Sampling Again

A few more samples which I have been busy on over the last couple of days.

It is always interesting to have a go at new stitches and there are a few here that I have not done before. 

I find that I can quite easily revert back to using just a few favourite stitches,  so having a go at some new ones can be quite rewarding.

 From the top there is  - Whipped Back Stitch

                                    Whipped Stem Stitch
                            Pekinese Stitch

                                 Raised Chain Band

                                       Chequered Chain Band

                                             Double  Herringbone Stitch

                                               Threaded Herringbone Stitch 

                            Guilloche Stitch

  I then went on to play with combining stitches to make patterns which I can use in the crazy quilting. 

I have worked it using perle threads on silk but I think that it would be better in stranded cottons and silks. 

And to finish off I have been adding more flowers to the  small 'hot border' embroidery 

Lots of hand work this week.

Do you have a favourite stitch?

Bev

Found Them

Found what?  you may be asking.

Well a few weeks ago I launched a swag bag giveaway on my Facebook Page, RoeMayo Creative Stitches

A mix of fabrics, threads and beads all in lovely Spring Greens. 

No - I haven't lost this bag of lovely goodies. 

I purchased from Bee Crafty some of their wonderful new range of embroidery threads which I promptly put in a safe place. As usual for me, the safe place is the one place I can't find when I need to. I have been known to put the phone in the airing cupboard!

Back to the lovely threads 

They are beautiful hand dyed threads by Chameleon threads of South Africa 

I have chosen two 100% stranded silks, one Perle No 8 and one stranded cotton.

These have been added to the swag bag and if you would like the chance of winning it go to my FB page,  Like the page  and share the swag bag post at the top of the page. 

Don't forget the ACEO giveaway too

Bev

I wish I had done this sooner

It has been a busy week with teaching and getting ready for an exhibition.

I belong to a textile group called Calico, which meets at Botolph Barn in Helpston near Peterborough.

We are having a small exhibition this coming weekend as a prelude to a main exhibition in September at John Clare Cottage, in Helpston.

I have been looking through some of my work and decided that I really should document some of my pieces as it would be a good to have a portfolio. It would also save time when deciding which pieces should be exhibited as all the information would be to hand.

This is the page I have started for the 3D vessel 'If I had Wings' which I have mentioned in an earlier post.

Doing all this cataloging put me in mind of a speaker we had to the Embroiderers' Guild many years ago. She had worked for Norman Hartnell in London and spent time drawing and sketching the outfits that were chosen by members of the Royal Family. She told us that the sketches were kept in portfolios for the Royal Family members to look through when choosing outfits for state visits and occasions. Certainly easier than looking through racks of clothes. 

I wish I had taken note of this and started my own portfolio of work years ago. I am now trying to remember where and when each piece has been exhibited. It is proving to be a bit of a headache but will be worth it in the end. 

Will you be starting to catalogue your work?

Bev

Silk Screens

Following the directions on PrintCutSew I have made these lovely silk screens and now can't wait to use them.

Just need to wash them to remove the excess sizing is removed and they will be ready to go. 

Next project is a larger print table.

Bev

If I Had Wings

The inspiration for this Three Dimensional embroidery was from the Preface to Cromwell by Victor Hugo

On the day when Christianity said to man: “Thou art twofold, thou art made up of two beings, one perishable, the other immortal, one carnal, the other ethereal, one enslaved by appetites, cravings and passions, the other borne aloft on the wings of enthusiasm and reverie—in a word, the one always stooping toward the earth, its mother, the other always darting up toward heaven, its fatherland”—on that day the drama was created. Is it, in truth, anything other than that contrast of every day, that struggle of every moment, between two opposing principles which are ever face to face in life, and which dispute possession of man from the cradle to the tomb?

Therefore "If I Had Wings" was born with birds breaking free form the earth and soaring above.

These are a few pages from my sketchbook

These are ideas which didn't make it in the final piece but that is the fun of starting a new project. 

The shape also developed organically as I cut the sections and re-pieced them.

It is another piece which is in need of some TLC. I sent it to an exhibition and it came back in a slightly different shape to the one sent. 

However it has made me take another look at my sketchbook and I am falling in love again with the torn paper shapes on the second image.  I can see the dissolvable fabrics coming out and some machine stitching.

Bev

Bit Bags

One of the great things about being an embroiderer is finding a use for all those little pieces which would usually be thrown away. I have a plastic bag taped to the table for all the off cuts and bits produced, fabric and threads.

I bonded the bits to a background and then free stitched them in place to produce a unique fabric

I cut the fabric into smaller pieces and applied them to various backgrounds to explore fabric distortion.

On a felt background

felt background

felt background and using circles

handmade felt

corded velvet

spiral on felt

the spiral cut out from the one above on velvet

I have also used the fabric for the bodice and shoes of my snooty doll. I call her my snooty doll as I accidentally put her head on upside down, and she has an upturned nose.

She really could do with a better name and I am open to suggestions.

Bev

Thinking Time

This week I have been thinking, preparing, designing, more thinking, and a bit of sampling. 

I have mentioned the working title of the piece I am thinking about in earlier posts.

Bluebells and Blossoms

Will it be a quilt, or an embroidery? I still don't know. 

This planning stage is always what takes me the longest time. 

I have tray dyed some fabric which I think will make the background to the piece. I think I will dye some darker browns and greens this week. 

I love how unpredictable this way of dyeing is. The results can be very dramatic.

I am starting to think about the background and how I will piece the sections. 

When I have a few more blocks constructed I will have a play on my design wall to create the background for the appliqué and embroidery.

Happy Bank Holiday

Bev