Some kind of addiction

Instead of doing nescessary (!) things I couldn't help creating this lady that was waiting hidden in my stash. So here she is, waiting for her prince....

Maybe there's a medical term for this???? Though I think it's pretty healthy.

Berry Stitch

A very fast version of berry stitch - somehow time flies and in the evening I'm pretty astonished that another day is over (especially if it gets dark so early!)

There's so much left to do .....
But first of all the walk with my dogs, what else!!

Mermaid finished - Buttonhole Eyelet Flowers

It's cold and ugly outside - best way to spend time is picking up embroidery and get lost in fantasies. Here's the finished mermaid in her water block. She'll be surrounded by little crazy blocks in blue and green with lots of embroidery. I can use some samples of TAST and have to create additional ones. She looks good, doesn't she?

One more time I got carried away with stitching

TAST 2012 - Arrowhead stitch

Here's my sample for the stitch of this week - arrowhead.

Beside that I started a new face - this time a mermaid. This is how far I got - there's the Gimp class with Sharon I have to catch up with :-)

in progress

Once upon a time

Still bad weather outside so I spent most of the day with creating another face - and here it is. She somehow seems to come from a completely different time.

It's Tuesday and next thing is to take care of Arrowhead stitch for TAST 2012!

Ancestors instead of sisters

When my friend asked how I get the idea what the stumpwork face will look like I told him "it comes out of the fabric". I started off to create a sister for golden eyes but the result was rather old looking. Here they come:

She says she's a lady

Feeling pretty royal today

This is really a very funny experiment. Maybe when I'll have done more of them they will be united in a quilt with additional crazy blocks?
The weather outside was pretty nasty today - wet dirty dogs after the walk but inside I had a lot of sunshine being first place in Stitchin Fingers, have been chosen for the weekly highlight at  TAST 2012 and getting wonderful comments for my Portuguese border stitch sample. So if you ask me how my day was - just wonderful!!

Golden Eyes

This time I couldn't resist - I had to try it myself. After seeing all those lovely ladies in stumpwork I wanted to do one right away. First thought this morningg - today I'm going to create a stumpwork face. Here's what I ended up with:

Golden Eyes

She's a little pale, next time I'll use a darker fabric for the face. Buttonhole, drizzle stitch, bullion knots and portuguese border stitch and a little fancy yarn for the hair. The size is 10x8 cm.
Maybe she needs a sister?

Portuguese Border Stitch

This weeks TAST 2012 stitch was portuguese border stitch which didn't really strike me in the beginning but all of a sudden a creative idea hit me - so here it is. First I had only the flower with pot, that's the picture in StitchinFingers . Since it was only Wednesday I decided to add some more details and this is what I ended up with:

This is a stitch that is rather 3D looking or raised. It was really fun to do.

Another Look

When I took a new look at my bracelet this morning I had the impression of something lacking but I couldn't have named it. So improvisation was the theme. I threaded the "threaded" yellow/orange line with a band of similar colour and added knotted buttonhole stitches all around the border. When I was through with this the whole bracelet looked totally different and yes, I think it's finished now. Wearing it with a long sleeved black t-shirt should look fine!

Felted Bracelet

Finally I got around to give wet felting a try - technique learnt from the internet especially youtube. The first object I tried (only had red, black and blue wool roving) was a poppy. After adding yellow drizzle stitch and a little ball with green buttonhole wheel it looked rather pleasing. Next day I was courageous enough to start a bracelet and here's the result with beads and embroidery stitches:

closed bracelet, poppies in the back

the open version

Looks like I have one more hobby since it was so much fun to make it.

Felted Bag

Some years ago my friend Barbara gave me a wonderful grey felted bag for a birthday present and I always wanted to add something to it because I thought there was so many space on it to do so. I finally came up with some kind of needle felted creature and I like it a lot. It's my "Alter Ego" - looking elegant, having long red hair and wearing a cute hat (wet felted flower), everything that I don't . But now I can carry my sister with me :-).

New Project

Last weekend I visited the Carrefour Européen du Patchwork in Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines in France with my friend Barbara. Though we didn't manage to view all there was (which would have needed days!) we enjoyed the exhibitions very much. So much to see and to think about! Something that impressed me absolutely were the precision quilts of Kumiko Frydl. Absolutely incredible.
Maybe I'll be able to take part in a workshop one day?
There was a commercial area too, of course and I got me the pattern and fabric for a bag - being a quilter and embroiderer I should have one quilted bag at least. Of course I couldn't just simply follow the how-to, I had to do it my own way.
This is how far I got until now:

A cover formed as irregular triangle will be added plus a shoulder strap

I'll have to think about the back and how to embroider the sides and the shoulder strap.

Class over

The first one with long almost parallel lines.

The second one "empty"

Another fantastic class with Sharon Boggon is over - Encrusted Crazy Quilting. I did two blocks and had trouble with the first one I made, just got stuck. So I started off with the second one and it went rather fine.

the finished one

  

Some closeups

To get me going with the first block I took it apart and changed it. That really made things easier and was a good idea!

Here's the result:

and some closeups

This was really something I enjoyed learning and doing. Now I have to catch up with TAST, no new samples since oyster stitch.

