hungry bunnies

I was afraid that the lovely Textile Artist.org Stitch Challenge

had come to an end last week

.....

But NO :

along came Anne Kelly !

I like the way she works and refers to folk art.

She uses old textiles

and all kinds of fragments, ribbons and lace

and then machine stitches over it all.

The folk art theme was a starting point here.

I made a design

but didn't necessarily want a vase in the center of it ...

That made me think of one of the stamps I made

(some years ago)

the one in the middle of row three,

the bunnies.

Hmmm ... what about bunnies, eating a carrot ???

Then I needed some background

and flowery fabrics

Lots and lots of snippets pinned to the background

Machine stitching and so many pins

isn't a good match ...

So I thought of something I learned a long time ago :

cover it all with a piece of tulle

and then stitch over it all !

And that's what I did.

I took dark pink tulle, but you can take

any colour you like, even black works well

The colour of the tulle kind of "fuses"

all the colours together.

But you can cut away the tulle in some places

to restore the brightness of the original colour.

After the machine stitching was done

I couched some ribbon, sewed some buttons

and made seed stitches

(criss-cross running stitches)

on the background.

"Hungry bunnies" 

 Detail with the tulle, machine and hand stitching

Thanks Anne Kelly,

it was fun !

more learning

YES

more stitching again !

This week in the TextileArtist.org group
it was Emily Jo Gibbs' turn
to show a bit how she works her magic.
She makes the most delicate portraits and still life pieces
with a hazy appearance because of
the silk organza she uses.
(check out her website!)

I know and love her work for quite some time
so I was delighted with this opportunity.

She showed how to make a "simple" piece
using a found twig and its shadow
.....

Finding an interesting twig shouldn't be a problem
in my garden and I found one
(even a flowering one)
but then :
daughter brought a beautiful hanging basket
with a fuchsia !!!

Change of plans for me !

"dancing"

Great way to make a sketch with a telephone nearby.


Finding the right fabric
is never a problem in my "home-shop" stash

nor was tracing the sketch (against the window)
to make the patterns

Cutting them however

was a fiddly business !!!
(f.y.i. the pattern was on A5 !)

After all the pieces were pinned then tacked in place

I selected my threads
and could the stitching start.

Great use of the telephone,

to see every detail in form and colour !

*

Today I finished the last stitches :
pistil and stamens
and decided
that it looked better when the flowers was lying down
(and not standing like a little ballerina)

A wonderful lesson

THANKS Emily !

keeping an eye ...

Sue Stone is an English textile artist

who makes stitched portraits.

Her sons made a special Textile Art site

where they give a stage to their mum

and other textile artists from all over the world.

In these strange times they initiated on FB

a "stitch challenge"

with every week another artist

to teach a tiny online workshop

about their own way with textiles,

starting with Sue Stone of course.

Next was Cas Holmes

and on April 6 Emily Tull

who explained how tho stitch an eye.

I was still busy stitching the piece for my friend

so I saw that video later in the week

....

and it very much appealed to me ! 

One piece finished ... ready to start something new !

For one I start with the end result

But it all started with

1. a photo

(hmmmmm ... hate making selfies : they look bad

and strangely askew most of the time)

2. a sketch (with pencil)

3. tracing the drawing in pen

and 4. the drawing (again in pen) on cloth
(an piece of linen from old trousers)

Hmmmm four "me's"

So not one eye
but both eyes ánd glasses

A collection of blues and grays and skin colours

Five slightly different  reds for my glasses

Starting the second eye.
I had some times five needles in my work
each with a different strand (or two)
embroidery floss



While working on this there were two more challenges :
by Richard McVetis and Emily Jo Gibbs

(so more to stitch !)

a beautiful book

Yesterday arrived

another birthday present

that was ordered by mail

LOST  WORDS

I follow Jackie Morris' blog for quite some years now

and admire her fantastic way she illustrates

her own and other books.

This is a collaboration of two artists

who greatly admire each other's work

The poems by Robert Macfarlane

capture the true spirit of each and every animal or plant

I loved the book when I saw it on Jackie's blog

and was VERY curious when I saw it

in our wonderful Rotterdam bookshop (Donner)

translated in Dutch

.....

But I can only say that

Bibi Dumon Tak

(a Dutch writer)

did a splendid job translating Robert's (lost) words

(it is only a pity

that the printed gold leaf background of Jackie's watercolours 

is not as bright as the "real thing")

I can strongly recommend this wonderful book

to anyone who loves nature

poems and watercolurs !

quiet ...

A bit too quiet perhaps

.....

but lots of loooong telephone conversations :

that was my 2020 birthday.

Man went shopping very early

and brought sole for dinner

and sunny flowers !

In the garden the flowering Malus and the very first Bluebell

(one that survived the garden-makeover

but I hope there will be more ...)

And then, late in the afternoon :

(after I already reconciled with the very quiet day)

the surprise visit of daughter with two grandsons

and presents !

A wonderful birthday after all

comfort

In these strange times

stitching has been slow

(or in fact nearly non-existing)

But last Monday

I finally got hold of someone dear I had almost lost sight of

and her situation urged me to stitch a piece for her.

Consolation,

and lots of happy memories

of a long friendship.

Today I was able to bring her the finished piece.

tears and laughter

(through the window)

Two sides : the dotted fabric 2 cm bigger

so it is a binding for the other side

just spring

Despite everything

we humans have to endure

spring

goes on.

*

Man's last mandala (in a book of 100 !)

a tribute to spring