I haven't neglected my wool hexagons! I had taken photos on a pretty gloomy day last week and they were awful. Today, I think there is almost too much sun, but here goes: I finished the last of the veggies: The Artichoke Now I am into the quilt block grouping: Cactus Basket Shoo Fly Six Pointed Star Pride of the Prairie Variable Star I jumped ahead to the last group of patterns--the patriotic designs. Five Pointed Star If you are interested, you can find information about the Stitching Society Hexagons HERE I don't have too many more to go! I have so many people tell me they would like to try wool applique, but don't want to invest in expensive wool. My advice is to buy scrap bags! There are lots of places on line that sell their scraps--just Google wool scrap bags. These are a few that I found this morning: In the Patch Designs Etsy Shops (be sure you are finding 100% wool--wool felt is nice (and more affordable), but I tend to stick with wool. Erica's Also, another good source is a vendor at a quilt show. I found some awesome scrap bag bargains from One Wing Wool at a show last year. Even the tiniest scraps of wool are useful since you don't need a seam allowance to turn under! Linking with Scraptastic Tuesday and Sew Cute Tuesday
I realized yesterday that I had no wool hexagons prepared to work on, so the little bit of cleaning and clearing that I had done was all for naught! I have all the parts and pieces cut out for the Final Thirty Stitching Society hexagons--yay! (I put papers from an old notepad between the hexagons as I set them up so the pieces don't stick to the back of the one on top. I've accidentally fused a few pieces to my ironing surface before I started using the papers!) The Robin (These aren't the best photos--too dark in the sewing room and too cold to be outside!) Forget Me Knots Thistle Shamrocks Saltbox House Fleur de Lis Folk Art Flower Folk Art Tulip Dots and Daisy Heart with Flower Flower Medallion The plan today is to get the Final Thirty fused and ready to stitch!
When I first started on my Stitching Society adventure, I was a lot more anal careful about following the patterns. As part of the program, we were given a clear overlay to use with a dry/wet erase marker. We could then trace the design and use it as a guide to place the wool design pieces on the hexagon. That was really helpful on Mr. Mouse. I don't worry about being so exact anymore. You can also see that I don't reverse the designs unless it is something that wouldn't look right. I trace the parts of the designs that I will be using for wool applique onto Heat and Bond Lite and then arrange my pieces on the wool hexagon. When I am happy with the placement, I fuse everything down. Even though it's not in the instructions for the fusible, I've found a little steam helps adhere the appliques more securely. I usually set up 15 hexagons at a time since that's how many patterns we are given each month. This is Wintertime. I simplified the design a bit. I wasn't too keen on the stars at the branch tips, and after stitching a few snowflake French Knots, I removed them and decided this one was done! Okay--this is my biggest secret--my pens! I use very slightly tinted fabric markers to do little touches of shading. You can see I used this very light gray to shade under the wing of the bird. I also used it extensively on Mr. Mouse above. I use a grey, peach, lavender and light olive--I'm not trying to add color to the wool, only a bit of a shadow--very subtle. Most of the designs are fanciful, but on a lot of the flora and fauna, I use my iPad to Google images just as little guide for colors. Notice there are no instructions--just a line drawing, so it's fun to figure out how each hexagon will be tackled. The little circles on the branch could be French Knots or maybe crystals--I used pearly beads. Cardinal I'm almost finished with my wintry group--next up: folksy!
This month, the Stitching Society project is a pincushion, which is great--only one hexagon required for a busy, busy month! I couldn't decide what design to use, so I went with #7--the day of my birthday. It looks like I can do some fun stitching on it: Ala Sue Spargo. I chose some really bright fun colors for a change. It's been pretty dark and dreary outside, so I need a little cheering up! While I'm stitching on this today, I will be contemplating how the heck I will sew the small top and large bottom hexagons together. The pattern says to "gather slightly". Hmmmm..... linking up to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching HERE--check it out!
Sashiko is a Japanese technique of needlework quilting stitchery which has endured through the centuries. Once a way to preserve fabric for as long as possible by necessity, sashiko is now celebrated and appreciated for its artfulness.
Textile Art | Patricia Kelly Textile Artist
Sole Society Sarafina Vegan Shoulder Details Designed with unique stitching and soft vegan leather, this spacious shoulder bag is the perfect style for everyday errands.
Medium Miniatures 3D
“Stitched Art is Art” - Have you discovered The Society for Embroidered Work? Stitch based artists Cat Frampton and Emily Tull co-founded S.E.W. in 2018, to ...
Gulliver's Travels. Peter Stuart.
Go Exploring with our new fabrics!
