A Mixed Bag of a Day

First thing this morning the weather was lovely and we took the opportunity of digging out an area of the garden for some fruit trees. Happily Scrappy put in an appearance, I had been getting worried as he has been noticeable by his absence the  last few days. I had thought that he had been pushed off his patch by a rather handsome alpha male blackbird who has been hanging around. 

He came to help us clear the area of unwanted worms and even dived into the rubbish bin in search of grubs.

After a morning of extreme digging where my husband broke his garden fork, the weather broke and it was time to head indoors.

I took the opportunity of a wet afternoon,  to finish a couple of texture projects for my sketchbooks. On Thursday the hand embroidery group had a fun morning using lots of different texture making materials. 

Using this small stamping block I decided to make some fish shaped buttons from paperclay.

I made two holes whilst the paperclay was still soft and tried to cut the shape out, some more successfully than others. 

The moulding detail is also variable, although it is only evident after painting.

I painted them with acrylics and used metallic rub-on's to highlight the design.

This one is my favourite. I used a very dark blue acrylic and a silver metallic rub to highlight.

I have also done some more experimenting with Tyvek. Painting the sheet with Berol meltdown in copper before ironing from different sides. 

From the top left going clockwise.

1. Painted side upwards towards the iron created these lovely hollows.

2. Painted side down away from the iron and there is a pebble effect.

3 & 4. These pieces have been exposed to heat from the iron on both sides giving a more crumpled texture.

Happy stitching

Bev

Going Underground

 I don't know what it is because there is no way that I would go pot holing, but I love visiting caves. One year in France our whole holiday seemed to be underground. Influenced by the cave art I made a  'cave painting'  in  felt and machine embroidery.

 My fascination with caves is still going strong and I take pictures whenever I can.

This was taken on a holiday in Derbyshire and has been used for several projects. Most recently I have been exploring textures and stitch.

I have isolated small areas and interpreted them in stitch. By concentrating on one stitch, different  threads and overlapping the stitches I am building up layers and textures.

From the one picture there are many areas of different textures and colour combinations. Lots to still go at and lots of stitches to explore.

Happy stitching

Bev

Tyvek Revisited

Tyvek is a non woven fabric made by DuPont. It is also called Fibrefilm. 
I haven't used it for a few years and have had a day revisiting this interesting fabric. 

FREE ACEO offer details at bottom of post

When a heat source is applied to a piece of Tyvek it shrinks away from the heat and unusual effects and textures are created. ( Remember to have good ventilation when heating this type of material)

I chose to experiment with a heat gun and an iron on a dry setting, stitched and non stitched pieces.

NOTE: Always use baking parchment to prevent the Tyvek or Fibre Film sticking to your iron.

Tyvek sheet

After ironing. This is the side which was not directly exposed to heat - the wrong side). I like the pebble effect . 

Stitched with metallic thread

After ironing. This was the side exposed to the heat

The reverse side

Machine Stitching 

Ironed. Side exposed to heat

Ironed.The reverse side.

Machine stitched

Heat gun. A much more random shrinkage Don't like this as much as ironed effects

Machine Stitched

Heat gun used

Machine stitched

Heat gun used.

This piece of mixed media stitching used both the side of Tyvek exposed to heat and the reverse. 
Called River Bed it was influenced by rivers drying up during periods of drought.

Scan of the ACEO   'River Bed'

I have 22 limited edition ACEO's of the River Bed embroidery. ( Art Cards, Editions & Originals)

If you would like one please LIKE my Facebook page and Private Message me. Do not put any personal details onto the site, thank you.

I only have 22 so it is first come. I am not interested in building a mailing list so I will not be keeping your details.

I am giving these cards away free and will post worldwide but I cannot be held responsible for any lost in the post.

Happy Stitching

Bev

Meet Scrappy

I don't have a pretty bird nesting in my garden. 

Meet Scrappy 

A rather bedraggled blackbird who looks like he's seen a few seasons. Very little tail and damaged eyes he's not the prettiest thing on the block.

 He is very valiantly building a nest though and I have just spent the last hour in the garden watching him.

He is quite fearless and comes to the feeder for mealworms which is only about 1.5m from where I am sitting. Now,  if I come out into the garden he's there letting me know he wants his tasty snack. He also chases away other birds if they are showing too much interest in the feeder.

His chosen nest site is the clematis which has just started blooming this last week. You can see the entrance on this photo. 

He flys to the roof of my studio with a mouth full of nesting material, lines himself up and launches himself at the gap he's made. He had so much moss in his beak that it took him two attempts.

He has been collecting moss from round the pond, stopping for the occasional drink and dip to freshen up.

Not a stitching blog today but hope you enjoyed meeting our feathered friend.

Happy stitching (later today)

Bev

Appliqué using Fusible Fabrics

Yesterday I had a lovely day with the Machine Embroiderers working on appliqué using fusible mediums. It is a quick method of adding colour and pattern to a background. The fusible fabrics we used have one side covered in paper ( feels smooth ) and the other is the fusible fabric ( feels rougher). It is important to identify which side is which as heat is used to melt the adhesive and bond it to the fabrics. 

There are several methods of working with the fusible fabrics, this is one

Place your template on the paper side of the fusible fabric and draw around it, remember that the shape will be reversed when finished.

Cut the shape out roughly.  I haven't cut the handle out at this stage. 

Place the fusible with the adhesive side to the wrong side of the fabric, and lightly iron in place. 

TIP - use baking parchment to prevent any of the adhesive transferring to your iron or board.

Accurately cut out the shape. Remove the backing paper 

TIP - using a pin or a needle score the paper in the centre of the shape. Take the paper off from the centre. If you try to peel it from the edge you may fray or distort your shape.

Place the shape onto the right side of the backing fabric and iron in place as before.

Your design is now ready for stitching either by hand or machine.

Time for Tea - cheers!

Happy stitching

Bev

Work in Progress

This is what all my quilting sampling has been for. It is to be a throw in the conservatory or for use in the garden.

The fabric was from the Deco Delight range by Fabric freedom

Cut and pieced in a kaleidoscope pattern (I think it is also called stack and whack) Using my design wall I could create new areas of colour.

I still haven't decided on the quilting pattern but am getting closer to making a decision. 

Maybe tomorrow

Happy stitching

Bev

Early Morning Doodling

I don't really like waking up early but today thought I would put this quiet time to good use. A couple of days ago I found an old layout book in my studio. Purchased years ago, as shown by the price tag, it has languished on the shelf of "this will be useful one day". Well it's time has come.

It is now my quilting pattern doodle book.

I find it useful to draw out patterns before quilting them so that my hand, eye, brain and sewing machine can work together. Working the pattern on paper gets the flow of the design into my head. I also get to know where the problem points are and can try to overcome them before stitching. I hate unpicking and this saves some time. 

In the past I have just used scraps of paper and then discarded them after use but no more. I want to build a quilt library for myself and this is the first part of the process, although if you read the previous post you will know that I have already started quilting some of the patterns.

One of the patterns was a open vermicelli design with added hearts, the above is a doodle for one with flowers. I think the scribble between the flowers and hearts is too much and distracts from them so have doodle a much looser pattern. The only problem with this is the hearts all face the same way, it certainly would show which way the quilt was meant to be hung.  This needs more thought, so time for another cup of tea.

Happy Stitching

Bev