Black and White Challenge

Every two years the Embroiderers Guild have a challenge in conjunction with the annual Exhibition.
This year the challenge was black and white to which we could add one other colour.
The other colour I chose was lime green.
We were also given in the pack 2 x 25cm of black grosgrain ribbon(different widths) with white spots and some black perle cotton and 25cm of white braid
If you go here you can see where I posted the instructions and also the fabrics etc. (back in January)that were in the kit.
I changed my mind several times as to what I would make but I kept coming back to the Magpie.
I had noticed on Dianne's blog that she had done something with a Magpie on it and she sent me the pattern.
This is my finished piece---I have made it into a bag...(doesn't everybody)
I placed the black-white and lime green on top of one another and stitched it down in rows and then cut between the rows to make a chenille background.
This used up half of the fabrics --so I was already covered from that point because I had to use at least half of everything in the Kit.
The narrow ribbon and the white braid are in the bottom left hand corner and continue around onto the back.
The wider ribbon is forming the loops for the handles to be attached to and the thread is used for the birds legs and the worms in their beaks.
The bag is lined with the rest of the lime green fabric.
I ended up using all of the ribbons/braid and thread --all the green fabric and 95% of the black and white.
I had a problem with the eyes because Magpies eyes are a brown/tan colour and I couldn't use brown because it would have been another colour added.
After the exhibition I will change them to brown.
I have just finished making it up which is lucky for me because early tomorrow morning we head off on holidays for 12 days --returning 2 days before the exhibition is to be set up.
I mean to say I have had the kit since January --no one can accuse me of rushing into it can they.
We are taking Ebony with us to meet all her cousins etc that she hasn't seen before so it will be lot's of fun (I hope)
I'll see you all when we get back.
Take care

ATC's received

I received these Atc's from Eva several days ago and they are beautiful.
I traded with Eva for the bottom right hand one and she kindly sent me the other two as well.
You are too generous Eva.
I must apologise also because I forgot to rotate the picture--so just lean your head over to the left a bit and you will see what they should look like.

Thanks again Eva for trading with me.

TAST Week 38 Knotted Buttonhole Band

Don't faint-- I have finished this weeks Tast stitch and it was only posted on Sharon's blog this morning.
The reason that I have done it today is that we are going on holidays on Friday for 12 days and I don't want to get too far behind with the challenge.
This week the stitch is Knotted Buttonhole Band--never heard of it you say--well neither had I but I am glad that Sharon introduced this one to us.
First I had to do a ladder of stitches so that I could build the knotted buttonhole band on it.
I could really get hooked on this stitch --I kept changing threads just to see how it looked.
The little green piece in the bottom left corner was an experiment because I wanted to see how it would look in a block rather than a row.The green and pink row has the ladder stitches worked in gold thread but I am not sure if you can see it or not.

This stitch would make a great border.

TAST Week 37 Rice Stitch

I am a bit late this week but only by a few days so that is not too bad.
Week 37 ....is Rice Stitch and Square Boss Stitch.
I think that I have done them right.
The blue and yellow sample is Square Boss Stitch and the other two are Rice Stitch.

I used Aida cloth and Variegated Valdani perle 8 threads.

I think I would like to do more of these type of stitches .

I have always steered clear of this type of embroidery before --but I think when this challenge is finished I may enrol in a class and learn more about it.

Tassels Tassels and more Tassels

I have been busy making Tassels to sell on the trade table at the Guild exhibition in early October.
I love making tassels and with all the funky fibres around these days the task is made a lot easier.
Some of them still need a few beads here and there which I am going to do today--hopefully if life doesn't get in the way.
Some of the heads are from lace or glitzy fabric- some are fancy flower's on a ribbon band-some were done on the embellisher and the rest are free machine embroidered.

Now all I have to worry about is that they will sell and then I can buy more things to clutter up my play room.

The Artists Muse Chapter 6

The Challenge for September was a black and white theme.
I chose to do the fabric challenge this time and selected level 2 which was to create a piece of work to represent one of the following words---fluid--mysterious--elegant or sharp.
I used the weaving technique that Emmy had on her blog way back in January whereby I had to cut the fabric in wavy strips and then weave them together like the photo shows.
I was allowed to add red stitching in this as well.
I started out with the intention of just stitching the sections done in red but before I knew it I had done the black and also the white-then I added the black and red around the border.
I'm not sure which of the words describes this piece but I don't think it is "elegant "

TAST Week 36 Cable Chain Stitch

Week 36 is Cable Chain Stitch..............another variation on Chain Stitch.
I found this stitch a bit awkward to do as I kept having to turn the fabric around to work the extra knot bit between the chains.
This may have been because my thumbs were hurting whilst doing this sample.
Did anyone else have this problem?
I have used a piece of Aubergine coloured Dr.Flannel wool to work my sample and Perle 5 thread a - bit boring to look at but I like anyway.
I tried to make some sort of pattern but kept ending up with straight lines except for one tiny section.
And here is a photo of my bulging folder which holds all 36 samples......................
It is an A5 folder (half the size of A4) ....If I haven't made the book to keep these samples in by the time TAST has finished it will lay open like a fan....which could look interesting as a display anyway.

