Karen's class, Stitching a Story, is coming to an end. It has been 12 wonderful weeks of embellishing a storybook of our choice. My choice was THE BEDSPREAD by Sylvia Fair. It is a story of two old sisters who decide to decorate their boring bedspread. I have made a short video where I flip through the pages of my embellished book. There are pages with collages, embroidery, paper work, fabric pajamas, stuffed figures, etc. Some of the pages are kind of blurry in the video but you can still get a good idea of what it looks like. You can see the video here. I did run my fingers over some of the areas embellished in the video to distinguish from what was already on the page.
Here are some stand alone pictures of some of what you will see in the video and a few pieces that are stand alone pieces. Sorry for the poor quality of these images.....I think I need to go back to using my camera instead of my phone. click on the images for a closer view.
Karen's classes are always inspiring and motivating and allow you to move in the direction of your own personal creativity. The next class, WRAPPED AND BOUND IN STITCH, begins on Sept. 5th, so check it out here.
a pocket with the book jacket printed to hold the book and a zippered pocket embellished with embroidery and a 3D fence to hold all the patterns used.
an embroidered door, a tiled welcome mat and a collaged tree with embroidered flowers.
some of the embroidery and stitch done on a stand alone bedspread piece.
The book is opened to the page where Maud and Amelia are embroidering on their boring bedspread. I created a stand alone piece with bits of fabric and lace to mimic their bedspread. It measures 30" x 11".
I haven't posted in so long that I'm hoping I remember how to do this....I post mostly on Instagram these days and some of you have been following me over there....so thank you. Some of you have wondered why I wasn't posting here anymore and there just isn't enough time to do it all so I hope you'll come on over to Instagram and follow me over there. You do not need to set up an account to follow me.
Thought I'd just load this post with some of the images that I've posted over there so you can see what I've been up to....click on the images for close up views.
There have been more pouches:
pouch with hanky and lace
embroidery cut up and stitched with fabric into a bucket pouch
Lots of embroidery:
monograms on some free motion snippet lace
a tree embroidered onto a page in a story book
embroidery on cotton. pattern from story book
embroidered names of characters in storybook THE BEDSPREAD
miniature pajama tops with monograms for the 2 characters in the book
The storybook is what I'm working on in Karen Ruane's class STITCHING A STORY. It's not too late to sign up....Go Here
and I've also been working along with Pat Sloan's Splendid Sampler group. Two blocks are posted each week to work up. I'm refreshing my memory on so many techniques I haven't used in years....and it's all FREE....so check it out and see if you'd like to join in. Go HERE Scroll down at that link and you'll see all the blocks presented so far. There will be 100 total so it's an ongoing project done a little at a time. It's amazing how fast the blocks add up. Here are some of mine. I'm working in two different colorways so I'll have 50 in each when it's complete.
a block with lots of embroidery
this one was a challenge with foundation paper piecing
and here are most of them in one colorway
and in the other colorway
Well, I guess that's all for now. Not sure when I'll be back here but hope you'll come see me on Instagram. Hope you're all enjoying life.
I moved from this project to that project and back again. Trying to finish up some UFOs and started something new. Can't ever resist starting something new. Here are a few images....
click on the images for a better view...
doodles on cloth, sashiko stitching, bumpy bits
preparing fabric circles for embellishing
doodles on cloth enhanced with chain stitch
stitch embellishment
Finished up a flextangle that was started a while back.
color catcher sheet attached to flextangle pattern and adding stitch
2 completed flextangles
Determined to finish this wrapping cloth started in one of Karen Ruane's first embroidery classes. Added some embellishment to this panel.
And....a few of you asked how I was managing to control all those loose threads on my bobbin lace piece, so here's a picture. The threads are temporarily wound around four large pins stuck into the pillow. The nightmare will be untangling them and braiding them into the trunk of the tree when the lace work is finished.
managing the bobbin lace threads
Hope you're all enjoying your weekend. Have a great week.
This is the last you'll see of the Downton Abbey coat. I have worn it twice and it's cozy warm. It will be a long time before I take on such a huge project. I started it in November of 2013. It didn't actually take that long to knit....just had to stop and give myself lots of breaks due to boredom.
click on the images...
scrollwork on the collar.....tab with 2 buttons
close up of the scroll work done with a crochet hook through the knitting
2 buttons on the front....black marks are in the wool
I've been playing with mosaic tiles this week...It all started with this video. You can see the tiles about 40 seconds into the video. I was able to get a couple of samples of mother of pearl tiles and I'm doing some sampling with embroidery.
mother of pearl tiles on a mesh grid. each tile is 3/4" square
I took the hammer to some of them and did some embroidery
added some grass through the cracks
and did a bit of weaving
Time will tell where all this will lead....I have some ideas. Sometimes, too many ideas.
