Pages, stitched papers.

 

Another distraction, something I have been meaning to do for goodness knows how long.

I have a large sketchbook to fill with stitched papers, mixed patterns, mixed weights, mixed finishes.

This is number one.

 

A little page play

 

It's been a notebook morning.

Cutting papers, stitching pages, painting pages.

 

Building a collection

 

The collection of embroidered accessories for my latest notebook project is growing.

There are now buttons, weavings, fabric swatches, delicate embroidered papers and beaded overlays.

The beaded overlays will be used to enhance the notebook as I progress. 

Fabric painting is happening in the background, in class, and to my girls....I made you a video this morning updating you on my progress.

A note for my subscribers.

I believe your emails weren't the best quality in terms of images.

I think, I hope, I have rectified that now. 

Two pages

 

Last time I was here it was all about the hand stitched overlays.

Today it's two new pages which will each have an overlay too.

I'm possibly going to add more to these, that's why they don't yet have an overlay. 

The embellishment here is all hand stitch, scraps of cloth and scraps of paper too.

You may have noticed a little watercolour in the backgrounds. 

I'm not sure of the gsm of the paper in this notebook.

It's quite thin and almost certainly not made to accept wet media but it didn't complain too much about the minimal watercolour here.

More bits and pieces.

 

In my last post I was rescuing homeless samples, adding more embellishment and joining them to create larger pieces.

 

The pieces here today live in the same cabinet.

 The needlecase and pin pillow were created in class.

 

The other two pieces here are stitched papers. Altered with machine stitch before hand embroidery was added. They are also homeless samples I guess.

 

I'm thinking they could become the start of  a new artist book. 

Delicate stitched paper books

 

 

Fine white Japanese tissue papers, stitched on my sewing machine before being embellished with hand embroidery.

Sewing these surfaces on the sewing machine makes them very receptive to hand stitch. 

It's hard to describe how lovely, fragile and delicate these feel in your hand.

My big 'to do' list now has stitch more Japanese tissue added! 

  

 

layers, textures,

Yesterday if you remember I was talking about some thoughts I'm having about taking a different approach to ledgers, artist books. This is the start of that, mixing surfaces....cloth and stitch with doodles and texture....larger pieces than I normally use in my artist books. I wouldn't say I'm there yet in terms of firm plans, I'm still playing and thinking and making notes. Maybe I will overlay pages with fine papers, sheer, lace like papers......again I'm just wondering, considering, laying those down. At the moment the overlay in the fourth image is my favourite, it's lighter, more delicate.

There's still a long way to go with these. I will keep playing, testing....

- See more at: http://karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/#sthash.cOQ3T8Wk.dpuf

Paperwork, a growing collection

Sigh.....cloudy day equals gloomy images....I must have a word with the guy who's responsible for the weather. Another finished piece of paperwork to add to the growing collection. You last saw it here, it's been added to since then. I now have five pieces....I would like to have ten but may have to settle for seven, we''ll see how it goes. These will shortly be mounted onto A3 bright white mount board then these too can be ticked off the France list. 

Later today, imminently, I will be working more in my little books.....filling a few pages. Perhaps I should rename those ''a few pages here and there'' books.

- See more at: http://karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/#sthash.FBbdhBD0.dpuf

Bling on paper

More work on the same theme as yesterday, the same collection, another piece. There are beads on this one....In case you missed my explanation a while ago..... the ironing board...it features heavily in my life as I'm sure it does in yours and in my case in a negative, groaning, moaning, awful task kind of way. So why not make it into something special? Why not transform it into something pleasurable just as I do when I use it to press cloth for embroidery or to piece cloth for a project. This is me turning my ironing board on its head, turning it into something I love to look at as opposed to something I dread getting out. 

Some time ago, for a project when my children were small I asked them to name everyday items they associated with me, with mummy. They said cups of coffee, the radio, a particular favourite trinket box I own, needle and thread.....and the ironing board! From that moment I have been determined to turn the ironing board into something pleasurable, for me at least. Hence the stitched ironing boards and the paper ones too.

You can see an embroidered ironing board here and here....

To answer the questions I have been getting about this paper collection, this paperwork is being created in the current class ''patched pockets''. Reinventing the page begins on Monday. That class does not include this paper technique but does include other fun things to do with paper in order to create sheets of work or to enhance your ledger/sketchbook work.

- See more at: http://karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/#sthash.rwFYFuNN.dpuf

paper and thread....

Something a little different for you today. Well it is paper and I do put a lot of that on here too but I didn't want anyone to get bored looking at embroidery and cloth so I am trying to keep you awake as it where. These have been on here before in an earlier stage. Since then I have added hand stitch and pricking. I originally made these as stand alone sketchbook pages and wasn't sure what to do with them after that. They are comprised of machine stitched paper, collage and wrapped threads. I have a little stash of machine stitched paper, some from ages ago and I tend to make a little more when the machine is up for something else. I wasn't certain they were finished and coming across them again recently I decided I wanted to hand sew onto them so that is what I have done. 

I'm not guaranteeing they are going to be finished before I go away but I had the urge to work on them last night and so far have added some French knots, some running stitch and some pricking along an edge. I know for sure that I won't be working on these tonight. Tonight I want to finish the bumpy section of cloth I showed you yesterday....hopefully you will see that tomorrow.