03/28/2014
the table and the phone.....again
My table, my house, areas of clutter and works in progress....all from my phone. We eat at this table every day, hence the salt and pepper and the butter dish. The drawers are crammed with all kinds of stuff. They could probably do with a little organisation. The shelves are next to my comfy sofa where I sit and stitch in the evening, mostly watching tv.
I have had comments about the flowers...how I always seem to have nice flowers...well yes. I'm not a gardener. I have a tiny patch of earth outside and a bigger area of paving. I don't get pleasure from mud and soil in the great outdoors but I do love flowers. I mostly buy them for myself. They are relatively cheap in supermarkets, £3 a bunch , around $5. It's my treat to me for surviving the dreaded weekly ''big'' shop.
03/27/2014
in progress....
There are five pieces in progress, all evolving as part of pillows and pages....we haven't even started on the pages bit yet! Some are nearer completion than others...I'm dizzy. Having said that I can't wait until they are all finished as I will be surrounded by pillows....heaven....somewhere to lay my head maybe.
There is silk, there is gingham, there is printed cloth, there are bullion knots, stab stitches and chain stitch. There is applique and padding and fabric manipulation....are you keeping up? The raspberry silk may come as a shock to you, it did to me but I love it. It's so vibrant, uplifting. I have used it before...here.... small amounts with guess what? gingham...coincidence or what!
Despite being surrounded by all this unfinished work my next creative few hours are going to be spent with blue and white....I'm spoilt for choice today.
When I was looking for the images of the raspberry silk I spent ages trawling through my flickr photostream....boy do I have a lot of pictures on there, some better than others, some should most likely be deleted they are so bad but then there are others which make me go...''Oh...I forgot about that'' and ''Oh, I really like that, there's an idea.''. You should try it with your own photostream if you have one....a trip down memory lane.
Finally......if I said Alchemy......what would you say?
03/26/2014
tracing ledger pages for a ledger
I spent some time on Monday evening with tracing paper....and a pen, a kind of doodling. I don't have any firm plans for these traced pieces yet but I am hoping they inform further ledger work, spark some new ideas. I often spend time thinking I should be drawing, coming up with new artwork and then I thought....''I've got artwork already, old artwork, why not play with that a little and see where it leads''. So that's what I'm doing here. The penny hasn't yet dropped on moving these forward but it will...at least I hope it will.
03/25/2014
pillows and pages
This post is brought to you courtesy of the wonder that is modern technology. I am not here. I am up North eating cake. Since I am skipping school, playing hooky I thought I would try and redeem myself by showing you what happened on the first day of pillows and pages. There was applique, there were prairie points, there were beaky things and bullion knots. The pages didn't happen in school. They are old pages. We aren't at the pages stage yet of pillows and pages.
I must dash, my cake is ready. No doubt that spoilt cat will be appearing on instagram any time now.
03/24/2014
loops, hexagons and the Liberty pouch
Last night I was playing with the Liberty pouch. I added hexagons, a Grandmothers flower garden, loops, piping, prairie points and French knots. This is evolving very quickly. If I have time I will finish it this week, a little more embroidery and then a backing...hey presto. Well..... I will be shouting hey presto if I do manage to find the time.
Pillows and Pages started today...yes, really. If you're registered on that you should have received a mail, passwords etc. If you didn't get the mail then let me know asap....
03/23/2014
blue and white from 4
This is a glimpse for you of my blue and white collection which is being created over in simply stitch 4. When I gathered these pieces together this morning I was a little surprised at how many there were, the pile has grown so quickly. There isn't a single piece that I'm not happy with, that I won't be able to take forward and use in the future either as the basis for a new piece of work or to inform a new piece or to set me off in a completely new direction.
(ss4 girls, there is a new blog post today. Did you get your mail? Videos and pictures.....)
03/22/2014
what's new....
These two pieces have new additions, tiny additions but new none the less. Do you remember I wasn't happy with an even number of bumps on the gingham piece? I've sorted that now, a tiny lemon bump which looks a little like a fried egg! The next time you see this gingham piece it should be finished, completely finished.
The Liberty piece from yesterday now has another strip and a very small wrapped, piped area secured with bullion knots. This one could progress quite quickly....we shall see.
The ledger image is for Clara.....
03/21/2014
white and Liberty
OOps....late again. I'm falling into bad habits. I do have a good excuse. I just had my hair cut. The evidence is here...my one and only ear....I only have half a face you know.
Anyway, enough grovelling and seeking of forgiveness. The embroidery, Liberty print fabric on a white background. Applique, hexagons, strips and beaky bits. It's luverly....I love it anyway. This one's for me, probably going to be a pouch. I started it ages ago and it kind of got lost amongst everything else and as the other very exciting thing I am making has to remain hidden for now I thought you might want to see this.
Tuesday will most likely be the big reveal day for my other exciting piece....that will be after the pillows and pages girls have seen it. We start that on Monday...there are still a few places left if you're interested. Actually, I'm saying it's an exciting piece because it is to me but you could quite possibly be underwhelmed. I will refrain from calling it exciting. Instead I will call it ''unseen''.
