is not compulsory. You may choose to keep these videos for another time, a work on your own online learning experience. There is no time limit on these videos, you will have access to that aspect of our day forever.
Should you decide that white on white isn't for you, that's OK. Bring
along any other piece of embroidery to work on during our stitching
day. I will be available to give advice whatever piece of embroidery you
choose to share with me.
(please just bring one piece of embroidery for mentoring purposes)
Taking place in central London our venue is ideally situated for shopping opportunities. Prior to the day of our meeting you will receive information on local fabric stores and easily accessible galleries including a map.
Included in the cost is a ''pocket of cloth'', a goody bag of my favourite embroidery fabrics.
Refreshments in the form of tea, coffee and cold drinks are included in the price. please bring your own lunch. There are refreshment outlets near to the venue should you wish to purchase these on the day.
***You are responsible for securing your own accommodation should you require this. I am unable to recommend accommodation, my knowledge of this is limited.***
02/01/2015
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.
01/31/2015
three pieces of piecing
Three pieces, roughly 8 x 8 inches square. They have loops, prairie points, strips of cloth and for now, just a little stab stitch. These won't have a lot of hand embroidery. They are purely functional, I need them for something. They won't be for sale, they will become useful tools for me.
I put them together yesterday afternoon, had fun picking fabrics and playing with what goes where, mixing and matching, making points and loops and slipping them into seams. They have to be put away for a few days now though. I have pressing things to attend to for class, for Swathed in Stitch. I am psyching myself up to doodle over there....the dreaded and much feared drawing at which I am definitely not a natural. If you're patient you may eventually get to see some more doodled cloth .....but please don't hold your breath.
01/30/2015
needle doodling, mostly loops.
Remember the pile of unfinished things I was hoping to work my way through? This is from that pile. I pin tucked this silk at the same time as the silk I used for the pouch with lemon stitching. I think they were demonstration pieces for class. Last night I added lots of loops, just kind of needle doodling, aimless, no real plan. It had quite an impact though, it fed an idea, it informed, it prompted. I know exactly what I am going to do next.
There is also a plan to pin tuck more silk, just to have it, as a background, for cutting up into patches, for anything at all. It would be nice to have a little stock of that to call on.
My ''snow go away'' dance didn't work. It came down and then some overnight. I like snow, it's pretty. I just would rather not have any when my son or the person who pays for my holidays have to drive in it.
01/29/2015
adding lace to white
Last night I played with white silk. Snippets of lace cloth were added and edged with buttonhole stitch and chain stitch. I then embroidered a cross stitch heart border with a little bullion loop on each one. French knots found their way into spaces, random clusters. That was it for last night, I ran out of time. This isn't finished yet but it's getting there.
I have quite a few things ''on the go'' as I might have said before. Slowly I am working my way through them and finishing things. There is a real sense of accomplishment when something actually gets finished and the pile gets smaller.
This morning I finished my hankie cloth. Oh my, I love it, love, love, love...adore even. I will show you that as soon as I can but the Simply Stitch five girls need to see it first so wake up simply stitch five, pay attention, you have a video coming later today.
I just want to say a couple of things now.....public service announcements so to speak. I have had a couple of e mails from people who subscribe to the blog by e mail saying they aren't getting e mail when I post. I know. There is a problem their end, I am powerless. Maybe subscribe again? There is a little box on the right for you to do that. Otherwise, don't wait for the mail. I am here every day. I have no life. I have nothing else to do except witter away on here so just come without prompt. I won't desert you.
Finally, I sent out invoices on Monday for final payments in relation to the London class. I have had one or two mails saying those haven't been received. They will come from paypal not me so perhaps check spam. Otherwise, those of you who haven't received one please get in touch and we can sort something out. Most people have received them, it's just the odd one or two like I said.
OK I'm going now......I'm going to do a ''snow, snow go away'' dance.
01/28/2015
folding cloth, a video
This
piece is almost finished surface embroidery wise. It was damp stretched
last night and the final little bits of stitch will be added sometime
over the next couple of days. Remember I promised you a video last week.
Well, what to show you on camera? The ironing? The dusting? The bed
changing? or....the process of deciding which way to fold this pocket
when it comes to titivating those edges. Length ways? Width ways?
decisions decisions....
01/27/2015
there's always clutter....
I tidy every day, I have to. You will be the same I'm sure, things piling up, tables covered in all kinds of embroidery related stuff. Organised? ha.....never going to happen. I can move piles from A to B and then to C if I need more space. Don't ask me what is in which pile, mostly I wouldn't have a clue. The only things I keep a close eye on are finished things, like the pockets which are sitting on top of those books but which have now been moved to a cabinet to keep them safe.
I don't keep ledger sheets in piles either, I have those in folders so they don't crease. Actually, I just realised, that does make me a little bit organised doesn't it. Now I'm quite pleased with myself.....
If you are registered for '' a London gathering'' you should have received a request for the final balance. If you haven't received this can you please let me know.
01/26/2015
a new plan
A new piece is taking shape, cross stitch and French knots on white silk. This piece, this plan, it has arisen from and been fed by this....the lace overlay piece. There will be lace, there will also be hexagons. The plan is to use those techniques, mirror that process in a different way. Quite how this will turn out I have no idea. That's OK. I don't need to have an idea of that yet, I just need to know what to stitch and keep the other thoughts firmly at the front of my mind. In fact I should probably write them down....I am prone to forgetting, to losing my big ideas.
01/25/2015
a new folder
Father Christmas brought me a whoop de doo new folder, or to be more precise he brought me some money which I then used to buy this whoop de doo folder. I love it, I keep putting things in it and taking them out again. I keep opening it then closing it. The blue fits here I think because of the pattern on the pockets. Paper pockets, cloth pockets, it's all about pockets.
I got it from here. This is the ''office'' page but there are so many other things to love if you browse for a while including this which I want so badly. (I didn't go to denmark for it by the way. They have a concession in Selfridges)
01/24/2015
two more
Two more pockets, two very different pockets. One created using silk the other using hankies and Liberty cloth. The first two pictures are front and back...or back and front because really it doesn't matter which way you have these. Perhaps they could be called two (two fronted) pockets.
Hankies dominated these pockets at the start but now I have a silk one I kind of like that idea too. Posh pockets? and non posh pockets? You may yet see another ''posh'' one appear here.
01/23/2015
overlay
You may have seen this configuration before, or something similar.....I can't remember. The difference now though is the lace is finished and it's permanently attached to the cross stitch and hexagon panel with both pieces secure on a header mount. As a sample this piece will remain like this. There is no danger of it getting damaged or creased as in addition to the header mount it is secured onto a mount board and will live in a folder with other samples.
Some of you may think it's wasted, in a folder, hidden............. trust me, this piece will inform and inspire indefinitely. When I'm struggling with an empty creative reservoir the samples come out. They've never failed me yet and to add to that library, that store of information is always a good thing.
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