Easter ATC Swap

I am participating in an Easter ATC swap hosted by Sammy
It is a 5 for 5 swap and I decided to portray both the Christian and commercial side of Easter on my ATC's.
I have not added a lot of heavy embellishments mainly for postage reasons.
I made the bunnies by using card stock and a bunny punch and I put Diamond glaze on them to give them a glossy effect.
I am posting 3 of the 5 here for you to see.
The background on the first one is a bit of hand dyed fabric that I did years ago. The backgrounds on the second two are woven.
I have a friend who owns a patchwork shop and she gave me this big bag of strips of fabric.
Most people know what a fat quarter is--ie half of a half a metre of fabric.
My friend would cut the fabric off the bolt in half metre lengths and then cut the fold off and end up with 2 fat quarters (are you still with me) well the strips of folded material are what I used to weave and make the background.
What I did was to wind a dark perle cotton around a 6" square wire frame to form the warp(or is it weft) and then proceeded to weave the thin strips of fabric under and over the threads.
I selected colours to make it look like a scene.
When I had finished weaving I ironed it onto a piece of iron on interfacing to support it.
Then I cut it from the frame and stitched over it to hold it all together.

I cut it into ATC size and Stitched grasses etc. --glued on the bunny and hand stitched a cross and there you have it.

I hope the people who get them will be happy.

TAST Cross Stitch

The TAST stitch this week is Cross stitch.
Cross stitch is a simple stitch that we usually associate with kits that can be purchased in a multitude of designs and when done very well they are beautiful.
I had thought of doing a sampler working my name in Cross stitch but then decided to follow on with the colour wheel experiment again.
I have worked in the tertiary colours blending them as I went down the block.
I worked 3 rows of cross stitch in red i.e. 1 row down and then 1 row back to complete the first set of crosses and then I did another row down in red but then I joined in the new colour to complete the row back.
I continued in this manner starting the new colour on the second row- right hand side each time thus creating the shaded look until I reached the purple where I did 3 rows like I did for the red.
I hope this makes sense to you because I realise as I am typing this up that it may sound like gobledegook to every one else.
I have lightened the photo up also so that you can see the gradation of colours.In the second sample are Stars of cross stitch some are x way and some are + way and I have put them over each other I know they have a name for this but I can't remember what it is--(I plead a seniors moment)

The last sample is called Chicken Scratch -well that's what I know it as - but it does have other names as well.

I did this sample last year at the Embroiderers Guild in Canberra where we were teaching the children during the school holiday classes.

The foundation for this type of embroidery is cross stitch worked on gingham and the instructions can be found here.

After the rows of crosses are worked you then proceed to weave the thread around the legs of the crosses in a certain manner to create the patterns.

The finished design looks like lace and one of the names for this type of embroidery is Poor man's lace.

I love doing Chicken Scratch.

ATC's and more

I have been a bit slow in posting this ATC and I have apologised to Micki for this-it looks a lot nicer than this photo shows and has the most amazing purple Bullion stitches.
Thank you Micki it is beautiful. The second ATC comes from Hilary and has a wonderful texture and the colour is so beautiful
and also has beads scattered on it.

Hillary also included some silk ribbon that she had dyed and the colours are so subtle.Thank you very much Hillary.
I would also like to tell everyone that after my big clean up I discovered this wonderful wooden desk underneath all that clutter--I'd forgotten what it looked like-maybe now I will begin creating again.

Needle Felting

This is a piece of needle felting I did last year the old fashioned way with the five pronged hand held needle felting tool.
I then did Free Machine Embroidery around the colours to add some texture.
The wool is mohair and some of it was very curly like Shirley Temple curls(when she was little that is).
I have cut the piece up to make a needle case.
The top photo will be the front -- and the bottom one will be the back

I am going to blanket stitch around the edge and maybe put some beads on as well --but I won't be doing it today because I have been sorting out my sewing room(not again I hear you say).

The reason for the sorting this time is that I am sick of trying to be creative in a cluttered room.

How can I create what is going on in my head when I have this mess in front of me (and no I am not going to show you because I am too embarrased).

If you don't hear from me for several days you will know that I have been buried under it all.

But seriously I have to stop being a bower bird and keeping every little bit of "stuff" because I might use it one day.

This cleansing of my soul is doing me good.

TAST Fly Stitch

This weeks stitch in TAST is Fly stitch and I thought I would do something a little bit different to what I normally do.
Because fly stitch is easy to do in a circle shape and next week we are studying the colour wheel at one of the groups that I belong to- I decided to interpret fly stitch as a colour wheel.
In the first sample I have used the primary colours -Red-Blue and Yellow.
I did one row of fly stitch around the outer circle giving it a long leg and added another inner circle with a shorter leg. The next sample has the secondary colours which are obtained by mixing the primary colours that are next to each other to get the secondary colours--i e red and blue make purple --blue and yellow make green and yellow and red make orange.

