More Goodies

Yesterday the PO Box was full again with wonderful gifts and swaps.
The first ATC was from Anne in France who doesn't have a blog -but she has made the most beautiful ATC in cross stitch.
Because I am doing the weekly TAST Challenge I really do appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this card.
Thank You Anne.

This postcard is from Val-I had admired it on her blog and I am not dissapointed with it Val I think it is wonderful--so much texture.

Joanna had purchased a bargain of white gauze (scrim -muslin- depending on where you come from) .She had a roll of it and I asked to swap her 2 metres for some of my "stuff"---well I received 6 metres instead . Thanks Joanna

I had commented on Helen's blog about her "texture box" that she had posted about --and she has forwarded me some of her samples--

There is some Harris tweed swatches--Yummy

Some samples of felt made by both wet and embellisher methods.

A piece of hand dyed fabric and some of her textured machine embroidery pieces.

Thank you Helen - I will enjoy using these wonderful pieces.

Lastly--I was given these lace making bobbins ------

That included this little treasure--which has the complete version of the Lord's Prayer burned into it.

It's a good thing that I know the Lord's Prayer because the writing is so small and when I magnified it large enough to be able to read it the words became distorted.

It's the old version of the Lords Prayer --I say that because "they" (whoever" they" are) keep changing the way the words are written(in Australia anyway).

I find myself sometimes when I am in Church reverting back to the old words--can't help it.
If you click on the picture it will enlarge.

Cards Received

Last week I received from Anna this fantastic postcard which is made from torn up strips of old denim jeans.
Anna has also machine embroidered words between the frayed edges.
Very clever Anna

This week I received an ATC from Alison who is is new to making ATC's -- in fact I am the first person she has swapped with and I have the first one she has ever made --how lucky is that.

Alison hand embroiders all her ATC's and they are just devine.
If you would like to swap with her- drop over and leave a comment and have a look at what she has been doing.





Thanks to both ladies for these treasures.
I will show the cards that I sent them after I know that they have arrived.

Nice Matters Award

Susan d nominated me for the nice matters award earlier in the week and it has taken me a few days to figure out how to get this logo on to my page (with the help of Susan) The Nice Matters Award is a new friendship award started by Bella Enchanted. This award is for the bloggers who you feel are nice people, good friends, who inspire good feelings and encourage us.
I have to pass it on to 7 others who I feel deserve this award.
How do I choose 7 people from all my special blogger friends besides all the people that I would have chosen have already been nominated--so in saying that I will just cop out and say-if you want to participate in this award please feel free to do so.
Thank you Susan for thinking of me.

TAST Week 32 Crested Chain Stitch

This week we have been doing Crested Chain Stitch which again is a stitch that I was not familiar with.
I have not attempted to do my sample until today because of my sore thumb and I have been trying not to use it a lot which is very hard when you need your thumb to grip hold of everything.
Anyway- today I went to the Craft show and I had to be on duty at the Embroiderers Guild Stand.
Every year we have a stand to show the patrons just what happens at our guild and to encourage the public to come and see all the wonderful "stuff" that our members do.
I decided to do my sample whilst I was on duty but first I went and found a stall that sold the Handeze Therapeutic gloves- and I am so glad that I did because I was able to stitch without much pain.
I found this stitch very enjoyable to do but I really don't know where I would use it to it's best advantage.
I have used a linen fabric again and variegated Perle 8 cotton.

I didn't try to create a fancy pattern with curves etc. I just let the stitch grow and I used several different colourways of the thread.
Another week finished --can't wait to see what next Tuesday brings.

Challenge completed (almost)

Get yourself a cup of coffee 'cos this is a long one.
Back on July 21st I showed a piece of fabric that I made for the Artist Muse challenge and said that I would also use it for a challenge at the Embroiderers Guild with the Machine Embroidery group.
Here are the pieces that I received(inc. mine) and the challenge was to make something from them.
We were allowed to add 2 other fabrics to complete the task.

I decided to use black as one fabric because nothing else seemed to be able to blend them all together.

