Today I’ve shared a simple method you can use to create your own unique hand painted fabrics to use in your slow stitch projects.
We had an ice storm in the early part of January and while we were house bound by the weather I discovered “slow stitching.” I fell in love with the process and the meditative qualities of these small hand stitching projects and I thought you might also like them! What is slow stitching? Slow st
Slow Stitching is a new term for an age-old practice of quiet gentle making, mending, repair and stitching. Here’s what slow stitching is and how to do it, as well as what you can make from all your beautiful stitched pieces.
Earlier in the week, I started a new kawandi quilt project. I got the back all pressed up, inserted a layer of thin cotton batting and then trimmed, pressed and pinned down the pieces around my edge. I stitched maybe one row around ... and then didn't get any further. Life, generally, just got in the way of any sewing. This morning, up too early for a Sunday as I had to drop my daughter at work by 7am, I sat in my sewing room when I got back and thought I'd add a couple of rows to my kawandi... and then kept at it for a couple more hours. I turned on my audio book and enjoyed the process. I did eventually have to stop and get some jobs done around the house (blurgh) but looked into the room and saw the sun shining on my sewing table, so thought I'd sew a little bit more. I tried to film a little bit of the stitching and upload a short reel to TikTok. Anyone else on TikTok? I much prefer Instagram, but I thought I'd give it a go and try to be more active on the platform. Here's the link to the video if anyone wants to have a look. @sameliasmum Hand quilting on a sunny Sunday afternoon #quilt #quilting #kawandi #aurifilthread #sewingtiktok #quiltingtiktok #handmade #sameliasmum #bigstitchquilting #slowsewing #sewing ♬ Little Things - Tiqta In other exciting news, I've been selected as an Aurifil Artisan for 2023/2024. This will be my second year collaborating with Aurifil. I'm looking forward to seeing the upcoming list of challenges and working on the themes, in my own way. Fun!
Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! It has been a spectacular fall here in Southern Ontario with a display of colour like I can't ever remember. I have taken many photos to enjoy over the winter to remember these beautiful sunny days. Last weekend I took a class with Sujata Shah of The Root Connection. My Kawandi quilt was inspired by the beautiful fall colours. It was my first online quilting class and I really enjoyed it. This kind of quilt making is all by hand and I loved that about it! I didn't have the right needle, but I made it work for the class. You can see that my first row of stitches (which goes through many layers of fabrics) was much bigger than my second row. Here is the corner of the quilt with the "fula". The Siddi quilt is considered naked without them, so there's my version of a fula. You can see that my stitches are starting to look a little less like they were made by a drunken sailor! It made me feel like my old (pre-2020) self again seeing beautiful quilts, learning something new, hearing about Siddi quilt makers, and doing some hand stitches together with other women around the world. Leave a comment and/or link up your blog post and share what you are hand stitching today. Then make yourself a cup of tea or coffee to enjoy while visiting the blog links and being inspired by what other people are creating with their own two hands. You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter
We had an ice storm in the early part of January and while we were house bound by the weather I discovered “slow stitching.” I fell in love with the process and the meditative qualities of these small hand stitching projects and I thought you might also like them! What is slow stitching? Slow st
Slow stitching is becoming more popular as an art and craft form that takes bits of fabric and thread to create small pieces of art.
What is slow stitching? A lot of fun! Learn how to get started with slow stitching and enjoy this creative textile art.
Slow stitching is becoming more popular as an art and craft form that takes bits of fabric and thread to create small pieces of art.
With these tips, you'll be able to create beautiful projects with your slow stitching. Ways to plan before you begin an improv quilt or stitched piece and ideas for how to fix a project you don’t love (which can happen in our work at times and becomes a 'learning' for the next piece).
This might be the most raw & vulnerable thing I might have ever told you: it’s about anxiety, learning things about ourselves, sitting with the challenges of life & parenting. And also about how craft, creative work, helps me. It might help you too. Here’s the story :
This week we are creating a slow stitching panel, taking time to enjoy the process and decide just what this beautiful piece might become...
