Karen Ruane

old and new.....

an old image today (sorry) in honour of a new page....sketchbooks. Just look up, it's there next to home. It was created today in honour of ledgers which I will be pushing a bit this week with a video to come. We start again on September 26 so if you want to see a little more then just go here.

I am hoping to gradually transfer all the important stuff from the old place on to here. I will let you know as and when that happens....

As you know my little girl is in America on an huge holiday. She arrived in New York last night for the final leg of her trip. Tomorrow morning my son flies out for two weeks to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.... I am childless....they prefer the Land of the Free! Perhaps it's because I don't bake cakes......

decisions, decisions.....

 

I just couldn't decide which pictures to use today so I have used them all.....the main piece of this work you have seen before but now there's more. These will be joined to make  a complete and finished piece.

I wasn't here yesterday...did you miss me? A lot of people assumed I was at The Festival of Quilts...wrong. I was here.... not a quilt in site. It was forecast to flood...a monsoon....rain, rain and more rain. It was lovely, the sun shone.

three new surfaces

Three new surfaces created yesterday as part of my ongoing play time! I still haven't figured out what it is I am neglecting...hope it's not too big a shock when I eventually wake up. The current group of girls taking part in extending embellishment is huge...but......I don't know when  this class will run again so I have made an executive decision (me? executive? don't laugh!!) to leave registration open until this coming Sunday. Then that will be it for who knows how long so if you are wondering, cogitating, pondering then pop over here to have a look and get more details  and then look at the link which takes you to work produced last time.

My days are messed up this week... the supermarket ordeal took place this morning because tomorrow morning I am off on a little trip...I will be late here tomorrow because of said trip......give it another few days and I won't know my name never mind what day it is. I am a creature of habit, of never leaving the house apart from an occasional foray to the shed...all this disruption is no good. I may be permanently surrounded by chaos in terms of cloth, thread, things I can't find amongst the mess but I need my head to be orderly if nothing else.

home made cloth and bullion knots

A small scrap of cloth which I created by mixing different surfaces.....I have now added bullion knots....

I am having so much fun with experimenting at the moment that I think there is stuff I must be neglecting. I don't know what I am neglecting but there must be something. You know when you get the feeling that things are so good they must be wrong? Something isn't getting done? I am examining the recesses of my brain searching for what I should be doing.....until I find it though I will continue to play....

I do know that I need to talk about Ledgers soon as that is due for another run. Maybe next week I will create an enticing video to draw you all in....

In other news......I am amazed at how many people are still visiting the old place. I guess they are reminiscing...looking for something in particular. It will stay there. There is no way it will be deleted. How could  I delete such a huge part of myself. I still have things over there that need to come here I just haven't had the time.....one day.

in love.....

Oh boy I hope you love this piece as much as I do. I also hope it goes some way to explain why I am so consumed by cloth at the moment. This is how I want to spend ALL my days...no eating, no sleeping, no cooking, no housework.......wouldn't that be amazing.

This is what the girls in class  are on today...my fingers are crossed that they are just as enamoured as me.....I will let you know.

mix and match....

I have been playing with samples today. Placing different surfaces alongside each other to get a sense of what goes with what. I want to keep moving, class has got me inspired and not that I need any more samples but I really want to stay one step ahead and go with this momentum whilst it lasts. I have big plans for this afternoon that involve lace, an edge for something that is now complete in terms of surface embroidery and I have some wonderful images that were taken this morning. I can't show those to you yet as the girls need to see them first but I adore them and hope you do too when I get around to putting them on here.

I answered a fair few mails last night so I am nearly there in terms of restoring my politeness score...sometimes it just gets a little overwhelming looking at an inbox that is over flowing.....please bear with me a little longer. I know it's not a good enough excuse but really...I am consumed by cloth.

white lace, knots and cloth

a little more lace created on my sewing machine alongside silk embroidered with paper, knots and vintage scraps......

I'm late today. Where have I been? Competing in the ironing marathon....and I won. I'm not pleased that I won. I would rather not have competed at all but as you know it just happens...kind of by default. The sad thing is I have to do it again long before four years are up.

Thank you so much too for the interest in my table. You could have one if you want. I got it from IKEA and very reasonable it was too...it extends and everything giving me more room to pile it with clutter........at the moment it is clear......ready for eating this evening. It multi tasks. By this time tomorrow though I can almost guarantee it will be full again. Also by this time tomorrow I should have stopped by to see you all, to thank you for my brilliant comments that I truly am always amazed to get seeing as how it takes me so long to say thanks and reciprocate.

table....

busy, busy, busy.....

delicate.....

I am still creating surfaces for school....this one I particularly like. I like it so much infact that I am going to make some more...with lace....and with another print. Then I will have so many pieces I can perhaps wrap myself in them. OK then, maybe not. But I will have a lot of beautiful cloth that is my own, made by me, to be used by me, titivated and adorned....

and that reminds me...you haven't had a definition on here yet have you? I think now is the time....

tit·i·vate   (tt-vt)

tr.v. tit·i·vat·ed, tit·i·vat·ing, tit·i·vates

To make decorative additions to; spruce up.

Have a lovely Friday...I'm off to embroider......

 

oh no....distracted again.

It really wasn't my fault......I was asked by a person in my class where you could buy fine lace. So of course, ever helpful, I provided them with a link. Well I had to look too didn't I? Then I had to order didn't I? Then it came yesterday so I had to work with it didn't I? So you see....... not my fault. You know who you are (E)..I blame you but I also thank you because if you hadn't asked then I wouldn't have had this beautiful lace to which I have added a cotton trim edge and a few web stitches along with a little scrim.

 

 

OK...you did ask....you mailed...you begged...I was just trying to protect your bank balance.

Look under haberdashery too...lace can also be found there.

CLICK HERE

 and don't blame me.