a kiss ?

There was (another) workshop in the STITCH CLUB

by Emily Tull

After observing and stitching the eye in April,

it was the turn of the mouth now.

- Taking pictures

- making sketches on paper

- sketches on fabric

- observing

- stitching.

Again it was asked to use a minimal

colour range.

Black, two grays and white,

or
two medium colours instead of the grays.

I opted for very dark red (no black)

raspberry, a dirty pink and a lighter one

and a very pale pink/beige (no white)

When I was taking the pictures I was tempted to picture 

this widespread bad habit of needlewomen

to put pins in their mouth

(for later, for safekeeping ???) 

Making sketches on fabric isn't easy ...

so I taped both paper and fabric to the window

and traced the sketches.

Sewing thread is used for the stitching

or just one strand of embroidery floss.

(I like floss best)

Mission completed

It was really FUN !

*

Remember that Hippeastrum

in the garden ?

six flowers on one stalk !!!

And it will take only a week or so

and the Allium sphaerocephalon

will be purple all over

stitches-in-a-mist

Love-in-a-mist

with lots of love for this sweet flower

I finished the stitches on it.

Blending the background colours together

and most of all the spiky leaves

were so much fun to stitch.

"Nigella"

The use of blue and turquoise around the flower

worked out really well

(just the pizazz it needed !)

Nigella's seed pod

(hmmmm Emily Tull's workshop is waiting)

*

And in the garden there is a flower that I waited for this winter, inside,

that didn't come :

it seems being outside was just what it wanted,

you can't blame it.

love-in-a-mist (on summer solstice)

What a pretty name that is for

Nigella damascena

(Juffertje in 't groen)

A new Merill Comeau workshop piece :

can't get enough of patching a background

and looking for another favorite flower !

background

Nigella

More stitching will follow

because a new (Emily Tull) workshop

is already waiting.

Happy Solstice

100.000 trees

A few months ago

I discovered the art project of

Sara Vrugt

100.000 trees and a threaded forest

She planned to stitch a forest of thread and fabric :

100 m2 embroidered forest

which will hang in a spiral shape on 6 x 6 m

and with a height of 4 m.

One will be able to walk into it

and admire nature.

In addition there was to be a crowdfunding

to raise money for 100.000 real trees

that will be planted in due time :

1000 in The Netherlands

and 99.000 in the tropics

(by "TreeSisters")

During this year of making there would be four different places

where people could join in with the embroidering

BUT

.....

then the covid-19 crisis hit our country too

and all of it came to a halt ......

As an alternative for the delay to embroider the forest

hundreds embroidery kits (with leaves) were shipped.

Unfortunately I just missed going to the first embroidery "studio"

in the library in The Hague ánd I missed the embroidery kits ...

until I saw in the FB group of the project

that someone needed someone else to finish her kit !

The instructions, cheesecloth, pattern, hoop, needle and floss.

I continued on the first beginnings right away

A whole DMC thread on black cheesecloth, front and back

All ten leaves finished, front and back 

The leaves cut out with 0.5 cm around 

(though I didn't have the happiest of colours
I was glad to participate !)

Today they went into the mail to Sara !!!

wordless Wednesday

a lot of stitches

Today the third workshop

of the STITCH CLUB was launched

by Susie Vickery

("today" is now tomorrow)

She is an embroiderer

and makes amazing portraits in stitch

For this workshop however

the uses strips of plastic bag as embroidery thread ...

I'm not sure about that.

I may and I may nót try that !

But that is a choice for later :

I'm still working on workshop number 2 !!!

by Merill Comeau

Merill presented us with a "floral collage"

We had to find a plant (flower)

that has a meaning for us or for the current time.
There was also talk of symbolic meaning of plants.

Working on a background of "net"(tulle)

was new to me

(making textile collages, not)

This is my piece so far.

Merill's plan was +/-  20 x 20 cm

but I wanted to make it a bit bigger :

30 x 60 cm !

Before I started I took some pictures nearby

I chose a nettle, ox-eye daisies and a poppy

It all started with ironing my stack of scraps

and making the background

(and of course glue-stitching it all !)

Then came the plants / flowers

Ahhhhhh those zillion pins !

I rolled up the bottom part and started stitching the nettle.

left pins, right the first stitches done

Doing the French knots for the nettle flowers,

and blending the different coloured scraps with stitch.


More to follow
.....

colour me a rainbow

After the treasure container (of Debbie Lyddon's workshop)

for my little ladybug was finished,

I had another idea :

when you love rainbows why not paint bits of fabric

to make vessels

and make a rainbow of vessels !

Sketching and thinking came first

and then the rainbow on the "washing line"

Making the vessels and making the peepholes

 Hmmm ... stitching can be a dangerous business !

The stack is done except the top edge ...

I didn't have a fixed idea of how to keep the vessels together

but I incorporated a tiny wire loop

while stitching the top edge

and on the bottom (shallow) one I made two loops.

There was this tiny glass bird

that I bought about two years ago from a fellow artist

on an art market

that I thought of as the next "treasure to hide"

But I didn't want to put this bird

in the cage of the top vessel :

no place for a bird !

But ... what is at the end of the rainbow ???

Of course GOLD !

The rainbow of vessels spread out on the floor

(only some sequins and seed beads ...)

A rainbow of vessels