moving along...

i have finished 2 hats using circular needles and next i will tackle socks with the help of the class i signed up for on craftsy.com. i am quite comfortable using the circular needle now and think i can move along on my own.

just finished the white Rosie hat and it has just been blocked

i've done some more work on my ledger pages...

cloth, photoshopped images, watercolors, inktense pencils

stitching on watercolor paper and embroidered centers

playing with a bit of color over the stitching

and this started out as a ledger page but will be expanded into a cloth using some of my hand dyed and shibori cloth

Karen Ruane's 'An Embroiderer's Ledger' class has ended but she plans on offering it again sometime soon. I highly recommend it for lots of new inspirational ideas. Karen has also moved her blog over to typepad. So check out her new blog here and you can read all about her online classes, read her latest newsletter, check her shop and lots of other interesting things.

the winner has been notified...

Rhissana is the winner of the Knook and has been e-mailed. As soon as she sends me her address, i will put the Knook in the mail. thanks to those who participated. watch for future blog giveaways.

the winner

and back to some stitching...

still cutting up the blue and white dress and using the cloth in other projects. this second project is a bag made from some cotton cow fabric ( i was into cows lots of years back), an old, faded flannel shirt and the blue and white cloth. i used the plackets of the flannel shirt for the top closure (an idea from Jude Hill) and for the inner layer of the bag to give it more body. the strips of seams cut from the shirt were stitched together and made a perfect handle. the fat seams gave it some added body. the shirt pocket is on the inside of the bag, as well as a bit of lace to slip in a note or card...this was a fun project. click on the images for close-ups.

flannel stitched in between the outside and the lining to give the bag body.

a flannel pocket and a pocket made from a bit of lace

the front

the back

a bit of weaving and stitch as embellishment

just the collar and sleeves remain of the flannel shirt

loved using what i had on hand to construct this bag. wonder what i can make with the collar and sleeves...

A BLOG GIVEAWAY...

some of you might have heard of the KNOOK...not the Nook that is an e-reader but the KNOOK with a K that is a way to get the look of knitting with a crochet hook. i ordered it a while back but couldn't get into it...probably because i already know how to knit and would rather just use knitting needles. in any case, if you think you would make use of this, just leave a comment on this post and i will randomly pick a winner on Wednesday, July 25th.

this is a beginner set to be used with medium weight yarn and there are free videos online to teach you how to do this as well as a booklet in the kit. here is a link to the videos so you can get an idea of it and decide if you would like to try it. i have no affiliation with this company.

the Knook---beginner kit

knit 3, purl 3....and some more ledger pages

finally finished my first hat using a circular needle. i'm feeling more comfortable with the circular needle and have started a second hat that is a bit more complicated...one step at a time.
click on any of the images for a close-up view.

periwinkle blue...my first hat

on to hat #2 with cables

moving along in karen's embroidered ledger class and learning lots of new techniques. here are a few of my new pages:

adding embellishment to a page

and some tissue paper overlay pages:

tissue paper and lace

pattern tissue paper with embellishment and close-up

love using black and white

AND...some of you are familiar with Alabama Chanin and their beautiful clothing. here's an interesting blog post by Rayela Art about a new Alabama Chanin book and a short video.
AND...here's a post by Purl Bee on an Alabama Chanin market bag kit.

thinking ouside the box...

i always try to be thinking outside the box, but Karen Ruane's Ledger class has really encouraged me to do that even more. it took me a while to get into this but i'm really enjoying working on these pages and i can see so many possibilities developing for moving forward in my stitching. here are a few more ledger pages i've been working on. click on the images for a close-up view.

stitchery added on the right of this page i posted last week. this was a thrift store find linen hanky. i did some free motion stitching and then appliqued circles of the embroidery over the stitching.

this started out with the paisley shaped image from a Dover design book from the 1960s. i pulled some elements from the design and created open circles backed with scrim, leaving parts of the cut out area intact.

this page started out with a sashiko design on paper and eventually was stitched on cloth.

close-up of the sashiko stitched design

the paper design is tacked onto the back of the stitching.

it's hard leaving my familiar comfort zone and venturing out of the box but it sure is fun seeing things and combinations of things in a new light and being inspired to create something different. it's the only way to really move forward. i found this article had some interesting hints for thinking out of the box. check it out and let me know what you think.

some things that need recording...

i have been enjoying Karen Ruane's latest class, An Embroiderer's Ledger. journaling is something i've done on and off through my life but i really never stick with it. i'd much rather be stitching or dyeing or doing some other kind of needlework. i'm learning new ways of analyzing images and bringing them forward into stitch.

