A Little Dragon

Taking a break from the quilt project I started over the summer, though its not far away (on the table behind me...) I have started on a small embroidery project. Now some time I go I did doodle a design of a medieval inspired piece of a dragon, looking at illuminated manuscripts, but I never finished it largely because I didn't like where it was going. Now move forward several months, I find myself doodling another dragon. This one I am pleased to say showed early signs of potential and thus it will get finished!

As with anything it started with a little spot of preparation, in the form of little satin spikes, and several layers of felt padding.  

Over top of which I then placed a layer of silk dupion, without any soft/ light-weight vilene I had to settle for bondaweb (wasn't about to stop and wait till I could get some...I wanted to get on with it!). With that stab stitch down, I then set about cutting out the head with the help of the bondaweb again, now this was the third attempt as I kept drawing the head in the wrong direction. Got the reverse wrong....

A spot of silver passing couched down...

With the body couching down I heat applied the head to the body, you can't really see in this shot but one of the dragon's ears was stitched, as was the chain stitched tongue, before I properly applied the head, which was then stabbed stitch down. 

I toyed with leaving the teeth as they were, just green silk but I opted to do a spot of padded satin stitch instead, and I am rather happy with the outcome.

Once all the teeth are complete, there will be further work to do...including working out how I am going to do his eye. Now, I have an idea involving a Swarosvki crystal, and some stitching...but you'll have to wait and see the outcome!

Silk Threads and a Quilting Show

It's Sunday, so that means I get to catch you up on a few things. Firstly I have nothing to show for the quilt, the mini quilt as they have been put on the back burner this week whilst I worked on the latest project for Crafty. As there are just mini makes I'll be going back to them very soon. 

It has also meant that I have done much in the way of the cloud embroidery either, though I had ground to a halt on that whilst I sourced a few more threads. Threads which I picked up today. So spur myself and complete the samples for Crafty magazine, I nipped along to the Quilting show at the Farnham Maltings. My main reason for going was to go and see my favourite thread supplier, Mulberry Silks. I have been in dialogue with the lady who runs it, Patricia Wood, who very kindly was holding some particular thread packs for me to match to the cloud project fabrics. It was so nice to put a name to a face, and she's awfully sweet. Naturally I didn't just buy for one project, I also got drawn to another thread pack, which has me in mind for a potential future project to do with illuminated text and fonts. 

The show itself was interesting, but like with the last one at the Maltings I didn't stay long, it was busy, a little bit hot and sadly there was none of the rather lush quilting fabrics that I have been drooling over online were there. It was strange though I did notice that at lot of the fabric that was on sale was a similar tone and colour range, lots of muted colours and some of the designs were a little dated to me. Or it could just be I am incredibly picky.

Anyway, I take the time to have a look round at the quilts on display, and there were some stunning designs, and top quality work.I did take a moment to look round the quilts that were being exhibited and there were some amazing designs and amongst them I stumbled across one of my old tutors from Guildford College which was totally unexpected and rather awesome. She used to allow me to work in her classrooms because I was learning toward textiles much to the chagrin of my actual form tutor...oops.

All in all, a nice weekend. I must add that the threads weren't the only purchases this week, I have been going through a  phase of buying books and magazines on quilting. In fact I've even gone as far as to clear another shelf in my study to give them a shelf of there own. As I don't think it will be long till its filled. I will share with you what I have purchased on Wednesday, as the day is getting on and I still have instructions to finish writing. 

Oh there is one thing I mustn't forget, and near enough did! I've reopened my Etsy store this weekend, and as mentioned on Wednesday I have a number of items marked down. 

New Project for the New Year: Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Last year I mentioned I wanted to do more typography / quote based embroideries as I loved working on the last three; Tea Solves Everything, Today is a Good Day, Life is a Big Puddle Jump In. I've had a design in my notebook for a while now but wasn't quite ready to work on it, until now that is. 

The new quote is Every Cloud has a Silver Lining, and whilst I have one design in mind and doodled, I have an inkling another version of it might just follow.

As you can see I've started to gather the materials, I love the hunting and sourcing aspect of any new project and especially if it means trawling through my stash. As it means the more I use up the more reason I have to buy new materials.

I pulled out the metal threads, silk threads and silk dupion and a few other odds and sods that I have stashed away. I think I need a few more silk threads to add to the mix as a few of the colours I have aren't quite right. So this is an excuse to make the most of the Mulberry Silk sale. Not that I really needed an excuse. Beads and maybe a few discreet crystals (special bit of bling) will also be added too. 

Now normally I like to work and play around with threads and stitches as I go a long on the main piece, it can be a scary doing this but I tend to work well doing it this way. However, last night I whipped a small sample as I wanted to see what the pale grey linen would work on the cream dupion, and I like it and I've kept the sample so that I can use it to try out stitches etc on it. this time I knocked up a sample mainly to see if I like the linen on the cream silk but I'll also be using it to play on.

I can't stop poking it...squidgy.

Hey look I am drinking tea...

I'm really looking forward to getting cracking with this but I first have to see if I can't get the project for Crafty magazine completed first, though I am still waiting on the fabric to arrive.

