Stitching Sundays 30

Stitching Sundays 30 - how did that happen?  Over this last 30 weeks, I have achieved far more with embroidery, sewing, patchwork and making than I would have thought possible! The photo collage above shows a variety of projects I have completed, including decorations, bunting, embroidering a felt piece which I started three years ago and trying patchwork for the first time (collage created using picmonkey).  I am sure that without the added excitement of having something to share on a Sunday, I would not have achieved so much.
Having said all that, I have decided that I am not going to continue posting on every Stitching Sunday. This doesn't mean I am going to stop making, sewing, embroidering - far from it (especially as I have discovered a love of split stitch!) - but I shall be sharing my projects on an 'as and when they are progressing' basis.
I would love to attempt to make myself a skirt that actually fits; a simple A line, knee length or a little longer, perhaps in denim, so that is the next challenge I have set myself.  I am a beginner at clothes making so am hoping this won't be a project too far!  I would also like to mend a childhood knitted rabbit toy (Gonga), who needs sorting out and a new pair of felt shorts making, so there is something else I'll be doing too.
It has been great to join in and I hope to have many more projects to share in the future.

Stitching Sundays 29

Stitching Sundays 29!  I have made progress this week, taken the plunge and created my first patchwork pieces.  I used patterns from Tilda, also from Helen Philipps' book 'Pretty Patchwork Gifts' where I was inspired to add the cross stitch, lace and buttons.  The lace is some vintage handmade lace which was tucked away in a tin and which Chris gave me to use in sewing projects.

 The back of the hearts is also patchwork.  I discovered an interesting thing about rotary cutters when I was using one for the first time - they are very good at cutting skin, if you happen to look away from what you are doing!  Luckily, it was just a little nick, but it made me pay much more attention, which was a good thing!

 The buttons are ones I have collected, or have been given (in a Christmas cracker swap, in the case of the pink flower above).

 Here are the hearts being modelled by the door handle.

 I'm not quite sure where to display them yet.

 I am really pleased with them though and I got better at making them as I went along.  I may make some more with some of the other material which has featured on my blog.

Stitching Sundays 28

 Not much progress with actual making this week, but I have been planning and looking at my materials to see what would look good together.  I realised that the stash of material which holds all my memories was just too diverse to be used together, unless used with a neutral background and made into a cushion cover, or something like that.  Having realised this, I decide to look at the other material in my stash and see if I could create some pleasing combinations.

 Here are the results of all the playing - just three combinations at the moment, but it's a start.  Above on the left is my favourite puffed sleeved dress material with some other pale blues.

The pink selection features my wedding dress bodice silk on the left, a dress material my sister used to make me a fifties inspired dress when I was about 18 or so and another pink material I bought when I made the rabbits.

The turquoises look a bit washed out, but are quite vibrant in real life.  The fabric at the bottom left is from a bridesmaid dress which belonged to my Mum and the others are ones I bought when I made my seasonal bunting.  So, having decided on these, I now need to decide what I am going to make...I am still leaning towards little patchwork hearts, or squares. I hope to have done some actual construction by next Sunday, all being well.

Stitching Sundays 26

One of my lovely blog followers, Anne, suggested I should make some bird decorations in Spring colours and I thought this was a great idea.  Although I have lots of Easter decorations, I don't have that many Spring ones.  So, before I move on to my next project (and I haven't yet decided what that will be), I thought I would make three more birds in Spring-like colours.

Here they are, two done and one left to make.  They do seem to look very different from the Winter ones, even though it is the same pattern and the same embroidery shape (give or take a bit of human error). It's all down to the choice of colours. So, just the yellow one to finish and on to the next project...

Stitching Sundays 25

 Stitching Sunday is here again and I have finished my bird and snowflake decorations at last...

 Here they all are and I am pleased with the way they have turned out, although there was one alteration along the way.  I originally made this bird shape below in the blue felt and embroidered stars on him.  However, seeing him on the tree with the others, I noticed he wasn't hanging straight and he was just too different from the others, so jarred a little.

