Karen Ruane

hand bound buttonholes

Two hand bound buttonholes have been added to the white cloth that will become a pocket pillow. I was a bit worried that they wouldn't show up very well in the photographs so I made a video too. It's less than 2 minutes long. I also added the tiny loops you can see along the lace strip that is more obvious in the third image.

This piece is almost finished, I found a few minutes last night to titivate with the buttonholes. When I say almost finished I am talking about the surface embellishment. I still need to put it together, make a pocket, make a pillow, make rouleau loops....OK, not nearly finished then!

Thanks so much for the response to my lace buttons yesterday...wow....I am hoping to add them to some lace soon, an edge, a final titivation. I will show you when that's done.

I was awake at the crack of dawn this morning, big plans to see through. I have made three videos for ''4'' ( you will get those tomorrow girls) and posted the first installment of Alchemy. (if you are registered for Alchemy please get in touch if you didn't receive any sign in info, passwords etc) so it's mission accomplished so far today. I'm off to put the kettle on.

 

 

 

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loops and a corner

a tiny patchwork pocket....

a pocket pillow....

titivated, packaged and posted.....

it's mine....

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, this one's for me, a pouch of my own. To be honest I could keep all of them couldn't I. Nobody forces me to pass them on but how many pouches does one girl need? I didn't even want another one until I found homes for the last two. I must have been feeling neglected.

This has had a little more work. The buttonhole has been attached, there is a seam of bullion knots and a small applique circle edged with chain stitch. I have also added a tiny tab, the finished edge snipped straight off the handkerchief this cloth is from. I then decided to lay it against other pieces just to look....who knows, it may spark something else in the future if I ever browse these particular images again.

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a frill, a flounce

Lace....

a closer look and dreaming of turkey

 

 

 

Happy Wednesday everyone. I said I would and I am. Show you the lemon work close up I mean. Here it is. One of these pieces is new, the prominent piece with the plain background. Laid next to the other pouch pieces it appears to fit, to be at home. A hand bound buttonhole has also found its way into these pictures and that will form part of the surface of this pouch too. I feel as if i've never been away. One week on and I've slipped back into my usual inane rambling easily, without as much as a stutter. It's all pouches, embroidery, buttonholes, cloth.....

This time last week it was so very different. It wasn't pouches, embroidery, buttonholes and cloth It was turkey and rich food, gravy and tasty morsels. Today? Nothing at all of any excitement taste wise is to be found in this house. The memory of last week has me longing for last weeks food. Today, for lunch, I had a slice of chicken that was drier than a desert dwellers flip flop.....the cupboards are bare. I say sack the housekeeper, (yes that's me. I live in hope). Or, an even better idea, if you are planning a turkey dinner anytime today please invite me, save me a seat.

 

English definition of “flip-flop”

     

flip-flop

noun [C usually plural] (SHOE)    /ˈflɪp.flɒp/   /-flɑːp/ (US andAustralian English thong)

›  a type of open shoe, often made of rubber, with a V-shaped strap that goes between the big toe and the toe next to it

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white on white laid on a page

The White Pouch

seven.....

I just had to do it

Once the thought was there I had to do it. I created a hand bound buttonhole for my latest wrapping cloth yesterday, a single buttonhole with cross stitch lips. I was reluctant to call them lips as last time I made these the mention that they looked like lips almost stopped me making them ever again. I wouldn't say I'm over it, I still cringe a little but the trick I think is to consider 'lips' as things that can be made from gorgeous cloth too. I'm working on it.....

Embroider, embellish, create started again on monday and the group is filling up already. Unlike Alchmey this group is public so if you want to have a look at what is happening in school then just go here. 

