Suz: Slipping into September

Happy September! We're having the hottest week of the summer--- so says the weatherman--a fitting end to the summer holidays as the children head back to school next week. My course with Karen is also finished.
Having company from Thursday to Sunday night meant there wasn't much time for stitching. I did, though, turn my wave pocket into a pouch with the addition of a zipper and a ribbon pull. I think it'll make a great little holder for a Christmas gift, or maybe a wee sewing pouch for road trips, or even a funky make-up bag.......

The Spiral piece is pinned in preparation for sewing. I found a zipper to match, but first must choose a lining fabric.

And Wrapping Cloth piece #14 is not quite finished. Buttonhole stitch has been used on all the seams, as well as the napkin edging, and along most of the napkin design. 

More buttonhole stitch edges the openwork and the seams of the hanky

Here's how piece #14 looks. I need to secure the outside edges, remove the tacking stitches, and then damp stretch this piece. Then it will be time for piece #15!



I hope you've had a fun and creative week.

Hugs from Suz

Suz: July Joys

There is joy in spending a hot July afternoon in the pursuit of creativity with needle and thread. Here's what I've been doing the past week:

All the Josephine Knot cascades have been tatted for my Heart Pocket. I just need to secure them and add the coloured french knots on the left side.

Two new FME (machine embroidery) lace pieces were created for a new CQ project. The first has snippets of a purple flower pattern on white, and purple organza added. The base is white organza. The thread is a variegated purple.

The second lace piece  uses the same thread and purple organza snippets on a turquoise organza base. These lace pieces are fun to do.

There is more progress on my Waves piece, and I hope to have all the waves completed by next week.

 Wrapping Cloth piece #13  received a little attention, too, with buttonhole lace

a fancy frill added to the cutwork

 fancy frill added to the side of  this pocket

and buttonhole lace added to the edges of three pockets

  Now, piece #13 is finished!


On to piece #14

My desk was piled with fabrics for the new CQ piece.

The first block is ready for titivations.

 These wee tatted flowers were tucked into an envelope, and are on their way to Australia. I hope DGD Jewel likes them.

The weatherman is predicting another hot and humid week, so maybe I'll get more stitching done!

Hope you've had a fun and creative week.

Hugs from Suz

Suz- July Jumbles

I have a jumble of projects on the go to keep me busy. I found a book at the second-hand store of Persian stencils, so they've been leading me down a wandering doodle path. One of the stencils looked like a wave (or a ribbon). Strung together, the waves turned into rolling water I painted, on a cotton napkin, using irridescent fabric paints.

 You can see where I added a bit of water to the paint to help it flow......it spread a little

I added an outline to the waves with a turquoise sharpie

I began to add some fibers for a little wave action on the left side of the fabric.





Contemplating wild abandon regarding the fibers versus a more structured look, I decided to begin a structured stitching on the right side of the fabric. Not much progress so far, so no photo yet.

At the second-hand shop, I also found a large, cotton tablecloth, which had a subtle clover design. I grabbed my micron pens and followed the pattern, then cut out a piece to stitch.
This may become a new pocket.

On wrapping Cloth piece #13, I created three interlocking cutwork circles, adding french knots and bullions. Beneath the open work is a layer of lace, and under that is a piece of my wild fabric peeking through the holes.

Progress on piece #13

I then added a double layer of tatting, using the fancy picot stitch. It creates a nice, layered frill.



That's what I've been doing during the last few days of hot and humid weather.

I hope you've been having some stitching fun, too.

Hugs from Suz