We've been having Spring like weather but more cold days are predicted. My double narcissus bulbs are blooming so I know that Spring is not far away. Wish I could send those of you inundated with snow some of our weather. Stay safe and warm.
Spent most of the week on finishing up my bobbin lace VW Bug and creating a scene for a pillow. The fabric was showing through the lace so I did lots of weaving through the spaces. This will be a fun pillow to have around. Looks like the helicopter is chasing the Bug....still more work to do on this one. The helicopter does need a pilot....or something...and there will be embroidery in the background. The car still needs some doors. It measures about 12" x 12" so far but it will get a border.
click on the images for close-ups...
the scene so far. the cut off piano keys fabric made a good roadway.
helicopter appliqued on with lots of black stitching.
used some wrap stitches for the front grid and shisha mirrors for the hubcaps.
I tried doing a patchwork lace piece. I drew a pattern, cut out the pieces and used them as templates to cut out the lace. The lace was then free motioned onto a muslin background and still adding lots of embellishments with hand embroidery. It might wind up on the front of t-shirt if I can make it removable. Don't think I want to throw this in the washing machine. It is 6" in diameter.
drawing a pattern
stitched down with free motion embroidery and auditioning beads and buttons.
hand embroidery in progress
still needs more embellishing down on the bottom half.
....and I did do some meandering between the tomatoes I showed you last time and I think it will work to camouflage all the wrinkles.
meandered between the tomatoes
Our temperatures are still in the 100s almost every day without any sign of rain. Can't wait for the Fall season to arrive.
That's what I've named this piece made up of leftover pieces of fabric from past projects that were done in black and white....mostly.
click on the images for close-ups.
the back of the magical forest
It all started with that center image of forest trees and a scattering of cows....added in some musical elements and a magical walking path. lots of hand embroidery...eyelets, stars, french knots and 2 shisha mirrors. This was fun to do. It's edged in piping and measures about 6½" x 6½". I did put some cotton batting between the layers to give it some body.
cows in a magical forest
I've had this coverlet pattern that I sent away for in 1974. I had remembered doing a few of the embroidered blocks but thought I had gotten rid of them remembering that I couldn't get all the wrinkles out.....Well, they turned up this week while going through some old projects that hadn't seen the light of day in years.I tried damp stretching the 10" blocks and was fairly successful except for the tomatoes. I'm going to try and do some free motion embroidery on the piece to see if that camouflages the mess I made. It would all make a nice kitchen wall hanging.
a picture of the coverlet as shown in the magazine
the blocks before damp stretching. I had started cutting out some of the elements to use in applique.
on the damp stretching board
And of course, there was some lace work. Experimenting with more snippets of lace on a lace background but this time in ecru and beige.
lace bits free motion embroidered onto a lace background
I can hardly keep up with all the projects I've started in the past few weeks....so I am keeping busy.
Hope you have a great weekend. We are in the over 100 degree temperatures the past few days so I'm staying inside and staying cool.
but not much progress has been made. I did manage to make the last 6" corner block for my Fun Times cloth.
a combination of cutwork and a yo-yo embellished with hand stitching
I'm starting to make decisions about assembling the daily stitch project. I don't want to leave it all for the end. I think it's best to start putting it together as I go...or I'm afraid it will never happen.
it's growing in size quickly
I did a bit of lace work with the bits left from the cutwork done on the vintage cloth...
free motion embroidery on vintage silk net with bits of vintage embroidery
after doing some hand stitching....I once again cut it up to use it in some more cutwork.
fme lace in the background
and then there is the knitting. That was my focus this week. Lots of experimenting and making some more decisions. If you read my last post, you will recognize this yarn that turned out to be very chaotic for what i had planned...so I tried a granny square with a dark green border and some plain stockinette stitching ...but I'm not happy with it yet. Thanks to those of you who made some suggestions. I think I will try some weaving, this week, with sections of this yarn. It's that bright pink that really bothers me.
still too bright and chaotic for my taste
but, I did get the Noro yarn for that scarf with the leaf edging and I love the way the sample turned out, so now I can start on the scarf pattern.
you can now see the leaf created on the edge
and I am still knitting the Downton Abbey coat. The back is finished and one third of the left front. It's hard to be knitting so many different things at once....always having to choose one over the other. Eventually, it will all get finished.
It was Springlike here this week, leaning toward Summer with some days in the 80s (F), but another cold front is expected by the end of next week and that will probably be it for Winter, here in Austin.
Have a great week.
Here's a Ted video you might find interesting...using your limitations to create. Embrace the Shake
