Karen Ruane

Zoom stitching

The left hand page of this double page spread was started in my live, monthly Zoom embroidery get together earlier this week.

The basics were covered, composition, stitch choices, colour choices and I have progressed it since then to a point where it's almost finished.

I will then have to work on the right hand side and I have ideas for that so no worries there.

The book is a simple notebook, produced for making notes etc and stitching into the pages is quite a challenge but as you can see, it's doable.

beginning

I spoke about starting a new notebook, a stitched book of design ideas here and here.

This is the start of that project. It's very early days.

More work will be added to this first page, more torn papers, more scraps of lace and a lot more hand embroidery.

At the moment my favourite area is the buttonhole lace around the cut out section and how that frames the stitched piece below.

weekend

This was the normal part of my weekend, making a video about notebook stitching and artist books for everyone in my membership tiers.

We discussed these processes again this morning in a Zoom meeting and found a way forward with something completely unrelated! Very productive.

The rest of my weekend? Well....no mains water for 32 hours, major pipe burst, the entirety of two towns waterless on one of the hottest weekends of the year.

I now have water. I'm not sure if it's mains water or water from one of the many water tankers lining the streets and I'm not sure how long I will have it for so if you could all do a water dance or something it would be appreciated.

the next page

The next page in this little notebook is now getting some attention.

It's early days and I'm not keen on the droopy yarn at the bottom so will have to come up with a plan to secure that piece.

I deliberately didn't add bullion knots there but I'm thinking I need them after all unless I come up with another idea.

hand embroidery, a note book

These pages were started quite recently in my 'chat' and above tiers on my subscription online learning site.

I had barely touched them here but over the past couple of days more has been added and I am happy with how these pages are evolving.

Thank you so much for the response to my last post.

The top of this cloth is now finished and I am thinking through my options for backing and should I or should I not add wadding or similar.

Decisions decisions.

 

notebook inspiration

One of these little hand made notebooks has inspired this little bit of stitching onto silk.

The two new pieces on silk here appear to be morphing into pages. It's subconcious, pages, books, artist books must be in my DNA.

I particularly enjoyed stitching the row of web stitches which remind me of little 'iced gem' biscuits!

 

how you all doing?

How you all doing? I won't apologise for bringing it up, Covid 19.

Way back in March when all this started I thought we'd be over it now, that it would be a distant memory.

Instead we are in deeper and deeper lockdown, cases rising despite the erosion of our freedoms and I have no idea how we get out of this, what that process will look like or how long it will take.

If you feel anything like I do mentally then you have my utmost sympathy and understanding because I feel pretty crap about the whole thing.

I want to help but I don't know how.

I posted my free class earlier in the year. That has been taken down now out of respect for those who paid for it when it was live.

I don't have another one to post.

I am considering creating new video for here on a regualr basis but that will take a little planning.

Meanwhile I have been trawling past video and will post those as and when it's appropriate.

Remember these were created some time ago so some of what I say might be out of sync time wise.

Hang in there, I am with you. I feel exactly like you do. I'm done. Enough already.

 

A little page in a sketchbook

 

 

a little notebook doodle

Just a little doodling in one of my notebooks today. It was an itch I had to scratch so to speak.

I'm off here for a few days. I'll see you on the other side.

Miss you already.

pompoms and plaited page ties

The results of my 'Friday workshop table' from yesterday. Another notebook, another stitched double page spread.

You will no doubt notice the pompoms. I love a pompom.

The plaited silk chiffon from yesterday is now attached to the notebook and allows me to tie the book in a couple of ways. I have shown it here in the last image tied with the front and back covers placed together.

As of Monday this will be my view and my back garden for six days.

I will do my best to post tomorrow before I go.

a sleeve for a little notebook

In the past I have spoken about how, as these little stitched notebooks fill up it becomes harder to work on the pages which follow as the embroidered pages don't lay flat once they are filled with stitch, buttons etc.

I think that is explained a little in this post.

Usually I either tie the pages back with ribbon or create a long wrap to lay over those heavier pages to ensure they stay in place whilst I continue to work on the book.

This time though I made a 'sleeve', a patchwork sleeve which slips over the already worked pages, securing them temporarily.