07/19/2014
old movies and my phone....
I'm not here today. I'm up North at a garden party. Three of my close relatives all reach a birthday milestone at the same time. Whoever planned that didn't do it very well although I suppose three parties in one is good for the cook.......which isn't me.
So I thought I'd leave you with some old movies to watch while I'm gone. Should keep you out of trouble.
07/18/2014
parcels of cloth...
I doodled a little more last night on stitchery doodle 3. This one is very unruly. I added the buttonhole first, not sure if I like that or whether it will stay. It's not pristine enough....because the cloth is so unruly.
Then, because I had been showing them little tied parcels over in Alchemy, (paper parcels....you are my sunshine....you know the ones Alchemy girls) I had a need to make some fabric parcels which are secured here with bullion knots. Those will definitely stay, they're keepers. I also added some little loops, scattered those across the open space.....almost 100% happy with this one. There's just a buttonhole decision to make....stay or go...
07/17/2014
adding to a ledger page
Another ledger page has taken shape over in simply stitch 4. This page is the reason I got my paints out a couple of weeks ago...preparation. The painting has now been cut up and used along with pin pricking, hand stitch, paper insertion, a lot of titivation. You wouldn't believe me if I told you how long it took to finish this piece, if you saw the videos you will know otherwise you will just have to trust me. Thing is, hours, days, weeks, it doesn't matter to me. It's all about whether I like it, whether I would do it again. It's a yes and a yes. I have most of the painted piece left too, I only used small pieces so that's another win, win...I can use that in the future.
It's hot today and then some...phew....where's my air con? Oh yes, I don't have any :(
The plus side however? Great light for photographs. There's lace to snap, embroidery on white to snap, a buttonhole to put together, a bathroom to clean and some dusting to do.....
Stay cool wherever you are.
07/16/2014
surfaces
Lots of surfaces are being created over in Lace, paper, cloth and stitch. Here are three of them. Two of these you have seen before, the new piece, the one you haven't seen before is the piece which is on its own in the second image. I do love them like this, as a collection. As yet I don't have any plans for them, they are samples. They will be added to at some point, mounted? perhaps...not sure. They will however be preserved in a ledger for safe keeping.
There are other pieces, lace pieces, delicate pieces, pieces which make my heart flutter....honestly. I can't show you those yet but I will at some point I promise.
07/15/2014
stitchery doodle 3, an unruly piece of cloth...
Continuing the thinking from yesterday.....stitchery doodle number three, unruly, less precise, less pristine. Henrietta suggested number two might be lacking colour. I agree...it could be part of the reason number two is more ''posh'' but the main reason I have come to believe is simply that the cloth with number two is in itself more substantial. It is vintage but a better quality, a tighter weave, a thicker fibre.
This one, number three is vintage cloth, fragile vintage cloth, thinner vintage cloth, more worn and much softer. I like the dusky mauve on this.
07/14/2014
cross stitch hearts and dangly loops
Yes, cross stitch hearts and dangly loops have been added to my stitchery doodle number 2. I'm thinking that this one is not as ''free'' somehow as the first one. This one seems to be morphing into something quite controlled, precise, ordered. There's nothing wrong with that as such but the first one, this one, is more relaxed somehow, more chilled. It could be the fabric, this fabric is crisper, less unruly. It could also just be me, unable to shake habit. Unable to sustain embroidery that isn't controlled or precise..........
What to do? Start another unruly, badly behaved piece.....
07/13/2014
still in progress....
This one has been in progress for quite some time. I'm at the seam stage, securing with stab stitches and bullion knots mostly. French knots may make an appearance soon though, a little variety....
The body of this wrapping cloth is fascinating. I always find something I had forgotten about each time I look at it. There are quite a lot of little lift up edges that aren't immediately visible at first glance. There is one in the top picture, where the daisy cut out pattern is and there are two in the bottom image alongside each other. This piece also has lots of tabs. I think I've become a tab addict without realising.
I'm not sure when you will see this wrapping cloth again. I pick it up every so often and work on it for a couple of evenings at a time before leaving it to rest for a while. I'm in no hurry to finish it. It will be finished when it's finished.
07/12/2014
stitchery doodle no 2
I started another stitchery doodle last night whilst watching a new series of ''the Killing'' on Netflix. Light relief was needed. Seattle looks like a beautiful city but boy they have a lot of murders. There's nothing better than stitching on white when everyone else is dodging a murderer.
