Karen Ruane

thirty five wraps, a bullion loop.

Bullion knots, bullion loops, thirty five wraps.

A short show and tell video.

 

still practicing

Yes, still practicing, sampling, sewing litle bits together and adding beads, buttons, ribbons. It's fun, you should try it. I'm cramming my head with all things embroidery and making the most of the inspiration whilst it's here. I could go on and on and on.....not sure if my fingers agree and they certainly don't work quick enough to keep up with my head.

Practicing.

 

• repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency:
• Practice makes perfect.

 

 

 

 

Still practicing. #embroidery #broderie #embroideryschool #stitchalong

A post shared by Karen Ruane (@karenruane) on Aug 29, 2018 at 5:04am PDT

a new cloth book and a glimpse into embroidery school

Yesterday I spoke about my plans for a summer project , my plans to make a new wrapping cloth. One or two of you mentioned the ''body bag'', you have shamed me, yes. I will speak more about that tomorrow.....

Meanwhile, I am crazy busy getting ready for London (only two weeks away!!) and I am happily embroidering in ''2018 embroidery school'' and happily playing with artist books over on the 12 month artist book blog. Those three things are the reason I don't intend to begin my new wrapping cloth until Summer....they deserve all my attention and I'm having so much fun I want to 'crack on' with them, no additional distractions.

However....yesterday I needed something to play with when I was waiting for collaged paper to dry and damp stretched cloth to be ready so I began another cloth book. This one will be small, it will be tiny, no bigger than 8x8 inches. So far I have used white silk, white lace and a gentle Liberty print which I have embellished with bullion loops, buttonhole stitch, beads and sequins. Laid alongside it here are a few pieces we are working on in '2018' embroidery school'. I can't say too  much about those but you are not too late to sign up for that one or indeed the ''12 month artist book blog'' if you want to play along.

(I must say to my embroidery school group. This new cloth book isn't for class. I won't be using it for my class samples)

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French knots, gimp and sequins for London

I do apologise if you are fed up of seeing these London 2018 pieces over and over again. As these are taking most of my time it's all I have to show you but on the plus side for you....I am very happy with progress and I may even be finished in ten days or so. These are wonderful to create, I'm not in the least bit bored of them and will need to be careful I don't finish up with too many, get carried away. Although I said these were taking up most of my time there is other stuff going on that I can't share. I am creating stitched ''bits'' to go inside these workshop packs and have spent a bit of time on my  current ''artist book '' for the 12 month ''artist book blog''. 

(artist book girls....you will get your post later today not tomorrow because I won't be here tomorrow so stand by your computers)

I can show you these.....new thread cards I treated myself to with money I got from father Christmas.

and last night I wrapped some of them with thread and ribbon

Artist books runs until September. You can enrol anytime. Read more here. (you won't miss out on anything, access is given to everything posted since September 2017)

There are only two places left for the London 2018 workshop. I am so excited about this upcoming event. A full weekend of stitch, good food and incredible company. Read more here.

Embroidery School 2018. Begins in just over one week. Read more here.

I am away tomorrow at a Baptism. I will see you on Monday.

the next cloth book continued

I've addedfa little embroidery to the reverse side of this cloth book cover. There are Prairie Points peeking out from some gold silk ribbon and I have started a row of sequined bullion loops. 

(talking of bullion loops....I watched a very quick video on Instagram yesterday from a well known embroidery supply company where they were demonstrating how to stitch a bullion knot. My first observation...they didn't make them in the same way I was taught, which is perfectly ok, there's more than one way to skin a cat and all that but the second most shocking observation? They were using 6 strands of stranded cotton and they didn't separate the strands....jaw drop, shock, horror. If you have taken one of my classes you will understand my horror. Please do not take any notice of them....you know better)

Anyway, back to my cloth book cover. As you know I have been picking it up to work on in between finishing a bag for hankie class. I will most likely work on it some more this evening (the cloth book) because....drum roll....the bag is finished. I can't show you until the girls have seen it but this was my table this morning.

Embroidery School 2018, more information here.

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sequins, bullion loops, silk and gingham

Last time you saw this I was actually stitching on it, there was a short video. Do you remember? If you missed it it's here. I worked on it a little more last night, embroidering more bullion loops and dropping more sequins than I managed to stitch but it's progress, slow progress but progress all the same. THis piece will also be a drawstring pouch. Yes, I am starting another drawstring pouch whilst as I mentioned yesterday I am anxious and stressed about putting the last one together. What can I say....I'm a glutton for punishment. 

If I make enough of them I may get used to the final construction process which eventually should get easier right? That's the theory I'm working on anyway and besides that, I love them, I want to make them and finish them and titivate them and gaze at them for hours on end.

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one bullion knot, two sequins.

Something new I started last night because I haven't got enough things ''in progress'' already lol. If you get the urge you have to act on it otherwise it will niggle away at you and irritate until you satisfy the need. Another pouch in the making. Pink gingham and sequins. Sounds familiar? It's OK, it won't look like this one. I know there are similarities, gingham, sequins, strips but trust me....first of all the gingham is different, as are the sequins. It's a start, two small details which differ from the first one.

I made you a quick video this morning, a couple of bullion knots and a little chat. This is an embroidery blog after all.

 

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a seam

A single seam, eleven inches long, what was the beginning of a small embroidered bag. I'm not feeling it. You may not see this again, at least not like this, not a bag. I won't throw it away. I am going to leave it a while and see how I feel after a few days. If I decide I don't want to keep going with the bag idea it's not a problem, it will go in my stash and may well end up looking perfect elsewhere.

I guess when you aren't feeling 100 percent yourself even embroidery can look unappealing. It could be my mood affecting my stitching decisions. For now I will concentrate on my hexagon pouch, that's sure to make me feel better.

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strips of lace

Strips of lace stitched together.....I had a hankering. Once I had satisfied that particular hankering I had to add a little hand embroidery. There are bullion knots, French knots, sequins, and buttonhole lace. It's frothy, it's light, it's delicate. It will be cut up for an artist book. 

I ordered some of this yesterday. Perhaps that's what inspired me to lay strips of lace together. I am counting the hours until it arrives. Patience Karen, patience.

bullion knots and sequins, a page.

Bullion knots and sequins on paper, or a page to be more specific. This artist book will be put together sooner rather than later but for now I am taking advantage of the pages being loose in order to add more adornments whilst mounting the little stitched samples.  The sequins I used here are translucent, have no colour that I can see whilst in the packet. What I am loving now I have used them here is how subtle shades of greens and pinks are appearing....who knew.

Whilst I was playing with this last night I thought I'd see how it will look once other pages are added....

Don't forget the 12 month ''artist book'' class which begins in early September. You can read more here.

And whilst I am here.....do you subscribe to this blog by e mail? If you do, can I ask....are you receiving updates?

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