Merry Christmas

So here we are, Christmas Eve and the sun is shining brightly. The ice and snow of the last few weeks was beautiful to walk on, every step bringing a fresh crunch and crackle underfoot, but as the year comes to an end as did the cold, Jackson and I are once again wading through muddy puddles and walking on sodden ground. It is still quite beautiful despite the challenges thrown at us by the weather.

As I have been walking these last few days my mind has turned to thoughts of the New Year to come and projects to hopefully inspire me. So many ideas to sample and trial that I feel the need to put pen and pencil to paper and begin some sketches. I may make that a resolution for next year! In the meantime all that remains is to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very creative New Year. Thank you for taking the time to look; I am looking forward to sharing more photography and stitching with you again  in January.

                                        A FEW MORE LEAVES!

Staying with leaves I thought I would try a much larger leaf that would allow for more robust machine embroidery. I used a heavier weight Lutrudur and slightly thicker acrylic paints. It was very sturdy to stitch into so no need for a hoop. The finished leaf is life size and completely different in texture to the finer Lutradur ones I made earlier.  As the new leaves unfurl in the Spring I think it will be fun to make a selection in a range of beautiful luscious greens.

I just couldn’t throw all the small leftover pieces so I spent a few very enjoyable hours crafting some delicious little beads for future projects.

I had in mind some holly leaves to make Christmas cards but as they are so wonderfully textural and shiny I needed to use a completely different medium, laminated dyed Abaca paper which worked brilliantly and stitched easily.

For me personally the constraints of making cards are just two. The first is having a pleasing, size appropriate design for a very small area and secondly the component parts need to be flat to fit inside the envelope.... but I wanted holly berries!! To resolve the dilemma I made berries which I then squashed reasonably flat but they still fairly looked authentic. Arranging the pieces will take several attempts before I am happy but that’s OK.

Lastly, Christmas is just not Christmas without a tree so this year's stitching friends will be receiving another variation to add to their collection. I have more to make so I will be busy for a while longer!

 RESOLUTION and LUTRADUR

The middle of the flower was very dense due to the petals all meeting at this point. I desperately wanted a circle of shiny beads but after working my way around the first ring, I realised it was never going to work; the holes in my finger were a perfect testament to that fact!

Having used a metallic thread on the background I thought it would be pleasing to mirror the effect in the centre. So, after much thought I settled on some black metal purl and set about constructing a little button of hoops. Quite effective and exactly what I was looking for.

I have spent some lovely afternoons with Jackson in my local woods where the leaves (not to mention a few branches!) have been falling fast. The floor has been transformed into a golden carpet of crispy crunchy foliage and I confess to wading and kicking my way through with great delight. This is Jackson’s first experience of Autumn and it has been very enjoyable to watch him chasing the leaves wearing a very comical expression on his face. I brought lots home, some still green but most a shade of brown and I started by pressing the leaves flat. All my good intentions of dyeing fabric were set aside as I reached for the acrylics and spent a few days painting Lutradur and leaf printing.

I painted the Lutradur and left it to dry on soft plastic. When dry this gave the reverse side an intense shiny finish on which to print with leaves. I tried using cotton and rayon threads (first picture) but wanted more shine to echo the the fabric's lustre so I settled for metallic threads. I used a soldering iron to cut out the leaves and a hot gun to distress the Lutradur. Some were cut and blasted while still stretched in the hoop giving a flat finish while others were out of the hoop and free to distress creating more of a 3D effect.

What's not to love about leaves! I seem to revisit Lutradur and leaves on a yearly basis but each time it is with fresh eyes and a different interpretation as I still find it a very satisfying process. I will probably still be doing this for many years to come!

ORANGES and LEMONS

I have been drawn of late to the louder side of the colour spectrum and have found my hands reaching for some really bright colour combinations. This new fixation has spilled into my garden also, as for the first time I have grown bedding plants in colours to match my newly acquired colour palette. I have finished planting my side and front garden for the autumn and it is overflowing with shockingly bright oranges and yellows with some contrasting black. 

My previous piece was stitched using a hoop which was hard work not to mention quite frustrating; stitch, stop, move the hoop and wrestle with it, repeat all over again! Suffice to say the offending hoop is now in retirement at the back of a cupboard! This new sample was rather more enjoyable to work on and even though it is very densely stitched I am pleased to say I have no marks or puckers. I haven’t quite resolved the centre but I will give it some more thought.

