needlebook

 At the recent exhibition at the Frankston Waterfront Festival I was asked to make a needlebook for a lady who loves pinks and lilacs.

 Fortunately we were able to discuss the fabrics and colours and these are the ones that took her fancy.

The fabrics are hand dyed by Tina Whitely.
 
 

 It is to be a small folder with some pellon for padding and some hand quilting and embroidery and beading.

The pages will be made from this pale green felt.

As well as this I am to make a matching scissor case too.

I do hope it pleases her. 

Shopping and creating

 The term holidays are almost over and I have my grandson Ben staying for a few days.
He is really competent with the felting/embellishing machine.
 

We found some grassy green felt which I bought some time ago at the op shop.  I knew it would come in handy some time


Foraging around in the scrap box revealed some lovely silk and wool tops as well as pieces of yarn and tulle.




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When I was in the city on Saturday I called in at Clegs in Elizabeth Street and bought some interesting yarn.  Of course the fact that I have bags of yarn in my
workroom didn't seem relevant at the time.

There are some amazing yarns available at present and although I don't knit I can always find something to use these for.

I noticed that there is an online service available from Clegs here.

While I was out with Ben today we called into
Paper2 in Mornington to buy some glue, and gel and crackle medium and clear sealer.

They have such a huge range of paper craft items that I could stay all day just browsing (well maybe a little shopping).  Take a look at their website here

So many items can be used with textiles as well as paper of course. 

Sorry this is a bit haphazard.  If I wasn't so tired I would edit it but I am sure you can find your way around it.

I hope everyone is managing to find time to relax and create something beautiful.

reading for inspiration

 Today we called in at the library:  this is a wonderful free service which I should use more often.

Anyway I came home with five books to enjoy.  

The first is called Textile Style, Decorating With Antique an Exotic Fabrics by Caroline Clifton-Mogg.  This book is filled with pages full of gorgeous fabrics, rugs, scarves, shawls and other textiles  used in interior design. 

The next book is a small book on sketching.  Collins 30 minute sketching by Alwyn Crawshaw.  I hope this will assist me in my efforts to translate the things I see into designs.

 The third book is called Sacred Doorways, a beginners guide to icons by Linette Martin.  It is a detailed account of the history and techniques used in creating the icons often seen in Orthodox Churches. 

I borrowed this just because it interests me:  one of my daughters belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church, as do her 3 children so it helps to understand a little of what we see when we go to a service.

The Way We Live By the Sea, Stafford Cliff & Gilles De Chabaneix contains 256 colour photographs relating to seaside living.  I could just pick this book up and spend hours browsing and drooling.  The colours, patterns, architecture and scenery are all so inspiring.

Of course there had to be one book that features techniques to instruct and trigger the imagination.

Felt to Stitch, Creative felting for Textile Artists by Sheila Smith starts with explaining the preparation of fibres for felting and then illustrates various ways of creating felt and then some simple projects.  This is a really comprehensive book which I think I might have to invest in sometime soon.

Step by step

 Today we went back to buy some sample pots of paint for the trim of the house.


The first pot was too blue so we had to go back and decide on another colour to try.  The young woman in the paint department was happy to discuss the tints that made up the final colours I was looking at which was really helpful.  We finally settled on Malay Gray for the window frames and other trims and Burnished Bark for the steps and decking.

 Now that the decisions have been made and we are both happy with the colour scheme I feel as though a burden has been lifted.  I know it sounds silly but I was dreaming about paint colours last night.

Anyway I have decided to make another knot garden and I managed to sketch up a preliminary design to work on.

 I am going to use felt for the background on this project and as you can see I have plenty to choose from.

I might even use my embellishing machine for some of the elements.  

In the meantime I will keep on with my painting: it really provides a lot of thinking time once the decisions are made.

catching up

 Each day seems to be busier than the last.  Is that a sign of aging and slowing down?  

Anyway I have been meaning to mention a couple of books and blogs: they are great resources when the creative juices need a boost.  So first the books.

Paper Metal & Stitch is a great feast of colour and texture and ideas.  It is by Maggie Grey and Jane Wild.

 The second book was sent to me quite some time ago by my dear friend Linda a
It is Embroidery from Sketch to Stitch by Pat Langford.  Each time I take this book from the shelf it reminds me of Linda and her generous spirit and love of all things textile.  Thanks Linda for all the inspirational chats and emails.

 I have commenced a course with Sharon B and have my supplies ready.  I am hoping this course on the use of a journal will help me to be a bit more disciplined and maybe more productive.  Have you checked out Sharon's blog.  Pintangle

In the mail today I received a parcel from Ballarat Patchwork.  These beautiful pieces of felt are just for the stash.  I use a lot of felt for lining projects or adding a bit of body to a piece.  I just love these colours and the names of them too: they are Denim, Grassy Meadows, Robins Egg, Pistachio Icecream and Strawberry Dream. This post has gone a little longer than I intended but just wanted to add one more link.
One of my favourite blogs is Art is Basic


I hope some of this is of interest to others.  It is such a big world out there in blogland and we are all so lucky to have so many opportunities to learn and share. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this.

 I have finished my little purse.  The fabric consists of scraps of fabric & thread felted together on the embellishing machine.

 Tulle was then bonded with mistyfuse and it was then lined with cotton fabric.

