Yellow Days

Well, I did it...a week without Facebook, blogging, compulsive email checking...I would love to say that I found it productive, calming, enlightening...but actually I found it quite isolating. As a stay at home mum, and full time home educator to my boys, I think I rely quite a lot on online contact to stay sane. It allows me to be "Viv" and not just mum, on those days when being home is a challenge. So, although I did gain some extra time and peace from my digital detox, I'm not planning to do it again any time soon!

Anyway, back to sewing and stuff :-)


I finished my April journal quilt, "Shine". The challenge for this month was to make a monochromatic (single colour) quilt. I was all set to make a green quilt, thinking of patchwork landscapes, but when I got my fabrics together they just weren't really talking to me. Outside, the sun was shining, the daffodils in full bloom and I just thought "YES! Yellow!!" After dyeing the fabrics I sewed them together in the strippy design, and added the hand stitching with pearl cotton. I was planning to applique the word "shine" onto the quilt after that but then the goddess figure came to me and insisted she be on the quilt. And who was I to argue? I have left the edges raw because I wanted it to be a bit fuzzy round the edge, I felt it was softer and more appropriate.



I have nearly completed the quilt top for my friend's baby quilt. I just have to add the yellow fabric to the tops and bottoms. Yes, I was planning white, but yellow is the new white, don't you know?!



I did a little stitch sample for "Horizontal Arrow Stitch".



And I've completed several spreads in my art journal. I have found the art journalling has turned into a bit of an emotional and spiritual journey, rather than just the creative journey I initially expected. To that end, I'm not sure whether this blog is the right place to be writing about it. I am considering starting a new blog for this stuff but not sure if I have the time and inclination to keep up both! Anyway, here's one of the pages, the others will be in my art journal set on Flickr if you are interested...

Sit Quietly

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself” (Zen Proverb)





Yep, it's 3 more postcards for the DIY Postcard Swap 2011.

And here's the last one (I had a bit of fun with this):



And here's two I made for swaps on Trading Fabric Postcards:



The blackwork sheep pattern is from this website. Although I changed it a bit with my miscounting ;-) Not sure I have the patience/eyesight/concentration span for counted thread embroidery lol!



I think it's safe to say I've had enough postcard making for the time being. Time for something BIGGER!

A Creative Life

I've been making more postcards for Hanna's DIY Postcard Swap. They are all on a common theme based on this quote from Joseph Chilton Pearce:

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong



I made stencils of crosses; then took some fabric from my scraps box and painted these with black and red acrylic paints. I also experimented a bit with some sequin waste on one piece. Then I chopped up the painted bits of fabric, sewed them back together in a different order and added the quotes. I am pretty pleased with how they turned out, and think they convey the message well. This time, rather than using Vilene and muslin for the backs, I have sewn them straight onto a heavy cardstock using a machine zigzag. It knackers the needle but works fine! So, that's six made, four to go :-). Check out the Flickr group to see all the great creative postcards being made.



I have also made a start on the latest set of Sharon B's Stitch Files. This little sample shows Algerian stitch. I enjoyed working these - I think my favourite is the second row of smaller stitches in a wave pattern. Next thing is to try the stitch on a more interesting background material.



And lastly, I have finished the coin strips for my friend's baby quilt. It's very feminine and muted, not my style at all (!) but think it will go down well so that's the main thing :-)

Get Your Stitch Files Quick!!

Hooray! Sharon Boggon has released the next instalment of the Stitch Files. She is offering these at half price for the next two weeks. They are $5 (which works out at £3.18 for us Brits), normally $10. If you want to see what they are like, you can download the freebie sheets as a taster. Just go here to join in the fun:

http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2011/3/9/sharon-bs-worksheets-stitch-module-5-available-at-a-special.html

Here's some pics of work I have done on previous Stitch Files:










Join in! You know you want to :-)

Sea Change

Sea change - "a profound or notable transformation" (Oxford Dictionary)



This piece of work represents a transformation for the material and for my way of working. The materials themselves have been transformed by use of the heat gun and by the incorporation of the stitches. And the piece represents a transformation in my approach to making a quilt. I am certainly not renowned for making a detailed plan and following it through (easily distracted? moi?) but this is the first time I've made a piece of work without having any idea of what I wanted it to turn out like! I just started with the materials I had that fitted with the colour palette and took it from there.