I joined them together with black strips--

Then I added more strips of black between the 3 strips I had made---

I then cut the piece into 4 sections vertically---

Re-arranged them---

Joined them together again---

But I had 2 pieces that I hadn't included it the strip piecing because they didn't seem to want to go anywhere.

I had thought of putting them in the backing piece of fabric but that wouldn't have been very nice to the people who had contributed them.

I discovered in my "stash of stuff" a roll of quarter inch black bias tape that I had used when I made a stained glass wall quilt --so I used that to add the "odd" fabrics to my little quilts.

Here are the "almost" finished quilts-I say almost because I only have to do the hand stitching around the binding--and I will leave that until my thumb gets better.

I have made them so that the stitching goes horizontal on one and vertical on the other.
Both quilts has a piece of all of the 11 fabrics in them.

They measure approx. 34cm square.
The fabric I used for the binding is one that I had hand dyed about 7 years ago and the muted colours seemed to combine well with all the other colours.

Ah-hah I just had a thought-- that the binding fabric could well fit into the challenge that Carol set us on the 3rd of July-- to use something we had in our "stash" for a long time.

This is a close up of the stitching and how I added the "odd" fabrics

Another challenge to mark off the list.

Mixed Media

I have been playing a bit lately with mixed media stuff and a friend and I had a play day where we made a picture using gesso-tissue paper- laces- sparkly bits a picture and webbing spray.
I made this fairy picture for Ebony and I'm quite pleased with it and so is Ebony which is what really matters in the end. I started with an artists board and created texture with the crumpled up tissue paper and laces. I then painted it over with black background paint -added some irridescent paints to hilite in places -next came the webbing spray-then the fairy-some "goldfinger" was rubbed on to hilite the ridges that had formed then the word was added and finally a couple of coats of matt sealer and "bingo "---all finished.
I haven't been doing a lot of hand stitching this week as I have a slight case of tendonitis in the thumb of my right hand which makes it very hard to hold anything.
You don't realise how much you need your thumbs until you can't use them properly.

TAST Week 31 Cast on Stitch

Cast on Stitch is the stitch for this week.
I have done this stitch before- a long time ago- but I don't do it very often - the reason for this is even though I like it my hands don't or should I say my fingers don't.
It is great to use variegated thread for this stitch as it gives great colour variations to the "flower" or whatever it is that you are doing with it. The pink/mauve flower is a silk thread as is the pale green - the yellow flower and the one in the top right hand corner are cotton stitched on a Linen fabric.
I'm all up to date again thank goodness.

TAST Week 30 Buttonhole wheel Stitch

Week 30 is Buttonhole Wheel Stitch and what a great stitch to do- it flows so freely while you are doing it and just seems to grow very quickly.
I again used the Valdani variegated threads on a Linen fabric-I hope I never have to name all the Linens that I have used in my samples because I haven't got a clue what half of them are- all I know is that they are Linens.

I think these look like a bunch of Nasturtiums

Cards and gifts

When I first started blogging I never imagined that I would make such good friends that I have-and such generous ones as well.
One such person is Joanna who lives in New York.
To think that I would become friends with Joanna who is younger than my daughter is truly amazing but I have and I am so pleased that she has come into my life even if it is via the internet.
Joanna and I are participating in a card swap each month and it is great to see how we can come up with different ideas each time.
Well today I received my parcel from Joanna with her cards and an abundance of gifts as well.
The first is a tag that I admired on her blog several weeks ago -she does these amazing paper tole designs and these fairies are so small it is incredible.




Next is a card that has fabric flowers on it done in the same technique as she does her paper tole i.e.parts of the flowers are layered on top of each other-so beautiful.

This card has a background using the shaving cream technique and has a stamped fairy which has been coloured in with watercolours-I think.

and the third one also has a fairy on a background which I think is either fabric or suede paper again very beautiful.

Also in the package were these fabrics -L/R they are a hand dyed fabric -fairy fabric-fabric with writing on it that I won and another piece with fairies on it about the size of ATC's.

And then there was this sheet of Acetate fairies-

And some embellishments-

A gift for Ebony-

And lastly for me a lovely pair of pink fluffy socks that match my pyjamas and are soooo warm and comfy just right for our cold Canberra winters.

