Camera cushion

It occurred to me that I never showed my camera cushion that I finished last spring on the blog. So here it is.

I must admit that I was inspired by Emily Peacock's Rodeo design which I stitched a few years back:

I bought it as a kit and loved working on it. When I came across that camera quote on Pinterest I had the bright (?) idea of challenging myself to create something similar. Designing is not easy, and in hindsight I see many things I would have done differently, especially when I compare the two designs.

Now I didn't want to be too much of a copycat, so I didn't look at the Rodeo design at all while I was working on my own, but I expect you see where the inspiration came from, and if the designer should come across it online, I hope she is flattered because I tried, rather than offended by my using elements from her design to create my own. I'll never try to sell it or anything - it sits well in my sofa in respectful distance from the cushion that inspired it. End of story. 

Waxing lyrical

Sometimes a mad idea just grabs hold of you! I saw a picture of song lyrics done in cross-stitch and thought that was fun, but that it would also take too much time, so I dismissed it. Then one day I sat down to watch a new episode of The Big Bang Theory and trying for the umpteenth time to catch all the words in the theme song by Barenaked Ladies, the idea popped up: I would google the lyrics and stitch them, but I would do it in back-stitch, which would be less time consuming than cross-stitch. I charted the lyrics in my cross-stitch software, without spacing between words and breaking words when I came to the end of the line, thus mimicking the breathless, breakneck speed of the song. Keeping each word in one colour makes it readable. I must admit that it took a while longer than I had thought to stitch this, but I had fun doing it and now the song is forever stuck in my mind!

To unstick it, I started on another song right away and it just had to be one of the theme songs from my heyday: "We go together" from the movie Grease. While the first one was stitched in scraps from a celestial kit in tones of blue and gold, I chose pink and black for Sandy and Danny respectively with a hint of mint thrown in. Fun, but I'm done now. No more lyrics! And I've still got that Big Bang earbug...

Tiffany cushions

Years and years ago - yes, that's a quite specific time frame, isn't it? - I bought three cushion kits in London. I don't remember where. I stitched the first one (the Iris) right away and promptly forgot all about it.
Several years and moves later I found them in a basket while looking for something easy to work on while waiting for my mum having minor surgery. I wanted something that I didn't have to concentrate on too much, and this was ideal, since the outlines were printed on the fabric and all I had to do was to stitch those in black chainstitch and fill in with colours later.

The surgery went well, and my hours in the waiting room didn't feel too long, since I had something useful to do. I was amazed by how fast the work progressed, and kept at it after coming home.  A few weeks later the tulip was all done and I went straight on to the sunflower.
The finished panels were about 12" - slightly too small for sofa cushions (I couldn't find any inserts that small, anyway) so I added strips of blue home dec fabric around the edges and used the same fabric for the back.
Once they were finished I gave them to my mum for her birthday, and I'm glad I did, because she was overjoyed.

Waaaaay after the holidays

 

Better late than never, I suppose. I have some catching up to do, and it occurs to me that I never shared any of my Christmas makes. First of all this little tree of words. I found the pattern just before Christmas and stitched the whole thing in a matter of days. I also got a witchy pattern and one of a sewing machine, all from Imaginating. that I have yet to stitch up. Despite the colour variations the tree is in fact just stitched with two different skeins of hand dyed floss. The wonderful threads from Stef Francis are really lovely and I can never resist them when I come across them at The Festival of Quilts or The Knitting and Stitching Show. My biggest problem is actually using them, because then they will all be gone. But that's just an excuse to take another trip, isn't it?

Just before Christmas I fell in love with some Christmas ornaments in the shape of cars with trees on the roof, but by the time I got around to shopping they were all gone, so I made my own.

I bought some toy cars, covered the windows with masking tape and painted and decoupaged the hell out of them before I glued some miniature trees wrapped in baker's twine on the roofs. And there you are: my very own "Driving home for Christmas"-cars.

They turned out to be too heavy for the tree, but looked rather good on a shelf in my kitchen, if I may say so myself.

More stitches

Last autumn I happened to come across an episode of Pippi Longstocking, the one with the first snow, and fell in love with Annika's pink ski sweater.

I searched everywhere for a pattern, and might have found one that was close enough, but got distracted along the way. Before I knew it I had a folder full of pictures of ski jumpers from the 50s and 60s.

Now I know that there is no way I'm going to knit all those sweaters, but I didn't want to forget all the lovely patterns, so I charted some of them and ended up with a shortlist of twelve and decided that knitting samples was out - I'd have to buy lots of yarn and I'd end up with samples that couldn't be used for anything.
I do have lots of tapestry wool, though, and found a piece of canvas that could become a small cushion. So I ended up embroidering the patterns instead, leaving a few stitches between each block of pattern.

