Simply Stitching...

did lots more stitching this week as there is continued inspiration coming from Karen Ruane and the Simply Stitch group. i'm continuing to add embellishments to the cloth i'm working on...

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free motion stitching stitched onto base and embellished with lots of embroidery

interlocking wrapped bars and prairie points

the center of the cloth with piping around the edge. measures 20" x 20" so far.

a special friend gifted me some cloth that i just love. i've saved a piece of it to use in my journal but i'm making a stool pad and back pillow with the rest. made lots of piping this morning with some cow fabric i had in my stash.

need to find some backing fabric so i can stitch this up

a very old stool that always comes in handy when working at my cutting table. can't wait to dress it up with the pad and back pillow.

we actually got some rain this week and my rain gauge showed 2". the grass is loving it. the temperatures are still in the high 90s so it's very hot and not a time to be spending outdoors. hope the weather is tolerable where you are and that you are enjoying the weekend.

stitching and playing a bit with PE...

it's been very hot and draining this week. i did do a bit more stitching and experimenting with several things.

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some free motion stitching on cheesecloth and bits of fabric

a string of cross stitched hearts

i love taking an image and using the filters in Photoshop Elements to change it. this is a lily flower that was in a vase on my kitchen table.

i might attempt doing these with paints someday.

it was 105° yesterday. the early morning hours are so pleasant in the backyard when the sun is first showing its face. i was out early today since it is my watering day.

 

wishing you all a good week.

has it really been one week....

seems like this week just whizzed by. almost 2 whole days were spent clearing out my bookshelves of old books that will be given away...probably donated to the library.
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such a good feeling to know that new books coming in will have a spot on the shelf

some more shift work on this cloth to create gears. it's just tacked in place ready for some more bullion knots to form the sprockets. i do love sitting and doing that stitch. it's very meditative. something to do in front of the tv.

this cloth is moving along but not really sure what i'll do next.

remember that mango from a few weeks ago....that shell that looked like a boat. it's here. i just couldn't resist doing something with it, so it's now a little basket. covered it with some free motion stitching i did on cheesecloth, added a handle and filled it with 2 funky puffs.

it measures 3"x2". it might make a good gift tag.

i did work on the white cloth and a pretty long piece is ready to be attached to the large piece with the toile fabric.

added cross stitch, ric-rac, spider web roses and french knots.

must try to find the time to start putting these granny squares together. i really don't know how many more i need.

for a small blanket that will be gifted

we reach close to 100 degrees every day and there hasn't been any rain. hoping for some tomorrow, if the weatherman is correct. have a good week.

Rolling Along....or...

The Wheels of Time...or The Time Machine...or maybe, just Life. haven't decided what to name this one yet. this one seems to need a name. it started out in a class with Karen Ruane and has moved into something completely different using techniques learned both in Karen's classes and in Jude Hill's classes.
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mostly hand dyed cloth, a section of loose knitting and a sheer gray cloth

a weaving and the shift with cut out circles

creating sprockets and gears using bullion knots

lots more work to be done here to make it look like a working machine.

Here are the dyeing results from last weeks post. if you missed it, you can see it here.

the end wrapped around the copper pipe was really pretty but the rest just shades of yellow and orange. this was not dropped into the bath but steamed up above. i decided to redye it and you can see the results further down this post.

this is the silk that was wrapped around the tin can

and the beautiful markings on the flowers after the dyeing process. i was tempted to save them but i didn't.

here's the piece from the copper pipe that i redyed using a metal grid but there was too much iron in the water so it turned real dark. i guess it's time to change the dye bath.

didn't do any more dyeing this week but i did freeze some flowers from the garden and those going downhill that i had purchased from the supermarket. had to show you...i love how they look when i open my freezer. they are frozen in time.

lilies

zinnias, marigolds and coleus leaves

stock

more stitching done on the cloth i'm working on in Karen Ruane's current class, Simply Stitch.

added prairie points, lace and lots of stitch on the edges.

it was a busy week with only some of the things planned accomplished. stay cool if you're encountering the sweltering heat some of us are having right now. hoping for cooler days with a bit of rain.                  

more hand dyeing and....

