It's been another slow stitching week for me, or at least I feel like it has! I haven't gotten very far yet on March's cqjp block:
Just two seams. Pretty seams, sure, but pretty simple, too. I will have to get a lot more stitching time in the next two weeks if I want to keep from falling behind schedule!
I did a bit better with TAST:
I actually did quite a lot of running stitch on this postcard, but I chose very subtle threads, so a lot of the work doesn't show up well in the photograph. In real life the stitches add texture and depth to the postcard. In the photograph all that goes flat. I stitched with threads that are very close in color to the ground cloth: copper and metallic gold on the gold lame, black on the black and gold brocade, shimmery holographic silver on the silver brocade... I quite like the in-person effect, but I just can't get the photography to do it justice.
The back side shows a lot better just how much work was done:
And the holographic thread does kinda show up in the photograph in this detail pic:
I did also need to finish an ATC for an upcoming swap. The theme was "favorite flower" and I decided that my favorite flower would have to be the one that I get from my husband for Valentine's day! This year it's a red rose. I printed out a detail picture from the photographs I took of my valentine bouquet onto ready-to-print cotton fabric, and then I accented the image with simple stitches:
and an ATC for a birthday swap:
and one more line of stitching added to my TAST wk 9 (couching):
...so I guess it wasn't as non-productive as I let myself fear! ... still, I've got a lot more work to do before the end of the month, and I'm worried because I have much travelling to do over the remaining weekends, much of which I'll be driving for, so I won't be able to stitch in-transit.
14 comments:
No, you look pretty productive to me! It was so spread out, you didn't realize how much you were doing! I love your holographic thread.
Maybe if you feel confident with the TAST weekly stitch you could just go ahead and add it to your CQJP block and skip the postcard. Or not.
Seems to me you accomplished quite a lot. Your block is coming along. The card you did for TAST is my favorite so far! Your threads and fabric choices are perfect for the stitch. I enjoyed seeing the nice swap cards you did too.
I really like your TAST stitching and the subtle thread colours you used to create the texture. Holographic thread is so sparkly and adds a nice contrast to the other, almost there stitching.
Nice start on your block, and cute ATC's.
Your Valentine ATC is super and a lovely way to remember your bouquet, shame it has to be swapped!
I tend to prioritize the CQJP over the TAST weekly stitch, but that's only when all things are equal. The TAST postcards that I'm making are much more easily transportable than my lap-quilt sized peacock fan, and when I am spending the day somewhere or in some activity that would endanger my CQJP (eating curry, for example), I can often still work on my TAST postcard. Plus, the TAST postcard lets me try out things that I wouldn't want to risk directly on the CQJP, and often sparks ideas for my CQJP that I wouldn't have arrived at without it. .. so the TAST postcards have their place. And I'm looking forward to having the whole stack of them at the end of the year.
Really, it's the schedule changes that have me out of the house doing extra dance lessons and dance rehearsals that have kept me from getting much done on my CQJP. And I've got two more weekends that I'm losing to dance travel before the month is over! yipe!!
I printed out several images ATC sized, and chose my least favorite to make for the swap. ;) The others I will keep for myself. Plus, I have the little bouquet applique on my CQJP, so I don't feel too bad about sharing this one with someone else.
:) Love this explanation, especially the "eating curry" bit! And using the postcards to work out ideas and experiment is practical, useful, and ultimately, beautiful.
I have a couple of group sewing events coming up and am looking for a portable project so I understand.
You had a very productive week! That holographic thread is very cool--I havent' run across that before.
The holographic thread is Sulky thread for machine embroidery, and I got it at my local fabric store. I've been enjoying using it for hand sewing (unlike the Sulky metallic threads for machine embroidery which seem to want to shred themselves far faster than the hand-sewing metallic embroidery flosses (and those are bad enough!)).
I also have a really sweet "retro-reflective" "thread" that is interesting to work with-- it is made of tiny glass beads adhered to a grey plastic core, so it looks grey under average lighting conditions, but when it's in a dark space, it will reflect back any direct light so that it seems to glow. It's the same kind of effect that safety tape has, except that it's thin and supple enough to work as a thread. I've been experimenting with it every now and then, and have used it in weaving (as a warp thread, even! It's surprisingly non-fragile, though it does stretch under tension if the loom tension isn't being controlled by non-stretch neighboring threads), in knitting (in a set of mittens for my husband, and in a lace shawl), and in embroidery (some stitches are much more achievable than others). ... now that I'm reminded of it, I'm going to have to go figure out where I put it last so that I can include it on my CQJP! When I do, I'll take pictures to show you what I mean about its reflection (if I can get my camera to capture it somehow)
The retro-reflective thread sounds amazing, especially the fact that you can weave and knit with it. I'm a novice weaver: I've had my Ashford RH loom for less than a year, and so I'm learning about materials by trial and error. I love the idea of knitting with a thread like this. I'm stalled on a shawl I'm beading as-I-go with a small hook, because it's such a pain to carry the beads around without spilling them all over. I'll have to keep my eyes open for these special threads.
The retro-reflective thread that I have is this product from this seller:
http://www.texturatrading.com/yarn.html#Retro
Let me just say that it is NOT inexpensive!!! but a little bit can go a long way. I got my first sample of it from a little local yarn store that sells "measure it yourself" style off of cones, so I was able to get just an ounce or two to play with at first. When I discovered how much fun it was and how versatile to work with, I ordered a full spool from Textura Trading company. Not cheap! but I've had fun with it, used it in several projects, and have been totally happy just having it around. It's probably not for everyone, but I sure do enjoy it!
Thanks for the link. They're currently out of stock, so there's no price posted, but I'll check back.
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