Quilts by Paula Fleischer, political and otherwise
Quilts by Paula Fleischer, political and otherwise
Here's the method I've devised to make the Take it Further Fiber Book and the two volumes of Take a Stitch Tuesday stitch sampler. The Take it Further Fiber Book is my first fiber book ever and this is how I went about making the book. Using running stitch I mark the 'pages' on the cloth. Each page has two halves or portions , one on the left and one on the right. The size of the portion where the embroidery stitch is done is 3.2" x 5.75" with a 1/2" space between the two portions (the running stitch done with black thread) . Each page has a line of blanket stitch done around it. The blanket stitch is the means to joining the pages. Once a sizeable number of 'pages' have been completed they are cut and seperated leaving a small seam allowance of about a quarter inch or so on all four sides beyond the blanket stitch. For The Take it Further Fiber Book I ironed fusing onto the back of each page so they are quite stiff. I've decided to leave out the fusing in the Take a Stitch Tuesday books because the pages are about an inch or so smaller and since two layers of fabric make-up a page, the pages are fairly stiff. The blanket stitch along the 1/2" portion between the left and right halves/portions of the page are not joined so that the page can fold. Corners of pages must be matched and pinned and then the pages need to be joined, sewing and connecting blanket stitches on both pages.The left hand portion of the first page is left and you begin by joining the right hand portion of page 1 with the left hand portion of page 2. Once that's done you join the right hand portion of page 2 with the left hand portion of page 3 and so on. In doing this you create little pockets. If you find your page is too floppy then you could slip pieces of card paper into the pockets if you want a stiffer page. In the Take it Further Fiber Book I used black thread to join the pages and every five or six stitches I introduced a clear seed/sugar bead. In the Take a Stitch Tuesday books I'm joining the pages with a clear plastic thread which is as fine as a single strand of hair. Not sure what the name is but it can be used on a sewing machine. For the cover itself I used a single piece of felt which simply wraps around the book. I edged the cover with blanket stitch and embroidered the front cover and the spine portion of the book. The left hand portion of the first page is stitched onto the inside of the front cover (visible in picture above) and the right hand portion of the last page is stitched onto the inside of the back cover. The 'pages' are joined to the cover only on the inside of the front cover and the inside of the back cover. They aren't stitched or connected to the cover on the spine section of the cover. I hope I've been able to describe the method I employ to create my fiber books clearly for you to give it a try. If there's something confusing or unclear leave a comment and I'll try and sort things out for you. I've stitched the pages of the first volume of Take a Stitch Tuesday together and I begin the embroidery for the cover this weekend, so next week Volume one will be ready to view. Have a great weekend. On a separate note - I've become an affilate of Amazon and Flipkart. You will see the banners on the side bar. Should you wish to shop online I would appreciate it if you could click on the Amazon or Flipkart banners/buttons and make your purchases.Amazon and Flipkart will pay me a small percentage of the value of your transaction without increasing the cost for you by even a cent. Thank you and happy shopping.
Welcome to the first ever Slow Stitching Blog entry. You know, when I became ill in the final stages of kidney disease a couple of years ago, the experience took me out of a very busy and lu…
My daughter, Rachel , DM'd me over the weekend about " 24 Days of Sashiko " with sashiko.lab , so of course I went to take a look and was im...
This last couple of weeks, I've been away with my family, enjoying a Carnival cruise around the south pacific. We had a lovely time away enjoying time on tropical islands and sea days filled up with ship activities. There is always a lot to do on a ship. I knew that I'd need something to sew when I had downtime, so brought a small bag of pink scraps to work on a Kawandi style project. It's very portable style of project to work on while away from the sewing room. The night before we left, I prepared the backing piece and pressed the edges with a decent 3/4" seam. I took along my bag of scrap fabric, a needle and small spool of variegated Aurifil 12 wt thread # 4651, thread, scissors, marker and small ruler to ensure that my lines weren't going too far out whack. I also took a little packet of applique pins to keep my pieces in place when I rolled up the project before heading out to the next trivia challenge or show in the theatre. I worked most of the project on the ship and finished it off last night. I think I might choose a different colour scrap tub and make some more. It's nice to have a slow-sewing project ready to work, without deadlines to worry about. Have you tried making a kawandi style of project? When I saw the beautiful Kawandi works by Linda over at Flourishing Palms, I was inspired to try this style myself. I'm so glad that I did. The stitches may not be straight or perfect, but they were very enjoyable.
Have you heard about Slow Sewing? Taking the time to sew a little something by hand. Pausing with a needle & thread, taking time, and reflecting on a project.
Learn how to sashiko stitch with this step-by-step guide to Sashiko stitching includes thread, needles, and transferring your pattern.
Check out this curated list of creative ways to mend a hole! Lots of visible mending ideas for saving clothes from the landfill.
Bonjour, Aujourd'hui, je vais vous parler d'une technique que j'ai découvert il y a quelques jours, une technique qui m'a intriguée. De passage à ma mercerie (merci Dominique !), j'ai vu traîner sur le comptoir ce qui deviendra une magnifique écharpe...
Sashiko Stitch Instructions for beginners A trend in embroidery: Sashiko stitching and visible mending. This ancient Japanese craft is easy to learn. It gives quick results and makes stunning textile pieces. In this tutorial we explain the basics you need to know about Sashiko stitching. We share our recommendations for Sashiko materials. You will also