It's all about pouches at the moment. This is the pouch I have been working on with my group of girls. Then there is the white one and this one. Confused? You must be because I am. All three are in progress along with pages for doodle doo and other painted, pricked and stitched stuff. I'm struggling to keep up. There must be a need for a list, there has to be. Talking of doodle doo.....I may make you a video about that tomorrow, a walk through that particular ledger.
I think the phone pictures were a success yesterday? You let me know if you disagree but one commenter (you know who you are) said they look forward to the next 100. All I can say is be careful what you wish for!!
Here's the thing. I downloaded 1700 images from my phone yesterday. Who knew I had that many? Not me. Thing is they are quite good images, probably all on Instagram but hopefully better quality in PC terms if they are viewed on here. Don't worry....I'm not putting them all on. Today there is a selection.I hope you like them. If you do then over time I will add more.
They are all related to cloth in some way. After all they are a record of my days and my days always have a connection to cloth. They are of home, of moments in other places.....
I adore my Marimekko curtains. The framed piece? I created that for my Foundation Degree.
A wonderful treasure trove. The Shop. Cheshire Street. London
My toe wrap
I hoard things in here (and in other places too)
I keep my ''extra special'' cloth in here. For example, the cloth cover from my children's baby basket is in this cupboard.
my current reading pile, next to my comfy seat.
just one of many cluttered shelves
So....I got to the very last image for today and Typepad decided it was having a break. I couldn't annotate that one. It's my table....an evening sometime.....most evenings actually. I will get to the wedding/holiday pictures. I have yet to pin them down but then I did get a little distracted.
I put this piece together yesterday afternoon to work on last night. It's just two vintage handkerchiefs and a little broderie anglaise with a tiny piece of lace trim. I love how effective it is, how the different cloths live side by side. I have added cross stitch, bullion knots and some basic stab and running stitches up to now. This makes three pouches in progress. I have the one from yesterday that I am working on with the girls in SS3 along with this one.....Heather, do you have a preference?
Also, some good news....I have managed to transfer my USA images from my phone to the PC. The bad news? They have randomly distributed themselves into various folders in the ''my pictures'' section of my hard drive. I now have to search them out and write down the folders in which they can be found. Fingers crossed you will get to see them in a couple of days.
Yes, it's all the P's today.....the painting I was talking about yesterday and the small pouch, (another P) that I put together with the pretty vintage handkerchief. The painting isn't finished yet. I did add more yesterday but I devote fifteen minutes and then leave, walk away and come back the next day. (devote may be an exaggeration...more like I force myself, I complain, I get stressed) I will get there. I will do some more this afternoon. I photographed it and printed it in its current state. The prints are useful to have, for collage maybe or even for a reference in the future, a reminder.
Happiness can be found in the cloth, in the piecing, in the charm of the handkerchief. Later I am going to search out a little lemon thread from my stranded cottons. This pouch needs a touch of lemon, to balance the colour of the handkerchief and plus ''lemon'', the word, makes me smile.
Another hour has been spent embroidering the latest pouch. I have added a couple more seams and two applique circles. It was damp stretched overnight and now waits for more attention. I particularly like how it looks hanging over the table....is that strange? I just think it has a softness to it in that image.
Yesterday is best forgotten....I was meant to be painting. I always suffer angst and altered behaviour when faced with a paint brush. I think I am old enough to be over it to be honest and I do severely reprimand myself but it never seems to work. Anyway.....I placed myself on the naughty step for a while, came back, painted and surprise surprise am quite satisfied with the results. I will show you tomorrow. However........don't imagine that the painting scenario will automatically be smoother next time. I hope it is but past experience tells me not to hold my breath on that one.
I pieced cloth too....the best king of therapy. Again, I will show you that tomorrow. I have used the most pretty of handkerchiefs in that one....
Finally, because I am in great need of some caffeine....I am going to close the shop tomorrow. (I'm not closing the shop because I need caffeine...I meant I need to get off the computer!!) Simply Stitch 3 is all there is available anyway. We started a week ago tomorrow and it isn't too late yet to jump in but from tomorrow it will no longer be available.
The shop will be shut until.....who knows......I may list a couple of things for sale before Christmas....otherwise it will be the New Year.
Right...kettle on.....coffee please....see you tomorrow with some (sub standard) painting.
I'm in a funny old frame of mind today, not sure what to do. I know what I should be doing but can't muster the will.....the motivation. The table has seen a lot of action whilst I have been dithering and flitting between various ''things''.
The main problem I have identified is the lack of cloth on these table pictures. Withdrawals.......I will piece cloth and then I will force myself to attend to the other things, the things that excite me less.
This is the piece of paperwork I spoke about yesterday. There is another, similar one in progress but as this one was finished I decided to lay it next to some embroidery, just to see, to get a spark, help the ideas form....it worked. Now I have too many ideas, too many possible distractions. Distractions be gone!!! I will ignore you. Perhaps not ignore, perhaps write you down for another day. Actually, that is one of the best things about keeping images of your work, they are always there to look at later, to be inspired all over again. I often print images of my own work and pick them up every once in a while, leaf through them, allow them to inform or spark a new idea. I would recommend it as a tool for overcoming a creative block.
I'm a little late today, later than I hoped. My feet have been crying since I got off the plane in Las Vegas, begging for mercy they were. They have just been treated to a visit with the chiropodist, podiatrist....foot healer and helper of lame body parts. Now they are all happy and ready to skip anywhere....kitchen and kettle it is then.
I'm working with paper quite a lot at the moment. Aside from this piece there are two more in progress, smaller pieces with silk dupion inserts as opposed to metallic silk tissue. All of these paper pieces will be placed in ''doodle doo''. That book is actually getting pretty full and I love leafing through it, turning the pages. I can still get a surprise when I see a piece I had forgotten about. The smaller pieces will be revealed tomorrow.....the girls need to see them first.
This piece has metallic silk tissue and cutwork inserts. Extra titivation has then been added and in fact there is more still to be added. I think it's fair to say that this one will be titivated to the n'th degree!!
Maybe when this one is finished and mounted I will make you a little video, another ''doodle doo'' show and tell......
Yesterdays white cloth has been titivated a little more. I have edged a lace strip which runs across one of the panels with buttonhole lace and added bullion knots to a seam. I gave this piece an hour of my time yesterday evening. I will spend another hour on it today.
I have to admit that I am just a little bit in love with the first picture.
Aside from this I am playing with paper and I will show you what I've been doing tomorrow. Can't have you thinking I'm still slacking after my holiday!!
The wedding/holiday pictures are still on my phone, not yet transferred to the computer. Time has flown these past couple of days but rest assured I haven't forgotten. On the plus side everything here is back to normal. The sleep pattern, the dirty washing, the unpacking, the ironing, all ticked off the list. Nobody is more surprised than me.
Yesterday afternoon I had a need to piece cloth, white cloth, in the manner of a wrapping cloth yet not a wrapping cloth. Then I remembered that some time ago I was asked to make a pouch for someone.......a perfect reason to piece white cloth. This is it, only sparingly embellished at the moment but knowing that it's there is comforting somehow. I can pick this up when I NEED to. It is a fact that every now and then I NEED to work on white, pieced cloth. I can't explain it. I don't suppose I need to explain it.
One thing I do have to do is check that the person who asked for this still wants it....it was so long ago.
This morning it has poured with rain here, then hailstones, then more rain. It is so dark, like night. I made video for tomorrow for SS3. I have more video to make later and an errand to run. Rain, rain go away....give me some light...please.
