It’s three weeks since I last posted my progress on my Owl and Hare Hollow quilt and I have to admit there’s not been too much progress, what with two weekends away and lots of bees to keep me busy, never mind presents to make…
Three weeks ago I had quilted thirteen blocks, but wider sashing circles on only eight…
Last night I was working on the circle of flowers at the bottom, I’ve quilted three circles for the block and I’ve almost finished the sashing circle too. You can just see the dots of Frixion pen I use for marking the circles…
I’ve now quilted fourteen circles and nearly eleven sashing circles. I need to remember to got back to those three sashing circles once I’ve finished this one.
I’ve done more than I thought!! There’s 49 blocks altogether though, so still a way to go. It’ll keep me busy and warm working on it over the winter 🙂
Hand Quilt Along
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
It is one of my old school friend’s 60th birthday next week, she’s having a party but as she lives down on the south coast (about six plus hours drive) I suggested going to visit a different weekend as we wouldn’t have much time to chat at a party. Four of us went through secondary school together and we’ve kept in touch, so I contacted the other two and we all went down together last weekend.
We had a fab time, talked and laughed all weekend, we worked out the last time we were all together was in 1991 at one of our weddings!
I wanted to make a little something and had the idea of making a decorated cotton reel, like the Christmas one I made earlier in the year…
At first I was going to embroider a scene, representing the different places she lived, maybe putting major milestones on it. I was chatting to one of my friends at Skipton Stitchers and she suggested Aida bands. The idea grew on me…I found some in my stash and started writing out words to stitch. I got some inside help from her willing spouse and eventually had a good collection of places she’s lived, things she liked and major dates. I managed to arrange them in rough chronological order as a wordplay.
I stitched them in different colours depending on their relevance – teal for roles, blue for places, one soft variegated for people and a brighter variegated for things she likes to do. I filled in the spaces with flowers and butterflies to reflect her love of nature, a Yorkshire rose and pink flowers as pink is her favourite colour.
It took a few evenings but it was finally done. I called it 0-60 in 15″…
I backed it with a pretty floral cotton and stitched it to a wooden reel I had ordered from Etsy. I attached some narrow organza ribbon and a button to secure it. All I had to do was decorate the top.
I tried to buy a little silk flower, I couldn’t find one locally so I made one out of wider organza ribbon. I rummaged in my button box for a variety of pink buttons, I found a mini cotton reel and I basically dabbed a generous layer of PVA glue on the top and arranged them all. The little bird button was the finishing touch which I think works perfectly. Once dry it seems to have held everything on nicely…
I’m really pleased with how it came out, it didn’t take too long to make but it’s a very personal present. I gave it to my friend and she was delighted with it.
Here’s yet another bee for my textile book, I started stitching this one whilst flying home from Rome. This is a pattern by ItchyStitchAU on Etsy.
The pattern is designed for 14 count Aida, it uses all six strands of a DMC thread together, as I was using the equivalent of 16 count, I just used four threads which seemed to worked well.
I used a very pretty printed linen from Lakeside Needlecraft, it’s all shades of lavender. Ironically if I had been at home I would have probably changed my mind either about the fabric or the threads used as I wasn’t convinced they would show up enough, of course they look fine!
The lavender is stitched using four threads as I mentioned, but cleverly half the threads are turned so the variegation is more varied but more subtle. It’s actually one pattern repeated lots of times but it’s amazing how many mistakes you can make repeating a simple pattern!! Luckily with this design it didn’t matter if it wasn’t quite as per pattern.
Last weekend we were in Rome, enjoying a bit of sunshine and culture. Of course this involved a 2.5 hour flight and the subsequent hanging round in airports, so of course I had my little bag of sewing!
