Back for an overview....

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.

More Pouches and Pockets.....

We are at the tail end of Karen Ruane's class Embroidered Pockets but I can see I'll continue to make pockets and pouches until the cows come home. I started out with some broderie anglaise and doodled a sashiko design with micron pen and then did some stitching with hand dyed thread. I added some bumpy bits and just folded it up and laid it to the side. The next time I looked at it, some of the dye from the thread had bled onto the white cloth. I had nothing to lose so soaked it into some oxi-clean and most of the dye came out so the piece was once again usable.....but I really didn't like it.

click on the images for close-ups....

hand dyed thread bleeding into white cloth

washed in oxi-clean

 so.....I cut it up into pieces and started some patchwork with the fabric used for the bumpy bits.

cut up and did some patchwork

lots of embellishing

I created 4 panels and edged each with lavender piping.

only used 3 of the panels and made a circular base

I wanted the top opening to be rigid and circular.

stitched in a steel ring covered with binding. it measures 6" across the base, 25" around  the middle with the poufed out sides and it stands 9" tall. it's lined with white cotton cloth.

I now had one panel left over so another pocket was in order.

more embellishing and doodling....

for the back, I stitched all the little scraps left over together, made some patched bumpy bits, added some more doodling and it turned out looking like the face of a robot....to me, anyway.

and here is the completed front with a green cotton lining.

and the back with that funny looking patchwork piece stitched onto some white embroidered cotton.

I've also been playing with my Inktense Pencils and a hand quilted muslin piece that was done years ago just for practice. It's 2 layers of muslin with cotton batting in between.

I colored with the Inktense Pencils and applied textile medium over it to make it permanent. You can use water but the textile medium prevents the colors from bleeding to other areas of the cloth.

Once it dried, I added some stitch. More on this one next time.

Have a great weekend and do something creative for yourself.