I have just signed up for the 2013 CQJP challenge. I hope I do better than I did this year what with my hip and foot I seemed to slow right down with my sewing. I would have thought being confined to a wheelchair for 6 months would have meant lots of sewing but it was all just too hard and I did very little. So now I mam determined to stop procrastinating and get back to my sewing.

I have at last finished my stitching on Pam's blocks. I enjoyed myself with this stitching as it is great to be back in the swing again.
This is the feather stitch. The colours did not come out as well as I would have liked but you can just see the stitching and the little colonial knot silk ribbon flowers.

The next block is outline stitch I love this moth it is a bit different to the usual butterfly but I think lovley just the same. I stitched this in variegated floss using 2 strands for everything including the satin stitch, running stitch and chain

The straight stitch was done in rows of perle 8 pale yellow and then woven with a magenta. The green chain stitch outline is also perle 8. I added 5 little flower beads to the trellis made with the stitching.

The herringbone stitch is held down with a tiny cross stitch then fly stitch detached chain and pistil stitch are used to decorate it.

This set of blocks has been so much fun and has really tested my imagination and sewing skills. I can see the improvement in my stitching since I came back to embroidery. 

One of the problems I always had was I found "Fancy Work" was too constricting I was just using other peoples ideas and not my own just like paint by numbers for me. 

My Mother did the most beautiful work and in her later years started designing her own stuff. I am very much the proud custodian of these beautiful pieces.

At last I seem to be sewing again. I have been working on a couple of projects for lately. The first is Pam's Build a Seam blocks. I have finished 3. The first one is the Chevron Stitch

 I used Chevron to cover the seam and then had a nice play with fly-stitch, colonial knots, detached chain and pistil stitch.

The next block I did was the Cretan stitch

instead of doing the seam I filled in the little blue area with cretan leaves, bullion roses, colonial knot forget-me-nots and some detached chain leaves.

The last one I have finished so far is the Buttonhole Stitch.

For this I used knotted buttonhole on the seam with buttonhole and colonial knot hollyhocks with a few detached chain leaves thrown in for good measure. 

The colours in these photos are not very good but then I am not much of a photographer.

The second project is some butterflies using different methods of stitching for my U3A class I attend on Tuesday afternoon during term time. I am also experimenting with a way to transfer drawings to embroider to my fabric. For this series I am using a water soluble fabric with the design drawn on it. As the item I am embroidering on is to be used as a food cover it will need washing so I am not worried about whether I can wash it. 

The first butterfly is my version of Jacobean Embroidery

Not a great photo but there you go.

The second is Dorset Feather Embroidery 

This photo is better and you can see the water soluble fabric I am using.

And last so far is an appliqué using sheer fabric

I hope it works but we shall see. You can also see the sewing lines on the water-soluble fabric.

I also did a Dorset Feather strip that I will eventually stitch onto a hand towel.

With this I used an ordinary pencil to do the placement marks. I am sure it will wash out.

Hi all it has been an awfully long time since I came to play here but hopefully I am back. In March 2012 I had a fall and broke my left hip and then in April I had my left foot reconstructed. This had to be one of the silliest things I have ever done because I have spent since then in a wheel chair with only very limited access to my computer. At last I am now at least using a walking frame or, at home, a walking stick. I am sewing more and have just finished my bit on the 9 blocks for Joyce

This is the buttonhole stitch I did the little butterfly and the twisted buttonhole with buttonhole wheel flowers. The nest 2 photos are close-ups of my buttonholes.

This is the backstitch block and a close-up of my cornucopia.

Chain stitch is one of my favourites and the little octopus and sand dollars are both worked in chain.

Next is Chevron Stitch 

 This is the herringbone stitch I used 3 different colours and 3 rows of stitching one on top of the other.

Fly stitch is used on this block.

 close-up

 Straight stitch was a bit of a problem for an idea at first but then I thought of Pekinese stitch which is a sort of whipped straight stitch.

Just have fun so that is what I did. Black feather stitch which is very hard to see on the dark velvet and red needle woven daisies with black colonial knot centres.

I loved working on these beautiful blocks with their rich colours and textures. I am sorry I did not do more but I felt these blocks had been held up long enough so I just pu the best I could on each block.

I have just discovered a wonderfully generous Giveaway from Connie Go over and check it out this is to die for I just hope I am the lucky one
http://cwkalina.blogspot.com/

Amy's Block FFT#14

At last I am doing as I promised that is showing not only my stitching but where the ideas came from.
This is a very special block for Amy so I felt I needed to do something special. Once I started stitching it was a very hard block to put down I could have filled every space but I knew Sarma and Sue would like me to leave them somewhere to do their stitching. The Sturt's desert pea never got on the block it just did not seem to fit in anywhere but if you like Amy I will do you a little piece with one on it.

So here is my stitching the vine is stem stitch, detached chain, colonial knots (I like them better than the bullion knots for this sort of thing LOL ;-D) and bullion roses. The little beetle is bullion stitch, pistil stitch and once again my favourite colonial knots. The seam is double detached chain pistil stitch colonial knots and a mixture of herringbone and chevron stitch I forget what it is called.

And here is Amy's beautiful block so far. I am so glad i got to add my little bit to it.

Victoriana

A couple of weeks ago I uploaded the images of my block I intended to use for the Victoriana Symbols. Well at last I have done a little work in the first side. This will eventually become a handbag I am not sure how practical it will be but I hope it will be beautiful.

The first symbol is a spider and it's web and inhabitant is supposed to bring good luck.

The next symbol is a fan. Fans used by a lady in Victorian times could convey all sorts of messages. It all depended on how the fan was placed in front of her face or held in her hand. Now they are just beautiful things to keep us cool. In Asia they are used a lot and it is a puzzle to me why Australian do not nake more use of a fan. I for one carry one in my handbag at all times.

The little tatted fan is another of my firsts. LOL;-D. I have been trying to work out how to tat for at least 40 years and at last now at the age of 67 I can do it. The fan is the first big pattern I followed and is the 3rd try at the pattern but at least it worked this time. I couched it onto the block and the beaded the picots and some other elements. When the bag is finished I think I will make a tassel for the end of the ribbon.

This is a seam treatment I have used on the block. This block will not only have the Victorian symbols I also intend to use it to pratice new, to me, tecniques.