'Patched and Pieced ' Stitching

Starting to stitch and taking it slowly, bit by bit.

I placed it on a muslin backing and tacked it into place, using Jude Hill's method and it has made it nicer to work, feeling more like a whole cloth.

I am using some Kantha type border stitches in places.

Black and White.

These pieces of fabric were discharged with bleach, in some parts using freezer paper masks, and then the action of the bleach was stopped using sodium metabisulphate, having discussed how to stop the bleach with one of the artists in the working studio at the Festival of Quilts last summer. It was something I used to use when it was the fashion to brew one’s own beer and used it to sterilize the bottles. I wore a mask and gloves when using it.

Patching and piecing.

Choosing threads.

Over on the Sketchbook Challenge blog the theme is collage in the sketchbook.

 There are some changes this year, a set of new themes and a Flickr slideshow of participants work at the end of each month.

2014

  A Happy and Healthy New Year to all.

Stitch

This is my last post of 2013 and I thought I would end with a ‘riot’ of stitch; I have been working on this for some months, working alongside someone who hasn't done much stitch before, and she has her own piece well on its way.

 Lazy daisy inspired by Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn.

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

Gelli plate and stitch.

The idea here is finished I think, but not yet the stitching.

Lino print with gelli plate print background using acrylic paint; a piece of an old book ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ pasted on top.

Photographed, taken into an ipad app and a selection made of the text, which I have then pasted and scaled.

 Next printed out onto fabric using a prepared cotton fabric.

Quilted onto wadding.

Starting to stitch using Bullion Knot and wool thread.

Lyric Kinard is a contributor to The Sketchbook Challenge and has shared this link:

Click through for info on how to watch Lyric Kinard's episode on The Quilt Show.com with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims for FREE!
http://lyrickinard.com/2013/12/the-quilt-show-its-your-turn/

A few more knots.

This week we practised Bullion Knots and I found a few of my samples, including  a whitework one which reminded me of the time that I planned to try to learn Mountmellick Work, a traditional Irish Embroidery, but did not get very far. 

If you have not tried this stitch it is quite addictive, but  takes some practise the first time, and then needs a warm up before you get back into some kind of rhythm each time.

 Many tutorials online now, but I found the method in Tracy Franklin's book on whitework to be the easiest to follow. It may be available in your local library as I know it is in mine.

                                                  

Small and mini.

I made some small books with pamphlet stitch using some of the gelliprints from a previous session.

Finding just the right button.

Thanks to inspiration from Ines Seidel  one of my groups has made some paper bowls using brown paper, book pages, tissue and pressed leaves. Now we are making objects to put in the bowls such as paper flowers from book pages, and next week I hope we will make some mini books.

 All you need are some old book pages and something suitable for the cover; I was fortunate to be given some snake skin and I have some offcuts of leather so we are all set.

 I used glue to stick on the cover but in the past I have stitched in the pages. I really,really, need to tidy my 'mini' studio, but all that cardboard, those given treasures, boxes of buttons, bits of leather, they all have their day; but I am running out of space.

Gelli,lino and Stitch

I had another go at linocut with a gelli plate background. I also cut out some pieces and added some stitch, easy to take it to the sewing machine as I was working on strong watercolour paper.

 I decided that rubbing with the back of a spoon works better for me than using the Speedball baren.

In the one below I added some bling, which is not usually my thing.I cut out the image and added it to

a piece of my handmade paper with machine stitch.