The hexigons continue, need I say anything else. Still a long way to go.
The terrible hat is finished. It is only to wear out walking when the weather changes.
The dyeing has commenced. A long way to go here but this is a beginning.
On cotton.
On wool.
I am in the middle of these experiments so I will write about them to momorrow.
Life has hit a road block at the moment and there is little progress on anything.
I bought all the equipment for the dyeing BUT sourcing fabric is a BIG problem. As I live in the sub-tropics, where it is hot and humid, the kinds of fabric needed are not readily available. There are plenty of cottons and cotton mixtures. Some linens, at $40 + per metre. No silks and wool is almost unheard of. I have looked in the fabric and Op shops, no luck. I have found 10cm of wool fabric, that cost $5,( that seems expensive to me), but it is now in the wash and I will try that.
Keeping my eye on Monique for home schooling seems to take most of my time and she hasn't been well so I have had to nurse her most of the time as we do our lessons. Despite this she is wanting me to get on with the dyeing and can't understand the hold up. She also has a technology assignment she wants me to help with, designing something to help the wildlife in our backyard. She thought she might like to work with the seagulls but there are not a lot on the island. The reason, all the big eagles. I don't think she has looked up before but as luck would have it they made an appearance. We are now thinking maybe something for the little birds.
Those hexigons, go on and on.
As does the knitting.
And when I was at the Embroiderers' Guild the other day I took home a stitching challenge, on impulse. This is actually an interesting piece. The fabric made me think of needle weaving but that isn't what I ended up working on.
At the same time I was at the Guild I bought a selection of the tapestry wools that was on the sale table.
This was sitting on my desk as I was teaching so I have used this. I also had the "Simply Stitched " by Yumiko Higuchi book there so I have adapted one of her designs and I think it is coming together.
I had to look up how to do the knot stitch.
All work has to be of the type I can do whilst teaching. Not too difficult, and I can put it down and pick it up again without too much trouble.
Top of the list is the hexigons. I just sew and don't count how I am going. Hopefully those elves will come in at night and do some.
Knitting isn't bad. I have just started a new hat. I am using yarn unravelled from an old sweater. From experience I know this will not look as good as new yarn, but it should do the job. I remember my grandmother putting all this old yarn in a steamer and getting the krinkles out but that seems like a lot of work. I hope that blocking will over come this.
And I have finished the three bears.
The sweaters were knitted in left over wool and wasn't the guage listed in the pattern. Lots of changing the number of stitches and rows to get them to fit, but they do. Gee, they all have different personalities. I hope the children who get them like them.
For such little animals they seem to take a lot of time to dress! I have finished knitting three little pair of trousers and I sweater. The sweater features colour work and is knitted in the round. Only two more sweaters to knit. I reckon that will take another week.
I am well on the way with my embroidered piece and it is coming together nicely. I decided to use the stylised shape of an insect and then fill in the sections with flowers. I first selected my colour palette and then stitched a sample of the stitches I wanted to use. This is for a class called "Exploring more stitches" . I choose a limited number of stitches that you can chance the appearance of by varying the thickness of thread, direction of the stitching and changing the tension on the thread. I also limited myself to using DMC stranded cottons.
Since realising that I stitch much the same way I draw it has given me the freedom to use my thread much like a pencil. I'm even experimenting with replicating how I would paint this piece as well.
Something a bit different this week, I am making labels to put on my work.
I have had this link in my bookmarks for years and keep returning to it time and time again. It has some of the nicest free vintage labels around, so I have a printable sheet, some new ink in my inkjet printer and printing labels is my task. If you want to see more from Lunagirl.com follow the link. There is a huge range at affordable prices.
This week is just a mess. Home schooling takes up most of each day and having a child in the house means that it is never clean. Monique has ADHD, so she is constantly on the move and constantly touching things. Nothing is where it should be and there is sand through out the house. She bought me this card for my birthday and it about says it all.
My daughters wedding is on Saturday and I have all the catering to arrange and to travel down to Canungra for the service. The mind boggles.
But in amongst all this , mainly when supervising lessons, I have managed to nearly finish another portrait. This is Daphne.
I have taken a different approach to this class lately. I know that I can stitch portraits so I am just progressing with my own thing, working without really thinking. For the class I am working through the exercises with the aim of learning new techniques. Thinking about each technique and then adding what I have learnt to my own toolbox. Hopefully this will improve my work. Only 14 portraits to go in this series but I have so many others I would like to stitch.
I am in the middle auditioning the embroidery against the hexies. I always knew I would need a border around the embroidery and this has given me the opportunity to make a decision.
The plain pastel coloured fabrics will look the best and will frame the embroidery. The next decision is just how to do this?
I could just put the border around the embroidery and slip stitch everything together. But, I have been following the work of Katja Marek. She has taken hexies into new territory. I bought her book "the new Hexagon" and I think there are other things I could use here.
The last embroidery for the quilt is ready to go.
The combi block is going into a mug bag, and
the Medici embroidery is driving me mad. So much so that I have decided to stitch the one I found in the old magazine first to get he hang of it.
It is working again. That was really a nervous breakdown event. I had to pack up the computer, get it on a trolley, walk the km to the barge, get it from the barge to the car and then drive for an hour to get to the Apple store. When I got to the head of the cue, and I had an appointment, the assistant tells me they can deal with the remotely. I had to pack it up again, get to the car and by this point there was no way I could have pulled it all the way to the ferry and then home so I put the car on the barge and drove home. Hang the expense. Then I got thinking about what was wrong with the computer and came to the conclusion that someone had put on a security program I knew nothing about. Turns out my husbands computer guy had put it on when he has looking at his computers. When they rang today I had sorted everything out myself. Good thing is I don't need a new computer.
So as you can imagine not a lot of work has been done but I have managed to lose a friendship block I made for a patchwork friend. I will have to do that one again. I have finished 3 more pin cushions. That is the end of them. I see that all the others I have made have sold so that is pleasing.
It was easier to stitch the latin for Cease the Day.
And I have finished the stitching but have to put the hexi's around this design for my simple stitching.
One more to go after this and I am ready to start making the quilt.
Small steps this week.
A pin cushion.
And another.
And there is another somewhere. This home schooling is taking over most of my time. I can see I am going to have to re-organise how I stitch.