Christmas Card from Canada

What a lovely surprise - this beautiful Christmas postcard arrived in the post from Mary Lou in Canada as a "Thank You" for organising the monthly swaps on UK Embellisher Swap group.

 Thank YOU Mary Lou - I was delighted to receive this - it really cheered me up after a week of being a bit under the weather.

Fusible Applique

Before

A while back I bought Laura Wasilowski's book "Fanciful Stitches - Colorful Quilts" and embarked on dyeing fabric to use with the ideas in this book and on other projects.  Here is a little quilt inspired by Laura's book.  

With some sort of new found confidence with free motion quilting - probably from Ferret's workshop yesterday, I decided not to hand embroider and popped it under the needle and painted away with variegated thread.  I made my usual mistake of going too close to the edges so I can't make anything with it - next time I'll leave borders.  It's OK for a practice piece.

After

A New Direction



Click on the picture to visit the author's web site.

For some time I've been think what to do next - of course there's still a pile of quilts at various stages of finishedness (is that a word?) but how many quilts can a house take?  Occasionally I have commissions but they're not really my pleasure - not yet anyway.  They make me nervous - when I ask what colour, what style, even what size, the person who has asked me to "do them a quilt" sometimes waves dismissively and says "whatever you think", "they're all lovely", "You Choose".  That leaves me in a state of anxiety throughout the whole mission - will they like the colour, will they like the size, will they enjoy the design?  So far everything I've done for money has been greeted with enthusiasm and a cheque book so maybe I should drop the panic attack status and adopt the philosophy that whatever I do will be acceptable........mmmm I tend to think that's some way off.

Anyway to continue my quilt journey I need to downsize, not everything that is big is beautiful, it often causes a storage problem.  For most of my life I have not been interested in frills and fancies and things without a purpose hence my sewing has been dressmaking things to wear, then quilting things to keep one warm or decorate a rather plain sofa.  Making bedding and curtains to achieve a better quality and uniqueness than you can find in the shops and protectors which cover beautiful table tops which really deserve to be uncovered so we can appreciate the natural splendour the tree gave up its life for.

I saw this book reviewed Fanciful Stitches Colorful Quilts and despite it was so "Not Me"  I bought it and loved it.  It's currently out of stock at Book Depository and quite expensive on Amazon.  I purchased through Amazon Market Place and got a better price - however, the Amazon seller was Book Depository so not sure why it is OOS on their own site......a mystery not worth delving into here of course.

Laura Wasilowski's style is bright colours, small quilts, fused together and embellished with hand stitching - look at the book, you may find a Google Preview under the image on this page so you can look inside and you'll get the idea.  Perfect for preparation at home, then it can travel with me to be embellished as much or as little as is required.  They can end up as a thing of no purpose, a wall hanging, a book cover, a bag flap and countless other items which float in and out of my mind.

Here is the author's blog with some videos of embroidery stitches to help me on my way.  I'm finding handwork easier with the arrival of some quality daylight lighting (thanks Mum!) last Christmas.  Then there's information on thread types and sizes and appropriate needle types and sizes.  Fusing tips page and another on combining embroidery stitches - I have enjoyed reading this blog but have barely scratched the surface so more time needed there.  If you like the look of these quilts, you'll love the blog.

This looks like bright, simple and FUN!

All fired up with enthusiasm to make one of these quilts I gazed in disappointment at my extensive stash.  I've been a dull, earthy toned girl most of the time with what I've made so whilst my stash could compete with the best of the rest, there's not much in there to brighten up my life.

At the back of the book there are adverts for other C&T Publishing titles and Fun, Fast and Easy Fabric Dyeing by Lynn Koolish caught my eye.  Might that be a possibility?  How can I justify buying lots more fabrics in lots more colours?  I'll leave all that for another post......

Embellisher Christmas Cards

One of our new overseas members at UK Embellisher Swap has not received her Christmas card despite her partner posting it off the first week in December.  She wants a replacement so I thought I'd dust off my embellisher and cobble something up.  I know a lot of work will already have gone into the original which has gone missing so I hope my contribution will help out.  I know how disappointing it is when you don't get a swap and it must be doubly so when you've spent time making something and it disappears without trace.

I'm a bit sorry to part with these as they turned out well - much more sparkle than shows in the pictures but they have given me several hours practice, particularly with the free motion embroidery, so it was a worthwhile project.

Markal Paintstiks

Great birthday present from Annette - Markal paintstiks.  I've been wanting to try these for a long time.  Here are some very hurried dabbles on calico and denim - they have worked well on both and are in the drying stage now.  My experimentations will be good for using as backgrounds for postcards and ATCs - I am hoping to join in more of the swaps that I organise - too much on during 2010 - maybe there will be more time in 2011.

Markal Painstiks

Lovely Jubbly present from our friends Annette and Andy - some Markal paintstiks.  I've gathered some fabric together this morning and will have a dabble this afternoon.  They need 3-5 days to dry and then they can be stitched on.  There are so many uses for these I don't know where to start !

Another Thank You from UK Embellisher Swap

Chrstimas Eve and what a great surprise.  The post man brought me this beautiful card all the way from Mary Lou in Canada - hand embroidered complete with bear and star sequins.  Aren't I lucky getting these little pieces of art from such creative folks.