In other news......the blue and white will be out later, sampling for ''4''....I'm not coping very well with the relaxed format over there. I miss the constant buzz, the instant feedback in terms of images and response from the group. I will not be using that format again...six months of longing, of creative suffocation.....booo.
03/20/2014
my table and my phone....(cloth and stitch clutter)
My phone and my table are inseparable. I take a picture almost every day of what is happening on the table, what that days clutter consists of. If you don't follow me on Instagram you would probably never get to see these. The last one is actually the ironing board, used almost as often as the table, cluttered to the same extent.
There are plenty more where these came from too....you have been warned.
03/19/2014
a lace video
I had a thought this morning....I do have them occasionally. It's a long time since you had a video...aren't you the lucky ones?! So today you have five minutes of me, talking about lace cloth, talking about embellishing lace cloth, discussing this piece which has been ongoing for so long but which is now nearly finished. So put the kettle on and get your feet up.....five minutes of lace....
03/18/2014
a mix....
There's a lot to show you today, a lot to tell you. Well I say a lot.....it's probably just that I've got more to say than usual. I can't however begin to pretend I am a woman of few words as there are plenty who would challenge that statement I'm sure.
The pictures? There is a glimpse for you of what's happening over in ''4'' and a look at the lace cloth piece from yesterday which is now finished and listed in the shop. This is three pieces of lace cloth joined with buttonhole lace. Why join three instead of making just one big one? Well initially I just made the first piece because I wanted to without a clue as to how it would progress. I then decided I would make more to join onto it. I chose to make two more small pieces as opposed to one bigger one because I love the seam where the join takes place, how I can overlap in that area and form a kind of raised seam, a ridge. I do like this. I have a bigger one that I made in ''lace class'' many moons ago that is draped over a cabinet door in this room I'm in now.
The work from ''4'' is also lace cloth, finer, more delicate with blue going on. I'm totally in love with what's happening over there...utterly....
This morning I made over one and a half hours of video for ''pillows and pages'', for our first lesson. See....definitely not a woman of few words. I already love that class and we haven't even started yet and I absolutely cannot wait until my house is completely crammed with pillows!! Monday...yes Monday....look here if you want to see what will be happening in our pillow infested world. Oh and you can ignore the two videos a week thing....I've got three already and that's just the first day!
I'm sorry about this next paragraph...it seems to be all about the shop doesn't it...sorry....but I decided to de list SS3 as a work on your own class for personal reasons....however.....in it's place I have listed SS2 which I think is perhaps more exciting as it was during SS2 that my daughter got married and the bridal bag got made......very happy days indeed.
I spent a few worried days at the beginning of the week thinking that everyone in the USA had insomnia. Your visits were earlier, what's going on? Then I realised that your clocks went back!!! Ours haven't yet....next week...so we are one hour closer now . Isn't that a nice thought?
(I have now set up a flickr group for ''pillows and pages''. This group is public, invitation only. As yet you cannot upload images but it would help if you joined the group prior to Monday. If you have registered for that programme please go to flickr, search for the group ''pillows and pages'' and request an invitation. Please put your name (your real name as opposed to your flickr screen name) in the subject line so that I can confirm you are registered for this online class.)
03/17/2014
extending lace cloth
Yesterday afternoon I made two more pieces of white lace cloth. One has been titivated and attached to the first piece, the second one will also be attached once it is completely embellished. This is so simple yet very satisfying to work on, to embroider. I like to define the edges, ''hem'' the open areas with buttonhole lace, lay one piece over another in order to create a seam and a 'join' for more buttonhole lace. When I attach the final piece I may layer that seam with lace....we shall see.
simply stitch 4.....stand by your computers girls, there are videos coming very soon :)
03/16/2014
Lace cloth
A tiny piece of lace cloth that I put together yesterday and hand embroidered last night. I was hankering for white, I couldn't help myself...it's an addiction. Silk net, silk snippets, lace snippets, metallic silk.....laid on a painted lace background. By hand I added buttonhole lace, around seams, around fragile holes, around edges of cloth. I have made more of this already today for hand embroidery this evening. Planning ahead....me thinks I'm on a roll girls.....
but you have gingham and stuff to do and blue and white I hear you cry. Never fear...it's all in hand....when have I ever let you down.
03/15/2014
extra bumps....
For the sake of balance I need another bump on here. That will mean 8 bumps.....thing is I don't like even numbers so I may try and sneak in a tiny bump somewhere unexpected, watch this space. I had hoped to have this surface finished last night but it wasn't to be. Once it is finished it will be damp stretched and put to one side until ''pillows and pages '' begins. I will be putting it together on there and doing more marvellous things with it. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that, it may be a marvellous disaster. Either way, success or failure, it will be a few weeks until you get to see it again.