 I unpicked him and cut him out into the same shape as the others, adding a similar swirly pattern.

Much better, I think!
Yesterday, in our local bead shop, we saw some felt balls at 10 for £1.50.  Now I know what you're thinking - 'you make felt, Ellie, so why didn't you make some?' -  I should have made some but actually, I couldn't make them as cheaply as that.

 We chose some pale colours which would go with the other decorations.  To allay some of my guilt for buying them, today I decided to pretty them up and put my own stamp on them.

Here they are, after being prettified.  I have sewn sequins on three and done swirly embroidery on the other three.  The flash doesn't help in picking out the details, but hopefully you can see some.  Now all they need is a hanging loop and then I hope the tree will be finished!  (As it has taken me quite a while to make the winter decorations, I may keep them up until nearer the end of March).

Stitching Sundays 24 (on Monday, again!)

 Well, I have managed to totally confuse myself (not difficult to do!)with Stitching Sundays this week.  As I would be out on Sunday, I did my stitching on Saturday but then didn't have the chance to write the post until now. Anyway, moving quickly on...

Here's the next three decorations - another little bird and two more snowflakes.  I have one more snowflake to do and then I am thinking that some pom pom snowball decorations might be just the thing I need to fill up the seasonal tree.  I used back stitch and split stitch on these decorations and I am pleased with the way they have turned out.  I do like this combination of colours - normally, bright colours seem to appeal most, but these blues, greys and whites seem to be working well for me too.

Stitching Sundays 22

Sundays do seem to come round quickly, although when I can have a day doing what I would like to do, it's wonderful!  I spent this morning lazing around in my dressing gown, thinking about my next embroidery project and investigating my home made felt stash to find suitable colours.  
This afternoon, having got dressed (!) I made a start while listening to the Classic serial on Radio 4 (Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers), which was so enjoyable! If you missed it, here's a link - well worth a listen.  Anyway, I digress...

I chose four colours from my stash and found that I had subconsciously chosen exactly the colours I had used in my winter bunting!

 I also found out that the colours seem to be popular in Scandinavian craft work.  I am making circular decorations with different stylised snowflake patterns on them and so far, I have finished one.

I also really like the little Scandinavian-inspired birds featured on the background and am going to make a couple of them to join the Winter seasonal tree.  These are from one of the gorgeous books my lovely husband bought me for Christmas.

 Here it is and if you like 1950s and 1960s inspired designs and the cool colours of Scandinavian interiors, I can guarantee you'll love this book!  Details can be found here.  So, a really nice project to be getting on with, while listening to the machinations of the clergy in Barchester. A perfect Sunday, really.

Stitching Sundays 21

Stitching Sundays again and I have spent another happy few hours stitching away, trying to complete my 'magnum opus' as this is what it has turned out to be!  When I eventually started the embroidery on this piece of felt, I didn't feel all that confident of my skills but I decided to just give it a go, because I could always unpick what went wrong.  I did have to unpick here and there, but not nearly as much as I thought.

 So, all the layers are finally in place - foreground, mid ground and background, even though I actually worked them the other way round.

 Here's another cropped image, showing the layers.

 More close ups - can you tell that I am just a little bit pleased with the end result?

 Last close up - just another view.

To remind you, this is how it was when I started stitching.  The background was interesting, but it needed the stitching to bring it to life.  Right, enough prevaricating!

Here is the finished piece, in all its glory.  It is the most complicated piece of embroidery I have attempted, and it has taken me eight Stitching Sundays to complete, but I am so pleased with how it looks.
I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has left such lovely comments week by week, as your support really spurred me on to get it finished.
My next project?  Something little and quick and not too taxing - felt snowflake decorations, I think.

Stitching Sundays 20 (really, it's Monday - oops!)