For those who’ve not tried sewing on an aeroplane yet, here’s my experience of both long and short haul flights…sewing needles are not a problem, it’s the scissors that are an issue. I have stopped trying to take embroidery scissors on board, whatever the blade length and however rounded the ends are, they always end up being confiscated. I usually use a clover thread cutter which is like a round blade enclosed in a metal case with little notches to cut your thread in. I wear it as a pendant, security has never taken a second glance at it and it does have the advantage that you can’t drop it down the side of your seat! Another option which I used at the hotel is some mini scissors, Kate Chiconi kindly sent me these a few years ago and they’re great, when I say mini, they’re just over an inch long including the handle!
I decided to stitch another one in a similar style to the wildflower bee, similar but different! This one uses different stitches and patterns to make the bee shape. The pattern is by Nest Embroidery, again it’s on Etsy.
The actual pattern just uses black yellow and white which I felt was a little harsh, I decided to use DMC 4000 instead of black, I find this variegated thread very useful, it’s not stocked by many shops which is a shame, it’s dark brown and grey. I used DMC 90 for the yellow, which is another variegated one, I was a bit selective when I used this one, using the darker shades for the stripes and the lightest for it’s bottom. I used a white for the wings but outlined it in grey rather than the DMC 4000.
I haven’t any in progress photos unfortunately, but here’s the finished embroidery…
Well my bees are continuing to multiply! Three weeks ago I was making good progress on my wild flower bee, a design I found on Etsy by Doodle and Stitch…
I stitched the legs and antenna and then the wings in stem stitch. I really enjoyed stitching this one, it’s pretty and a bit different. It didn’t take too long to finish…
Over the weekend I’ve been staying with friends, so a lot of catching up and not much time for sewing, but I did have some in my bag which came out when we had an hour or two’s rest in the afternoon. This is another design from Etsy called Betty Bumblebee. At first the instructions looked a little confusing, but when I e-mailed the designer for clarification, she quickly replied, I’d been accidently sent an old version, she e-mailed the new set of instructions and I have just started them, chain-stitching wings…
This SAL is organised by Avis from Stitching by the Sea, please follow the links to see what everyone else has been stitching…
A few months ago I went on a workshop by Laura Edgar to make a seascape, she uses scraps of fabrics, often torn or distressed and lots of free-style stitching to create wonderful textile art. I finally finished my seascape recently…
Laura brought a lot of samples of her work and one of them was a bumble bee. I loved it! I decided to try and make one. I took the general shape from one of her pictures then rummaged in my stash for yellow and black fabric.
I started with the basic shape in an almost black quilting cotton, it has a bit of variation to it which I liked. I then overlay it with yellow batik stripes. The black looked a little too flat so I overlaid some black lace. I had a piece of light organza for the wings. I tacked it all down then started rummaging for extra textures.
I found some black feather boa in a drawer. I cut off a snippet, trimmed all the long feathers so I was left with the downy bits, I then stitched it down to the upper body, giving it an extra haircut where needed, I love the effect of this .
I added some scraps of black lace which has beads and sequins on to the next stripe. The yellow bottom has some loose yellow silk strands with lots of straight stitches over the top. I tried turkey stitch at first which leaves tufts of thread but I couldn’t get the effect wanted, I left the stitches in for extra tuftiness!
The wings were a little light, I added a layer of lace and then some smoky grey organza which I think looks much better.
I’ve still a fair bit to do, but this is my bee so far…
I’ve been busy making bees for my book, I’ve got three on the go at the moment!
My ‘handbag project’ for the last couple of weeks has been a bee that was in a treasure bundle I bought from SookieSoo on Instagram. It was pre-drawn onto linen then it was up to me how I stitched it. I did have a brief panic when I first found it at the bottom of a box, it was all crumpled so I decided to iron it, not thinking that it was drawn with a Frixion pen, so half the design disappeared in a flash with the heat of the iron! After pondering my options for a couple of minutes I decided to try and use the ‘side-effect’ of a Frixion pen – it reappears in very cold temperatures. I popped it in the freezer for half an hour and there was my design back again!
I started with the leaves, using fishbone stitch which is my go-to stitch for leaves. I was a bit nervous about starting the bee as it’s only little so detail had to be fine. I started with the yellow and black stripes but I wasn’t totally happy with it as it looked a bit too stripy!
