Karen Ruane

doodling with paint

I made you a video of me painting the new, pink background....I did, honestly. OOps.....something went wrong and it was unwatchable so you had a lucky escape.  To compensate I have posted a similar video from last week. Watch, don't watch, entirely up to you. In the video you don't get to see I mention that I am a bit of a ''one trick pony'' when it comes to painting...same shapes over and over. What can I say....I will say that I am hoping these paltry offerings will look very different when added to pages in my little artist books......I can hope.

 

Finally, following on from yesterday....the next part of the story.

''Do you remember the house we lived in as children? Do you remember the stitches we were taught at school? Lets embroider a picture of our old house and let's see how many different stitches we can work into it.''

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Two videos today, yes.....one playing with paint and the other sewing French knots to doodled lace cloth. I either spoil you or drive you away.....you decide.

The books from yesterday have all gone...wow....who knew. Thank you so much. I'm not sure when I will get any more put together. I'm in the next to last week of pocket class and things are getting intense.....pockets to finish and all that. Then new class starts one week after pockets class finishes so books may take a back seat for a while. I do want to make one for myself but need to buy more paper so haven't a clue when that will happen.

Meanwhile, put the kettle on, get your feet up and spend ten minutes or so watching me make a mess on paper and fiddling with a few French knots.

Painting

French knots. 

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The surface of this silk is slowly filling up with embroidered motifs......cross stitch roses and French knots clusters. I am conscious that you have seen this several times already and although I am adding to it sporadically it perhaps never looks any different to you. After all, a cross stitch rose and a French knot cluster are just that no matter how many of them you embroider. So....this morning.....a quandary.....how to make this even the slightest bit different?

Colour wash some tissue paper, scrunch it up and just lay it down alongside the embroidery was the answer. Complimentary colours, not a strict colour match, more an accompaniment, like salt and pepper.

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Gifts, scraps, doodles, ledgers and stitch

 

 It's been a busy week. I've been shopping for paper and ink, the postman has been very kind bringing out of the ordinary, pretty parcels. There has been doodling, ledger browsing, handkerchief stitching, pin pillow creating. Later today it's finish the bling pillow time. Tomorrow is crack on with the subtle pin pillow and my very own Liberty pouch time.....

Unfortunately there is housework to be done too, domestic goddess type stuff but we won't dwell on that.

BTW. As the ''related posts'' aspect of this malfunctioning blog doesn't appear to be working reliably I have added a similar thing to the right hand side of the page....a few extra posts that you might want to look at. Then again you might not...you decide.

 

 

the plan

I'm hoping that from these images you can get a sense of how I hope to pull this page together. The blue and white, the doodles which have happened recently along with embroidered samples from some time ago....it's all coming together. It links to this just as it links to this. My weekend will be spent working on this page and playing a little more with creating pattern for repeat.

These pieces evolved during Simply Stitch 4. That class was supposed to end this week but......it will continue into next week before Simply Stitch 5 begins on September 8. (mostly because I don't know when to stop talking. I go on and on and on and on....)

Blue and white is almost certain to feature at some point during Simply Stitch 5. To begin that new class however I will begin a new piece, drawing on all my previous work for inspiration in terms of stitch and ledgers.

I had a good visit with family yesterday. Cake, children, the beach......I would like to point out that images I post on Instagram of cake or cakes are not MY cakes exclusively. I have a big family. We have a slice each. The children take some home, ( in fact those kids get first dibs on EVERYTHING....I am insignificant, trust me) some goes in a tin for mother later in the week and  I brought some home for my men.....that is still in the kitchen.

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doodle and repeat, blue and white stitching....

Here it is, the cause of my excitement yesterday. I was equally as excited about the page as I was about the pattern. The first image of doodling...left the original, top right a modified version of the first piece, bottom right the repeat. I cropped the second doodle, top right, before attempting the repeat. That's why you may notice a difference. It needs work, it needs tweaking but the seed is there, I think I know what to do.

The page? I love it. It evolved in Simply Stitch 4. It took a while, a few days probably but was more than worth the time.

I am having computer issues, racing against the clock to schedule this post in case my computer dies. It is making some very strange noises. I have summoned help but don't know when that will arrive. If I go quiet that's the reason.

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Another late night, ten minute exercise. I'm enjoying this. Needle and thread get put down when my eyes are tired and I spend ten minutes playing like this instead. It's win, win. The colours aren't meant to match the cloth. They are there to give an impression of the cloth, to look as if the two might live together happily at some point,  perhaps as if they each evolved from the same starting point.

I want to apologise for yesterday. For saying I was chittered. It was rightly pointed out to me that compared to some parts of the world we are positively tropical. In my defence....I'm a wuss, can't deny it, hold my hands up. As my nanna would say...''tell the truth and shame the devil''.

 

wuss

A person who is physically weak and ineffectual. 

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this and that......

new

 

 

This is new work which is developing over in Simply Stitch 3. None of these pieces are actually completed yet, they all need varying amounts of attention before they can be considered finished. I am excited about them all though. Each piece here has so much potential in terms of moving them forward into more work, developing more ideas. My head is actually close to exploding with ideas.....more stitch, some cloth, a little doodling....the possibilities are endless.

I need to find a home for them too......in the manner of doodle doo. They need their own space, similar to doodle doo in so far as a book all to themselves. Never fear....I'm on it.

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painting, printing and piecing

 

 

Yes, it's all the P's today.....the painting I was talking about yesterday and the small pouch, (another P) that I put together with the pretty vintage handkerchief. The painting isn't finished yet. I did add more yesterday but I devote fifteen minutes and then leave, walk away and come back the next day.  (devote may be an exaggeration...more like I force myself, I complain, I get stressed) I will get there. I will do some more this afternoon. I photographed it and printed it in its current state. The prints are useful to have, for collage maybe or even for a reference in the future, a reminder.

Happiness can be found in the cloth, in the piecing, in the charm of the handkerchief. Later I am going to search out a little lemon thread from my stranded cottons. This pouch needs a touch of lemon, to balance the colour of the handkerchief and plus ''lemon'', the word, makes me smile.

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playing

 

 

I was playing this morning. Matching thread with embroidery, matching embroidery with paint, mixing them up, looking and hopefully learning. It's not that I have time for any of this but if the urge strikes you've just got to go with it....you do. Why haven't I got time??? I'm off ''up north''....imminently. On the pretence of seeing family but really....it's just for the cake.

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