The rest of my week is up in the air a little at the moment. I have plans for travel over two days, Friday and Saturday. Today however there has been mention of heavy snow for Friday so now I'm not sure.......In all honesty I will not be able to make a decision until Friday morning so if I do disappear again that is why.

snatching stitch

It's still a little upside down here...decorator wise. He has finished, about ten minutes ago so later I must clean and put the house back together. With the spanner in the works that is a disrupted house I have only been able to do the tiniest amount of embroidery, snatching a moment here and there. We have cross stitch and a single hand bound buttonhole. The cross stitch is for my brothers wrapping cloth. (the one in Sweden) The buttonhole was purely meditative......actually, so many people have said that the other ones I made look like lips that it has put me off them. This one is flatter, a little lace in the opening......non lip like I hope.....

Thanks for the input yesterday re the gifts for brothers. Neither brother is aware that they are getting a cloth. I am confident that they never come here so shhhh, don't tell them. There was quite a debate about small pieces for frames....thanks for that suggestion but the white phobic brother....well I want to make him a lap quilt kind of thing. I think he would prefer that too given the option. The minimalist brother is getting the white cloth that I have nearly finished so no problems there.

By my reckoning it will take me a good couple of hours to get my house back to normal. I then have to get ready for class tomorrow but....... after those things are ticked off the list....embroidery here I come!

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doodle doo...

white lace and cross stitch hearts

paper doodle

Obsession.....

sorry.....

I know.....you're sick of them now. I'm not making any today I promise. There are other, more pressing things on today's agenda but these hand bound buttonholes are from last night. If I didn't show you these all I would have an image of is my coffee cup as aside from making these all I did was brew up and these deserve an outing as they were so difficult to make. The cloth is vintage and actually disintegrated in my hand as I was working with it. Good thing I like a challenge...there was a huge sigh of relief when I finished them I can tell you.This morning I have been titivating on the ironing board....and not buttonholes. Despite this new love of mine I do have other things that I want to do. The ironing board titivation will have to wait until Friday before it gets on here though as it's something for school. Later today I will be making hexagons...now that's exciting. Did I have those on my obsession list? I can't remember.

How long is it since you were last here? Did you miss Alchemy? I was thinking about putting a newsletter together but there isn't any news apart from Alchemy so it would be pretty boring. I am getting my hall decorated next week...now that's news! The shoe situation has improved. Do you remember that conversation? So next week, providing my wallpaper arrives a very nice man is coming to titivate my hallway. That isn't newsletter worthy really though is it. So if you did miss the announcement re Alchemy 2013 then you can read it here. It has it's own special page.

Finally...I have a new toy. If all goes to plan and I have half a brain then you should see 'related posts' at the end of this....who knew.

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Obsession.....

seven.....

scrim? muslin?

edges and bumps....

seven.....

Yes, seven hand bound buttonholes....draped casually on top of my veil/festooned thingy. I haven't forgotten about that by the way. I keep it close so that when it shouts ''please don't forget me'' I can hear it loud and clear. Anyway I digress. Seven hand bound buttonholes on white silk. These will go in my ledger just as soon as I stop drooling on them. I have more plans for these. Not these actual ones but the process. Maybe tomorrow, I can't promise as I have a million other things to do but believe me I am going to try. My mission for the day....make time for hand bound buttonholes.

Alchemy 2013 now has its own page, just look up, skywards. There it is under the header image. I will post on there when I sell out....wouldn't that be nice.

I just popped over to flickr to check class was behaving itself. You have been so good today!!! Lots of pictures. I will be back later to compliment and shower you with praise, meantime keep an eye on your mail because I have a video for you.

the book.....

Yes, I'm still ''on'' the book. Two more samples damp stretched and mounted. There is a little applique with metallic silk tissue and some hand bound buttonholes. Somehow the buttons in the image aren't going to fit. Then again they don't have to. This will never be used as a 'fastening' thingy. It will remain here to be gazed at adoringly. I was going to do a little viedo about this book today but it needs more. It needs images of the inspirational kind and it needs artwork, drawing and such. 

By tomorrow I hope to have those added, then it will be ready to be seen on film. By tomorrow I will also have cutwork for my embroider, embellish, create girls and they will have a video too (not cutwork, that is for Friday). They don't know about this video, it's a surprise.....