Now I could have embroidered sashing and a border, but by the time I got to that stage I just wanted to be done with the whole thing, so I blocked it and added some polka dot ribbon as sashing and some fabric borders to make the cushion bigger. I used the same fabric as backing for the cushion, added a zipper, and there you are: my tapestry knitting sampler. The size of the canvas I had dictated that the pattern blocks would have to be small, so you can't see the whole pattern on most of them, but they will serve as a reminder of the patterns I have stored, should the urge to knit another ski sweater ever arise...

I used a stitch that looks like knitting, by the way, so you get an idea what the patterns would look like if I ever were to knit them up.

And a bit of stitching

I stitched this sampler a while back from a pattern in Stitchery Magazine. By the time I'd found a frame the right size, I'd mislaid it, but as these things work out, I found it again while I was looking for something else. Of course I'd put a finished cross-stitch sampler in my box of ribbons! I have no idea how it ended up there, but it must have seemed like a good idea at the time... Anyway, once I'd found it, and while I still knew where the frame was, I got the job done and here's the result. I don't know if you can see it clearly, but the poem is by Emily Dickinson.

On a trip to Denmark a few years back I came across this pillow in a shop window and just had to get the kit. I have been stitching a little every now and again since I finished the Emily Peacock pillow, and eventually I crossed the finish line on this one as well. The pattern is from Fru Zippe.

I couldn't resist going for the matchy matchy look on the back and included a zip and flap to match the contrast colours on the front. I might be the only person who notices, but somehow these things give me immense pleasure. I'm funny like that.

Quilt garden

This quilt has a long history. It started out at least 12 years ago. I had seen a quilt called “Leanne’s House” on an Australian site and thought it was lovely, with a combination of embroidery, appliqué and pieced blocks, but the colours weren’t quite “me”. Then I came across a booklet of garden themed embroidery patterns and decided to make my own. 

For years my take-along sewing to quilt meetings and such were these little patches backed with a thin layer of batting and embroidery floss in bright pastels. I was teased relentlessly about my never-ending work, but was determined to enjoy the process and not rush anything.

At the same time I was plotting and planning the layout of the quilt itself. I had originally planned on making 12 20” blocks, but after lots of revising and redrafting I ended up with a 9-block layout, making it a 60x60” square quilt. Once the embroidery blocks were finished I started on the appliqué and the same teasing ensued – what never ending quilt was I working on now? – nobody realized it was the same one! I plodded on and went along with the jokes on my behalf, but eventually I got to the point where all the appliqué was done and the piecing could begin. 

That part didn’t take that long, and using a drawing app on my iPad as a tool to keep track of what I had finished and what needed to be sewn next, I finished my nine blocks and put them together. I used fabric to match the floss I had used in the stitched blocks. 

The leftovers were pieced for the backing. I did a lot of freehand quilting in green rayon thread, making up patterns as I went along. After finishing it with a dark green binding I should have been done, but no, I wasn’t quite there yet.

 

Now on most of the quilts I have seen with stitchery on them, the stitchery-blocks have been left unquilted, but with my dense quilting on the rest of the quilt, this didn’t seem right, so I ended up adding some more stitches by hand. A scattering of seed stitches in cream floss on the cream coloured background gave just the effect I wanted, and I got there in the end. 

When I started this quilt I had my middle sister in mind. She’s a keen gardener and the theme seemed just right for her. However, her decorating style changed along the way, going into the gray and neutral spectrum and I began thinking that her tastes had changed so much that she wouldn’t like it. I needn’t have worried though: when she happened to see it while I was working on it this spring she jokingly said: “I hope that one’s for me!” Bingo! The surprise and joy when she opened her birthday present from me was really worth all the effort. It was hard to give away such a labour of love, but I know it has gone to the right home!

Some finishes

In between all the other stuff I have going I have grabbed some time here and there to make a few things, like these little mug rugs from my scrap bag. 

And for a 75^th birthday I made a table runner. It is a very simple designs, but I got to show off this lovely leaf fabric which I knew would be perfect for the room it would be in. It was very well received.

One thing about being busy during the day is that it can be quite relaxing to sink down in front of the TV and grab a piece of embroidery or some knitting, and as evidence I have a new shawl and a tapestry cushion to show you. The shawl is Bitterroot from Knitty, made up in a really soft and lovely Malabrigo Yarn Lace – it’s so light and fluffy that you want to immerse yourself in it, but alas it’s just the small version to go round my neck. I’ll remember to look out for that yarn though – lovely! There should have been some glass beads knitted into it, but I didn't find any locally and was eager to finish it, so I managed without. Maybe next time.

The cushion is from a pattern by Emily Peacock and has been in the works for a while, but a bit of friendly pushing among other peacock-stitchers on IG spurred me on to actually finish it. Yay!