Time I think for a larger project which will hopefully include a dyeing session as my fabric stash is somewhat depleted. I have been working with a new cotton which is quite densely woven but very light and thankfully doesn’t appear to have much of a fondness for fraying. I will dye a colour wheel of twelve related colours mixed from three primaries. I have used this technique many times and have always been delighted with the resulting colours; a somewhat clashing yet completely harmonious colour palette to play with.

STILL LEARNING!

I used water colour pens to paint directly onto the fabric in a very rough fashion. Free machine stitching was added to form the flower head and I thought I was heading in the right direction. 

Much later the table top was covered in a variety of fabrics but I knew immediately that a background fabric was not amongst them! I was keen to be stitching so a dyeing session was not on my agenda. Plan B was to quickly paint some pieces of cotton with my favourite Koh-I-Norr colours. I like to lightly spray the fabric with water which allows the colours to bleed and I also work with the fabric laid on soft plastic which also adds lines and movement whilst the paint dries. 

Before long I was happily stitching into the fabric and appliquéing various petal shapes to stitch into. The samples were quite pleasing although the dense stitching caused some puckering which was very unpleasing!!

For the finished flower head I used a hoop for the embroidery but it did leave a mark (hardly surprising considering the thickness of the layers and stitch). I also need to stock up on some new metallic threads as I feel the centre cone would have benefited from a little extra sparkle. Sometimes a project can become a learning curve and this certainly was one of them. I am happy to share my not so perfect work today but I will have to think of some alternatives for working in this fashion again.

I keep some old pieces of mountboard to play with before deciding on a final mount size and for this piece I ended up with three choices. When I look at older mounted pieces I often seem to be drawn to the off centre image rather than a central position but sometimes I find a different aspect to be quite refreshing.

ECHINACEA

At the risk of being boring here I am again after what seems an extraordinary long time. "Stop the world I want to get off" is a phrase that springs instantly to mind;  family, friends, growing puppy, a small crisis not to mention the hours spent in the garden trying desperately to mend and repair the damage from the lack of rain have left me bereft of quality time with needle and thread!

So no more procrastination or excuses, starting this week I am aiming for two hours of relaxing  time in my workroom as often as I can.

I have decided to start this new resolution with all things Echinacea. These beautiful and very tactile flowers are an absolute favourite of mine so my first journey began with, as usual, my camera.

I have several ideas but I think I will begin by concentrating on a single bloom and see where the notion leads. Hopefully I will have more to share very soon!

A LITTLE INSPIRATION 

I found a lovely flower in my garden and endeavoured to paint it in watercolour before printing the image onto a piece of fabric.

I added a little stitching and made a dense centre (on water soluble) with lots of holes into which I added a variety of beads. This was my starting point for the cushion design.

It has been a while since my last post and I am surprised to see it has been just over a month; note to self to do better in the future!

So, four hot weeks later, a piece of black background cloth, two fabrics from my dyed selection, some matching threads and a thimbleful of beads later I have a pair of decorated cushion covers. It was a surprisingly lengthy process. The free machine stitching of the arranged flowers was relatively quick compared to the time consuming process of preparation; drawing around the templates onto Bondaweb, ironing the pieces onto the fabric, the accurate cutting out of the many pieces and finally bonding them to the background fabric. 

Everyone seeks perfection in their work (especially the stitching) and I am no exception but over the years I have come to the conclusion that it’s the little imperfections which add uniqueness to a piece of work.  I have learned to look the other way at the ‘odd’ stitch and celebrate the diversity of life in my workroom and all its imperfections. Having said all of that I do like my beads to sit to attention and face the same way!

I am frequently asked about my continued fascination for stitching ‘all things floral’ and if I am totally honest it probably is a little bit of an obsession. My garden is my passion and I grow from seed a huge variety of plants to fuel my imagination and to use for inspiration. Sadly this year with the continued lack of rain everything is looking very sorry for its self indeed but I will endeavour to find some little treasures to photograph.