The last sample is the tertiary colours which are obtained by mixing one primary colour and one secondary colour together.

I didn't do a wheel this time because frankly I was finding it a bit tedious but there are 12 colours all together in this sample..

I really enjoy fly stitch but I think next week I will go back to what I usually do.

Playing with Tyvek

I have noticed recently that some people have been playing with Tyvek and I thought I would show some samples that I did last year.
These were made from an article by Lorraine Pickles called "Pull Yourself Together" in issue 31 of the Stitch Magazine printed by the Embroiderers Guild in the U.K.
Firstly you had to paint some Tyvek using silk paints both on the front and back then let it dry.
You then cut it into 4 strips -embroidered on the strips and then re- embroidered the strips back togetheragain.
I blanket stitched around the edges as well. When you have finished the embroidery you then place the embroidery between a folded piece of parchment paper (Glad Bake in Australia) .
Using a dry iron on the cotton setting you hover the iron over the parchment paper making sure the iron does not come in contact with the Tyvek embroidery.
Keep an eye on it because it will shrink very quickly.
You will be able to see what is happening through the parchment paper.
This is how mine ended up.
This is another sample but in different colours ----------

and the end result is here

These samples measure 6 x 4 inches

ATC's in the Mail

Yesterday I received in the mail not one but 2 beautiful ATC's from Janet in California.
What works of art they are too. Janet also included the lovely card as well

and some wonderful gifts were added also.

Janet you are too generous --but I loved everything and I thank you very much.

Some different ATC's

In January I did an ATC swap with Dotee and she included in the parcel with her ATC some papers and embellishments etc for me.

Normally I do fibre ATC but I decided to make some paper ones using some of the things that Dot had given me and some that I already had.

I must admit I had to put a lot more thought into making these than I ever have when making fibre ones-but I am happy with the outcome.

So now the deal is if anyone wants to trade with me for one of them you can leave a message- I have some more that I have to finish and I will take a photo of them when they are done.

TAST Feather stitch

This week in TAST we are doing Feather stitch.
My intention was to do an under water scene with seaweed and little fish and all that- but some how I have ended up doing my usual type of sampler.
I think the reason that I keep doing this type of sampler is that I have been keeping my samples in an A5 folder with plastic sleeves and they really look nice -also I find it hard to change what I am doing.
I suppose I really only have to please myself and if this is what makes me happy so be it.
I once again have worked on Linen and again I don't know what type it is .
The thread in the first 2 rows is the same hand dyed one that I used last week and the third one is a textured thread that someone gave me and I added a bit of glitz with a gold thread .
I have also added some beads as well.

Portraits

These are a couple of portraits one by me and one for me. The first one I did for my friend Ola as a present a couple of Christmases ago.
The idea came from an earlier Quilting Arts magazine- I can't remember which one and I have been searching through them all for days to find out which one it was but to no avail.

The second portrait is of me as seen in the eyes of my (almost 7 year old) grandaughter Ebony.

Would you believe I had to sit and pose for this and it now hangs with pride on the pin board in our kitchen so I can admire it each day.

The decision that you all have to make now is~ does she really look like that~.
I'm not saying but Ebony thinks that I do.

Another great day

Today the Post office was good to me again.
It is nice to open the post box and see those little packages and my heart goes a flutter as I reach inside and see my name on the envepope.
It's not that I am greedy but I do love getting those beautiful ATC's and Postcards. Inside the package that I received from Lynda was a quirky Wild Woman brooch- how lucky was I to get one of these as I have admired them since I first saw them on her blog.

Then there was also this beautiful postcard---

And also these 3 (yes 3 ) ATC's now what have I done to deserve all of these treasures I really don't know-but I am one very happy chappy at present.

Then there was another envelope this time from Jacqueline in The Netherlands.

The background is hand marbled fabric which was stamped with a leaf design and over stitched.

Lastly this one is from my dear dear friend Sandy in Oregan USA.

I received this one last week and had forgotten to take a photo of it so it never got onto my blog earlier-- sorry Sandy.

Thank you to all these lovely ladies I will treasure your works of art always.

My cup runneth over even more now.

In the Post

The last few days have been busy at the post office with special deliveries for little ol' me.
I received these lovely ATC's from Dortesjs in Denmark plus some special extras thank you Dorte.
Plus I received this Postcard from Anna in the U.K. which arrived naked and in great condition considering the distance it has travelled and from freezing weather in the U.K. to very hot weather in Australia.

And I also received this Postcard from Francoise in Belgium.The photo does not do it justice as the colours are so bright and the stitching is wonderful.

It is so nice to receive these treasures in the mail and I am truly amazed at the beautiful work that is coming to my place.