Flowers in December

I know I should have been concentrating on getting things ready for Christmas, but I have been struggling to get into that good old Christmas Spirit this year. I think it might have something to do with still being in the same place - I started househunting at the beginning of the year, and when I packed all the Christmas decorations away it was with the thought that the next time I opened those boxes it would be in a new home. Now that didn't happen, but I can't let that bring me down. I need to get into a more festive frame of mind and leave the househunting till after christmas. That new flat with my own studio will materialize in the beginning of 2013, right?

It hasn't helped that this last week has been freezing - me and cold weather are not made for each other. Everything grinds to a halt and all I want to do is huddle under a pile of quilts and wait for spring...

Enough moaning. Look what I got to help cheer me up! My mum just finished stitching this cushion for me. It needs to be blocked and backed, but then it will become a lovely hope of spring to grace my sofa. In the meantime, I'll get cracking with Christmas prep. My list is made, the first presents bought and tomorrow I'll get those boxes from up from the basement and start adding some holiday touches here. Christmas will arrive this year too, there's no doubt about it!

The tapestry kit, by the way, is called "Primrose Path" and was bought at the lovely Ehrman tapestry shop in Lancer Square, Kensington, London years ago. I never got around to starting it, so thank heaven for mums with time on their hands :-)

Thread play

I've been adding pieces of folded, torn and woven fabric and stitching to this piece of felt for a while, and I think it is time to call it quits for now. I think it might need something to pull it all together, and tried adding lines of light grey embroidery across the whole thing, but I'm not sure it is enough.

The top photo doesn't really do it justice though - you need to come in close to get a close look at the texture all that folding and stitching creates.

I'll let it marinate for a while before I decide if it is finished or not. Sometimes it's just a matter of agreeing with myself that it is done...

Button girl

Ah, it's all done! After finding this redwork again and going off in an entirely different direction from what I had intended, things got together rather quickly. I machine quilted some lines around the frames and hand quilted lines in between. I also covered the background of the stitched picture with crooked little cross-stitches, as if they had been done by a little girl. It's amazing how difficult that was when you have been taught to make your stitches nice and even, but eventually I was quite happy with the result.

The binding seemed to take forever, though - there just wasn't enough time to sit down and get on with it, it seemed, but eventually I got there. I had no real plans for this one it would be nice in a little girl's room, I think, but there are no little girls in my life at the moment. However, my mum fell in love with it when I showed her a picture on my phone, so it might just go to live at her place...

Happy accident

I came across this redwork embroidery in my stash the other day. I stitched it years ago, can't really remember when, but I remember that my intention was to collect some red and white fabrics for a patchwork frame. No time like the present, so I pulled out the red and white fabrics I had so far. Not that many, and the whites were too bright and the general feeling: "OK, but a bit boring".

As I was pulling out fabrics from the red area of my stash, I happened to knock over a pile of fabric that needed to be put back in place, and a green polka dot fabric landed on my redwork. Wow!

A bit happy sorting through fabrics later, and all the red and white pieces were brushed away and I ended up with a solution which said "Yes!" rather than "OK". Now three borders are in place, and I have a new quilt ready for quilting. This combination excites me enough to make sure that I'll finish it this time around. Yes, I like it!

Quiet time

 I haven't really got round to quilting again since the holidays. It is just too cold and dark in my sewing corner. I might call it something grand like "my studio" or my "sewing room", but it is really just a corner of my bedroom, and by the time I get home from work it is dark and cold and all I want to do is to snuggle up under a quilt in my living room and watch TV. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, though - a bit of winter hibernation might be just the thing I need now. And there's always handstitching. I'm working on this pillow right now, and I can't believe how far I've got since I picked it up again on Christmas Day.

I've finished with all the counting bits, so it is just a bit of mindless filling in of the background and then the border - I can't wait to see how it all comes together once the empty space is filled with that soft, buttery yellow. I'll just keep at it until the temperature rises and my quilting mojo returns. I will just take the pillow text to heart: "Life is full of ups and downs, sometimes it feels like a rodeo, the secret is to enjoy the ride"!

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Edited to add: The design is by the faboulous Emily Peacock - go have a look at her Hug and Kiss pillows as well!

Flower picture

Grow, a photo by crafty mathea on Flickr.

I was inspired by a technique in Quilting Arts Magazine and had to give it a go. I used some Sweetwater fabric with appropriate words like 'sunshine', 'plant' and 'grow' for the background and quilted it with parallel lines before adding the flowers. They are just stacks of free cut fabric circles in different sizes with flower sketches stitched by machine on top in black thread. This was just a small experiment (8 x 12") so I finished it off quickly with a zigzag stitch round the edge.
I quite like the effect of the black stitching doing it's own thing with splotches of colour in the background, so this is definitely a technique to add to my toolbox for future use. Fun!

