Karen Ruane

decorative

A decorative edge. I've made two more since this one.  We made this in embroidery school and it inspired to to make lots more.

I was thinking how I sample and sample and don't really make anything conventionally 'useful'. I decided samples are my 'useful'. My pleasure comes from the playing, the testing...the sampling. I then get pleasure taking these things out, looking and being inspired all over again.

A reminder, new for 2019. Ledgers, a record of stitch.

I am going to spend a whole year sampling and recording. Recording colour, pattern and design ideas in a new class.

You can read more here.

buttons and beads on an edge

You have seen this lace piece many times but it's a 'slow grower'. The newest addition, the latest area to be titivated is the edge shown here where buttons are linked with beads. The other piece is also an edge....I haven't decided where that will live yet. It may be that it stays as a sample and finds it's way into the little swatch collection we are building over in 'create and embellish'.

I will be disappearing again now. I am off to London this week...purely pleasere (I hope). Shopping, birthday celebrations for my husband and family time.

See you next week.

a pink fringe

I started working on this piece at my London workshop last week. Initially it was going to be a pin pillow top...now I'm not sure. I am tempted to work a little more on it and mount it in one of my cloth sample books. I won't decide yet but I'm definitely leaning towards that idea.

The pink fringe has me in raptures. I bought that in London last week, I only bought half a yard and now I wish I had bought more..watch this space for a little mail ordering going on.

Every edge on this piece was bought in London last Friday, the fringe the ribbon, the silk which is folded at the base of the fringe. I chose well I think....

(there is only one artist book left over in the shop...thank you for wanting those. You can see the last one here)

edges for handkerchief class

The past couple of days have been about preparing for handkerchief class which starts on Monday where we will be making pretty needle cases and layered bags or pockets or whatever you want to call them. 

(If you are registered for handkerchief class you will receive an email some time tomorrow with sign in details for our private blog)

I am not giving any secrets away showing you this work although I will be using these pieces in class. You have seen this before, in a less embellished state. Last night I added the silver bells. Suffice to say....these are the early stages of layering and who doesn't love a little layering of cloth and lace.

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a lower edge

Yesterday, in an effort to reconnect with embroidered cloth as opposed to pages, I worked a little more on one of my sample swatches. I speak about that collection here if you aren't familiar with it. (there's also a short video on that link) A flounce has been added to the lower edge of this one, attached with buttonhole lace before little tassels were added to finish it off. 

Some of you might remember my decision to also add embroidery to the reverse of these pieces, to recognise the reverse as of equal value to the front. With that in mind I worked a little on the back too. I used bias binding as a simple adornment for one seam and added a small embroidered panel to another. I speak more about working on the reverse in this post.

 

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circles and ledger pages....

beaded edges and soft cloth

Yesterday I had a hankering to bead page edges, it's a new addiction and seeing as how pages and page edges come in useful for artists books it's not a waste of time either. I have promised myself the next artist book I make will be for me. In fact I want a whole series of them, six at least.....that's the next 2 years sorted out then lol. With that in mind I gathered a few bits, scraps, soft ''old'' cloth, some machine stitched scrim I created myself and played a little with stitch.

It's not very obvious in these images but the scrim is stitched in a grid like manner and it's use as an overlay had completely passed me by until I rediscovered this piece yesterday so in approximately ten minutes from now I am going to make some more....

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two newly embroidered edges

Slowly but surely my latest collection of embroidered swatches are getting nearer to completion. These two pieces have new edge embellishments, soft Suffolk puffs for one and a double hankie edge adorned with beads for the other. 

I have four swatches ''in progress'' at the moment, I want five. There are decisions to be made about headers.....as yet I don't have a clue what to do about those. I am hoping it will come to me in a blinding flash, I'm nothing if not optimistic.

My ''sample. swatch, cloth'' books are going to be invaluable in the future. They will become a collection of stitch and design ideas, prompting and inspiring.

auditioning buttons

I'm still on edges, swatches, seams, adornments. Yesterday I raided my stash of hand embroidered buttons, puffs, fastenings. (last image) The four buttons on the edge of the narrow swatch won. I tried buttons and puffs on the edges of my other swatches but they didn't quite fit the bill. It just goes to show though, it never hurts to have stashes all over the house to call on when the moment strikes.

One edge of the swatch today has been embellished with French knots and silver beads, the other with simple buttonhole stitch, a good contrast I think. I will be turning this one over later today, thinking over my options for embellishing the reverse.....

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looking back

with added buttons.....

a pocket, gimp and buttons

a lace edge, a piped edge

 

Yesterday, a video about a swatch. Today, a video about another swatch....it's specifically the edges, the progress of swatches, the plans for taking swatches forward. The first video is new, about the piece in the images today. The second video is from yesterday in case you missed it.

 

We are just about to begin our 4 th week of the 8 week class ''artist books'' online learning.  Normally I like a week or so break in between classes however this year I am going on holiday on June 21 for two weeks, meaning I have a one week break and two weeks holiday before my window for  a new class.  The only problem with that is.....I won't be here to sell the class in the 2 weeks preceding any start date. 

For that reason I have decided the best thing to do is begin my next class in the final week of ''artist books'' which is the week beginning June 5 th. That is only 3 weeks away but it does mean I can motivate, inspire and galvanise the group for two weeks before I trot off on my holiday whilst the group either has a break or continues with embroidery related things for class. 

The class information is not yet fully written. I will have that ready later this week.

 

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an edge of buttons and a sequined scrap

Foggy? No and I can't explain why the pictures look as if they were taken through mist....or is it just me? Maybe I need to clean my glasses. 

Yesterdays piece with a pretty button edge and a tiny scrap embellished with sequins for an ''artist book''. I worked on both of these pieces last night, sequins, buttons.....happy time, playing and adorning. I am very taken with the ties from the buttons on the reverse of that embroidered swatch and that follows through with what I was saying yesterday about embellishing the reverse of these pieces, giving equal recognition to the back as well as the front. That means double the edges, more seams....more embroidery.

I can't decide, when my chores are done this afternoon, whether to play with pages for ''artist books'' or think about edges and the reverse of swatches. Maybe I can do both......

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a sequined edge - Karen Ruane

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