Karen Ruane

welcome back to school

Both my groups of girls came back to class this week. (OK, they never went  away it was me) this is a little glimpse of what we did on my first day back.

In artist books we worked on a page for a book which will be rather large compared to my usual artist books. As you can see it also won't have regular edges, there are bits sticking out all over. Creating overlays for this one will be interesting but I do like a challenge.  More of that when it actually happens.

In stitch along, (the 12 month sewing class which has just begun) we were on pom poms, prairie points and pockets.....all the p's.

As you can see it's been a busy return. There are still boxes and a lot of waiting around for workmen but every day I find more of my essential treasure so managing my embroidery is getting easier all the time.

Both of these classes are open for registration here and here.

phew.....that was some four weeks

I'm here...I'm happier than I can say to be back.  It's been an amazing four weeks, wonderful and stressful too. Where have I been? We went to Portugal for two weeks, a long planned family holiday with our kids and their partners. The weather was mostly glorious, the family time priceless.

We came back and moved into a new house, a new home for Paul and I. That's where the stress came in but it really doesn't matter anymore because I am so, so completely happy to be in this new place, be experiencing this new start for us both. I'm told I have made amazing progress with the unpacking but I would say there's a long way to go. It does look and feel like 'our' home but there is a little renovation to do, some decorating....then it will all come together properly.

I still haven't unpacked a lot of my cloth, paper, thread etc. etc. Those things are safer in boxes for now. There's also a lot of stuff at my mum's for safe keeping. She doesn't know it yet but that will be there for a little longer.....shhhh....don't tell her.

This work? I worked on this piece in the Portuguese sunshine. (it took me a long time to find this earlier today!)

So that's my news. I'm hoping to be posting and stitching regularly from now. If I see a cardboard box that needs to be unpacked I promise I'll shut my eyes and ignore it.

Registration is open again for both my current classes. Sorry it took me so long.

You can register here for ''stitch along''

and here for ''artist books''.

See you soon and thanks for still being here. xxxx

Saturday morning

The ironing board was out this morning, not for the 'chore' stuff, the boring stuff but for 'stitch along' where we are making pockets and titivated sashes for a baby dress. (it's complicated and probably not what you are imagining) anyway...these images....taken after 'stitch along' stuff but still on the ironing board which has a towel laid on top.

I was just playing, seeing if I needed to add anything to this artist book and when I decided I didn't I played a little with paper and lace anyway....because I could. But now I need to get a shift on. I have papers ready to be embellished on the sewing machine and I'm working to a strict plan of packing at least one box a day. In reality I think I need to raise that to ten boxes a day but for now one box is all I can manage because I can't tear myself away from all this.

decorative edges

The blue beaded 'abacus' like edge is the newest work here. It would seem I am consumed, obesessed with all things paper when in reality the past few days and the coming days have been and will be more about edges on paper and cloth. This work has been shared on here before in various stages. It's now become the start of something new in artist book class. It will eventually be the largest artist book I have ever made complete with some kind of overlays, (as yet unknow).

The cloth mentioned here? That's an idea I have which I'm going to share with my 'stitch along' girls first.

 

the next piece

Following on from my post yesterday....this is the next piece of the puzzle. I have a good idea where I am going with this now but I will share that with my 'artist book ' girls first, see what they think. It's good to have my groups to bounce ideas around with. Meanwhile I'm going to keep going, creating these little folded paper pieces.

(more stuff to worry about, to have lying around)

I don't think I have said on here before but touch wood, fingers crossed.....I am moving house soon. It's chaos here. If I go missing I will be packing or moving or will be in Portugal. (holiday imminent) tomorrow I'll be missing but I'll be here, delivering wrapping cloths and embroidery to mother's house for safe keeping whilst the upheaval continues.

stitched papers

Paper, some of it easier to stitch on than others yet all unique in how they respond to embroidery. Some of this paper was machine stitched prior to hand stitch being added, prior to embellishment with beads, buttons and sequins. The large sheet is the next piece for this project. One of the smaller white pieces is an overlay, the other the first piece of a new project we are working on in artist books.

I need more surfaces, more machine stitched papers to embellish by hand. That should happen later this week. I'm hoping to set aside a full day for that.....

extending design

 

You have seen the piece here on the left before. As part of my mounting marathon, the creation of my next artist book, my sample sorting it was the turn of that one. I've embroidered paper scraps here to sit alongside the piece on the left before attaching both pieces to a large sheet of acrylic paper which I have also stitched on.

There's a drawback to all this unfortunately....every time I mount one of these pieces, titvate and stitch the page I get another idea. Don't worry, I'm writing them all down.

maybe a sleeve....

 

A little break from paper yet still book related. It occured to me that Clara never got a pocket. She may still not get a pocket, she may get a sleeve instead.

 

 

 

 

If you haven't got a clue who Clara is....Clara made her debut here during my 'stitching a story'' class where we embellished and titvated a story book. It seems like so long ago.

This particular book is,

Clara and the magical Hat Day by Amy de la Haye and Emily Sutton.

pom poms on paper and funky puffs on an edge

I think this is number three, number three of the sample mounting marathon I began recently. If you look back at this post you will see how it has dawned on me that I have unintentionally started to create an unplanned artist book. Oh well....it's a win win.

I've been away this past weekend and whilst I was away I was thinking about what else I could create as a diversion from artist books. What did I come up with? Nothing. It appears I am morphing in to an ''artist booker'' as opposed to an embroiderer. Is that a bad thing? Personally I would say no. It's the best of both worlds I think, paper, fabric, embroidery, artist books.

Having said that....we are working on something special in ''stitch along'' using only fabric and thread which excites me just as much. (can't share that with you yet though sorry)

an embroidered sleeve for an artist book

A glimpse for you of what's happenning in 'artist book' class. There is work still to do on the internal areas of this one but for now I am happy to gaze at the embroidered sleeve which serves as protection here.

The sleeve is beautifully soft, made from a mix of silk habotai, silk velvet and white trim which has been embellished with a combination of bullion knots, French knots, Turkey work, guilloche stitch and buttonhole lace.

There are little glimpses here of what's happening inside this one. Once that is finished and the girls have seen it I will share it with you.