Poignant sampler

I was browsing through the digital archives of the V&A (Victoria and Albert museum, London) looking at quilts in their current exhibition and other textiles, when I came across this amazing sampler that I just had to share.

It is a unique piece of embroidery so poignant that it brought tears to my eyes. Apparently it is the confessions of a young woman about her lot in life, done entirely in cross stitch, embroidered with silk on linen in tiny stitches. The young woman, Elizabeth Parker, was born in 1813 and was working as a nursery maid when she committed her thoughts to fabric.

According to the description on the web-page:

“She describes what she sees as her own weaknesses and sins, and the trials she had to face from employers who treated her 'with cruelty too horrible to mention', in this deeply personal confession of her temptation to suicide. As the text continues her desperation increases, '..which way can I turn oh whither must I flee to find the Lord wretch wretch that I am …what will become of me ah me what will become of me'.”

I find it amazing that she would choose to use fabric and thread to express her thoughts. The slowness of the process must have given her time to work out what she wanted to say, and weigh her words accordingly, and still she felt the urge to pour it all out for the world to see. Or maybe her choice of medium actually made it more private than a journal would have been for her? I’m thinking that maybe a woman’s embroidery held so little significance for her contemporaries, that it was the best way of keeping her thoughts to herself? It was just a piece of cloth stuffed in her work basket, after all. Or maybe it was just the opposite -that she felt so angry and bitter that she wanted the world to see what she was going through, so this was actually an early piece of subversive cross-stitch? Whatever the reason, we’ll never know, and although her sampler breaks off in mid-sentence with the words “What will become of my soul “, we can at least take comfort in the fact that historians have discovered that Elizabeth lived to be 76, became a schoolteacher, raised her sister’s daughter and lived what is described as “a moderately comfortable life”. We’ll never know what went on in her mind, in those later years though.

You can look at other interesting textiles in the V&A archives here.

Experimenting

star
Originally uploaded by crafty mathea

I was so inspired by Jude's what-iffing that I couldn't help having a go. I had a scrap of linen left over from making those little fabric baskets for Christmas and drew a Friendship Star block with water erasable marker. I used a lovely variegated linen thread from Stef Francis for the running stitches. My stitches are nowhere as even as Jude's and it seems that I'm not all that good at stitching parallel lines either, but let's just call that "an organic look" for now, shall we? I quite like my little star, in fact, and I might even find some use for it at a later stage. You never know...

Mark the day

I treated myself to a pretty day planner, or "Date Book" as it calls itself, for 2010 instead of the standard issue ones we get at work. The idea is to bring a little cheer into every day, no matter how drab. Although I like my job, there's no getting past the fact that there are periods where I'd rather be anywhere than there. Some nice pictures and some food for thought is excactly what is called for at these instances, and this sweet book seems just the ticket. I love the art of Kelly Rae Roberts and have several of her pictures. The book has gotten me a lot of attention at meetings all through this first week as well, and that's not a bad thing in my book ;-) On using it I quickly realized that it needed an accessory, though. This being the first week of the year, finding the right date wasn't too much of a problem, but as the year progresses I could envision a lot of leafing through to find the right place.

So on Friday night I settled in front of the telly with some felt, fabric and floss to make that little accessory - a bookmark. I used some wool felt and added bits and pieces of fabric from that lovely Authentic Jelly Roll. I just pinned bits and pieces of fabric on to the felt and attached them with a running stitch in variegated thread. The wool is thick enough that I could bury my stitches in it without them showing up on the other side, so I could easily stitch one side at a time. I added some decorative stitching on both sides and around the edge with three strands of cotton floss, and added a ribbon to attach it to the book.

So there it is, I think the colours match the book quite well, and the affirmative words from the fabric are in keeping with the style of the book as well, I think. An added bonus is that making this entirely by hand was very restful and enjoyable, so I definitely see more projects of this kind in my future. More pictures here.

Distractions

I was visiting Sew and So to buy some tapestry wool, needed to finish a cushion I started ages ago, when I came across this:It tickled my silly bone, so I wanted to share it. Now, I didn't order it - I told myself sternly that it would take me ages to stitch and then where would I hang it? I have oodles of floss and heaps of charts for great things to stitch lying in wait, so I really need to keep myself in check here. Here's the link though, in case you find you need it ;-) And Bothy Thread have so many other fun charts, like the Cut Thru' series and the other silly samplers of teapots and bras... Have a look if you dare!
I thought this is rather cute too, link here. Like a country style quilt, in fact. There's also one with cup cakes - so tempting...
I didn't buy any though. And in my eagerness to resist temptation I even forgot to buy the wool I needed. Now dare I make another attempt...?