knots, wheels and satin stitch

I will do a separate french knots sample for Take a Stitch Tuesday but I wanted to post my shingle sketchbook (1 of 3 hand stitch sketchbooks for my first C&G assessment piece).

It contains all 3 stitches, creating a thick textured, almost cuddly sketchbook cover.


click on the photo for a closer look.

more sketchbook pages on Flickr

I've managed to upload photos of the sketchbook for my City & Guilds accessories project.

sketchbooks

Shhhhhh Baby Girl's asleep.

there is a discussion on the City & Guilds Yahoo group re sketchbooks/journals and how people use them. I love this part of City & Guilds and its been a real revelation that I can actually put together a sketchbook (or workbook as I prefer to call it) and refer back to it for inspiration months later.

for each assessment piece I took an A4 ring bound sketchbook and pulled it apart. Then stuck it all back together with fabric, stitching and fibres. I also added a few drawings too.

Some work better than others as a record of the final finished piece (sky sea and sand), others stand alone as resource of techniques (green fields throw) and one in particular is far more interesting than the finished piece (black and white accessory).

My self portrait workbook is a work in progress....

I hope I can carry this on without C&G but I think I will need a topic/subject/end goal to work with!

I've uploaded some more photos of my sky, sea and shingle workbook to Flickr. I really enjoyed looking through this book again. And I'm surprised at how much black and white stuff I did, way back in 2004.

I'll photograph the other books when I get a chance.

Some of my favourite pages...

Baby Girl's asleep....

on her own.....

I'm way behind with my stitching.

Take a Stitch Tuesday
I've completed my cross stitch sampler and I've nearly finished my up and down buttonhole. I think I have another 3 weeks to do to catch up!

This sample is probably more about the background fabric than the stitching! Its leftover from some samples I did for a City & Guilds project.

I'll post the instructions later.

Black & White Journal
NO progress. Only more ideas!

Green Fields Throw
I have started the surface stitching on the pieces of felt I have already made. Its not much (lots more to add) but a start.



I need a new to do list!

my stitching journey began with a cross stitch

I'm behind schedule again with Take a Stitch Tuesday - about 3 weeks behind! I still have cross stitch, barred chain and a buttonhole variant to do.

This unfinished cross stitch sampler has been lying about for a while and is/was an exercise in colour theory for my C&G Certificate. I got the idea from the Caron Collection website.

I started my stitchery adventures doing cross stitch. The 'granny' type - following charts, colour codes and fabric types to produce pleasing pictures. Some even surprised me in their effectiveness.

There are some lovely ungranny like designs and colours now. This is part of a birth sampler kit. The motifs are stitched on plastic canvas before being cut out and hung on washing line.

As soon as I didn't need to stitch to relax I stopped doing cross stitch and became more freeform. Still kit based in the begining as I didn't have the right materials.

This one is by Rowandean. With a few beaded embellishments....

I then took a course and produced this...

I then bought a book and produced this.

And then the fun really started!

green fields throw - the story so far

This is my third piece for my City & Guilds Certificate in Craft and Design (Embroidery).

I wanted a blanket/throw inspired by agriculture landscape. The initial vision was of a felt patchwork with surface embroidery. As usual I got a bit distracted and spent time constructing other types of fabric. Most of them unsuitable for a blanket! I should have spent more time on different felt making techniques.

In the end I settled on a traditional felt making method (wool tops combed and layered then rubbed with some soap and a lot of elbow power, then rinsed).

I'm using merino wool tops from Texere in 4 colours - Lincoln Green, Mustard, Gold and Olive. I blended the colours to produce this colour sample book:-

The actual patchwork design was determined by the largest size of felt I could make (I was pregnant at the time and it is physically hard work!).

The finished throw will be approx 110 x 85cm.

So far I've made 4 out of the 7 pieces. These 3 form the middle band (without stitching)


The stitches I've chosen include:-
buttonhole (like in the middle above)
straight/seed (shown below)
wheatear (shown below)
cretan (I think)

I like the freeform edges of the felt and intend to use these lines both internally and as an outside to the throw.

So...

To Do list

*make the 3 other pieces.
a light yellow piece (30 x 85cm)
a light green piece (45 x 25cm)
a dark green piece (45 x 25cm)
*Start surface stitching!
*Decide on how I'm going to join the pieces together... a simple straight stitch?

My goodness. That's a lot of felt.

New project!

I've signed up for an ATC swap with my City & Guilds textile group on Yahoo. I need to have them ready for posting on 4th May. I'm not sure how many I need to make yet as it depends on how many of the group sign up. I would like to have a theme. Ideas I've considered:-

* trees. I'm really taken by branches and tree structures and shapes at the moment.
* Baby Girl's stuff. I've been taking some photos of her clothes and toys. There are some lovely stitch ideas (e.g. reverse applique with a ribbon embroidery outline).
* photo manipulation and fabric transfer printing.

However the idea I think I will go with involves the stitch samples I've done for Take a Stitch Tuesday. I want to take my favourite use of the stitch and use it in an ATC. Or maybe I should try a fresh idea with the stitch (inspired by the other participants). I would have a common colour scheme (hopefully not black and white) to unify the set.

Since many of the swap participants read this blog I won't say anymore on. I'll post photos in mid May!

inspirations from nature - part 3

Taken by Ian in 2004. Click to enlarge.

I used this photo as inspiration in my first C&G project (sky, sea and sand sketchbooks, 2004) .

These are some photo manipulations I did using this photo.

And a page from my sketchbook showing some patterns.

some texture inspiration in black

black page, originally uploaded by fionacupcake.

like the white page but done in black. I love the square 'sequins' on these pages. They were made using a rough, thick handmade paper painted black and cut into small squares. very simple!

some texture inspiration in white

white page, originally uploaded by fionacupcake.

I created these pages as part of a study of black and white for my C&G accessories project. Its a page of white stuff, glued and stitched into my workbook then sketched in B&W on the right hand side. I think it will again prove useful in creating a page of texture in my B&W fabric book

City & Guilds Accessories Project - Misson Statement

MISSION STATEMENT - Black and White accessories for everyday evenings or sparkly days. Explore black and white patterns, objects and images. Chess boards and pieces; dairy cows and zebras; my black and white print skirt. Newspaper print and crosswords; the grim reaper and bride-to-be; my fair lady at the races. Polo mints and liquorice, snowflakes and charcoal. Chalk on a blackboard, a dollop of cream in a coffee. Explore textures – contrasts and complements. A collection of black bits, a collage of whiteness and all mixed up together. Decorating an arm – highlighting a wrist, accessorising an outfit making a statement. Try out lots of techniques on a small canvas; consider scale - BIG and small. Play with strength - delicate and tough. Explore textures – rough and smooth. Different fabrics – rich and luxurious, plain and simple. Handmade wool felt and synthetic chiffons. A bunch of beads, paper, fabric, pasta, plastic, glass and metal, strung on thread, elastic and ribbon. Decorating with stitchery. Dissolvable fabric – trapping glitz and glamour; dissolving a lacy and delicate structure, creating a grid to weave and embellish. Manipulate fabric with folds, pleats, cutting and slashing. How to secure? Some fastenings hidden, some on show. Secure on your own or ask for some help. How to display? A totem pole to have them on show, a box to keep them safe. A folio to be opened with a flourish or a roll to hide away.