 gardening, dyeing and stitching took up most of my time this week. had to pull out my lemon cucumber plants. they never did flower and all the leaves started turning yellow. i think i planted them too late and given the temps in the high 90s every day, they didn't have a chance. but there are lots of orange and yellow cosmos blooming so those flowers and some roses that were purchased from the supermarket are what i used for this weeks bundles.
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roses and cosmos

and the flowers bundled in silk around a copper pipe and a tin can

i'll show the results next weekend.
here are the results of the bundle i showed you last time. it was a cotton slip from long, long ago that was white when it started out. it will be stitched and embellished at some point in the future.

cosmos and roses around a tin can

i love the mustard color that developed on the neck lace

and i decided to try and start a mango tree...just for fun. getting the seed out of its shell was not easy. wrapped it in a wet paper towel and put it in a plastic bag with some air blown in. it is now on the windowsill and hopefully in a couple of weeks the roots and leaves will appear so i can plant it in soil. can't remember where i read those instructions.

the shell looks like a little boat doesn't it....hmmmm

a little green house

and some stitching, of course, inspired this week by Karen Ruane's class Simply Stitch.

not a great picture but you get the idea...

 have a great week and for those battling floods, i'm thinking of you and hoping you are all safe.

a very friendly butterfly

out of my kitchen window i saw this beautiful butterfly feasting on the flowers on my obedient plant. i ran and got my camera and luckily the butterfly was still there. she/he would land on a flower, take what she could, and before going to another flower, she would circle around me...real close to my face and shoulders... and then land on another flower. she did this each and every time. it was almost as if she was welcoming me to stay and watch. i actually left before she did.
click on all the images for close ups.

 i did some more work on the weaving i showed you last time with the hand dyed silk damask cloth. i cut it into 2 pieces and added it to the lace-like piece it was made for. i then cut out some circles and shifted them (something i learned from Jude Hill), wanting them to look like the gears of a machine. it still needs lots of embellishment to make it look the way i have envisioned it in my mind's eye.

'the shift'

creating a spiral with stitch on the largest circle

i did manage to dye another bundle this week. it's actually a re-dye of a cotton slip that didn't turn out too well the first time. i added lots of orange and yellow cosmos and rose leaves, all from the garden, wrapped it around a tin can and tied in a copper pipe for good measure. this one will take a long while to dry. it's a full slip and it's folded and wrapped many times around.

wrapped around a tin can and tied in a copper pipe

it's been in the 90s every day so i try to do all that needs to be done outside during the morning hours.
i've been enjoying seeing some of the pics of your gardens all around the globe. sorry if i haven't been commenting every time i visit. wishing you all a happy weekend and a good week.

dyeing results, yard work and a bit of stitching...

here are the results of the dye bundle i showed you last week with the rose petals, rose leaves and cosmos. i wish it would have held onto the beautiful red/purple color but it did fade in the washing. just a bit of it remains. maybe i should have treated it with vinegar before washing...not really sure.
click on the images for closeups.

after washing it did lose a lot of the pink/red from the roses but still a good result.

i spent a considerable amount of time in the yard laying weed block in preparation for adding pebbles. just completed one section to determine how many bags i'll need. will have to get someone to deliver it because i need close to 20 bags...and they are heavy.

the pebbles in the afternoon sun

this dead tree stump wouldn't hold the planters anymore so i planted right into the stump.

and i did manage to get in some stitching this week. this is some hand dyed silk damask lining  that i cut into strips and did a weaving. this will be added to the piece i showed you last time here.

wish you could feel it. it is wonderfully soft.

 the weather has gotten very summer-like even though it is still officially spring. high 80s and 90s every day with very little rain. keeping the yard green is a challenge with only one watering day a week.

a week of many projects...

i traveled from one project to another this week...trying to get it all in...so just a little progress in each, but that's ok. eventually, each will be completed.
click on the images for close-ups.

a web stitch on a bit of lace. i'm told it looks like a dream catcher.

did a bit more stitching on this piece. i thought it would be some kind of a vessel but plans have changed.

  and then some dyeing using spent flowers that i bought and from the garden.

rose petals, rose leaves, cosmos

all bundled around a tin can and ready for the dye pot

the garden is growing since we had 4½" of rain last week. these orange bulbs went from nothing peeping out of the soil to full blooming flowers in 6 days. i could almost watch them growing, it happened so fast.

May 25th, after a day of rain

May 30th, in full bloom

and almost forgot about this granny square afghan i started with a lace, variegated yarn...

trying to keep the blocks in order for a variegated look when stitched together

we're hoping for some rain this evening. it's hot...in the 90s...and very humid. hope you're all having a good weekend and are out of harms way. lots of weather creating havoc these days.