I am so sad that next season of Downton Abbey will be the last--waaahh.... At least we have Mr. Selfridge to entertain us for a while. All this week I have been seeing stripes in my sleep! There are a lot of these patriotic designs and I am working hard to make them all a bit different from each other, but I am running out of ideas! Coat of Arms wool stripes Flag and Stars couched yarn stripes Americana Housepearl cotton back-stitch stripes House with Flag cotton floss chain stitch stripes Eagle wool floss chain stitch stripes Flag Daycotton floss double stem stitch stripes Colonial Flag cotton rick rack stripes Uncle Sam's Hat felt rick rack stripes Yes, there are even more designs in need of stripes, but I see light at the end of the tunnel! I'll be stitching on these during Mr. Selfridge tonight. Linking with Slow Sunday Stitching HERE
I haven't done any piecing this week--too busy quilting Gift Basket--but... I've joined the Quilt Like An Eagle Sew Along! I've been wanting to do a version of this quilt for years, so I'm happy to have the motivation of a sew-along! I was first drawn to this quilt when Quilter's Newsletter published this pattern in 2002. It uses the center motif of an early 19th century quilt. In 2005, Quilter's Newsletter published an article about this quilt. It was inspired by the previously published pattern, but this quilter did some research and based her version more closely on the original. This is a photo of the original quilt. The quilt is made from hemp, as so has become known as the Marijuana quilt! Barbara Brackman wrote about this quilt several years ago HERE. As Barbara points out, Jan Patek has a version of the same eagle in her book Flags of the American Revolution--you can see it on the cover: I just got this book in the mail--it was a Bobbins Bargain a couple weeks ago. The eagle pattern from the magazine needs to be enlarged, but the eagle in the book looks to be about the size I will want to use, saving me a trip to the printers. There is also some information on the quilt from the National Museum of American History HERE. I'm not sure how my version will end up, but I will be doing the center similar to the Ever Vigilant version.
Weaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life: Best of November, experimenting with a fancy new quilt design, celebrating an old favorite, anticipating Amsterdam at Christmas and treasuring the light.
Honor Before Victory. Living in the Current Middle Ages with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) ~ By Gregor and Genoveva
I'm so happy to have had time to get a QOV quilted this week--it's been on my shelf for a couple month's and I was feeling bad about not getting it finished. It went pretty quickly after I practiced the quilting design on my white board a few times. The design is called Loopy Clams. I found the design on YouTube, demonstrated by Lyn Durbin at the above link. It was a lot of fun and went pretty quickly. I used Signature 40 wt. thread in the Mother Goose color. The Quilt of Valor top was pieced by the Brainerd MN QOV group. They put the tops together in kits with the batting, back, binding and a matching pillowcase. The kits can be picked up at Country Fabrics, quilted, and returned to be bound. It's a good way to get some quilting practice and help QOV at the same time. I love the texture of Loopy Clams--I will be using this design again! I didn't get all of my Halloween hexies stitched by the 31st, but here are a few newly finished. This is Jack-- not sure why the purple stripes on his hat are so washed out in the photo. Toad I used black iridescence sequins for the bubbling brew in the cauldron. Witch I couched green chenille yarn for the hair. And Frank! Happy Halloween!!!
Voting has opened for the Bloggers Quilt Festival. You can vote for 3 different quilts by clicking on the little heart in the upper right corner of the thumbnail photos at the bottom of the post HERE. That link goes to the scrappy category where my Paper Dolls quilt is entered. There are many more categories that you can find HERE--lots of fun browsing! Finally, the last of the Halloween Hexies! The Spider The pattern packet says this is a Zombie, but it looks like a Mummy to me?!? The Haunted House--what's behind those glowing red eyes.....! I spent the weekend setting up my next group of hexies. I usually do 15 at a time since that's how many designs come in each month's packet, but since I am so far behind, I am choosing fabrics for 45--yikes! My wool scraps are sorted by color in plastic bags. I save even the tiniest scrap since they are usable in the hexagons. You can see I have a horrendous mess on my hands! And on the floor too... Once I get the fusible pattern on the wool, I rough cut the pattern design pieces, put them with a background hexagon, and stack them. Then I can put all those bags away and get on with the next step in my process: When I have some time to sit, I can trim the pattern pieces and start placing them onto the backgrounds. Then they will be fused down and ready for stitching--the perfect little take along project. There maybe a better way to do this, but it's seems pretty efficient to me. I plan to do some cleaning today--kind of obvious, I guess!
I am so far behind on my Stitching Society wool hexagons. The project for September was a banner/bell pull--I'm hoping to put the finishin...
I thought I was going to celebrate a red letter day--my Stitching Society 180 wool hexagons were all finished! Hallelujah!! The Bell ...
Carol Naylor is a contemporary textile artist who specialises in machine embroidery. Machine embroidered textiles, paintings and drawings. She creates unique, one off textiles by stitching directly onto painter's canvas using a variety of rayon, cotton, woollen and metallic threads. Commissions, workshops, talks and residencies. Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen.