LOUD PINK and LIME GREEN

I have been taking Jackson out walking very early in the morning whilst it has been so hot. As usual I have had my camera with me but the bright sunshine has not been conducive to taking pictures as everything has a slightly bleached quality. I have however been looking closely at the beautiful pink wild flowers against the backdrop of green foliage. So many different pinks and greens to admire and there it was, a new colour scheme!

Later in the cool of the evening and the passing of the intense sun I found some pastel pink flowers and fresh green foliage in the garden. The following day feeling quite inspired I decided to have a mini dyeing session in the garage of all places as it was the coolest spot to be found and much to the neighbours amusement! It was never my intention to reproduce the colours verbatim which was just as well as the greens edged towards lime and the pinks were quite loud but they complemented each other rather well I thought.

The only thing left to do was to find a suitable project for my new fabrics and that was easily solved. My beloved grandchildren had stayed the previous weekend and as usual had found their way into my work room in the search for treasure. We ended up making boxes to house my beads (or should I say their beads!!) but on the way discovered a pair of cushion pads buried under fabric; as soon as it cools down my next project looks to be designing decorative cushion covers.

HEDGEROWS

Inspired by the scarlet poppies my second piece rapidly underwent a change of colour scheme and I finished it with band of crimson. The art of being flexible and  open to new ideas is a wonderful thing and I am always ready for a dialogue with myself and work to make beneficial changes. Sometimes if something is not quite balanced or harmonious I will leave the room for a while and simply return to adjudicate and see what changes (if any) I can make.

 

 

 

The dog roses are so very beautiful at the moment and a few weeks ago I found a tree with both pink and white blooms attached and scrambling into its topper most branches. I quite liked the textures of the bark patterns and assorted lichens which led me onto a little exploration with machine felting, French knots and some threads made using water soluble and machine embroidery. I particularly liked using different coloured threads on the top and in the bobbin of my machine to create bi coloured thicker threads which gave a pleasing effect to the piece. I have worked in a very similar style to this a while ago but it was enjoyable revisiting some of the techniques.

SEWING IN THE SUNSHINE

Upstairs in my work room I have a battery of bright lamps to work under but for the last few weeks I have been sitting in the garden with my hand stitching. The days are noticeably brighter and longer and I am really appreciating the increased light levels when I am stitching. Why didn’t I think of this before!! It has been delightful to work in the natural daylight surrounded by plants, flowers and birds with Jackson sleeping in a shady corner.

So, my little project was finished and the last thread tied off. I had forgotten just how much I loved French knots and the texture they give. It was time to start another piece and see what improvements could be made. I collected some fabrics and threads for inspiration but wanted to try something slightly different this time; a short return to the sewing machine was required. Very soon I had a collection of threads made with free machine stitching on water soluble. I have begun to incorporate them on the surface to add more texture and depth. Time for a little more stitching in the fresh air while I dream of a garden studio without the confines of walls and a ceiling!

I forgot to take my camera when I walked this morning which was disappointing as I came across the first meadow poppies in full bloom; they were very beautiful in both their colour and delicateness. I will be sure to add a splash of bright poppy scarlet before I finish this last piece.

WALKING AND STITCHING

 

Good afternoon everyone

We are slowly settling into our new life with Jackson and him with us. He is allowed to walk for 30 minutes a day at the moment so over the last few weeks I have been able to introduce him to some of my favourite pathways. The beautiful blossom of the hawthorn and crab apple in the hedgerows is stunning at the moment and at ground level the bright yellow cowslips are a carpet of sunshine. My favourite place to visit this week has been the local wood where the ground is a dazzling sea of bluebells; the most breath taking colours in the dappled morning light.

I thought quite hard about making my work room more accessible but decided it was still too early to introduce Jackson to the delights of fabric, threads and cables! So, I have gathered together my entire collection of hand embroidery paraphernalia and simply brought it all downstairs, piled high on a dresser out of temptation's way for Jackson.

When I have a piece of work in progress using the sewing machine, working towards the completed item I always think of the final stitch as the full stop at the end of the story; the final destination point.

I feel completely different about free hand stitching, I am not working in a methodical fashion, it is much more of an organic process and I never have the end stitch in sight. As with this current piece I will keep mark making with needle and thread until I think I have achieved a fluent and cohesive piece and that I have enough stitching to achieve that final full stop.

 

Slowly building up the layers of colour and texture, I'll let you know when it is completed!