I chose a slightly darker yellow and using one strand I did long and short stitch over the join, it’s subtle but I think it just softens the lines. The wings are stitched with a light variegated grey thread. With hindsight I’d have probably changed the shape of the upper wings as I feel they’re too upward pointing.
For the blossom I’ve used a variegated DMC thread with French knots and a stem stitch ring to bulk them out a bit, I like the way they’ve come out. I’m just using a single strand of DMC with fly stitch for the blossom stalks, so I’m using the same thread and stem stitch for the ring.
Once I’ve finished the ring I’ve just a few French knots to go round the wreath.
I’ll have quite a swarm of bees once I’ve finished them all!
I’m enjoying hand quilting this quilt, I’m just doing lots of circles! Each block has an 8″ circle and then whatever fits with the design. Three weeks ago I was just getting into the swing of it…
I’ve since started stitching the larger circles that overlap in the sashing. I’ve made a cardboard template to draw around and I’m using a variegated grey thread rather than the cream of the block quilting. It blends in better on the front but makes a subtle change on the back.
I’m working down the right hand side at the moment…
Whilst stitching the larger sashing circles I’ve also added a few smaller ones where I felt it was needed, so the owl now has a large ‘moon’ behind it, the leaping hare has a circle round the mini hexagons.
Here’s the back view which shows the quilting more clearly…
So I’m stitching my 13th block out of 49, probably nearly a quarter of the way through as I’ve still four of the larger circles to do.
Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
I’ve been a busy bee over the last three weeks! I’ve been working on the embroideries to go in my bee book most days. Last time I shared my progress I was working on the first bumblebee of a cross-stitch depicting three different ones…
I’d just realised this particular bee is one I’ve stitched several times before, using it on pincushions for various people. This one is bombus terrestris, more commonly called the buff-tailed bumble bee.
I had to move the second and third bumblebees a little on the design as it was meant to be oblong whereas I needed it to finish more square shaped, so the top bee was moved five squares along and three down and then the third one moved along a bit to even it out. It took ages to work that out!! I think it still looks balanced.
It’s interesting seeing the different shapes of the bees, the top one, bombus agrorum, from the limited information I can find on Google, is the same as bombus thoracombus, or the common carder bee. The left one is the early bumble bee. The wing positions of these three are each very different.
Here’s the finished cross-stitch…
I do like this one, I like the way it’s laid out like specimens in an old-fashioned natural history museum.
Next I decided to stitch one of the Sarah Homfray designs I bought. She has a blackwork bee and a whitework bee and as I don’t want this book to be all cross-stitch, I bought them both. I decided to do the blackwork one first.
The pattern wasn’t quite what I expected. I thought I’d have a chart with the whole design on, a bit like a cross-stitch chart. Instead there was an outline to trace and instructions on how to fill each section in, this was a bit daunting at first. I packed it up to start at my Skipton Stitchers group on Monday, thinking there would be someone there to help if I needed it. In the end, once I started it was pretty straight forward and actually makes it a lot more adaptable.
I chose a honey coloured linen as a base, with hind sight I’d have been better with an evenweave which doesn’t have the fine irregularities of linen as sometimes the linen thread was too fine really to have any impact with the stitch pattern. Rather than black thread I used DMC 4000 which you don’t often see for sale here in the UK which is a shame as it’s really useful. It’s a variegated thread of dark brown and dark grey. I think it worked really well for this piece.
The actual design is pretty small, less than 2″ high, but there was also an outline for the stitch plan which was slightly bigger, so I used that size instead. My bee is still less than 2.5″ though, so it didn’t take long to do.
The outline was traced onto the fabric and then each area was filled with a different stitch. The outline and the legs or antennae were the last to be stitched. I kept the body symmetrical but kept a little variation with the legs etc. It didn’t take long to do at all really…
And now for something completely different…
This is a design I found on Etsy, I discounted it at first but it grew on me, my eye kept being drawn to it. It’s called the wildflower bee, designed by Doodle and Stitch Company. I’m really enjoying stitching it. The instructions are good, my only beef is that the stitch and colour charts are just colour based, not clear with a black and white printer! I used a vintage French metis fabric which I got in a mixed pack from SookieSoos on Instagram. It’s a lovely textured linen/cotton mix, though the little slubs could be tricky to get a needle through in places.
