Cyra ~ Crochet, Quilt & Art

Hi all, hope you are getting through each day with some creative work.

I have been stitching lots of new things and here are a few of them.

The reversible Autumn quilt below was for one of my sons birthday present in June.

The Front is 30 mystery quilt blocks, and the back is using up all the scraps from the front blocks plus some 'wild card' orphans and pieces that ended up the wrong size for the front, lol.

This was my main 'lock-down' project.

During lockdown I just had to cut my own hair, and I made this beanie to cover up my embarrassment until it grew back again, hahaha. 

A crochet blanket in bargello style.

A lovely rose in my garden was the inspiration for this painting.

Take care, stay safe, keep stitching, keep sane.

Cyra

Cyra ~ Catching up with UFO's

Hi all, long time no see, lol. 

With all this spare time on my hands (in lockdown) I have managed to spend nearly every day in my sewing/craft room.

Here are a few things that I've been working on.

Quilt top for a local charity fundraiser.

Table Runner number 1

Table Runner number 2.

And Three blocks (so far) for a Mystery Quiltalong that my quilt group is doing online.

Hope everyone is keeping well and keeping busy too.

Happy stitching

Cyra

Cyra ~ Crafts update

Hi again,

I'm back with some crochet eye-candy for you. I've been making mandalas for a yarn bombing project later this year.

18 Mandalas made so far..... and probably a few more to be done too.

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I am privileged to have taken part in the Suffrage In Stitches project which is currently exhibiting in the Wellington museum for the whole month of August.

The Suffrage In Stitches project has recreated the suffrage petition through fabric, stories and conversations.

546 individual New Zealand makers. An extraordinary textile work reflecting the physical size of the original suffrage petition and celebrating it through stitching the lives of the woman petitioners of 1893 and beyond.

THE FINISHED PIECE is:

• 300m long the length of the original petition
• 546 panels the number of pages in the petition
• 25,521 hand stitches the number of votes in the petition

My panel (pictured below) honours Mary Guy who was one of the pioneer ladies who helped build and create my home town. The trials and hardships that these immigrants to NZ suffered as they cleared the areas of bush and flax to make farms suitable to live on and created wonderful community townships. 

I found a kindred spirit in Mary Guy. Her journey to New Zealand was very similar to my own journey here, and she was born in Newport, Wales, which is the next town to where my own mother was born. I have subsequently discovered that Mary Guy is the grandmother of a very good friend of mine. 

 I hand-painted the background cloth and then stitched the portrait of Mary Guy in black thread with stem stitch.

I designed and cross-stitched the Mount Egmont (Mt Taranaki).

The Embroidered house - 30 Napier Street, Opunake - I recreated in thread from a photo of the original house that Mary and John Guy built.

The Embroidered Methodist Church - I recreated in thread from a photo of the first church to be built in Opunake (by John Guy).

The La Hogue sailing ship - I recreated in thread from a photo.

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The Suffrage In Stitches exhibition will be touring NZ and is already proving to be a very popular exhibition.

That's all for now folks.......

Happy Stitching

Cyra

Cyra ~ Some fiberart fun

I was at my usual weekly quilt group meeting, but I was stuck, and could not continue stitching on my quilt. So, I found some spare pieces of fabric, dropped the feed-dogs on the sewing machine, and started free-motion stitching a continuous line drawing straight onto the fabric.

Two panels later, I have 'me & him' caricatures, which I then framed with fabric to make two quilt blocks. 

Cyra ~ busy, busy, busy stitching

The grey and green background that I made while on that lovely stitching retreat a couple of weeks ago, has turned into a quilted tote-style bag.

A Splat on one side, and a Swirl on the other.

  

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This fun fiberart small quilt is now hanging in the towns meeting room along with about 18 similarly size 'self-portrait' quilts, haha. 

And I use the words 'self-portrait' very loosely.

(this is nothing like me really, lol)

The mini-me has a scrap strip fabric dress embellished with free-motion scrolls, a crochet bag with embroidered flowers, and she has a needle-felted head, hair AND boobs, and she wears metal wire glasses and two thread friendship bracelets. 

Her sandals (flip-flops or jandals) are made with a tiny buttonhole stitch in black thread.

The other mini-me's are all on a similar background with the same binding, and they are all connected together with fabric tabs in the same colour as the binding. 

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I have finished a quilted chair back cover, or antimacassar, for the old-rocker in the lounge.

It's the Snowball block.

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My old teapot cozy bit the dust (it was only about 12 years old lol) so I made a new one.

Love the kiwi fruit fabric for the kitchen.

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And my final show for this week is a couple of 'containers'.

Basically made as thread-catchers, but can be used for a number of different things as well.

I need one of these next to my sewing machine because I'm always losing the seam-ripper or little scissors or the feet for the machine or the bobbins or.............

These nice containers will hold everything I need right there.

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So you can see I have been sewing up a storm since the retreat. 

It was a great way to get me back on track.

All for now.

Happy Stitching

Cyra

Cyra ~ R & R at Retreat

I'm back home after my most wonderful stitching holiday at Quilt group Retreat.

