I went to a workshop at Calico and Ivy on Mosaic knitting, run by Pru Raymond. It was a lovely afternoon.
I didn’t finish my washcloth in the class it took a couple of TV knitting sessions.
The yarn is Finch 10ply Cotton, my colours are Mulberry and Ballet. It makes a lovely, squishy fabric.
Filed under Colour Work, Knitting, Knitting - Colour work
My plan is to cover a wooden box with embroidery – something like this one. Because I don’t know how well this is going to go, I am doing my first attempt with machine embroidery (the above took 35 minutes).
I am using a design from Embroidery Library. I am stitching on linen using sewing machine thread and a cutaway medium weight stabiliser.
Filed under Blackwork, Digitizing, Embroidery, Machine Embroidery
I finished my version of the Duke Who Gives it All Up socks, which is part of the Golden Honey Sock club.
I used Elsie Gray’s Signature Hand Dyed Range – in colour Just Joey. I used my usual 2.25mm knit pro zing circulars.
Filed under Knitting, Sock Knitting, Yarn Stash
I am determined to turn my stitched pieces into something useful – rather than framing them. Hence the needle book and now a project bag.
The cross stitch is cinnamon stars by Plum Street Samplers. I quilted around the cross stitch, lined the bag with mushroom fabric and added a zip.
This bag is enormous 56cm by 50cm, which means my largest Q Snap should fit.
Filed under Cross Stitch, Cross Stitch, Embroidery, Fabric Stash, Quilting, Sewing
I turned my mattress ticking surface embroidery piece into a needle book (no more putting my needles into random bits of fabric or paper)
I put a piece of wool felt inside for the needles.
Filed under Embroidery, Sewing
It’s school holidays here, which means no students for a couple of weeks, so I have set my embroidery machine up on my desk.
The design is from Pixie Willow Patterns. The instructions were good and it was easy to put together (it did take me a couple of hours).
My corners aren’t very crisp and I wish I had done the stitching down of the background in black, but I am sure I will make another one and I will do that then.
Filed under Applique, Digitizing, Embroidery, Fabric Stash, Machine Embroidery
Now that the blanket knitting marathon is over I am going to start a new project. I bought the kit for this shawl a few years ago (so long ago I can’t remember where I go it – I think it was from here and I have kit 1).
I wound them into balls a couple of days ago and now I am ready to start knitting.
Filed under Colour Work, Knitting, Knitting - Colour work, Yarn Stash
I finished my Cinnamon Stars cross stitch.
The design is from Plum Street Samplers, and I stitched it on 32 count linen (it’s a mystery colour – I bought it from a craft fair), two threads over two threads, using all of the called for colours (a combination of weeks dye works and gentle arts).
I think I am going to make it into a project bag.
Filed under Canvas Work, Cross Stitch, Embroidery
I finally finished Miss P’s blanket.
I have been working on this blanket (mostly monogamously) for 18 months. I am super keen to knit some socks!
The pattern is the Moderne Log Cabin from MDK (published in Mason Dixon knitting). I made a mistake, and then just continued adding rectangles until it reached the size I wanted. I used Classic 8ply yarn from Bendigo (superwash) in the following colours (you can see all of the colours in the top image)
Filed under Colour Work, Knitting, Yarn Stash
My embroidery teacher brought this book to class, and clearly, I had to find a copy. This is like the intersection of two of my great loves; stitching and maths. Not to mention story telling with stitching and maths.
Here’s a bit of a book description …
This stylish and fascinating book from up-and-coming textile art star Jordan Cunliffe shows how raw data, maps and personal experience can be distilled into textile art, producing mesmerising works with deep meaning, whether obvious or hidden, and concentrating on the smaller, quieter moments that make up our lives.
Jordan explores the use of stitched data to tell stories, pinpoint special places on maps, convey secret messages, and record personal detail, for example daily walks or nightly sleep patterns. Her finished work is beautifully precise, including a long strip of fabric containing a stitch for every day of her life, a reimagination of a favourite childhood book in unreadable code, and pleasing beaded representations of secretly important documents.
Almost any aspect of your life can be represented in graph or map form, and here are many practical ways to achieve this, whether it’s recording the colours of flowers on a favourite path to create your own unique palette, or encoding your most private thoughts in beaded morse code. This visually stunning book explores a new way of working and will help you explore a fresh new angle in your embroidery and textile work.
Illustrated with a wealth of examples of the author’s own work as well as pieces from other data focused artists from around the world, Record, Map and Capture in Textile Art proves beyond all doubt that data can be beautiful, and can inspire stunning works of stitched art.
I have so many ideas for my memory/special things project. I can incorporate special pieces of fabric, use evenweave fabric (my preferred choice) maybe even put in a secret code.
Filed under Book Review, Canvas Work, Cross Stitch, Embroidery, Inspiration