Last night I finished the body, the flowers and leaves are created with a mixture of stitches, fishbone (my favourite for leaves), lazy daisy, satin, woven wheels, French knots. The only ones I’m not too keen on are the lazy daisy leaf fronds, I might still unpick those and either use a different stitch or just use one thread…or leave them!
I’ve just started the legs, which cleverly look like stamens. The legs are made with brick-stitch with a satin stitch top. Here’s my progress so far…
The wings are meant to be in stem stitch, though I am tempted to use a fine chain stitch instead as I find it easy to get a neat curve with it.
I’ll hopefully finish this in the next few days, then I’ve the whitework one to do and I also want to do one like Laura Edgar’s bee, she is the textile artist who did the seascape workshop and she stitched a gorgeous bumble bee too. There’s another embroidered bee on Etsy too, the only thing that’s making me hesitate is that the only options are to get the pdf of the chart only, or the full kit. My issue is that there are no instructions with the chart only option. At some point I need to start making the little embroideries into pages.
This stitch-a-long is organised by Avis from Stitching by the Sea, we post our progress on our chosen project every three weeks, it does help to keep the motivation going! Please follow the links to see what everyone else has been stitching.
I think I’ve finally finished my seascape, I say ‘think’ as I posted on facebook that I’d finished it two days ago, then added a bit more…it’s that kind of piece!
I started this at a workshop organised by Skipton Stitchers with Laura Edgar, an amazing textile artist who uses lots of different fabrics, lots of worn or torn pieces, layered up and then embroidered….way out of my comfort zone!
We all took a picture we wanted to use as inspiration. My photo was Scarborough’s South Bay under a moody sky, it’s one I took a few years ago on one of our walks…
After a day’s workshop I had the rudiments of a collage and I’d started tacking fabrics down. I used layers of organza, lace and tulle over various fabrics to create the basic image.
I then started stitching it. Last time I shared it with you I was working on the sky, with lots of meandering feather stitch. I fiddled with the headland fabric a bit as it just looked too dark, despite being that dark on the photo it just looked too much in stitch. The criss-cross pattern you can just make out is some dark grey lace. A few more feather stitches gave some texture to the dark silhouette of the headland.
Next I tackled the sea. In the photo is very calm. I decided to just use lots of running stitch, I wasn’t sure if that would lose the glassy nature of the flat sea, but I really like the effect and I think it does look calm. I used several different shades of embroidery thread, stitching two or three rows in one colour before changing over. I love the way it’s merges the colours of the sea.
For the waves I started stitching a wave of feather stitch, intending to do several intertwined ‘rolls’, it didn’t look right though so I unpicked all but one.
I stopped the stitches at the breaking waves on the shore. After a bit of pondering I stitched the beach the same way. I was still a bit stuck on the waves when I found a fluffy textured yarn. I did running stitch down the wave and then whipped it with the textured yarn. I actually did two rows but again it looked too much so I unpicked one…it’s been very much trial and error stitching this piece!
I still had a gap between the sea and the sand, I looked at the photo again and realised I needed to bring the blue of the sea onto the sand, to merge the too areas…more running stitch…but I was finally happy with the bottom part.
Next area was the sun. I was pleased with the general effect round the sun, but it needed softening. I stitched round the sun with some silver thread to help it to gently stand out. I then stitched thinly torn strips of organza, some folded in half to add opacity. I added wisps of ‘fluff’ and some blue silk fibres teased from a tube. I stitched with a very light grey or warm white at first, but then realised, like with the sand, I needed to bring the blue into it.
So this is my finished collage, I think I might get this one framed! I’m well chuffed with it.
thecraftycreek 