Progress report

Here we are a bit more embellishing, fell I'm getting the hang of this now. For those seams which are still empty I am waiting to see where lesson three leads me.

Happiness is...

Thomas and Elcectra or, as they should be known these days, Darby and Joan sharing a sunbeam!!

Better than Google.......

I decided to search for some crochet motifs to make for the later stages of my Encrusted CQ. I paticularly wanted a fan, so into Google it went and what should come up but a reference which had the inaminuteago url. I smiled and clicked and lo and behold I found Sharon had already done all the work and there were all and more motif instructions that I could ever want.

This is the first block with the seam stitching. It looks sort of bitty and I'm not too happy with it but I am hoping that I know where I am going with it. In my mind I have called it "gipsy gold" a bit more inspirational than 1st block!! When we get to the motifs, beads etc I hope I can spice it up a bit.

Now going to try second block which is now called "gilded cage". Hoping I can get to be more spontaneous on this one.

I'm on a roll........or not

Sharon suggested that we make a sample of stitches on a roll of material. I'm not too patient so I started but then the desire to get going on my blocks won so I turned to them instead and that is where everything ground to a halt. Talk about stage fright.... Now let me say here I do know a few stitches (not very good at them but I do know them) and being left handed I have had to teach myself how to do them. (Domestic Science teacher at school wrote me off as useless) so I thought it would be easy, but no, you see now I have all this added information about texture and paths etc. It took me ages to get going.
I think one of the main reasones is trying to visualise what it will be like when it is all encrusted and what you would like to put where. The other thing is because on three of the blocks I have used images I feel I need to tell a story with the embelishments. This probably comes from altering books which is what I have been doing for the last year.
Anyway I finally took the plunge on the basis that if I don't like it I can always pull it out. Here is roll and story so far on first block.

The great Lace Debate

I sat for hours with my bits of lace and my blocks trying this bit here and that bit there. These layouts are the story so far. They are only layed on so things may happen when I start Stitiching.





Just printed off the second lesson, all 49 pages of it!!! Should keep me occupied.

Marks and Spencer a question.

Why have Mark & Spencer started playing muzak in the Bluewater store, I do not want someone wailing about their love life when I am buying my knickers or trying to decide what to have for dinner. It drives me nuts!! I may have stop shopping there. M&S probably won't notice but my bank manager will be happy.

New enchantments

Look at this gorgeousness. This is the lace I dyed, I used Marabou Silk and Dynaflow. I tried to combine the colours to tone with my blocks for Sharon's class and then just left them to do their own thing. I was thrilled with the resulting colours.
This is a bit of Dupioni I used to mop up the plastic sheet, I then screwed it up and left it to dry and look what happened, a piece which is just dreaming about embroidery.

Now to try and position the lace.

How to measure success !

"School trip a huge success - not one child asked if it was dinnertime (which they usually start doing about 10am)"

This from a friend who teaches primary school.

Gold star and Painting yourself into corner

I was thrilled by some really kind comments from members of the class on my colour exercise and Sharton awarded me a gold star so I am tickled pink.
I started on the blocks. It started off fine but as soon as I started on the second round of piecing my troubles started. See below. It really was like painting yourself into the corner, you can see on the first block a sort of large ugly rectangle, same happened on the second block where quite frankly I cheated. (Bows head in shame) I am finding this great fun but quite difficult and am not at all sure about the results. Here are several lessons that I have learned.

1st: Don't finish off the stiching of your pieces because if you make a mistake they are a pain to unpick.

2nd: Move your supposrt fabric well out of the way before you trim your seams!!

3rd: Make sure you have overlapped your fabrics otherwise nasty little holes appear. Perhaps that's where embellishing started!!

4th If using a picture as a pivot make sure it has enough border as it gets eaten away as you go round. Heare are the four blocks I've made so far, holes and all

The blocks are about 9 inches square (at the moment).

Off to dye some lace for the next stage. What fun!

Look and see

My online Crazy Quilting has started, Sharon suggested a colour exercise which I found fascinating

I have never done anything like this before, it makes you realise how little we actually see when we think we have looked at something. Can't wait to get started on the actual blocks but am trying to make myself think before I start intead of my usual leap into the middle and having to muddle my way out!!!

Val Campbell-Harding

It is with great sadness that I have learned of the death of Val Campbell-Harding from a massive heart attack. One of the things on my list for the Knitting and Stitching show was her new book, for through her books she has been my teacher and inspiration. I give thanks for her life and for the joy she brought to mine.

This is a link to her website where there is a book of condolence for the family. http://www.ctdg.co.uk/home.htm.