a finished beast

Though a new workshop of STITCH CLUB is waiting,
I first had to finish
my beast !

Today there was only the background to finish
with small stitched circles that echoed the bubble wrap
in the breakdown printing.
I used very light colours, so it doesn't stand out too much
to take the eye away from the dragon.

After I stuffed the feet of the beast anew
(they were blue/green at first but I didn't like that at all)
the only thing left to do was the claws and the eye :
the dragon truly "reborn"

 

*

Now on to my next task :
a tiny portrait
. . . . .

22 - 2 - 22 !!!

Many people thought this to be a special date :
it was said in the news that all available places
for getting married today were taken !
Hahaha,
so they all can easily remember what day they married !
(don't forget the flowers next year !)

(maybe some lovely snowdrops ?)

  
For me it was just a normal Tuesday
with daughter and two kids over for dinner
like any other Tuesday.
A bit cold and windy, but most of the time dry :
a perfect day for some reading and stitching
for the second week of Julie B Booth's workshop.
Because I'm reading "The Wheel of Time",
I thought the "Dragon Reborn"
would do nicely as a design for it.

(I'm more into reading the book than waiting for the video :
they always alter things that I like . . .)

The background is a bit of 
"break-down printing" with procion dye
and white silk organza on top.
I would have rather stitched this with the machine
but that one is still in repair (!) so hand stitching it is.

*

Because I mostly stitch in front of the window to the garden
I was lucky enough to see those lovely
long-tailed tits !
we hardly ever see them in the garden,
only in winter sometimes.

But two of them visited many times

once they'd discovered the seed filled pine cones !!!

Such cute little birds !!!

an oldie

I Stitch Club Julie B. Booth had another workshop for us :
the "good old" trapunto technique.

Trapunto is two layers of fabric
with a design that is hand (or machine) stitched
then parts of the design are stuffed,
originally mostly done in white on white.

(of course Julie wouldn't be Julie
if she didn't teach it with a twist !)

A bit of very pale pink old linen blouse was my start
and I made several small sketches as a design.
I chose one and transferred it to the cloth
and started stitching and stuffing.

When I was nearly finished
so I could take the final pictures
I realized what day it was
February  14
Valentine !

sequins ?

 When I read that the next
STITCH CLUB workshop
was about making your own sequins
I was delighted
(because I must confess : I'm kind of a magpie  :-)  !)

Though Jessica Grady
came up with something quite different than I thought
it was really fun thing to explore
her way to work.

Sequins made out of paper, card, fabric of plastic
but just fun to use.
Most times I leave a bit of time to think things over
before I start collecting my materials.
Bur when I remembered the really FUN inside
of the vegan chocolate wrapping
things got started easy enough>
(Mmmmmmm the best ever vegan chocolate made in Holland !)
A washing-machine-felted old Benetton sweater
proved to be a wonderful background.


at the left the chocolate wrapping !

(the wooden box that I had at the end
of our FUN "Sinterklaas-game" came in handy)

Finished !

I plan to keep de seeds in I always collect from the garden . . .

The seeds of the (now flowering) Aconites
might be the first to go in !

2 - 2 - "22

Hungry visitors !!!

There are SIX of them 

No wonder these ring-necked parakeets are doing so well
here in our country where they don't originate
(though they probably are all descendants
of some that escaped years ago !)

They know when there is new food in the feeders !

Being very messy eaters
they also provide food for the birds that stay on the ground
like the finches and blackbirds.
And in our garden also : the ducks from the water !