Karen Ruane

pin tucks, doodles, lace cloth and fabric heaven

Weather wise it's been a gloomy week...enough rain to require three Arks never mind one and I'm sure that's obvious from one or two of these images. Gloom however doesn't get in the way of cloth, embroidery, doodling, pin tucking etc etc. I even managed to ''accidentally'' buy a lot of fabric from the shop shown here. It's a good thing that place isn't local to me. It's a good thing it's an hour and a half drive away in the place my mum lives.

Later today I'm going to work more on this from yesterday (the doodled piece).....a little applique perhaps....hopefully I can show you that tomorrow. I'm thinking of using the colours I used here...what do you think?

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snippet cloth

doodled cloth with added stitch

Embroidered pockets, human cloth. (doodle, embellish, wrap)

three bullion knots

Three minute video, three minutes to embroider three bullion knots. Does that mean each bullion knot takes one minute? I doubt it, I waffle too. I put together a scrap of pin tucked fabric yesterday, two brightly coloured patterned fabrics, minimally layered and pin tucked .

This now has embroidery on the surface and will be cut up as tiny samples to add to pages in my little books. I know, I know they have been in progress since time began but I am getting there...I promise. I hope you don't mind that I am having a little fun along the way, playing, making a mess on the table, scraps of paper on the floor, thread stuck to my clothes. (that probably sounds familiar to a lot of you)

In terms of ''works in progress'', this one is now getting attention......I should be able to show you soon...

does this count?

Does it? Count as in''you will only see white for a couple of days'' like I said earlier this week?  It's mostly white. It has been in progress for a while so I decided to finish it and maybe make it into a pocket. I do have a couple of other  little, unfinished pieces that will also get finished over the next few days.

I pin tucked this silk in Simply Stitch 5. Since then I have added bullion knots, French knots, some wrapped threads and a lot of buttonhole lace edges. There is perhaps another one hour of stitching left to do on the surface before it is damp stretched again and finished.

The cloth from yesterday, the unfinished wrapping cloth, do you remember? I have decided not to square it off and finish it as it is now. I have decided to extend it and complete it as I originally intended. That won't happen in a hurry but when it starts to happen you will be the first to see it.

A public service announcement now for my Swathed in Stitch girls. Your post will arrive in the next few hours. I am stitching my fingers to the bone. Don't stand by your computers though, you may get cramp!!

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almost finished

in love

Lemon and lace

I received some very beautiful lace fabric in the post this week, a gift. It made me want to get out my sewing machine and cut little snippets from the lengths to make lace cloth. That is why the sewing machine figured in my plans for yesterday afternoon. Here it is, I did it, a tiny piece of lace cloth that was cut short by a hankering for pin tucks. That isn't a negative however, never. Pin tucked silk is a gorgeous surface to work on. Basically I had a plan for one piece and at the end of the day I had two pieces, two very different pieces. I will doodle on these with my needle.

Last night I started on the silk piece. I used lemon and white.

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the hankie cloth has pockets....

Gingham, dots and loops.

pin tucks and handkerchiefs

I had an urge to pin tuck cloth yesterday. That's probably because I recently pin tucked some paper over in simply stitch 4, anyway whatever the reason it had to be done. I gathered some old handkerchiefs and used those. They were pin tucked, some were also pleated, they were joined, (in the manner of a wrapping cloth...I hope you don't come here for originality)

Last night I had a great time stitching them together, securing seams, tiny running stitches, buttonhole lace and a few bullion loops....(again...originality in short supply). Regardless......I love it. I think it will evolve into a pillow. It might acquire a pocket. I haven't decided yet.

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handkerchief....

just cross stitch

stitching on pin tucks

back to doodle doo

I am not responsible for the artwork in this ledger. Artwork on these pages was present when I purchased this book. My copyright extends only to the embroidered samples and the photographic images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I re visited doodle doo this week with the simply stitch group, mounting the samples I had created with my pin tucked silk. The little statement at the top is there as I would hate to offend whoever created these amazing pages. The artwork in this book continues to excite me every time I turn the pages. It may not be Monet or Picasso but that doesn't detract from its charm and its evidence of creative thought. If the purpose of the artist was to inspire then it worked...... I love this book so much.

Back to the embroidery. The samples live here so well I think. This book is crammed now. I am debating with myself as to whether a video ''show and tell'' of this ledger would be welcome? What do you think? There is so much in here, so many samples, some I had forgotten about, some that will inspire again and again..........

 

If doodle doo is new to you there are several links at the end of this post to past references and images of this book.

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doodle doo...

Doodle doo continued part two

hooks and eyes and doodle doo

edges and doodle doo

doodle doo continued.....

a promise is a promise....

stitching on pin tucks

 

 

There was a point last night where I could have been twiddling my thumbs. I had finished the piece I was working on sooner than I thought I would. What to do? I can't sit with inactive fingers, I just can't.  After ten minutes consideration during which time I put the kettle on and made a brew I decided to play with the pin tucked cloth a little. A row of bullion knots, a row of cross stitch and a shorter row of web stitch. Now I have a little sample which can go on a pretty page in a ledger and I didn't go insane through having inactive fingers....result.

 

( a note to the simply stitch group. You will have a video about this tomorrow....it's going in doodle doo)

 

brew
	urbanly used in England to describe having a cup of tea.  "Let's go home for a brew."  "Would you like to come in for a brew?"

 

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more petals.......and the beginnings of a pin pillow

pin tuck

pin tuck

 

 

Remember yesterday I was convinced I was boring you all? Well I finally figured out that I was boring myself. I needed something else to look at. A few days ago someone mentioned pin tucked fabric to me. That got me thinking....I'm quite partial to a bit of pin tucked fabric myself. So after the bathroom was cleaned and before the salmon was cooked I got my sewing machine out and pin tucked a piece of silk to play with. Ta da!! Here it is....I played with it a little last night and guess what? I don't like the embellishments much but I adore the cloth...it has possibilities, it handles beautifully....so despite not being overjoyed at the adornments all in all it was  a worthwhile pastime.

A quick note on Simply Stitch 2. I have received a couple of e mails asking if you need to have participated in Simply Stitch 1 in order to take part in Simply Stitch 2. The answer is no. There are no prerequisites to Simply Stitch 2. I'm sorry I wasn't clearer before.