Joanna what can I say except you are the most generous person I have ever had the pleasure to have known.

Thank You --thank you--thank you.

Copper Wire Bookmarks with Beads

I have been busy this week but unfortunately I can't show you at present- but keep watching this space later on .
Today I made some bookmarks using 2.03mm copper wire which is thick .
I cut it into 30cm lengths and coiled both the ends in opposite directions using a Wigjig.
I then made the tassel piece from beads- jump rings - eye and head pins.
Here are three of them- I may add some fibres as well --maybe or maybe not.


The finished length of the copper part is 14cm from coil to coil and the bead tassel is 10cm long.
These were for a special order for a friend as she had purchased some from me last year and needed some more.

Postcards I sent

Recently I participated in a postcard swap with Lynda and Maureen and I can show you now the ones that I sent to them as they have both received them now.
The first 2 went to Lynda-the pink and purple one on the right is a hand felted nuno felt piece that I have stitched with gold thread and the one on the left is a piece of my hand dyed silk that I ran through the embellisher(an experiment) which gave it such amazing texture-I then did some hand stitchin on it.

If you click on the link below you can take a peek at the ones I received from Lynda.Sorry about the big link but that is the only way I could figure out how to post it - but it will take you there
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZwmEniQr2afDh7ltGFi9SfVISXP9jKQrMQHUD3QKhZmGwYN-vzObCteFL0xMG88Kk2630ZNgfiz6S2Kj2q3X72tffZuz00HBpobV9GMXmvEY4OvvYmEw5RVxMwVTxejeAermupEmc1I/s1600-h/Postcards+from+Lynda.JPG

This is the card that I sent to Maureen-I did this on the embellisher and then stitched it on the sewing machine.

I hope both ladies are happy with them.

TAST Week 29 Arrowhead Stitch

Week 29 saw us doing Arrowhead stitch which I really enjoyed doing.
This was a very easy stitch-another one that I had not done before but I think it will be a useful stitch in the future.
The orange thread is a Perle 8 cotton and the green thread is silk and the fabric is an evenweave cotton. Once again I have just made it before Tuesday because I am trying hard to keep up each weeks so I won't get behind again.

The Artists Muse--Chapter 4

This months Artists Muse challenge was to create a background piece of fabric -
The main instructions were to choose up to 12 different fabrics- cut them into 12" squares--which were then cut into several different sized pieces.
We then had to put the pieces into a paper bag and shake them up- take 1 piece at a time out of the bag and place it onto a base fabric that had vliesofix ironed onto it.
Once we had placed the piece of fabric onto the base fabric we were not allowed to move it.
When I had all the pieces on the fabric (some were overlapped) I covered the whole piece with a layer of fine black tulle and stitched it down with a wavy line in gold thread.

These are the fabrics that I used --mainly silks- satins and sheers.

The size of the finished piece is 30cm x 45cm and I made it this size for a reason

At the Machine Embroidery group that I belong to at the Embroiderers Guild we also had a challenge this month which was to create a piece of fabric that was A3 size.

So I decided that the one piece of fabric would be suitable for both projects.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we will all take our piece of fabric to the meeting and it will be cut up into strips (depending on how many of the ladies are participating-probably 6 - 8) and each person will get a piece of all the other fabrics.

The idea then is to take all the strips and make something out of them (other fabrics can be added to help in the construction of whatever you make.)

No colour theme was chosen so it will be interesting to see what colours others have done.

I will show you my fabrics that I get and what I have done with them when I have finished.

The Last Train to Nowhere

It is school holiday time in the ACT and we decided (being good grandparents that we are) -that we would take Ebony on a Steam Train ride to Bungendore(a small village about 50ks away from Canberra.
We were all excited about the trip especially Stephen as he is a train buff and we both remembered travelling on steam trains when we were kids.
For Ebony this was a great experience.
There were approximately 250 people on the train 80% were kids naturally.
Here is a photo of the train( which belongs to the Australian Railway Historical Society) ready to head off.

And here's Ebony and Stephen standing in front of the engine amid a puff of steam.