So first I layered together yellow felt, light blue felt, torn strips of a darker blue plastic bag and last of all a sheer blue gridded fabric. I then machine stitched a grid. Well, it started out as a grid, but I got bored of that and started to make some of the lines wavy or zigzaggy:



Next I got out my heat gun and zapped away, after which it looked like this:



And (a bit more terrifyingly) this:



Trying to ignore the scary face, I pulled out some embroidery floss and pearl cotton and started stitching. I started off just stitching to fill shapes, first with the cretan stitch, then the herringbone. These shapes reminded me of mermaids and fish which started me on the sea theme. And the rest, as they say, is history!

To finish off the quilt, I added yellow felt as a backing and satin stitched round the edges. The edges are a bit wavy, but for me, that just adds to the sea-change feeling ;-)

Grow Old With Me - February Journal Quilt

I am not sure if I will get a bit of a telling off from my journal quilt partner J for this...but I've finished my February journal quilt!



Those who know me may not be terribly surprised to hear that romantic isn't really a word that figures in my vocabulary, but hey - it's February, month of a million yucky hallmark valentine's cards - why not do my take on it? And here it is: "Grow Old With Me". Let me explain.

The quilt represents what as I see as "true love". The woven central part makes a grid of 12, which is how many years I have been married. The materials used represent the mixture of elements making up a loving marriage - so we've got a bit of glitz and glamour (the silk and the brocade), then there's the process of ageing together (the rust dyed fabrics, lace and ricrac). Next up is the revealing of one's inner self (the strip of wadding included in the weaving - usually kept inside the quilt, but this time exposed). The tweed represents comfort and safety - not romantic but a vital ingredient in a loving partnership. Then there's the hearts, a universal symbol of romantic love. These particular hearts are showing some signs of distress (thanks to a heat gun!!) but are still held together by an interconnecting series of threads. Despite the wear and tear, they remain strong and together. For me, romance isn't about sugary sweet love but about growing old together, hence the name of the quilt and the label at the top (made from a piece of the colour catcher sheet I used when I washed the red squiggly fabric - it was just too pretty to throw away).

Oh, and the black jumbo ricrac? Where does that fit in? Erm, it's there because I like ricrac :-)

I almost forgot to show you this...

...it's a little winter landscape I stitched up.



I must admit, I'm not entirely sure I like it (I wondered if it was a bit too bleak) but it is growing on me.

The background is done on the embellisher on white felt with various white and cream rovings, bits of yarn, and a little bit of gold sparkly material. I then hand embroidered using various stitches: running, chain, stem, fly...

Waddya reckon?

More Stitch Files

I've done a bit more on my stitch files...

I experimented with running stitch to make some darning patterns:



And made a little sample of feather stitch:



After looking at the amazing samples on Raphaela's blog, I will definitely be back to explore this stitch a bit more :-)

The Stitch Files - Running Stitch

Sharon has released part four of the Stitch Files - you can download them here.

One of the stitches this time was the humble running stitch and I have had fun with it. First off, I challenged myself to stitch with colours that do not normally form part of my palette (pastel, muted, pink - feminine!!) and made this little felted piece:



I actually quite like it, and so does DH, cos he has pinched it for a mat to put on top of one of his speakers!