I added some stitches and joined it together with blanket stitch and some other stitching.

It has turned out quite well: very shabby chic.

Just the right size for my phone. 

eucalyptus flowers

I made this some time ago and it stays on the shelf in my sewing room.  the stem and one leaf are stitched onto brown wool felt.


The upper leaf is worked as a detached element on calico using gumnut silk threads.

The caps on the top of the flowers are worked using green felt and silk threads.

The flowers are made using red silk threads bound together, similar to making a tassel, and these were inserted in the caps and then stitched to the stem.

I added some fabric stiffener to the ends of the flowers to keep them in place.

Although this is such a simple piece I am very pleased with it.

The variety of flowering eucalypts is extensive and always interesting.  They attract nectar loving birds and provide colour in the garden.  Many of the trees have interesting leaves and bark.  They are messy, dropping leaves throughout the year and often losing rather large limbs after strong winds.  Many of them shed long sheets of bark on a very hot day in an attempt to provide themselves with mulch to keep their roots cool.  A very efficient idea.

 Today I have been messing about with my embellishing machine.

 I love the fact that I can use up so many of my scraps and make something useful.

 the machine is very user friendly although it does take time, but I love the idea of no threads & no bobbins.

The needles are very fine and rather expensive and this little play time ended up with four of the five needles broken.

 This piece of colour and texture has a purpose -   I need to add some more scraps and then fuse some nylon tulle over it before it is ready to be used. 

winter is on its way

 Winter is on its way to us here in Melbourne so it is time to break out the coats and scarves.

 I have plenty of things in my stash of course so today I started on a new scarf.


It will be so lovely and soft on those chilly mornings.

I just love the look and feel of the fleece before the felting starts.  

I couldn't resist making some odd shapes over what was left: a bit like using up the left over pastry when making a pie!  I just rolled these around in my hands with soapy water and then flattening them.  they will be useful for embellishing.

the garden bites back

Another lovely Autumn day here in Melbourne.  We have made a start on the replanting of the garden.  I planted 10 native shrubs which will do well in this area.  Some westringia, correa, hakea, grevillia and native mint bush.

We needed to remove some overgrown vines before the planting began and as usual I took to the task with enthusiasm:  well there was a bee that did not appreciate my presence there.  I have a very sore arm for my trouble.  It is only two weeks since a very mean bull-ant bit me on the same arm.   This is all part of the adventure.


Oh, I should mention the felt in the pic.  It is a piece I embellished and painted a while ago.  I was so disappointed in the result that I put it in the too hard basket until I came across it today.  To be honest I don't mind it so much now but will have to find a use for it.

Thanks to all those who read and comment on my blog: it is always good to hear from you.

I was grateful for the reminder about the pond, Melissa.  I had not thought of the dangers of such a deep pool.  We have little babies (twins) next door and although they are only six months old I will have to anticipate them visiting when they are more mobile.  An enclosure might be needed! Thanks again.





 

another item finished

I have finished my little felt bag at last.  I decided to use my Pfaff embellishing machine to finish the construction.  It is so easy and relaxing to use.

A magnetic catch is a simple closure and I added some angelina fibre and beads as well to finish it off.   

It is just the right size for carrying a notebook, pen & camera.

colours of the reef

Last year I made several pieces of felt and they are just taking up space in my workroom so I have decided to make of bag out of this 

piece.  I had some matching fabric which was ideal for the lining so I have added some thin pellon and machine quilted it.  It is to be a simple bag with a fold-over flap so I hope to finish it tomorrow.  Unless of course I decide it needs a little bling to brighten it up.  The felt it made of merino wool and silk and the depth of the colour reminds me of the water in the great barrier reef.

Watching Cricket & Stitching

During last week I dyed quite a lot of lace and some doileys.

I often buy linen and doyleys from op shops and if they are stained or torn they are ideal for a change of colour.

I am continuing to work my way through my stash and pieces that I have stitched but not used.
This is one of the first pieces of silk ribbon embroidery that I attempted. 

It turned out to be ideal for the front of a needlebook.   (yes I know I have plenty of them).
This was fun to do.  I used up lots of peices of felt and the inside is a piece of cotton I have had for about 10 years.  I really like the colours and shall probably keep this one for myself.

ANOTHER NEEDLEBOOK

 This is my December needlebook.  It was very much a fun project.  I was given some scaps of fabric & ribbon by a fellow embroiderer: her project wasn't working out so out came the stitches.   I cannot waste such bits and pieces so they were added to my stash of similar scaps.

 I decided to create some fabric using my felting/embellishing machine.  I started with the scraps and ribbons and added some other fabrics and fibres.  Having done that I fused some more scraps and some chiffon from an old scarf to the base fabric: after that I applied the heat gun and then fused some tulle on top.  To break up the "neat" look I took to it with the soldering iron, just opening up a few areas to show 

 the original colours.  I also added a bit of gold foil to lighten it up . Then I stitched some green braid on each end:  I was going to line the inside but I realised the "wrong side" of the fabric looked really cool so I did some free machine stitching through the whole lot and 

then stitched in some felt
and here it is - my final needlecase for the year.

Oh I also stitched some soft braid trim to the upper and lower edge and then painted some liumiere metallic paint to seal it. 

It looks a bit dodgy but it actully feels really nice to use.