More information on this as it progresses.

Short and Sweet Post

Today is just to lovely to be sat indoors, especially now that I just finished 'Today is a Good Day'. I'm so utterly thrilled with the final outcome that sitting out in the sun is my reward for some damned good work. 

So I am really not going to waffle on in this post, or talk about much beyond, have a look at the finished piece for yourself. I am so thankful to Hannah Dollery for allowing to use it and I can't wait to hang it up, well once I've decided how I am going to do it. 

Only thing left for me to say is I really want to stitch some more words, phrases anything really, and work more in the lush silk threads from Mulberry Silks.

And that's it...

Well one thing, next Honeycomb tutorial will be ready next weekend.

Promise that is the last thing!

Final bits to stitch

Spring is here - Let's Polka

So on Monday, Blighty was treated to a day of brilliant sunshine. It felt to me, and others, that spring had finally sprung.

It was fantastic timing too as I had booked a day off from the day job to spend the day with my best mate crafting, drinking tea, chatting and eating plenty of cake.

Of course, no day could start without a decent breakfast and this put us on the path to a fantastic day looking colour. We toddled around for a bit in town which meant I was able to pick up some thread, and as these things happen I also ended up buying fabric. Yes, the sun had done a marvelous effect on my mood and colour palette. There was also a brief stop in Farrow& Ball for paint and wallpaper charts. I love their colours even if my bank account doesn't.

The remainder of the day was naturally spent looking at the colour swatches and playing with the various threads I had picked up earlier that morning. We flitted between looking at ideas for the soon to be new flat (yes, getting there slowly) and new project ideas. The sun pouring into the livingroom, whilst making the room hot, certainly aided our colour picking abilities.

Aren't they smashing colours, the three spools at the bottom are the silks threads I purchased at the beginning of the year, the skeins above at the ones purchased on Monday, just your standard DMC cottons.

With the colours chosen for the new project ideas picked out on Monday, it meant I was able to get on with one of them today. Now, originally I had planned on using the DMC threads to stitch the projects but I was nudged into using the silk threads, so I ended up doing just that, except so not to waste the limited amount of silk thread I had I used the cotton as the padding for the satin dots. It was pure fate that the colours picked up on Monday matched the silk.

Work in progress - seeing dots.

This is the first of three new spring/summer collar designs, and the first one made up is Ice-Cream Polka. Every time I look at it I just want to smile, and then poke the satin dots (I haven't...yet). I backed it in the new purchased cotton fabric too. Using my previous collar pattern means this design is fully reversible. And look it features my logo as the fabric label.

Dots...lots of dots

Now, all I need to do is crack on with the other two designs! Ice-cream polka will be available to purchase from my Etsy store.

Completed Embroidery

I started a project last week and after working on it a bit by bit in the evenings, and in just under a week I have completed it. It wasn't a particularly large design but I am thrilled at how quickly it has progressed, I am also very fond of using the Mulberry Silk threads, they are just utterly divine to work with, so smooth and the colours in the case of this piece jewel like.

Of course, the stitching is complete but technically it's not complete because the next stage is to turn it into a small trinket box, I didn't want to turn it into a picture, it's also too delicate to be a design for a cushion, I could turn it into a evening bag....but my mind is settled into a box. I also have another piece that I haven't done anything with yet, and will probably have the same treatment. Which is the embroidery I did for &Stitches magazine last year.

Where will I be going next? Will I be using this design again or doing something similar? I don't really know the answer to that yet, it would be foolish to completely walk away from the design or not to do something similar or adapting the design again. Also I have in my mind that the original sketch into a fabric print...not sure how or why, but it's floating about in my noggin.

The padded satin stitch I worked on this piece has got me itching to do more, and I think I am going to do so this afternoon. I think there is scope to do a collar with it, but I'll work the sample first and see where I go. I'll even try to turn it into a bit of a mini tutorial. I really have been feeling I would like to show more folks how to do particular stitches or at least how I work them, and it might also in turn push me to use different stitches before I get suckered back into doing  the same stitches over and over.

I'm sure I am not  the only one that gets comfortable with one particular stitch/method (sure it's not just embroidery specific), and pushing yourself is good for you. If they don't work out at least you can say you've tried something else. 

Making Head Way

Hahaha...this is my table looking 'tidy' 

Time is sure passing. 

I've been running through my ever evolving list of stuff to do on the run up to the craftshow, though you would think that its if I was about to hit the road with the amount of things I have had to sort out for it.

But I know this purely down to the fact that I haven't done a show in such a long time that I've forgotten what I need, and what I need to do for it to be ready. But I am starting to make some headway, especially with making stock and getting the look of the stall right. I am feeling positive if not a little shattered. 

In a couple of weeks I will be closing my store for a few days from the 25th November to the 1st December, in order to save any last minute panics should anyone purchase something I am taking with me. Soon as I get back from the craftshow...well perhaps a bit of a snooze, I'll get the store straight back up.

More silk collars.

Tomorrow I am going to show off one my stitching Minion's version of the 'Hi Honey Pattern' and what I will be looking to update the pattern with.