The inside of the carriage was just like it used to be when it was in service-- here's Ebony and I all rugged up to keep warm--no heating in these old trains.

And then we set off on our journey.

We went through several tunnels and over a bridge and past beautiful countryside and the excitement was running high.

We were supposed to go into a siding to allow the Express train from Sydney past and then we would set off again to our destination---ETA was 12 midday.

The plan was to have just over 2 hours in Bungendore and then board the train by 2.20pm ready for our return journey.

WEELLL guess what --the train broke down about 30 klms out of Bungendore---minor problems we were told --take about 15 minutes-----yeahh --like 2 and a half hours later a deisel engine arrive from Canberra to tow us back home.

Now I ask you -how do you keep about 200 kids entertained in a confined area --all hungry and bored and cold.

We were not allowed off the train-and the conductors kept coming along and apologising and giving us updates.

Lucky for us I had packed sandwiches and drinks and lollies but the people who hadn't must have spent a small fortune at the cafeteria.
Here's Ebony and Stephen before we left Canberra.

A picture of boredom ---Stephen pulled his Beanie down over his eyes and pretended he was somewhere else.

Finally the Deisel arrived and we were soon heading back home at the precise time we were supposed to be boarding the train at Bungendore.

Ebony thought the hole thing was great and on the way home kept wanting to stick her head out the window -while I nearly froze to death because the window was open.

And here we are back at the station-Ebony had a great day --and the train to Nowhere was somewhere again.
We must have looked a sight with this old steam engine and 7 carriages being towed along by a deisel engine --Deisel engine one end and steam engine the other.

They told us we could get 50% off the fares if we wanted to book again next holidays(I don't think so) or we could get a 50% refund (yes please)

But in the end Ebony really did enjoy it and we did also up to a point (the point where the train broke down)

TAST Week 28 Sheaf Stitch

The stitch for this week is Sheaf Stitch ---
This is another stitch that I hadn't done before -but I had heard of it.
Sheaf stitch is an easy stitch to do and it seems to flow along very easilyand I think it would lend itself to a variety of designs.
I haven't been very creative this week with the sample I just let the needle and thread do all the work and this is what I ended up with.
I may come back later and do another more interesting sample but for now this will have to do.
I have used an even weave linen and several different variegated Valdani Perle 8 threads.

More Cards

Yesterday I spent a great afternoon at my favourite craft/card store learning about using Alcohol Inks for making backgrounds on cards.
This is a great technique and really gives a card pizzaz.
It is amazing how it works--you have this wooden applicator that you put a felt square on to and you drop different coloured inks onto the felt plus a fluid that helps them to spread (I forget what it's called) you then pounce the block over your glossy card and end up with a beautiful mottled background which you can then stamp over.
I used a Stazon ink pad to stamp with -which is designed for shiny surfaces.
The first 2 cards were done in this style.

On the third card we used the technique on acetate --the inks were placed on one side and then it was flipped over and stamped on the other-it was then mounted on a piece of white card stock.

The last card has a distressed ink background and the little film strips were also coloured in with distress inks-this was a great technique.

and another challenge

One of the things that they do at the store is run a monthly challenge.
The idea is that you purchase a kit for a small cost and you have to make a card from it.
You don't have to use everything in the kit but you must use some of each item in the kit.
As you can see from the first photo--there is a piece of Apricot coloured card stock 6" X 12"- a piece of green card stock 6" X 6"- 2 pieces of double sided paper 6"x6"-2 different pieces of ribbon- 5 tiny paper flowers- 2 apricot brads -4 tiny glass stars -1 chip board tag -a gold metal ring clip and a small roll of very thin black tape.
I didn't really like the colours -I thought the papers were to pink for the card stock--so I altered the colour with a Vintage Photo distress inkpad.
This made the papers have an aged look and I was happier with them then.
I coloured the little flowers with the distress ink as well and then cut out little flowers from the floral paper with a flower punch and mounted them together with tiny brads the same colour as the big one.
I covered the tag with the striped paper and then distressed the egdes with an emery board.

This is the card when I had finished.

I'm happy with how it turned out in the end.