Stitches Like 'Buttah'...

As I mentioned last Monday, I've finally got out my Babylock 12 Needle Embellisher again and I've started a new piece.  I'm using little bits of dupioni silk as well as some wonderful silk 'yarn' which I've been hanging on to for a while, and embellishing it onto a felt background.  I love the richness of the colours and the texture is so fabulous to work with!  I just love hand stitching through felt and silk!

Here are a couple of close up shots of the beginnings of some couching I'm doing with some of the silk 'yarn' pieces.

It's time to pull out some of my embroidery books for some inspiration! One of my favourite books is Judith Baker Montana's Free-Form Embroidery.  It's a stunning book, full of so much wonderful inspiration!

Beginning a New Piece With Silks...

I've been wanting to get my embellisher out for a while, and I finally found some time. I'm starting a new piece in which I'm using dupioni silk and I have plans for lots of fun hand stitch.  I just love that richness of the silk, and these colours are really speaking to me right now!

 I'm using my embellisher (I have a 12 needle Babylock).  One of the things I love about the 12 needle is that even if I break a needle, I can keep working without having to replace it for a while because I still have lots of needles working for me.  Yes, this has happened a few times. LOL






I'm also thinking about couching down some twisted strands of silk to add more dimension and interest.  So far, those pieces are just lying on top, being auditioned, but I'm liking how they look.  I'm excited about having a new 'hand project' on the go so I have something to do while listening to TV!

Thanks for dropping by today!

Stupendous Stitching...

After having seen a beautiful piece of art done by my friend Diana, I took Carol Ann Waugh's online class, Stupendous Stitching.

I started out as the lessons suggested, first making my stitch bible and then I got into the couching and decorative stitching (you can see some of this in this previous post). This is where I just couldn't stay the course...

As is so often the case, I started to stray from the lessons and play around with my own ideas.  I cut away a bit here, machine appliquéd some pieces on there...etc.

I then cut away the two side strips and because I just can't seem to waste anything, they became another small piece that you can see here.

What I had left was then layered over a larger black piece of fabric, hand stitched and quilted to within an inch of it's life, and then I added some beading and buttons on the lower part as well as big, fun buttons on top to create the hanging loops.

Here are a few detail shots:

 

And here is the finished piece:

I'm Putting On My Own Spin...

...or should I say spiral to Carol Ann Waugh's idea for a 'stupendous stitch' piece.  As I mentioned in a previous post (see here) I signed up for the Stupendous Stitching online class and created my stitch bible.  The next step was to start playing...

I started to couch various cords and ribbons onto a wonderfully bright piece of batik. I love spirals, so I just had to add some of them to this piece.  Not following the instructions of having lines going from one edge to the other, but that's just the way I am.  When I play with line spirals just seem to appear...

Here's another picture after I've added a variety of the fancy stitches that my machine is capable of.  Notice that even more spirals seem to have appeared.  :o)

And this is where I start to really have fun...

I'm taking this in a much different direction than what Carol Ann Waugh does since although it's a fun idea, I have to make it truly my own piece.  It may take me a while to finish, but I'm really excited about the direction I'm going with this.  Stay tuned to see the finished piece...I will post it when done, but that won't be for a while...

Have an ARTfully great day and thanks for visiting!