Karen Ruane

white cloth, dotted paper

You probably wouldn't guess from looking at these images that this piece is an integral part of something we have going on in the artist book class, the 12 month blog/class. It's 25 inches long, strips of lace, silk velvet and paper in the process of being embellished. The seams are being worked on at the moment, they are long seams...25 inches like I said. Depending on the stitch I am using they are progressing at varied speeds. The French knots take the longest.

One outer edge has been embroidered with buttonhole lace, mostly I did that early to stabilise the paper on that side. I'm hoping the girls in artist book class can see here that I am beavering away, progressing pieces for class....I'm not slacking.

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spots, puffs, buttons....a finished pocket.

It's finished....the spotty pocket. I lined it with spotty cloth. It had been suggested I line it with a paler spotty cloth but I don't have any. Thankfully this one works, the happiness extends to the lining now! Once I had put it all together, just before I hand finished the edges, I added buttons and puffs as finishing touches. It's now in the shop.

I have had a couple of e mails asking why some of you aren't getting my blog updates by e mail. I honestly don't know. Maybe if you subscribe again? It seems to go up and down in terms of efficiency without me actually doing anything. I haven't changed anything, added anything, ticked anything so it must be a problem their end. 

Sorry :(

little half pockets

Mostly I am working on pieces for class, my happy cloth, samples, paper pieces, sample portfolio. It isn't always possible to share that on here so I like to also have a little something going on for you to see. So.........a new pocket in progress.  More spots, Borderie Anglaise. bullion knots, Prairie points and two tiny half circular pockets added to the surface for decoration. There is still quite a way to go with this one.

This one is finished in terms of surface embroidery but still needs to be lined. I couldn't so that at the weekend because I had visitors, I'm hoping to do it later today........

(wrapped and bound in stitch girls.....I am uploading the sample portfolio videos as we speak. One of them is very long and might take a while so you have time to put the kettle on!!)

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pleats, spots...cutwork, progress

The surface embroidery on my spotty pocket is finished. I added pleated cloth, cutwork and bullion knots. I've folded it here in a couple of the images to see how it will look when it's all put together, finished, lined, titivated. It gets folded like this before I even start, so I can get an idea of how to distribute the patterning, the stitches and anything extra I might add like buttons and puffs....I love it when a plan comes together. Now I need to line it....I'm thinking spots......that can't happen for a few days though. Never mind, I have that to look forward to.

A reminder....''an embroiderers ledger (extended)'' starts in just over two weeks. You can read more here. Also, it's not too late to join us for ''wrapped and bound in stitch'', ( I showed my work in progress from that class yesterday). You can read more about that here.

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gimp....

spotty hexagons

My spotty pocket has had a little more attention. A few hexagons have been added to the surface, eight of them to be precise and there will be more. I haven't finished edging the lace cloth yet, French knots need to be embroidered around the full piece which will add more texture. After that I'm not sure............I will think about it. I'm not in a hurry.

I ordered myself an octagon metal patchwork template today. I am so excited about that, it's a completely new shape for me. Octagons could be appearing everywhere......you have been warned.

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buttons and puffs.....titvations

Buttons and puffs, spotty ones. These will be used to titivate this cloth when it's finished. Most of the lace surface is embroidered now, each circle of spotty cloth is edged with chain stitch and each ''hole'' edged with buttonhole lace. I now need to finish edging the lace section with French knots before moving on to the remainder of the silk. I do have an idea of how I might embellish the rest of this but I won't say yet if that's ok. 

I also need? want? to make more puffs. These four took quite some time as they are embroidered with cutwork but I am sure I can find time to create another three at least.

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spotty

Spots, dots, spotty cloth. My sewing machine has been working overtime lately. There have been several pieces of new lace cloth created, lots of stitched papers, lots of cloth and paper combinations. Whilst I am working on all of those things I get ideas for other things, too many ideas if that's possible. I think next time I suffer a creative block all I need to do is get the sewing machine out along with a few scraps of cloth. A little hand stitch has been added to this, you can see that in the last two images.

This piece of lace cloth will form the surface of another pocket similar to this one.  I'm going to make a little more too, for more artist books. Some of the papers I have been stitching will also be used in artist books. I will show you the paper tomorrow.

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lime green, pink and bullion loops

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one piece damp stretched, one piece lined

a tiny green spotty pocket

 

This cloth may need to be renamed...at the moment I refer to it as my gingham and silk coverlet. As I'm forming a bit of a pocket addiction however I may have to start calling it a tiny pocket cloth. The latest pocket is tiny, it's green, it's spotty, it's in a seam. I couldn't resist another video either....humour me. I can now rest content in the knowledge that you are aware of the work which has happened since you last saw this....

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an almost finished pocket

This afternoon I will be lining this pocket. I will then titivate the edges before ticking it off my ''to do'' list. I hope you can see the difference in this one from when you last saw it here....now to tackle another two pieces I have in progress.......

Then there are artists books, three completed, two still to finish. That is my Saturday plan......

spotty cloth and scraps

Spotty cloth, the edge of a vintage blouse, (buttons still attached!! result!!), a scrap of chequered silk and some very fragile lace. Put them together and what do you get? I have no idea except it's fun to stitch on the surface and decide what I should put where.

Perhaps this will become a pocket, the second pocket for London? If that's the case I suppose you could say I'm getting limbered up for lace and men's hankies and that this is the trial run. Time to go on  a men's hankie hunt then....

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