Now to get ready for week 37

Postcard and Flowers

Recently I was in a Postcard swap with Debbi and here is the fabulous card that she sent me.
It is done on the embellisher in one of my favourite colours (second to purple) and I swear there are over 100 tiny beads on it.
Debbi it is truly beautiful and I love it.
And once again I forgot to take a photo of the card that I sent her but if you pop over to her blog you can see it a few posts ago.

I also received a bunch of lovely daffodils from my DH for my birthday today.......
He enjoys this time of the month because his birthday is on th 27th (we are the same age) except for the time between the 7th and the 27th and then I am 67 and he is still 66.


Yep--I married a younger man.

Look what I did

I brought this jumper at the local Op-shop for $1.00 in very good condition --but I didn't want to wear it.
I saw it as better value in a recycled state.
Now since I got myself an embellisher- nothing is safe in our house-if it will fit under the needle it will get felted....so I cut the jumper into sections 2 sleeves -a front and a back .
I then ran the pieces under the embellisher a few times to pre-felt them and then I placed a piece of polyester fabric underneath each piece and continued to felt them together .I ended up with very nice -stiff pieces of felted jumper that I then cut up into sections and made ....................... Ta Dah


Some needlecases.............................
I blanket stitched around the edges and either put a buttonhole loop and a button on them or I made a cord out of wool to tie them closed.
I put a small piece of Dr. Flannel inside for the needles to be inserted into.
I have made these to go on the trade table at the Embroidery Guilds Annual Exhibition.

Now to look for something else to felt.

Another Padfolio

This is the second Padfolio that I have done -I'm on a roll now there's no stopping me.
The instructions for this are on the Fibre and Stitch web site under free lessons.



The fabric and cord were both made on the embellisher.
I made the cord by embellishing some fibres onto a piece of mauve commercial felt.

The lining was from a piece of hand dyed fabric that I did about 7 years ago.

I didn't like how the dyeing turned out originally so it just sat in the cupboard all this time waiting to be used and it was perfect for this.

Next I am going to try a commercial fabric and see how it turns out.

Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas?

TAST Week 35 Shisha Stitch

Week 35 is Shisha stitch in the TAST challenge.
I had done this stitch before several years ago in one of the groups at the Embroiderers Guild and I had a bit of difficulty getting my head around it so up until now I have not done it again.
To be honest with you I quite enjoyed it this time and believe it or not I started this sample at the Guild on Saturday in the same group that I had done it before.
The Shishas that I used were unusual because they were oval..I got them from a trade table somewhere.
It was difficult in the beginning to get the base stitches to stay in place because they kept falling off the oval ends but I succeeded in the end.
I used Perle 5 thread on a fine Linen
When I started I did the 2 variegated ones (on either side of the blue one) and they looked like 2 eyes- so I added the blue one --then it then looked like 2 eyes and a nose.
I was tempted to put a mouth in (but I resisted the urge) so I decided to put another one above the blue one.
Then I thought it needed something else to bring it all together and what else but some French Knots.

This is what the Shisha looked like before I started the stitching and it is about twice the size of the normal Shisha.

I now have to make another book to put my samples in because I can't fit anymore in the present one.

More Cards I have made

I have been out to my favourite shop (Wrapped In Paper) again.............
The first card is my entry in the Monthly card challenge..we purchase a kit which has all the bits and pieces in it ..card stock- fancy papers- ribbons- brads and embellishments..and the idea is to produce a card using these things.
It is amazing to see how many different designs that are achieved from the same kit.





On Wednesday they had a "Make and Take" night .....
These are lots of fun and you all get to make a simple card ...this months cards were for Father's Day(This weekend in Oz) ..everyone made the same card with a few slight changes if you were so inclined.




We also made a small tag in the same colours as an added bonus.
The whole process took about an hour...and there were about 25 people there participating.
As I am a member of the W.I.P. club these Make and Take nights are free so I can't complain about that can I.
I love making cards ..I find it very relaxing and rewarding as well because in about 15 minutes you have something that is finished and hopefully it will be admired by the recipient as well.

Cards Received and sent

I received this Postcard from Maureen today and it came half naked (because it was inside a cello bag).
The reason I am mentioning this is because when I took the card out of the bag the stamp was as new--the franking was on the cello bag--good trick Maureen I will use the stamp to send something else back to you one day maybe in a cello bag and we will try to see how many times we can get it through the post.
This is the card that I sent to Maureen. Both postcards are needlefelted.

