Tea for a Prince?

The first cup & saucer ................ I think I've acheived what I set out to do

Whilst in progress, comments from 3 different family members ...............

"Will you be able to drink out of it?"

"It must be alright, even I can see it's a cup & saucer!"

"What are you making?" "Cups & saucers" "What for (with a tone that meant what on earth for)?"  "Just to see if I can" .............. silence ..............

I cut 6 sets in total but perhaps we could do with an orderly kitchen for a day or two before I continue ..........
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Clingfilm

Thankyou for all your lovely comments everyone - they are very encouraging. I have curtains to alter, a garden to weed and numerous other jobs around the house but sometimes it's good to do something fun.

Snippets of lightweight fabrics on a cotton background with the outside ring of a hoop beneath .......



Clingfilm carefully laid over and the inside of the hoop fitted all ready for some machine embroidery to hold the snippets in place ...............



Machine embroidered, ironed beneath baking parchment and fitted into a small hoop ready for some embellishment ................

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to fit inside this hand dyed silk "cup"

Evaluating a Postcard

In my last post, I mentioned a fabric postcard swap over on "Stitchin Fingers" but I'm really not sure where I'm going with that now as there appears to be something of a split group and a choice as to whether to make one postcard or one for everybody in the group. I don't do grey very much and prefer to have some things black and white so I'm going to blog about this one whilst I think about it.

AUTUMN

Inspiration
Colour - Earth tones are not really my thing but there are some wonderfully vibrant colours around us in Autumn.

Leaves and Trees - It's not quite here yet in South East England so no leaves outside for immediate inspiration. Acorns and conkers. Acorns in textiles to me immediately relates to 3 dimensional so that is out for a postcard.

Flowers that last until the autumn frosts - that would count wouldn't it?

Mushroom Picking

Hedgehogs - Googling autumn leaves finds a lovely pic of a hedgehog nestling in autumn leaves and then I recall the "pet" hedgehog I had as a child and a stitched hedgehog by Grace Christie. Regarding the latter, I thought it was a photo I took at the V & A but can't find one nor is it in "Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving" so I don't know where it is but I have seen one - haven't I?

Still thinking about childhood brings memories of the strings of onions hanging in our elderly neighbours lean-to. I have some onions in the fridge so onions it is!

Design
Cut onions in half, draw round them to get a rough shape and then chop them up for a chilli before sketching any inner lines - artistic license for that bit then!

Machine embroidered reverse applique - metallic thread on twinkle organza burnt back to reveal gold foiled fabric below.

Working
Bonded the gold fabric to pelmet vilene. Layering the organza over the gold fabric wasn't looking very pretty (I don't do murky) until I had four layers so four layers it was pinned to the backing (my Bernina prefers to work on a solid ground!). Thought about changing the needle before starting but decided to see how it went - the needle puckered the fabric so a new needle it was. Have I done this before - yes and will I do it again - probably!

Machining the outlines once, twice and then four times no problem. Then I decided to start machining more heavily in parts thinking that, given the size and what with the pelmet vilene, it wouldn't contour - wrong! Ok, carry on and see what happens. Started burning the organza out on one edge - bad move! Four layers of organza welded together is a bit chunky (a far cry from delicate onion skins not that that is what I wanted to particularly achieve) and my eyes are not what they were a few years ago when I last used the soldering iron (which could do with a new tip). Free and organic is acceptable but scruffy is out hence the "postcard" is now 5.75 inches across rather than the regulatory 6 inches!

More pelmet vilene bonded to the back and zig zagged edges .............. no more contours! Perhaps not quite what it was meant to be but it's something ................

Conclusion (not regarding design etc. but to me as a person)

I like working to this scale. Easily portable and storable when space is at a premium. Cost effective in that no huge outlay for materials. Not sure that two whole days stitching is very time effective for a postcard.

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I love those citrus colours in that last post too Gina. Where I was going with them didn't quite work out so need to put my thinking cap on!

A Giant Tower

I don't usually work to a larger scale but having enjoyed making Helen's towers so much, thought I'd have a go at a giant one.

It looks quite at home in the flower bed but I don't think the elements would be too kind to it!

Rock Pool Treasures

Not exactly recycling but putting to use some samples and other bits and pieces that have no real use in their present state and don't very often see the light of day. The hand dyed velvet "cup" was a discarded prototype for part of a larger piece. With a wireform insert, it holds it's shape nicely so I thought it might make an interesting little "bowl".



Probably one of my most treasured experimental samples! A machine embroidered sandwich - fragments of glitzy fabrics and threads trapped between clingfilm and water soluble - provided just the fabric for the insert. It was hard to part with but it's done now!

Llots of crunchy beading to depict the treasures of the rock pool - a very tactile piece!

Towers of Flowers

I need to find just the right "button" to complete my second bag so thought I would post something else for now. The "Towers of Flowers" were from a tutorial by Helen Cowans in Stitch magazine last year.

For some years I have concentrated on my own designs but I couldn't resist having a go at these. I find I work well constructing smaller elements which are then fitted together so they were just my thing and, of course, the colours - which I have only just noticed are the same as the "Summer Garden" bag I have recently completed!

Although not so organic (not always a good thing!), I found it easier (and neater) to stitch the panels together by machine and covered the wires with satin stitch in metallic threads.

Having finshed the "Towers", I immediately set to work on another set, this time using starfish & shell motifs. I just adore them!