After Christmas Tree

 I started this piece of embroidery quite some time ago but it has been sitting in the basket neglected through lack of imagination.

 It is worked on yellow cotton and the basic outline of the tree trunk and limbs are worked in wool yarn.

 The little flowers are worked in cotton thread in various colours and stitches.

 The next step is to add some more beads - actually lots of beads.

 After that there will be more threads, maybe even some silk ribbon.

There also will be buttons and  embellishments.

 Maybe a little painting too. Let's see where it takes us.

Buttons and beads

 There hasn't been too much time for stitching lately but I have been working on a new brooch whenever I had a spare moment.

 The background is calico which I have dyed some time ago.

It is a lovely soft green .  Some of the pics look as if it is pink but it is just the lighting.

 I started off with tiny green seed beeds, just wandering around on the fabric, then some silk ribbon stitches in a soft mauve surround a green crystal slide.  Tear drop shaped glass beads catch the light.

Add caption

 More beads and lots of french knots and long and short stitch filled in lots of space.

Then some more stitching.





Damp stretching on a cork board overnight.

I find this damp stretching is such a great way to finish off a piece of work and pull it into place.

Then the finishing touch.







 

 
 Fitting it on the button as well as can be done.

It fits beautifully snug and smooth.

I AM ON A ROLL - WATER COLOUR PENCIL & THREAD

 Today I made a note book cover: the fabric is calico (recycled curtain lining) on which i made a coloured spiral with water colour pencils.  
Using different coloured threads I followed the lines of the spiral so give them more definition.  This was something I did a while ago when three creative studios had a monthly technique to try.


I backed it with pink sheeting (yes recycled) and then stitched it with my overlocker to make the cover.

This will go in my box of gifts to give during the year. 

EARLY BIRDS & BUSY STITCHING

This morning the birds were lined up on the rails of the veranda waiting for their breakfast.

First in line was this little baby butcher bird.

This little baby magpie was quite capable of feeding itself but as soon as mother bird appeared it started squawking until it was fed.  

I have made some progress with Santa.  I have a clear image of what he will look like now. 

I have hand quilted the damask skirt in the same colour as the overskirt.

I am using some of my dyed lace to trim the edges and he is wearing a straw hat which will be covered in felt.

These are some of the green threads I had to choose from.  It always amazing me that I can have so many shades of one colour but not be able to find exactly what I want. 

PARCELS IN THE POST

Today the postie delivered surprises from distant places.

This ATC (from the UK) is called Rockpool and was sent to me by Lorna - artymess, as part of the Stitchin Fingers ATC group swap for May.  The theme was under sea creatures.  Take a look at the atc blog to see the fantastic tiny works of art that are swapped throughout the year.

http://textileartisttradingcards.blogspot.com/

The next parcel was a card with gorgeous threads, sent to me by a dear friend in Queensland.  I can see these will be used on future ATCs and postcards.  Thanks so much Laurel for thinking of me and for your generosity.

Once I had finished drooling over  the first two parcels I opened one from the USA.  

This was a prize I won through a random draw on the 3 Creative Studios forum.  Each month a new technique is suggested and members show the results of their efforts.  Then one name is drawn for the prize.  This past month I was the lucky winner of threads, hand dyed fabrics, buttons, yarns, a gorgeous handmade book and card.  So many possibilities.

http://threecreativestudios.com/

This last little group of goodies were included in the parcel from Lorna.

lorna-artymess.blogspot.com/

flora & fauna in our garden

Well, my grevillea is progressing well.  I am finding this project, which I have set for myself, to be really challenging.  The grevillea is a very hard flower to express in stitch.  I have done one in silk ribbon too but I have no idea where it is now.

This time I am using a variety of threads and stem stitch, split back stitch, satin stitch, couching and french knots and am reasonably happy with it so far but I can feel a little paint or even hapazome coming on.  It needs something to bulk it out a bit.  

Incidentally the two flowers I posted on the previous blog are grevillea coconut ice and grevillea ned kelly (I think, the birds have made off with the label).

Talking of the birds, here are some of the lorikeets that often visit the garden.  We feed them occasionally as they are so beautiful.  They feed on the native flowers as well so there is plenty to attract them to our garden.

We also have possums visiting us in the evenings: they are nocturnal creatures and if we don't bring the bird seed in they eat it all.  I had to distract this one with an apple last night in order to be able to bring the seed in.