This one has tiny loops, bigger loops, cross stitch, layers of vintage white cloth with lacy edges. I toyed with the idea of adding a snippet of colour but decided against it. I hadn't intended there to be a series of these stitchery doodles but if it turns out that way then one with colour, one white...doesn't matter.
I'm off to Manchester now for a couple of hours....giving my long suffering husband a little attention. I'm not driving I'm going on the train. I will be able to relax and look out of the window...now that's exciting!
07/11/2014
this week
A glimpse of the past week from my phone, from my instagram uploads. There doesn't appear to be much variety here....oh well, I haven't been back for very long, can't quite have got my roll rolling....
07/10/2014
a table full of everything
I went out this morning. When I came back I did this. Gathering, looking, making a list, ticking things off another list. I love all of these individually. I love them more all together like this. You don't realise exactly what you have until you get it all together like this. Then you think, ''oh yes, I forgot about that''. You think ''that one makes me want to do x, y or z, that other one makes me want to do a, b or c.'' That's how your plans become thwarted. Doing this helps a lot in terms of planning but it also distracts, sets you off in a different direction for which you just don't have the time. Write it down then.... another list....you will forget if you don't Karen....
07/09/2014
bound, wrapped, tied....
Don't worry, I haven't gone over to the dark side and developed an interest in bondage...well not in that sense anyway. This is all about wrapping, binding, swaddling in order to protect and keep safe. It has evolved over in Simply Stitch 4, part of a theme, swaddling bands. To be honest it looks like a shroud to me. Having said that I don't see that as a negative, I find it quite fascinating because if you think about it we swaddle newborn infants, we wrap them in cloth and then when it's time for someone to leave us we wrap them in cloth too.......a circle of being wrapped in cloth.
This particular sample is created from pleated muslin which has been bound with torn cloth strips and then embroidered. To add a little delicacy I have partially edged one side with little dangly things. I made the buttons for the edge too but I'm dithering over those, undecided. There's no rush, it's not finished, I will take my time.
If you have registered for Lace, paper, cloth and stitch you should have received your first installment this morning. If you haven't received that then please let me know as soon as possible.
07/08/2014
adding to my doodly thing
I played a little with my stitchery doodle thing last night. I was a bit weary for some reason and wanted something simple, something relaxing, something soft and gentle. There was a little moment of anxiety, one area tore as the cloth is so fragile, it's vintage, it's older than me. I patched that area, (bottom image, left, running stitch and bullion loops). It actually adds to the piece so wasn't quite the disaster I first feared.
Aside from that emergency repair I have added partial seams of bullion loops, tiny seams of tiny cross stitches and some running stitches to highlight pattern within the cloth. Really, seriously, I have more pressing embroidery to attend to but you know what it's like...you do, I know you do. Sometimes simple is all you need.....
if you are registered for Lace, paper, cloth and stitch you should have received mail from me this morning. If you haven't received that please check your spam/junk folder and if there is no sign of it let me know as soon as possible.
07/07/2014
finished
Since I came back last week I have been finishing this pouch as well as working on my stitchery doodles. It has been backed, lined and edged with buttonhole lace. I think it's quite lovely....I also think?? it's spoken for??? We shall see about that one. If it isn't then it will go in the shop at some point.
Yesterday I went to London, a quick visit and an even quicker turn around. We moved our son down there to start a new life. I am now childless, it's quite liberating really. In total I have driven 1000 miles over the past two weeks.....it may be some time before I leave the house again.
This morning has been about catching up with class, videos for Alchemy and preparation for Lace, paper, cloth and stitch which starts on Wednesday.....later today it will be about cleaning and laundry, domestic goddess mode. It won't last long though, I give it 5 minutes!
OOps, I do apologise. This isn't spoken for after all so it's now listed in the shop.
07/04/2014
stitchery doodles....
I know, I know, I said Monday. Just goes to show you can't believe a word I say. This is definitely it until Monday though. I am moving my son to London this weekend. Sadly there will be no visits to Liberty or other exciting places either...insert sad face :(
I have been trying to get my brain in class mode whilst being desperate to stitch. In order to get the juices flowing I have been doodling with my needle on something which is purely frivolous, putting scraps of vintage white together alongside the tiniest scrap of colour. I have no idea what I will do with this but neither do I care. You probably know already that just ''having'' these pieces is enough for me.