Oh my, what a great way to refresh your batteries.

The seclusion of this place was exhilarating, stimulating, bracing, energizing and restorative. 

I can't believe how much stitching got done as well. Absolutely amazing place.

Literally a stones throw from the beach.

Great early morning walks and paddles on the beach, and great company.

The path to the beach and sea.

I was on the beach for the sunrise most mornings.

And here are some of the stitching that I made while there.

A Fibonacci style small quilt top, that may turn into a table runner or a bag 

(not decided yet what it wants to be).

These two country style shabby-chic blocks will be cushion covers (pillows) when I add a border and backing to them.

And the following quilt top is completed, I just haven't got any photos of it's current state.

I am now auditioning fabric for border and backing.

That's it for the retreat photos.

One evening, soon after getting back home, I made these Boho beaded tassel dangles.

Fun fun fun.

You can tell that the urge to create and be creative is still with me. 

I have so many things I NEED to make now, lol.

So, from a refreshed and revitalised  Cyra

Happy Stitching

Cyra ~ Finger-less Mitts & Miniature Rug

There is always a bit of crocheting going on in this house.

A pair of finger-less mittens (wrist-warmers) for wearing while riding my bike (winter is coming here in the Southern hemisphere).

My Raleigh bike -- very retro, lol. 

I use this to get to my local craft groups meetings and for a jaunt around the town or to the library and also for grocery shopping. I try to do my bit to save the earth and not use fuel if I don't have to. If the weather is really horrible though I will take the car.

I'm designing a double-pannier bag to sew for the back rack. I have the perfect fun fabric to compliment the bike colours. 

(the basket balancing on 'his' handlebars is the basket for the front of my bike)

This will be a carpet/ (rug) for my miniature house. 

It's a trial run for me on the new loom that my darling hubby bought for me on his trip to England last year. I eventually found time to warp the loom and 'go-for-it'.

I'm experimenting with the loom to see how it handles making 1:12th scale rugs, so I chose a simple straight weave for this rug in a two colour chunky stripe.

I have actually done about double the amount that is showing on the photo, and hope to have it finished by this weekend (famous last words, haha).

Next week I'm off to a remote stitching retreat, so I might not get a post posted here because I don't think there is internet where I'm going, and no telephone signal either, so it will be a very interesting (and fun) week with a great bunch of stitchers. I am sooooo looking forward to it.

I'll show photos etc after the event.

All for now.

Happy stitching.

Cyra

Cyra ~ Freeform Crochet x 2

Hello again. 

This week has seen the completion of two (yes two) accessories. Two cowls, or neck-warmers, very similarly put together, in slightly different colourways.

The fuchsia edged one ----

And the Purple edged one ---

I have also started on another rug for the mini house, but not enough of it yet for a photo.

We have survived the tornado that whipped through Opunake yesterday morning, The next village to us didn't fare so well in the tornado though, and I think 5 houses lost their roof and 3 more with major damage. The whole community is coming together for those left without homes.

The weather has definitely changed for the worse now, and we actually have the heater on in the lounge for a bit of respite from the unusual cold blast. 

It's good time to stay inside and stitch (as if I needed an excuse).

Happy Stitching

Cyra

Cyra ~ scrumble, hexie, mini's.

What have I been up to this week. Well, lots of things of course, lol.

Another scrumblicious  scrumble.

I have been slowly plodding away with my little ¾ hexies for the quilt.

Not a very interesting photo, but at least it is progress.

And on the 'mini' scene, I have been making and staining more floor boards. 

This is about 60 boards. A long job ahead still.

Thats all for now.

See you in the next post.

Cyra

Cyra ~ Scrumbling & Craft room tour

A belated Happy St. Paddy's Day to all who celebrate.

This is my own design for a shamrock, which I attached to a hair slide and wore in my hair for the weekend. 

I've been scrumbling again.

I've had a big sort out in my craft studio to make room for a dedicated 'art-space' as well now.

Loving the natural light that I get from the window.

My drawing board table can be tilted to any angle and also can be adjusted height ways too. Love it.

The black shelves hold the paints, acrylic, guache and water-colours.

The tan shelves hold my oil paints on the bottom shelf, all my containers of soft-pastels are on the 2nd shelf up, my journals and sketch pads next shelf up. All sorts of marker pens and inks on the next shelf, and then on the very top are things like masking fluid, rubbers, glue, and my larger art paper pads.

Under the table are two of my easels (the larger easels are stored in the garage.

The table holds my most frequently used supplies, i.e. china mixing trays, water container, brushes, pencils, and art crayons.

The armchair is where I do crochet and embroidery (or just chill out with a book).

Opposite the armchair is the sewing table which double up as a weaving table too.

Behind where I'm standing and to my left is the miniatures work station and my book shelves, plus another ranch slider (windows & door) the same as that one by the art table.

(I've not tidied that area so no photos, lol).

Hope you enjoyed that little tour of my art space.

I'm off to do some drawing now, catch you next next time.

Happy Crafting

Cyra