Karen Ruane

applique and web stitch with rows of beads and sequins

Embroidery is continuing on four inch squares of silk. I do hope you are enjoying this little visual of how my smallest stitched sample books evolve and come together.

There are two new pages here, one with applique and web stitch the other studies of stitch, beads and sequins with a row of Turkey work thrown in!

I'm considering adding labels to the web stitches for colour identification......I'm thinking.

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If you are registered for 'interactive sewing circle' you should have received an email from me this morning regarding our live Zoom sessions.

Later today I will be sending another email with more details about our twelve week adventure.

If you do not receive those by the end of the day can you please let me know.

Also, my Guinea pigs.....you know who you are...did you get your invitations to our late night get together tomorrow?

sequins, lace cloth, memory

I had a little trip down memory lane this morning, a little break from Alchmey things, a little 'keep in touch with lace cloth' five minutes.

This four minute video popped up from 2017, memories of Spain, (I had just come back from holiday), memories of this piece which I now must find to see how it turned out.....yes really, I can't remember.

little pink circles

This piece needed 'something' on the wide, plain sections. I dithered for a while and came up with holes, cutwork holes which remain open (as opposed to having cloth or lace laid behind them) and which were then embellished with little sequins. This is a fun piece, a happy piece, bright and fresh. I think the pink sequins add to that, enhance that theme.

Initially I bagan this piece and other similar pieces for use as overlays. Now I think I may combine them all into some kind of artist book, a reference of surface design ideas which I can look at in the future for inspiration.

lace and lemon sequins

This one is 'in progress', there is more to do and I have plans. The ruched strip has been cut from an old blouse, (not one of mine, a charity shop find).

I've been thinking a lot lately about these little embroidered pieces I'm obsessed with making at the moment. I think I have mentioned in my classes how I get much more pleasure from these and the resulting artist books than I would from a pillow, a throw or a bag. And there's also the current 'stitch along' project, an alternative to the artist book as a vehicle for displaying embroidered cloth, in that instance in pocket form but which would also work with pieces that aren't 3D like a pocket. That is possibly something we will explore later in stitch along as we progress through class.

So this morning whilst making videos for class I decided this is who I am now. Small embroidered pieces, (well considered and composed I hope), preserving those pieces in some form be it an artist book or another surface.......no more pillows and bags for me.

(you wait....I will come back from holiday passionate about making a pillow lol. I am nothing if not consistently indecisive)

beads, sequins and a single tassel

A little scrap of stitch or should I say several little scraps joined together and then stitched. This is my latest sample...of many. You've been seeing these forever, what can I say. I'm building a sample library, a resource. The white pieces have been getting a lot of thought these past few days, these ones,

I think I've figured out how I'd like to prepare these for presentation. I'm hoping to start work on that now....this afternoon.

edges

The overlays I showed you here are almost finished, more has been added to the seams and edges. It's so easy to work these pieces, you can completely lose yourself in the repetitive actions of adding beads and sequins. It's relaxing, calming......

A reminder about my new class, 52 weeks of embroidery.

You can read about that here.

adding hankie edges and sequins

I'm extending this piece which you last saw here. Edges from a vintage hankie have been added to one corner and embellished with sequins.....

A  video show and tell.

 

beads and sequins

You would be forgiven for thinking I had spent the last seven weeks or so at some kind of sequin party or bead festival. I haven't. I wish. These are however a few snapshots of what's been going on here. Yes, lots of beads and sequins. Other stuff too...I just can't recall what that was or is at the moment.

(the last image...a beautiful birthday gift. They are 'looking at' beads. They also get fondled regualrly.)

My birthday was weeks ago.....

lace and silk velvet with sequins

Strips of vintage lace, silk velvet, metallic silk tissue with added sequin cloth.....embroidery. This is another book cover from artist books, it's a wraparound or at least it will be when it's finished. It's 27 inches long and around 7 inches wide. I think it will be narrower when it's finished, I'm leaning towards narrower. At the moment I am embellishing seams with French knots....I haven't counted them but suffice to say there are quite a lot and I don't think I am half way there yet. 

There is something very appealing about French knots sinking into silk velvet, I hope you get a sense of that from these images. 

Did you listen to my podcast yesterday from 'stitchery stories'? It's here again in case you missed it.  (just press the red button!) I will continue to share it for the next seven days until it's someone else's turn over there.

And....my new class begins on Monday. I made our first videos this morning and am so excited about the possibilities of lace, scrim, paper, silk net and all things floaty. I hope I can contain myself for a few more days.

You can register here.

 

Related articles

the last overlay - Karen Ruane

an artist book - Karen Ruane

sequins on an embroidered stem

There's a ten minute video today, chat, demonstration...thoughts about this piece. It's by way of an apology as I'm going to be missing for a few days.

The shop will stay open for you to register for my new class.

I'm starting to think this piece is almost finished in terms of the surface embroidery. I mention in the video how I am trying to decide how to finish this....forget about the bag idea, the pocket, the pouch which I speak about in the video. I've gone off that idea already. This will almost certainly be backed, have the edges titivated and live it's life as a simple cloth, to gaze at but more importantly to pick up and feed more work. The surface embroidery on here in addition to being decorative is a record, a record of every stitch and a reference to composition, what lives well with what, what compliments and what perhaps doesn't.

I will be back at the weekend.