Spring chickens

I wanted to keep a simple drawing-like approach to this work so I used small back stitch in a single strand of cotton. The lines at a little wobbly - just like my original drawing and I've highlighted small areas with patches of fabric appliquéd with Bondaweb and running stitch.

Snowdrop brooch

Hurrah!  The Contemporary Stitch group has resumed and I'm very glad to be teaching again.

This week's project was inspired by a single snowdrop in a teeny-tiny vase which was given to me by my next-door neighbour.  The brooch is worked on silk with layers of hand-dyed cotton organdie, vintage lace and ecru silk organdie.  It's just a few simple stitches but the effect is stunning and almost as lovely as the pots of snowdrops outside my house.

Finishing touches

My contemporary stitch group has had a little break during February whilst I had other work commitments.  Thankfully they are still keen to keep going.  

The small samples, demonstrating different styles of stitching, have been pieced together to make a Turkish-style cushion.  This is Joanne's. She finished it off with a profusion of French knots.  Fabulous!

Pet hates

If I had to list my pet hates, cross stitch would be up there very close to the top!  I'm not sure what it is that I dislike so much: the counted squares, the discipline, maybe rows of stitches or perhaps it just reminds me of primary school.

This little sample has been stitched into pre-punched card (Rico Design, Paper Poetry®). When it's folded round a glass jar it will make a perfect tea-light holder. I've made it for a taster workshop that will be run by Skipton Embroiderers' Guild on Saturday 2nd April at Christ Church Hall, Skipton.

I think I might just give it to someone else to demonstrate on the day!

Quick fix

There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to all the things I want to do.  Preparing for last week's business trip took up most of my time but I suddenly realised that I didn't have a case for my lap-top.

I quick rummage through my stash revealed a thickly felted poncho that was perfect for the body. I added some scraps of felted blanket dyed in delicate shades of peach and yellow (not too girlie).  I used thick cotton pearle yarn and some very large stitches to piece the whole thing together.  I think that it has a naive charm without being too clumsy. 

Pink hearts

This week's project for the Contemporary Stitch group is a heart stitched in Appletons crewel wool. The outline is worked in split stitch and then square filling stitch for the centre.  A nice little piece for Valentine's Day.

Monograms

Happy New Year!  My Contemporary Stitch course resumed this week with a small project of monograms.  These are a hot topic in fashion wear and companies like Hand and Lock have been busy stitching monograms for Burberry and other high end designers.

I chose lazy daisy and French knots because these were the stitches that had caused most confusion on previous workshops. I varied the weight of thread to demonstrate the relationship between stitch size and thread.  I also sampled two different colour ways for the infill pattern.