At Lorna’s stitch group we have a little Christmas tree at the December meeting, with a decoration made by each of us. Each has a raffle ticket attached, then after our shared pot luck lunch we all pick a ticket to match up with the tickets that Lorna attaches to the decorations.
This year the theme was little felt birds. Lorna brings a pattern, fabric, threads and notions to the November meeting to get us started.
Unsurprisingly, I picked greens. Fortunately, before I started stitching, I realised that I had drawn two the same, rather than mirror imaging.
A quick press, and I cut the fabric in two pieces to make it easier to work.
Sequins and beads for eyes, some simple stitches and sequins on the tail. It was blanket stitched together, stuffed, and a cord attached to hang it.
This year we had a twiggy tree for the birds to roost in.
I’ve taken a few photos to try to get them all in.
They all looked very colourful.
This is the one I got to bring home. Thank you, Dorothy, it’s lovely to have a little piece of other people’s work, and thank you, Lorna, for instigating it.
A couple of weeks ago I finally made a start on a long-planned piece of work. In fact it was started some time ago, as many of the pieces were just waiting to be stitched on, and with some of them it was a case of finding them, having been tucked away in a variety of folders. The main one was the “bubbles” piece, which was returned to me after the Lincolnshire Textiles exhibition at the Chapter House in Lincoln Cathedral at the end of August. It was / is to be the focal point on the back of the jacket.
I’d envisioned it before it was even finished stitching last year. Once I had it back, I’d had it pinned on the back of the jacket on my tailor’s dummy, but I tried it on and got somebody to take a photo at “In the stitch zone” a couple of weeks ago. I felt it needed moving a little higher or even…..
….. putting across the back yoke. But it isn’t symmetrical in shape and not unsymmetrical enough to look intentional. It just didn’t look balanced. The bottom piece was done years ago – a workshop with Mary on Kantha work, which I’d never heard of at the time, but I loved the effect. Ironically I’d decided I should make a whole jacket in it, but it hasn’t got any further since! It may end up on this jacket, or maybe another project, who knows?
I also tried other pieces on the front. I thought the cream one would be more likely to get grubby near the bottom, so stitched the brown and orange one down over the pocket, making sure not to stitch through the front as well, so that the pocket is usable.
I rotated it ninety degrees anti-clockwise as well, and extended the stitching on to the jacket using the same variegated thread. I was so excited about it, that I wore it with just this piece on.
I then added the bubbles to the back, slightly higher than the top photo, using tiny ladder stitches and turning the excess under as I went.
By the end of the second session, I’d got a couple of inches left to do, and again wore it with a few threads dangling – it was the easiest way to carry it, rather than it being crumpled up in my bag. It’s all stiched on now.
I’ve found some more pieces for the front, and have made a start on adding more stitches to the orange crazy patchwork butterfly piece. There’s still a long way to go, but it will evolve as I go along and I can at least wear it while it’s a WIP.
I managed to finish my “bubbles” piece for Lincolnshire Textiles before last week’s meeting. The sequins, beads and French knots took longer than I expected, mainly because there were lots of little areas still to fill, and each bead and sequin had to be attached individually(see above).
There’s a “hole”, at the end of the kitchen table! The hoop is still resting on the chair with the remaining fabric and backing still attached.
I also stitched in my initials, tiny and difficult to spot! I ended up cutting it out once I got there, wanting to make sure I left enough seam allowance for the assembly.
Several other pieces have been finished, all of them very different from each other, but there are lots more to be handed in yet. I’m looking forward to seeing all of them joined together.
I kept thinking mine would look good on the back of a jacket, it twinkles beautifully when the light catches it. I’d thought that it was all going to stay as one piece after the exhibition, but I’ve now found out that we’ll all get our work back.
For quite a while I’ve been looking in the charity shops for a suitable jacket to embellish, but hadn’t found anything and had given up. Recently I bought a piece of cotton drill in the same green off a sales table, and needed to find a suitable pattern. But now I know I’ll get “bubbles” back, it’s on hold until August 2024 after the exhibition in the Chapter House at Lincoln Cathedral. Jo has also very kindly said to keep the rest of the fabric, so it might work for a collar or pockets.
Having given up on finding a jacket to stitch on, I’ve found a perfect lightweight one for £3.00, “Dash”, unlined, 55 linen, 45 cotton, slightly fitted and looks unworn or barely worn. It’s more taupe than the grey it looks in the photo, and will go with most of the colours I tend to wear. I’m going to wash it before I start stitching, in case it shrinks.
Some of the button holes look slightly frayed, but I’ve seen some decorative finishes for button holes recently and some fancy embroidered buttons in a book, so I’m thinking that’s where I’ll start. My plan is to wear it and it’ll gradually evolve over time. I’ll just have to check for pins and needles before I put it on. At the moment, I’m thinking a brightly coloured silky lining once it’s finished.
Several other pieces have been finished, all of them very different from each other, but there are lots more to be handed in yet. I’m looking forward to seeing all of them joined together.
I’ve continued with the outline for my blackwork palace, making the most of the good natural light we have at the moment.
I’ve done little bits of unpicking in places to get the shapes looking balanced and symmetrical where relevant.
It was all working until I got to the top of this turret, which so far has been unpicked twice and is still not right. I stopped as I had run out of patience, also so I can try drawing it up on graph or squared paper. I thought it was the last bit before being able to go back to do the easy in-fill stitches, but looking at the photo I’ve noticed a stray line on the bottom left! I need to check that out…… and it needs another turret!
Nearly there! On the photo above, you can see three (?) blue pen circles when I ran out of time to do any more that day. I’d been trying to finish before I’d got to stop, so I could wet the water soluble pen ready to start the sequins when I got back to it.
I’ve finally started adding sequins, deliberately altering which way up I’ve stitched them. Some have two stitches and some three to anchor them down.
I’ve also added some tiny glass beads ……
…….in places, with a mix of different colours, shapes and sizes.
More sequins,
………lots of them, but a long way to go. They are catching the light beautifully.
I’m trailing them through …….
……..the whole piece.
But there’s still a long way to go, some more beads and french knots too. My aim is to finish it before the next Lincolnshire Textile meeting, but the garden is calling and the wisteria is out.
As anyone who has been reading my blog for a while will know, I dream of lying in the hammock under the wisteria. The weather and time rarely come together, so I managed half an hour in the hammock when my body was crying out no more gardening today! Then I carried on.
Blue sky with fluffy white clouds, and my favourite spring green. I really should grab some more sessions over the Bank Holiday weekend. For once, the weather forecast is good.
I’ve continued with my Going round in circles from last week. In my stash I’ve found iridescent sequins that will work well with it, but have resisted the temptation to stitch any on yet. I know from experience that they will catch my threads as I continue stitching, which is so annoying and time consuming: patience.
I’ve caught down a cut out circle to gather it into folds, which may have some beads added later. The one below is blanket stitch in a perlé 5, you can see the water-soluble pen behind. Again the light is awful, and makes it all look much more yellow than reality.
This one makes me think of a slice of kiwi! I have also started to add some french knots…….
……… some fly stitches, again with water-soluble pen behind…….
…….. a tiny ring of seed stitches in a variegated thread.
Blanket stitches come out from the circle with more french knots around it, with one, two and three wraps around the needle and various weights of thread to add texture.
The spaces are gradually filling in with more circles and french knots. It’ll look different when the water-soluble pen is removed. It’s a bit unwieldy in a two-foot hoop, but at least I can see the overall shape and how the “bubbles” relate to each other.
debbidipity 