Can you see what I've been up to this morning? More cloth, more gingham. I had a very successful trip out on a gingham hunt. I love these colours, they're subtle, understated. I will be mixing these up with other stuff and the playing for that will happen later today.
03/14/2014
more from four...
As you can see and as I promised you in the absence of earth shattering events which luckily passed me by yesterday.....the work from then has moved on, is different. The silk piece, the fabric piece with hexagons has been mounted onto titivated paper as a ledger page. It is now evidence, a record of time, of thought, of an idea that can be taken forward into a finished piece of work. And hold on to your hats SS4 girls...I have a plan brewing that will get underway as soon as this post is live.
I'm also working with gingham at the moment. I need more gingham. Don't get me wrong, I will never turn down an opportunity to acquire more gingham but this is actually a need as opposed to a want. I am convinced that I bought a lot of my last batch of gingham in Stockholm. Sadly I can't just pop over there for gingham at times like this so I have a spy out looking in John lewis today...please don't forget!
Pillows and Pages is approaching fast. It begins in just over a week...yikes...I definitely need gingham for then. I am so excited about that. My house is going to be pillow central by the time I've finished and there will be so many pages like these and these that I will be forced, (ha...no problem at all) to buy more ledgers....shame.
(Alice, please can you mail me to confirm your e mail address)
03/13/2014
last time in 4
a promise is a promise......last time in 4, the evidence, the progress, the evolving of a sample. I adore blue and white on silk. There is a preciousness to it and a delicacy. This piece has changed again since these pictures were taken. I will show you tomorrow. I will...unless something earth shattering happens. I'm not really in the mood for earth shattering so I'm hoping it avoids me, swerves past my house. No time here for drama of any kind.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for raiding my shop yesterday. There are only 3 little books left now and no cloth! Poof...it's gone. There is a lot of gratitude here in Lancashire :)
(simply stitch 4....stand by your computers girls there are videos coming later today)
Alice...can you please mail me to confirm your e mail address....
03/12/2014
ledgers and snippet cloth....
I know, I said I would show you my work from Simply Stitch 4 today didn't I....sorry. The ledgers kind of came together quicker than I anticipated so that's what you've got today. I hope you don't mind. There's also some snippet cloth here and these are now part of a mini shop update. It's been a while since I put any actual finished pieces in there. The ledgers aren't listed yet, I'm doing that next, it will take around half an hour.
In other news....flood....? Yes, two to be precise. My washing machine broke. They couldn't fix it. I'm insured for that so was detailed to get a new one at no cost. That's what I call good news...oh yes. But....disconnect the old one and flood my kitchen, good idea!! Connect the new one, go away and in less than an hour another flood in the kitchen, very good Idea. Not. That's how come the ledgers got finished. I ignored the madness and shut myself away with paper and cloth and pencils and thread.
03/11/2014
dotty loops....
The spotty, dotty, red and white piece has had a little more attention. The new additions here are the spotty loops bridging the white piped strip. The bullion loop edge is also finished and I even managed to get this one damp stretched before showing you. No naked embroidery today!
I love the red and white cloth. It was a gift, purchased from who knows where. My mission is to find out so I can buy more as there isn't much left. The white, the gorgeous vintage white was also a gift. I do know where from but there won't be more of that. It's a one off, a rare find.
I have been asked if it's possible to purchase simply stitch 3 even though that class is now over. I hadn't considered it before I was asked the question but have decided that yes, why not. All the info is over in the shop (link above, just under the header image)
Today, later....I am creating for simply stitch 4. I am having so much fun over there with blue and white. I will show you tomorrow.
03/10/2014
sampling for pillows and pages
I'm sampling, creating surfaces for ''pillows and pages'', my new mini class. You have seen this piece before, the plan has been in the pipeline for some time. It isn't yet finished, more has been added since last time and there is more still to come. Last night two huge bumpy things were created, I need a few more of those. These ones are edged with bullion knots, a ring of bullion knots. The surface of this piece is wonderful to run your hands over, ( if they're clean!!). These things will be usable, pillows, none precious in the sense that they need to be kept safe. These will be living happily, in the open, visible, touchable.
The work for ''4'' is also ongoing, more progress there today which I may show you tomorrow, (If I don't manage to get anything else ready)
To read more about ''pillows and pages'' just go here.
If you registered for ''pillows and pages'' over the weekend you should have received a mail from me today. If you haven't then please let me know.
03/09/2014
progress in 4
The blue and white of simply stitch 4 is evolving. A few French knots with a tiny blue addition, web stitches and bullion knots. It is so refreshing working with blue and white, the pale blues lift, they cheer, they are a perfect contrast for white. I love how soft the hexagons appear in the first image, almost as if they are puffed up with air. (they aren't, there is no padding of any kind happening there)
I'm not here really. This post appeared, (hopefully) by the wonders of technology...it was scheduled. Who knew I could schedule? Not me....
I'm at the football, the soccer, with any luck I am happy because we are winning. If we don't win I will never speak of it again.
New Mini Class ''Pillows and Pages'' here.
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