Silver Cloud for a Grey Day

Just a mini update on the cloud progression. Further chain stitch has been added in varying shades of grey and thickness's of silk thread. I've also given in and started to add crystals and beads, and I've also begun to add a highlight of silver purl thread around the edge of the cloud to give it a neater finish. It won't be long to go till I add the wording to the off-white silk background. Seems rather apt to be working on it today given how gawd awful the weather has been again.

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. 

Honeycomb Embroidery Tutorials - Welcome

Welcome to the first in a series of mini embroidery tutorials, in which I will show you how to do some of my favourite embroidery stitches. I hope they will then become yours too. I’ve made them to be enjoyable as possible so that by the end of the year, you will have several stitches under your embroidered belt.

The designs have been made so that even if you only do one, you’re not left with yet another sample that floats about your house, but rather a piece of embroidery that can be done in an afternoon, if that, and immediately applied to something, like a quilt or whatever you fancy. 

One thing I also don't want to do is overwhelm you with the tutorials, so I am splitting everything out over several blog posts. The first will be looking at materials and colours, then the stitching, and finally the finishing off. There is nothing worse and a huge long blog post to scroll through. I also want you to read through the blog posts, gather what you need and then work on it when your ready to do it.

So grab yourself a cuppa, a pen and a notebook. 

Ready? Then let's begin.

For your first tutorial your going to looking at eyelets:

The project needed a name so it will forever be called 'Eyelet Polka', but as I've mentioned before your not going to be starting the stitching yet, I am going to get you picking your colours and your equipment. 

So let's begin with the first part, which is picking your colour palette!

In total you need to pick eight colours, they have to be colours that make you smile/cheer you up (strict order here folks). You won’t be working with all eight colours every tutorial, on average you’ll only work with three colours at any one time. So the colours you pick should ideally compliment one another. You should have a look at Wild Olive for some great colour combinations.

Yummy

I’ve used for my palette, DMC stranded cottons in the following colours: 

• 598
• 955
• 3805
• 725
• 899
• 907
• 926
• 938

Once you have selected your colours, I’d love to see them so why not upload them to my flickr group page - I like to be nosey! Join the Craft Hive.

Now with the pretty things sorted, you need to gather other materials and equipment:

FABRIC: I’ll be using a light weight calico throughout the tutorials, it’s nice to work on and it’s cheap, and an extremely underrated fabric. At times you may need additional fabric but I will indicate with each tutorial what you will need.

TEMPLATES/PATTERNS: Will be downloadable at the start of each stitching tutorial

EQUIPMENT:

• 6” wooden ring frame – I use a table mounted ring frame [like this one] they really are a useful piece of equipment and mean you can work hands free, but by all means use whatever you have to hand.
• Sharp embroidery scissors – if you don’t have any, I really recommend that it’s time you treated yourself to a pair, they really are invaluable. [Recommend Kia scissors]
• Sharp needles
• Stiletto / very thick tapestry needle
• Sharpened HB pencil
• Pins

At this point, I should add if you do use a wooden ring frame, then I would recommend that if you haven’t already do so is to wrap the rings with either cotton tape or strips of calico fabric. Check out my handy dandy tutorial on prepping a ring frame. Click me.

PART 2 - The Stitching
PART 3 - How to finish

Any point you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment.

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.