my first ledger pages

trying to find time for lots of other things as well:

making my first hat to learn to use circular and double pointed needles

adding beads and weaving to a bobbin lace piece in progress

a bit of eco-dyeing on silk velvet and scrim

some more eco-dyeing on different types of silk

so my time is filled with wonderful projects. hope you are enjoying your time as well.

cutting it up ...

if you've been following along, you already know about the blue and white dress fiasco. more about that here.
i started the transformation with the collar. i just cut it in half, reversed one side and stitched it at the bottom and along the sides, folded down the top flaps and stitched on 2 buttons and added a ribbon down the center. the ribbon was a gift from a friend when we visited some museums in NYC a few years ago. it will be a convenient pouch for small knitting, crochet or stitching projects. it measures 8" x 4".

collar cut down the center and reversed

front

back

ribbon detail...knitting instruction

label

UPDATE ON INDIGO:
unfortunately the indigo seedlings are not making much progress. i've been nursing them along but i think it's a lost cause:

indigo seedlings

and wish there were more of these variegated cosmos coming up. most on the plant are just solid color but these were a nice surprise.

variegated cosmos

hope you're all having a good weekend.

peppermint crepe myrtle

my peppermint crepe myrtle has bloomed for the first time in 20 years. it is a miniature and always gives green leaves but has never before bloomed. it really doesn't get enough sun so i was very pleasantly surprised with the blooms.

peppermint crepe myrtle

and the shoots of the desert willow tree, that have come up from the ground after the tree was cut down due to it splitting right down the middle, is giving beautiful blooms this year. it's a bit wild...more like a bush than a tree but i love it.

desert willow

UPDATE ON BLUE AND WHITE DRESS MAKEOVER:
well...i crocheted a blue edge on the collar...added some length at the hem with an eyelet underlay...patched up the openings on either side where there were spaces since the original style was slit and slightly opened on the sides...and before i got ready to change all the buttons to give it a bit of color going down the front, i decided i'd better try this on and see how it looks. it is still way too big on the top and is quite uncomfortable ( i knew there was a reason i stopped wearing dresses). so i have decided to cut it up and make it into a bag. my challenge is to use all the areas that i embellished in the bag so that all that work will have been worthwhile, although i did enjoy the process.
here's a picture just showing some of the additions i made since my last post.

reworked dress will now be cut up and reworked into a bag

then and now...2012

the re-designed dress is nearing completion. i've used a part of a vintage linen cloth as a label and embroidered 'then & now 2012'. i still need to add a couple of inches to the length which may include some embellishment. i'll try to get a picture of me in the dress when it is actually completed.

a vintage label with 'then & now 2012' added

and here are some close-ups of the band just below the waist made up of bits and pieces of vintage linens and lace and added hand embroidery:

and the entire front and back...

i need to start thinking about which re-design i want to tackle next.

the mending continues...

i mentioned in the last post, i think, that i purchased a size 2X dress from the thrift store that i was going to re-design so that it would fit my size 8-10 body. it's not as easy a project as i thought it would be. it took me 3 days just to take most of the seams apart and remove the sleeves. i did make a smaller sleeve and basted it on to see how it would work. it's ok but i think i'm going to redo it and make it a straight cuffed sleeve instead of the gathered look pictured here. just below the waist, there is a band that i'm going to embellish with lace and embroidered bits and pieces. it's just in pieces now and will be narrower after it's all stitched. the dress is slightly gathered in the back with a huge long tie that i will shorten and just fasten  with a home made button. here's just a peek at what it looks like so far. i'm working on this project as part of Jude's Contemporary Boro class.

the dress as purchased with long, wide sleeves that tied with bows at the cuffs.

the side seams have been taken in, and a new sleeve was constructed. the embroidered lace pieces are covering a band just below the waist...not yet stitched down and incorporated within the garment, so it will be a bit narrower.

stopped in at the thrift store this morning and 3 items came home with me...

that cap is made with a beautiful embroidered linen and it's brand new. the tags were still on it. also picked up 3 cotton napkins that will be perfect for dyeing and embroidery and a wool scarf.

there are other needlework projects happening...

i do carry my crochet around with me for those few spare moments of time. some little sewing pouches might be edged with these crocheted pieces...and there is a plan for all that bamboo yarn...there's also a shade of pink in the mix and a taupe. click on the images for a closer view.

 

 

i had 2 small pieces of silk that i stitched together to make a scarf. the raw edges got a simple single crocheted edge. the main color is actually a deep burgundy with a beautiful sheen that i couldn't capture with the camera.

a deep burgundy (not brown as it appears here) ikat silk scarf

and still working on some bobbin lace. the original plan didn't work out so i just worked up a grid that is being embellished with beads and might also get a weaving in the center...maybe the front of a small purple velvet purse...not sure yet.

bobbin lace grid in a green linen. embellished with purple, blue and green beads.