Les Iles Flottantes

Project 2 I started in Sumptuous Surfaces class with Sharon Boggon is almost done. It needs to be mounted, maybe I'll add some additional border if I can think of one and then it's ready to go to my wall. Looks completely different from what I had in mind but then again it is what I created from the idea and it's got a name: Les Iles Flottantes, the floating islands. Something that took me a long time to do but was always joyful.
Here it is:

At the right bottom corner is the option to add some beads in strings or what so ever. We'll see.

Algerian Eye Stitch and Encrusted Crazy Quilting

TAST 2012 week 31 stitch is complete - here's my little sample. Maybe I'll find some use for it some day.

playing around with algerian eylet stitch just having fun

It always amazes me how much I can do with just one stitch!

Catching Up

Finally I managed to do the missing stitches for TAST 2012 as the last one was butterfly chain. Here is my sample for week 22 to week 30 as there are knotted cretan, buttonhole wheels, cable chain, palestrina, bonnet stitch, up and down buttonhole, basque and oyster stitch. I got really the kick out of oyster stitch!

So now I can proceed to sew that crazy quilt block for Encrusted Crazy Quilting with Sharon Boggon.

Life between demolition and re-construction

Project 2 from Sumptuous Surfaces is coming along slowly but steadily - my house got in the way. So this is the actual look of it, not quite finished standing in line with at least four new TAST 2012 stitches and upcoming new class. What a timing!

Project 2

I'll have to find some solution for a border - maybe some interesting threads couched down around it. Once again I find it hard to stop adding ...

Sumptuous surfaces part I

This is a wonderful class with Sharon Boggon - even if  life got in the way in part II. More tearing down and remodelling, this time on the outside of my house. But when it's done it will have a larger terrace on the roof and something like a summer kitchen! Plus a stair directly down to the garden. Can't wait for that!!!
So here's what I've done so far:

Leaves finished

closeup from an angle to show the different structured areas

This was a monotone colored piece - I didn't have more different greens to play with.
For the second part it will be color. I'll go for red and yellow from light to dark and add parts in complementary color. So much to think about!
This is how far I got with part II until now:

Low reliefs done and a bit of high relief plus two of the squares

TAST 2012 Week 17 and 19

Ah, I'm still fighting with crossed buttonhole (week 18). I know there are a lot of chances but somehow this stitch resists to my efforts!
But wheatear and half chevron were conquered in a rather traditional method - I like the outcome though it's not very typical for me anyway.

Now I'll throw all my energy into Sumptious Surfaces - being so thrilled.

Cat and French Knots

I'm late with my french knots - first try didn't succeed, so I made another sketch just not thinking of working with them. And guess what: this time it worked. The little sampler is showing french knots, satin stitch, stem stitch, chain stitch, some fly stitches and couching around the border. Something floral against that rainy and cold weather outside!!

My old lady cat found that plastic bowl at the kitchen window and showed me that she still is very good in rolling up her body.

See ....

it's so cozy!!

 Now it's time to tackle wheatear stitch. There's an interesting blog I found by Elizabeth who did a lot of experimenting with it and shows wonderful versions. You can find her blog here .

More of TAST and Scrumbles

This time I had a lot of fun with the stitch: Stem Stitch. I did a little sketch first, selected the fabric left over, transfered the design and started stitching. Soo inspiring!

To get myself busy over the last weekend I continued a little on my scrumble piece. Like the outcome:

Maybe this will be a jacket one day?

TAST Week 12-14

This is my sample of  Barred and Alternating Barred Chain Stitch used to create the piece for the mini-challenge in the week off.

 And this is my version of satin stitch week 14.
Especially doing satin stitch I noticed that I do need new glasses :-))

Spring is coming

There were the first little flowers in the forest when I walked my dogs, it was sunny and warm. So nice for a change!
Week 10 of TAST 2012 wasn't my kind of thing - there were very creative samples of running stitch but I didn't get "the curve" to it. Anyway, this is my running block

I felt much more comfortable with week 11 - whipped wheel. The finished block has a backing and its border is couched wool with beads at the bottom. This time I'm pleased with the result and enjoyed spending time on it.

Now off to a birthday party - one of my friends turned seventy today. Absolutely incredible!

Treasures

Ahh, my order of hand dyed yarns from Stef Francis (http://www.stef-francis.co.uk) has arrived! Just got it out of my mailbox and it's sooooo beautiful!

Think of all the beautiful blocks that can be created with these plus the ones I already have.
It's funny - somehow the things I fall for are not shoes, jewels or fancy clothes but all kinds of yarn, beads or batic fabric and looking back on life it has always been like this.
Next door neighbour Anna has given me some bags of leftover wool so there's a lot of supply for my scrumbles, too. Maybe I should make a timetable what fits in where when the gardening season starts pretty soon ... and not to forget the two doggies!

TAST 2012

Time to post my TAST 2012 samples - it's so much fun and I learn a lot. Most of the time I can hardly wait for Tuesday - actually I can see what stitch is next Monday night before I go to bed and kind of dream about it :-)

First in line Fly Stitch:

 Buttonhole Stitch:

 Feather Stitch:

Cretan Stitch:

 Herringbone Stitch:

Left Chevron Stitch:

Right Detached Chain Stitch:

Chain Stitch:

 This is chain stitch and the seven previous stitches  

Couching:

I used a batic fabric for the background and thougt about doing a tree. When I started it the tree took over and this is where it all ended - Tree of wishes.