Travelling geodes

It was decided in the summer that the SEATA group would do geodes as well as travelling books, starting at the September meeting. The travelling books group had got much smaller. I opted out a while ago. When the format changed, I found that it didn’t spark my imagination in the way responding to what was already in the book had done. Two pages on a drawn-out topic just wasn’t the same.

All the participants had to set up a 6″ or 8″ hoop with a background fabric of their choice. Then put it in a bag with a little notebook, pencil and any guidelines or instructions (stitches or colours for example), and add any threads or notions if they wanted to, ready to be picked up by somebody else taking part. The idea is to work one row, inside the previous row make a few notes in the little book – stitch, thread used etc., and SIGN the page, so we know who has done what on our geode, put it back in the bag ready for it to be passed on next month.

This is where the travelling books fell down sometimes, if somebody wasn’t at the next meeting to pass on and collect the next one on the list. We tried various ways to try and reduce the problems, but some groups got in a real muddle at times. It was decided that if you missed a meeting, just to do another row and pass on next time with the geode.

I was dithering on my background fabric but, while looking for something else, I came across a little paper bag with these autumn-coloured tree “buttons” in, long forgotten my original intention with them. However, I decided they would make a perfect border for my finished wood / forest / trees geode on this dark background fabric.

I found this variegated slubby yarn …..

….. and couched it down. I’ve put the trees in the bag, so they can be stitched down at the end. (They would catch on threads while stitching if I’d put them on at the beginning.)

This is how it looked at the October meeting, thanks to Sue.

I chose this lovely green hoop for my first pick, and by chance it happens to be Sue’s. The only confusion so far seems to have been that some of us had done our own first row and some hadn’t, but not a problem. I used this dark purple thread to do Coral knot stitch, deliberately not making it a perfect circle.

The one I picked up at the October meeting was Lorraine’s, with the gold (the top photo) already stitched. She wanted shiny and blingy, so I’ve used a deep pink Anchor Marlitt for a random buttonhole stitch.

I don’t know who took mine last month, so it will be fun to see how it has progressed.

Dragonfly 2

I haven’t touched this dragonfly for a month, since Alison Larkin’s last class at the Chapter House in Hull. However, I made some progress on it last night.

It was all in a box (from Hull Scrapstore) that at least keeps it all together, so I just needed the base of the stand and my basic sewing kit. Organised for once! I checked before I left home that I’d got the right stand, only to discover when I got into the room that the tightening screw was missing. It was still just about light enough to re-trace my steps back to the car to see if I’d dropped it en route. No, but fortunately it had fall out in the car and rolled between the flap and the floor of the boot. Relief. It would have moved around too much to stitch easily without it.

Quickly assessing what I’d done so far (doubled up gold thread), I was ready to start the second wing. (The intensely coloured photographs are from this morning in daylight.)

Both wings stitched vertically ….

……. then to start putting in the horizontal threads, which I couched down on the intersections.

By the end of the evening I’d got to here. One of the vertical strands had got caught round the wing nut and come slightly loose after I’d released it, but I can tighten it as I go.

The colour looks much better this morning.

The ends and knots will all disappear when I get to the buttonhole stage.

Hopefully, I’ll get back to it before next month’s class, but for the moment it’s all back in the box, ready to go.

Progress on PHD’s / UFO’s

Continuing with long and short stitch

The autumnal colours that are beginning to take over from the greens prompted me to pick up this silk shading stylised tulip that I started on a Nicola Hume workshop some time ago.

I’ve procrastinated about it on several occasions, partly my arm but mainly that I had ‘borrowed’ the threads for another project, no idea which, so finding the ‘right’ threads has put me off. I’ve even picked out more threads and done a little bit more on it; the centre above and below. Then when I came to continue again the threads have disappeared (into the black hole?) once more.

The centre finished

I’ve picked out more threads and determined to finish it, before the threads vanish once more, I’ve used two or three darker browns to stitch the stem.

Starting the stem

Finished stem

I have cut away the excess fabric, laced it over a piece of mount board covered with a piece of white felt, and put it in the top of a tea box that I had sealed with Danish oil or Finishing oil months ago. It’s been ready and waiting for the embroidery to be finished.

Top of the tea box.

I’ve also worked on the Alison Larkin Hardanger infill sampler over the last couple of weeks. It only needed the last three blocks doing. Lots of challenges here; no in-person tutor, new infills, written instructions, scale of the work (‘new’ glasses are wonderful!), left for too long to even remember the basics, general procrastination about it. But classes aren’t going to be starting any time soon, so I decided I should ‘just get on with it’.

I am very much a visual learner, and understand and pick things up much quicker when I am shown how to do something than trying to read and follow instructions, and fathom it out. It’s at least partly confidence, and patience (with my own self). However, on several occasions, when on library duty pre-lockdown, one of the ‘knit and natterers’ had asked me to decipher instructions, and I’d spend ages working out how to do something. I was expected to be able to sort it out and I did, even if beforehand I’d not had a clue. So I ‘can’ when I am patient with myself.

One more block

Working on the last little block

Suddenly realised just as was finishing the last little block that something was wrong. Can you spot it on the ‘one more block’ above? Everything for this project was in the plastic wallet, work, instructions, hoop (taken off each time I stopped working on it), threads; burgundy and ‘goldish’ perlé EXCEPT for the thin gold thread used on the Grasby lockdown challenge #4 last week. It’s a large cone and doesn’t fit in the plastic wallet!

It was so long since I worked on this that I’d forgotten that I was using a strand of perlé AND a strand of gold in the needle! Sandra suggested weaving the gold through rather than undoing them both. It worked, Alex couldn’t pick out which ones I’d done that way, and Sally picked out a different one! Phew!

Last little block After the gold thread was woven through.

Gold thread woven through.

Careful cutting was required on the centre block. The scary bit! Especially on this last bigger block, not just to cut around the kloster blocks, but to ONLY cut the short kloster blocks, leaving the four threads between the long five-stitched kloster blocks. Patience and concentration required!

So busy concentrating, I’d almost finished stitching it before I realised I’d not taken any photos.

Only realised I’d not photographed this big centre piece until I’d nearly finished it.

Even with taking the work out of the hoop every time I stopped stitching the impression of it is there. It also looked a bit grubby so a gentle soak before blocking it.

Finished and out of the hoop

Blocked and waiting for it to dry.

Close-up while it’s still blocked.

The gold frame is found, it had been tidied away. I just need to be patient waiting for it to dry before lacing and framing it. Oh, and to remember to sign it, something I think we should all do with our work, but several times I’ve forgotten to do before it’s gone in the frame.