Big Drum Roll

We have a local Agricultural Show in our town, been running over 100 years and is the largest one day agricultural show in the country - so it's quite famous in its own right.  School children are allowed the day off school to go, but that doesn't stretch to the staff so most years I miss out, no different this year.  Anyway a bit of a brag - my daughter's teacher entered Rachelle's GCSE textiles project unbeknown to Rachelle and it won FIRST PRIZE so we're both very proud.

This is the only photo we have of the wall hanging, Rachelle took it with her phone before rushing it to school in time for the moderation.  Hopefully when it comes back home I'll be able to take a better one.

Well Done Rachelle!

Key Tab - UK Embellisher Swap

Here's the key fob I made for Pam in the UK Embellisher January 2010 swap.  I used denim from old jeans as a base, stiffener is pelmet vilene and backing, a piece of quilting cotton.  I punched variegated blue/green/turquoise wool tops into the denim then free motion stitched over them.  Decided to make myself one at the same time - then I'm not sad to see what I have made go off to my swap partner, never to be seen again.  Have heard from Pam that she likes it.

Swap Project Progress

I've been working on my January Embellisher swap project.  The photo above is the Epson scanner, the photo below is the Canon.  I can't tell which is the best colour representation (if either of them are) so will have to publish the post to my blog and then see what they look like.  Neither have picked up the sparkle of the metallics.
LATER - have to say I think the Epson (top photo) is the best colour prepresentation.  Disappointing as I have just moved it onto the children's computer and reconnected the old Canon to mine.  The Canon definitely wins hands down when it comes to printing photos - no comparison.  Will do some networking and share both printers with both computers - fingers crossed - and get the best of both worlds.

I started with a piece of denim - I have a pile already cut into pieces recycled from old jeans.  Felted wool tops, variegated blue/turquoise/lime, into the denim and then free motioned heavily all over in metallic blue and green.  On top of this I attempted "Pebbling" which is part of  Leah Day's inspirational project  in a bright red/orange.  Each time I free motion I feel that bit more relaxed, I'm really enjoying it.

There's a way to go before this turns into a key tab, but I've been sorting out my sewing area and trying to get some better lighting set up so I can work in the evenings and speed up some of my projects.

Embellisher Swap Received

My swap partner Carol was super quick with her swap - just a couple of days after partners were assigned I received this lovely key tab.  Thanks Carol!

Christmas is SO last year.............. Talking Threads

I've only just got round to watching the Talking Threads Christmas Specials and what a treat.  Parts one, two and three are available on line.  Poinsettias from organza, needlefelted cards, machine embroidered cards and a twisted, strip pieced bag.  Well worth viewing and I always think January is the time to do your Christmas sewing, or at least get it planned and buy in the supplies.  Leaving it until autumn means dark nights and so much else to do.

Talking Threads Christmas Specials           
Part One                     
Part Two                           
Part Three

Winter Scene

Before starting the needlecase yesterday I needed a warm up having not used the embellisher for ages. I saw a snow scene on Ati from Norway's blog which inspired me. Ati's work is beautiful, she is talented in all sorts of crafts and I've been enjoying her blog for a while.
It will be a long time before my felting reaches Ati's high standards, but it was fun trying.

A Day out for the Embellisher Machine

I vowed to take part in at least five embellisher swaps this year - I've already failed on that as there are only three left in 2009, however, my name is down for all three.

Here is the inside and outside of a needlecase. I used some leftover scraps of batik from a quilt I made earlier in the year. Matching wool tops were laid down and felted together and then thin scraps of batik punched into the felt. Hand embroidery, which I haven't done for years, was next. I chain stitched down the centre of each batik scrap. Running stitch around the borders and blanket stitched some ready made felt inside to hold the needles.

Hope my swap partner likes it. Click on the picture for a close up of the detail.

Wool Shopping at Wingham

Have just spent a lovely weekend at my friend's daughter's wedding - included in the trip was a visit to Wingham Wool Works

No need for me to say any more - the photos tell the story.........

Hand Felting Video and Machine Embellisher Tutorial

I found this video and thought it was interesting - I've been wondering how the 3D felted projects were made. Sarah's Texture Crafts is a great blog for those interested in needlefelting / embellisher machine work. Here is a machine embellisher "How To" tutorial and another tutorial embellishing denim This lady also has some lovely embelllisher supplies for sale.

Beate Knappe Giveaway

Beate Knappe, who produces some really interesting work on her embellisher has a giveaway It's in German, but I found inspiration from the pictures and could work out the method from diagrams.

Swap Received - Pincushion

Here is the pincushion I received from Amanda in the UK Embellisher Swap August 2008. It survived being left in the front garden by the postman in torrential rain. Good job my son spotted it!!

Thank you Amanda.

Pincushion Swap

August swap at UK Embellisher Swap Group is a pin cushion. I only jumped in at the last minute with this one as someone else had to drop out. Anyway, it started life as a plastic lid from a jar of peaches and left over fabric from a quilt. It had to have something felted, so there is a flower and couple of leaves decorating the brim. Hope my swap partner likes it.

Cuff Swap received

This is the lovely cuff I received from Jenny on UK Embellisher Swap group Super colours. Thanks Jenny