Yes, it's Monday again and I'm late with my Stitching Sunday post.  I have had a very productive stitching day and my embroidery is really taking shape now.

I have been adding lots of grasses all over the foreground and mid ground.  Initially, there was a bit of a line at the bottom of the first layer of grasses I sewed, unintentional, but there all the same, so I tried to alter the way the grasses overlapped across the different layers and am much happier with the effect now.

In the close up, you can see the way I am trying to overlap the grasses in order to have a more naturalistic look.

This is a section cut through, giving an idea of the background, mid ground and foreground working together.  I still have a little more to do, I think, but now the challenge will be to know when it is finished and stop...

Stitching Sundays 19

 Here we are again, another Stitching Sunday and Chrissie, who started this, is back, so I shall be linking in.

 I had a very serendipitous trip to the local charity shop yesterday as I found these embroidery cottons there, just begging me to take them home and use them in a project.  I knew just the thing (with the exception of the purple/pink skeins) as the colours would be perfect for the grasses in my project.

Here's the progress for this week - you probably can't see it, so here's a close up...

I have started adding the grass, but this is just the start as I am intending to have loads in greens, browns, beiges, straw colour all over the foreground and middle too.  I just need to keep going...

Stitching Sundays 18

Yes, time has run away with me again and it isn't Sunday, it's Monday!  Still, better late than never to post my progress so far.  I did spend a fair proportion of the day embroidering yesterday and I really enjoyed the luxury of being able to do that.  As you can see, I have been working on the foreground and adding in some grasses as well as dandelion-type seed heads and other little bits and pieces.

 The dandelion-type seed heads caused me a fair bit of frustration because, try as I might, I just couldn't get them to look how I wanted them to.  I tried seed stitches and then star stitch, which just looked like a star, rather than a plant (the clue is in the name, Ellie!)  So, I decided to make the seed heads out of french knots instead and I am happier with these, even if they don't have the fluffiness of a real dandelion. They have become a generic seed head, rather than anything identifiable.

 I also added in a couple of things at the front, again making use of french knots.

I am pleased with the feathery grasses as I just stitched in an informal way, with no real prior practising.  I think it is all coming together now.  The next thing will be to add in lots of blades of grass in different colours, to make the plants look as though they are growing through something.  I think the end may be in sight, at long last. (I have other projects that I really would like to start; the most pressing being winter decorations for the seasonal tree!)

Stitching Sundays 17

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Stitching Sunday has come round again and I have a little more progress to share with you.  I have added in a few seed head-type plants in the mid ground.  I needed a bit of thinking time as I wasn't sure quite how to tackle these and my first thought was to applique some tiny pieces of felt in order to get the look I wanted.  However, in reality, the tiny pieces of felt just didn't work at all.
(It probably doesn't look much in this photo, so I have added a couple of close ups below in order that all my hard work will be easier to see!)

 I turned to the trusty split stitch for the stem and then double french knots at the base of the stem, moving to single french knots towards the top.  I used six wraps round the needle to make the french knots bigger.

Although I did have a few issues when the thread decided to helpfully get tangled right in the middle of the knot construction, (and this happened quite a few times) I am pleased with the result, which adds more texture to the embroidery as well.  I am slowly moving onwards and the next thing will be the dandelion seed heads.  I have tried these already, with no success at all, so am going to use one piece of thread, rather than my usual three, so that I should get a more delicate stitch.  That is the hope, anyway.

Stitching Sundays 16

 Amazingly, I have actually started stitching onto my felt background and I am quite pleased with the effect so far.  I started with the large seed heads at the back and the intention is to move to the middle ground and finish with the foreground, building up the stitching in layers.

I have used my favourite split stitch and french knots for these seed heads and I feel that it looks quite effective. Although the thread looks white in the photo, it is a pale beige colour which echoes the colours of the original seed heads in the original roadside verge.  I hope to make some more progress for next week, but at least I have finally got it started!