Rebecca Devaney from Textile Tours of Paris had a sale. And I couldn’t resist more antique French tea towels and au ver à soie silk threads (I have quite a collection of them now).
As always, it came beautifully packaged (it even smells nice) with a little gift (the blue checked fabric is a little bag).
Once we had finished our toadstools, we needed a new project, but it needed to be quick (we only had two lessons left)
We made needle sharpening strawberries -the bottom two-thirds is filled with black emery powder.
My base fabric is a pink dupion silk (shot with green). I have used au ver á soie silk d’alger threads.
I wanted to practise my bullion knots, so I have made bullion knot flowers and the centres are french knots. I then used fern stitch to create the vine (I saw it in the book Foolproof Flower Embroidery )
Then I added seed beads, bugle beads and sequins.
I used my cricut machine to cut felt leaves for the top. And I found two metal (plastic) leaves for the top (I think they’re jewellery charms).
Better view of the top
I made the cord using a drill and pearl cotton (here’s a tutorial video)
The base is half a felt dryer ball wrapped in felt. On the felt I have added french knots and bullion knots -I thought they would look like fungi and slaters.
I found some ‘treasures’ in Kings Park – the nut and the leaves. I varnished them (I am hoping that this what will stop them decaying).
The theme for May is nature. I decided to use Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost. I first came across this poem in the book The Outsiders by S. E Hinton – it was an assigned text. I think we even watched the movie in class. This poem had quite the impact on me at the time (melodramatic 14 year old), and when I came across it the other day I thought I would like to embroider it.
I am experimenting with printable soluble stabiliser – it didn’t destroy my printer (so one concern is gone). Now it remains to be see how easily it comes off.
June’s theme is Family, but I haven’t thought about that yet.
The fabric base is cotton lawn. And I have stitched floristry wire (26 gauge) around the edge. I am using DMC cotton floss.
The plan is to put it in a cloche – this one from IKEA. And we will make the bottom look like a place a toadstool would grow (I have ordered moss from Temu).
My thread painting is not great, but I am a beginner.
It came quickly (UK to Australia) and was beautifully packaged.
I do like a beautiful kit – probably very shallow of me. I have gotten a bit carried away this year and I have bought several kits (and I think The Schoolgirl Sewing Club has four projects), not to mention the SALs I joined digitally. I have enough to keep me busy for several lifetimes. I am doing a bit of a rotation, but I am not sure I have found the best approach yet.
My supplies for April have arrived. There was quite a delay this month.
I have narrowed my poem choice to two possible stanzas
it all comes down to this: In our imperfect world we are meant to repair and stitch together what beauty there is, stitch it
with compassion and wire. See how everything we have made gathers the light inside itself and overflows? A blessing
Holding the Light – Stuart Kestenbaum
Or
But I study what is beautiful, what is generous. I offer it my devotion. Even in this moment writing this poem, I stitch in the pauses and the stumblings – these, too, are beautiful because they are true. I stitch in the pure potential that steeps in uncertainty. I stitch in silence. I stitch in hope.