Then I had a play with whipping and interlacing rows of running stitch, and I like the way they look too:



As well as working on my stitch files I have also been doing a bit of holiday related stitching. Some I can't reveal as the recipients may well see this blog first, but I can show you this, which is a little embellished and stitched piece I created to affix to a sketchbook for my much loved stepdad:



I think this is my favourite piece of embroidery so far, I especially love the effect of the chain stitch tree trunk. I was inspired to stitch this by some of the lovely brooches made by Kayla coo - check them out on her blog.

I am also busy making a mini (doll sized) quilt using some of my hexagon flowers. Waif has demanded a quilt for his soft toy guinea pig - the imaginatively named Guinea Baby - and apparently Guinea Baby insists on hexagons and a red/orange/yellow/brown colour scheme! I don't have time to piece a whole hexie quilt, even this size, so I am hand appliqueing the flowers to square blocks which I will then sew into a four patch. The first two are yellow and orange flowers on red backgrounds, the next two will be red/brown flowers on an orangey yellow background. I think it will look pretty nice :-). Let's hope Guinea Baby approves!

I do like to be beside the seaside...at sunset

More fun with the embellisher :-)

I made this fabric postcard for my mum. The background fabric is a scrap of denim. I needle punched wool rovings, scraps of different fabrics and yarns onto the background, then hand embroidered using running stitch, fly stitch, herringbone and crown stitch; and then there's the beaded bling factor.

I am pretty pleased with it and I think mum liked it.

A New Toy and a Proud Boy

Woohoo - I am the proud owner of an embellishing machine :-). It's a Pfaff 350P - check it out. I've done a bit of experimenting with various materials, yarns, ribbons, scraps...and so far this is my favourite piece, felted from pieces of two scarves I bought from a charity shop (plus a teeny bit of chiffon), then hand stitched with chain stitch swirly bits:




I think what I will love best about the embellisher is the opportunity to use all sorts of scraps and shiny bits...and making lovely textured surfaces to embroider on. Watch this space!

On the subject of proud, my eldest son, Gman, completed his first quilt project this week. He made a nine patch table runner for his bedroom drawers. He chose all the fabrics and pieced and quilted it himself. As you can see, he is very pleased with his efforts! And his mama is very proud :-)

More Stitch Files

I've been adding to my collection of stitches learned...you can check them out in my Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/towardsagoodlife/sets/72157625237157390/with/5163666791/

This is my most recent and most fun:

Learning to Stitch - Cretan

Well, I've been carrying on trying out the new stitches in Sharon's The Stitch Files. This time I have given Cretan Stitch a go and here's the results of my experiments:



I put off trying this stitch, thinking it looked difficult, but it has been my favourite so far, surpassing even the good ole blanket/buttonhole stitch.

I love the way it looks over the ricrac, though not sure how secure the ricrac would be...so maybe a few beads or sparkly things to hold in place would do the trick. Mmmmm...ricrac and beads and sparkly things :-)

Aliens, Alveva and A Bit of Stitchin

This weekend, me and mum popped over to nearby Feltwell to check out the Alveva Quilters exhibition. It was held in a farm barn and was fffffffreezing but was a really special show. There was a range of different quilts on display, some hung from the beams which looked lovely, as well as a couple of trade stands. I didn't spot any liberated or free pieced quilts but was delighted to see several stunning scrap quilts, as I much prefer scrappy to overly coordinated. And the home-made cakes were delicious :-)





As far as my own projects go - I am up to 36 blocks quilted (out of 80) on my Jacob's Ladder and have just started sewing hexies together for the first spike on my star. I have nearly finished the flying geese border for Gman's red and black quilt.

Oh yes, and I have decided to try my hand at some embroidery. Sharon, over at Pintangle is running a series of "stitching files" and I have downloaded the first six with a view to putting together my own folder of stitching. I have made a start by making samples of buttonhole, herringbone and chevron stitches, as well as collecting examples of these to inspire me.





Oh, and I made this alien mini-quilt for Waif from one of his drawings, using backstitch:




I know I have a very long way to go but am enjoying the process as well as being part of the Stitchin Fingers community, where there is lots of inspiration to be gleaned.