My cup runneth over.

TAST Algerian Eye Stitch

This week we did Algerian Eye stitch.
I really liked doing this stitch.
I liked the patterns that I could create and the movement that could be achieved.
In the first sample I used a thread that I had hand dyed myself -I can't remember when I did it but I know it was a long time ago.
It is wool and I think it is a Flower stitch thread.
I experimented with design a little bit which is unusual for me and I rather liked what I ended up with.
A small bead was added in the centre of the large star shaped design.

In the second sample I used DMC Perle 8 thread reversing the colours and added a small bead in the centre of the middle section.
They are worked on 18 count Aida cloth.

Postcards Sent

Here are two postcards that I made and both have been received so I can now show you.

One was for Anna and the other was for Francoise.

The one for Francoise was made from the paper fabric

that I had posted on the 9th January.

The one for Anna was made by laying fancy fibres onto hand dyed silk with a chiffon scarfe on top and

then twin needled with metallic thread.

These were my first attempts at postcards.

Playing with Paper clay

Yesterday I had a great time making embellishments with Paper clay and moulds .

Paper clay is a very pliable moulding mixture that air dries within 24 hours .

The one I use is called Delight but it comes under several different brand names.

You have to knead it for a minute or so and then you push it into the moulds and it can then be released immediately so that you can use the mould again straight away.

When it is dry you can paint it using most colour mediums until you get the desired effect that you want.

The face moulds I have used come from Krafty Lady an Australian business but I know they are sold in other countries.

The other patterns were made by rolling a piece of paper

clay over different textures.

I then painted these with Adirondak Colour wash-and

I used Raisin-Lettuce and Stream and then added

a bit of gold for good measure.

I felt they needed more so I gave them a wash

with walnut ink then Acrylic wax and a bit more metallic.

I used "Goldfinger"metallic in the colours

Green gold-Sovereign gold or Copper.

I now have the result that I was looking for and I will use these for ATC's and on my mixed media art and any where else I can think of.

Dyeing Day

Last Saturday our Creative Embroidery group had a dyeing day and we had the best day- with 17 members turning up.

One of our members is brilliant at dyeing (and everthing else)

and she showed us all about the different types of dyes that can be used for dyeing.

Most of the group had a dabble at everything but I was more interested in the Microwave dyeing because I only ever want small amounts of fabric or threads etc. dyed and I want instant gratification.

I had decided to use some silk scarves that I had picked up from the op-shop and over dye them because I rather like the surprise that you get when you open up the bag.

The first picture was a square scarfe in a butter colour and I squirted a bit of red-blue-and yellow dye into the bag and let the wicrowave oven do the rest.

The second picture was a silk crepe scarfe that was a light teal colour with yellow spots and a bit of green here and there and I squirted the same colours into the bag.

The overall result was fantastic--I have just selected these photo's because you can see some of the original colours in them as well.

They will come to good in projects that I have coming up in the future.

Lavender--Lavender and more Lavender

A friend asked me if I would like some lavender
because I make lavender sachets .
Not being one to say no to any gift of lavender I said yes
immediately.
I don't have any lavender bushes in my garden because my husband gets hay fever from it.
Well I couldn't believe my eyes when I went to collect it--there were 3 huge garbage bags waiting for me.
Now I have to strip it- but first I have to hang it up to dry out -so it has to hang in the garage
and with this very hot weather we are having in Canberra at present it should only take several days.
If nothing else comes out of all this --the Garage smells fantastic at present.
There are 14 bundles altogether.
Oh lucky me.

TAST Chevron stitch

This week in the TAST Challenge saw us doing Chevron stitch.
I am not sure what the fabric that I used is but it is a pale blue counted thread fabric-something I had stashed away.
The threads are Perle cotton and variegated embroidery floss.
I also added a few beads on the top row.
In the bottom row I stacked the uneven rows on top of each other and in the last row- which is the pale blue one I went under and over the previous rows.
I think this ties the whole row together.
Again I enjoyed doing this stitch and I am getting a nice collection of samples in my folder.

Another surprise

It's not Christmas and it's not my birthday

but it feels like both today.

I received in the mail from Dot all these

wonderful treasures.

Lovely collage papers and beads and

charms and another ATC.

You are a true friend Dot and very

generous as well.

Thank you.

Swaps in the Mail

Yesterday I received in the mail these 2 beautiful ATC's and 2 charms.
The one on the left is from Sue B and the one on the right and the 2 charms are from Dianne.
The texture in both of them is lovely.
Thank you ladies I will treasure them.
My learning curve on the computer is still going ahead in leaps and bounds--you will notice I have added the TAST webring logo etc.to the blog.
What an experience that was---but after some expert guidance I got it right.
Why don't I read all the instructions properly?
I don't know- but I just don't --but one day I will I promise.