07/02/2014
shhhhh
shhhhh.....don't tell anyone you saw me. I'm technically still on holiday. Trouble is I can't keep away. Normal service will be resumed on Monday but I wanted to say hi!! I also wanted to let you know what is on my mind and it isn't holidays....first off there's Lace paper cloth and stitch which has now been re listed in the shop. Then there's Alchemy and SS4....I daren't look at what they've been up to. Actually, I have homework for both those groups, sit up straight and pay attention....
pretty please can you mail me and remind me what I said we were doing when I came back...I know...useless teacher...couldn't teach water to freeze...incompetent....I do have a vague recollection, vague being the essential word......help....
In my defence I've been partying here for almost a week. You can see pictures of that here. I survived mud, I survived floods, I even survived an inflatable mattress popping at 4 am!! I was the only teetotal person amongst 150,00 drinkers.....that's a lot of people to take care of.
Having said all that......I LOVED it. I'm going back. I want to go back now. Acquiring tickets is a lottery. I was lucky this time....I'm scared I won't get them again. Think good thoughts. Send positive vibes. Bribe someone.......October is sale day......I'm limbering up as we speak.
06/23/2014
finishing and fiddling
The past couple of days have been spent finishing ledger pages with Simply Stitch 4 and fiddling with the lace I showed you yesterday. I don't take embroidery with me when I go away anywhere. For some reason I can never stitch unless I'm at home, in my familiar place, all my things around me. I would most likely forget something essential anyway....just ask anyone who has ever taken one of my classes....airhead central that's me. So I will miss this. I am sure there will be moments when I wish I had something to stitch. Perhaps I could put a note on my tent ''get your buttons stitched back on here'', now there's a thought.
My to do list today includes a very important task.....drop my long suffering sewing machine off for a service and some respite care along with buy more toilet rolls and a shed load of wet wipes.
So this is it for a couple of weeks. I will definitely be around on Instagram and Facebook....did I mention my smart phone addiction?
Despite the complaining and the angst about living in a tent I am very, very excited. I have always wanted to go to Glastonbury. It's going to be amazing.
06/22/2014
lace play....
It's been a busy morning, lots of pictures taken, videos made, samples finished for ''4'', critiques finished for Alchemy, lots of effort on my part to mentally prepare for this and living in a tent for 5 days. (if you watch it on TV I will be the one crying because I have to live in a tent). On the plus side....lace, silk, metallic silk tissue, embroidery and a new bathroom will all be waiting for me when I get home.
I finished some sampling for ''4'' last night and had a little thumb twiddle for 30 seconds before deciding to continue titivating this piece. It's an old one, it's been hanging around untouched but not unloved. I finished a few more tiny areas, neatened a few straggly bits. The areas which received most attention are the ones in the hoop images. There's more to do on this which will keep me going until I leave on Tuesday.
The shop will close tomorrow until I get back. You have around 36 hours to register for Lace, paper, cloth and stitch. Some of what's happening above may make an appearance in that class...we shall see.
(Alchemy girls....you will have your videos VERY soon)
06/21/2014
white lace and bullion knots....
This is all I have for you today....a tiny sample of white lace with a bullion knot edge and a French knot seam. Tiny means fiddly which equals time consuming but tiny also means it can be kept safe easier than something big whilst I have dirty workmen in the house traipsing back and forth.
They've gone now though...sigh...relief...smiley face...things are slowly getting back to normal and I now have a bathroom fit for a King or even a Queen. There are a couple of pictures on my Instagram if you are interested and there will likely be more added over the coming days.
Today? I have videos to make and I want to stitch.....that's the next 10 hours sorted.
06/20/2014
paper and silk
I've done a little bit more work on my sample for lace, paper cloth and stitch. I've also made a little bit of paper. I say made....it was the most basic form of paper making but stand by girls in ''4'' because you'll be doing this tomorrow, you might need a zip too.
Bathroom? Ongoing....still. I do have a new working loo and most other things are finished, he's up there now doing the final finishing touches...he's titivating, plumbers titivations....who knew they did that too?
06/19/2014
almost finished....
The surface embroidery on this pouch is now finished, it's damp stretched and titivations in the form of buttons and puffs are ready. It won't actually be put together though until I get back from my holidays.....it's a task too far.
I still have videos to make and a house to clean before I leave next Tuesday....standing in my way is a plumber. A very good plumber I have to say who seems to be making amazing progress today but nevertheless he makes a little too much noise for my liking and I've lost count of the cups of tea I have made.
This morning, in order to source a loo, I went on a zip hunt. It was a failure, not a decent zip to be had this side of anywhere. Mail order it is then. Meantime I did a little collage, with my legs crossed and I have plans for bullion knots later.
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