I received this ATC from Britt in Perth.I love the tiny pieces of lace that she has made and put on the ATC -so special.

Silly me I forgot to take a photo of the ATC that I sent to Britt.

Thanks ladies I am chuffed with the swap.

The Artist Muse Challenge 5

Normally I do the fabric challenge for the Artists Muse group and this month I did do a fabric one but I think the pixies came to my house to play.
I made the piece of fabric and then I had to clean up and put all the "stuff" away and several days later when I was going to make a Padfolio with the fabric--it was nowhere to be seen,
I have searched the room high and low --zilch--I know it's in there somewhere- but where only the Pixies know.
I suspect it is caught up with something else.
So I decided to do something different and got out an A4 sized canvas and proceeded to paint it as per the book --except that in the book they used watercolours on watercolour paper and I used watered down Acrylics on canvas.
I must admit I felt a bit like Jackson Pollock but on a much smaller scale.
First I had to mask off some areas and then I had to "splosh the paint onto the canvas"--Not hard-- I could handle that.
When it was dry I removed the masks and then I used a foam floral stamp and some black acrylic paint to further enhance it.All in all I rather like how it turned out.
Probably tomorrow I will more than likely find the fabric and I will make the Padfolio and show you.

Sharonb has moved

I was reading Sharon's blog this morning and she has informed us that due to problems with spam etc she has moved her blog to a different site.
You can reach her here now so please update your links so that you can continue to stay in contact with her.
Thanks Sharon for all the work that you do for us.

TAST Week 34

Week 34 is Portuguese Stem stitch--a stitch that I had heard of-- but had never tried before.

I decided to do my sample using different threads in varying thickness and type of fiber.

The fabric is wool and the threads are --on the right-from the bottom to the top--

Perle 5 cotton----Silk by Colourstreams ----DMC Soft Cotton----DMC Tapestry wool and Watercolours by Caron.

The threads all have a different look but I must admit I did like the look and feel of the soft cotton and it was easy to work with.

All the rows on the left hand side are worked in soft cotton.

I like the texture that this stitch gives and I found it simple to work and I'm sorry about the slanting rows but it was 2.30 am when I did them as I was having a bad night and couldn't sleep and what does one do under those circumstances--yes that's right you stitch.

This was another enjoyable stitch to do.

Another Workshop

On Sunday I spent a very enjoyable day at my favourite shop doing an all day workshop.
We made 3 great items --all will make good gifts for Christmas.
Everything was provided to make all three items -we only had to take the usual things like -double sided tape and ink pads -rulers etc.
The other thing that they provided was morning and afternoon tea (home made slices and cakes- yummy) and lunch (fantastic sandwiches) plus gifts.
We made a calendar for things like birthdays -Anniversaries and all the other important dates (not your every day things like Dr. appts etc).
The 2 monthly tags on the front are swapped each month.


The back has a pocket to hold the monthly tags that you are not using and it has a grosgrain ribbon to hang from.
All the papers - eyelets-brads- ribbons etc were in the kit plus the board that we had to attach every thing to.



We also made a memo book-again every thing was in the kit--the book was not bound in the beginning--we did that after we had finished all the other "stuff".

The inside has a pencil and a note pad attached.

Lastly we made this circle card--I changed my card from the instructions--(Yes I'm a rebel)---No seriouslyI just wanted to be different.

I'm not a circle card person but it is always interesting to try new things.

Lastly --today I received 2 ATC's from Marie--we had exchanged 2 cards each.

When we were exchanging addresses we discovered that we lived about 15 minutes away from each other (how cool is that).

Both ATC's are needlefelted and I love them.

All in all I have had a couple of good days.

TAST Week 33 Scroll Stitch

Week 33 and the stitch is Scroll Stitch --
I have heard of this stitch before but I don't think I have ever used it in any of my work.
I found it an easy stitch to do but with my sore thumbs I found it painful--
I experimented with size--colour and movement - but there is no real design just a lot of stitches.
This is not one of my better samples but at least I tried.
Lets see what tomorrow brings for week 34

My First Padfolio

I have been wanting to make one of these Padfolios for a while now and I have finally done it.
I first saw one on Sue B's blog and you can now get the pattern free from the Fibre and Stitch web site (just click on the logo below)

I made it from fabric that I created on my Embellisher (another first) and the wool was purchased from the Thread Studio. I did some hand stitching in running stitch to add some extra texture and I used a variegated thread in the same colours as the wool.

I used a 100% cotton homespun for the lining.

I enjoyed making this in the end and don't know why I felt uneasy about attempting it before.

I think I will make some more for gifts now.

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.