Marching Out

March is ending, and, hopefully, taking the last of the snow with it!
I'm ready for spring.

 Mr. Cardinal was sitting in the magnolia tree in the front yard.

I think he's looking for spring, too.

a sure sign that spring is on the way is this little chipmunk, out looking for seeds

These goldfinch are starting to turn yellow

Still, it was really cold last week, so I brought home a wee bit of colour to cheer up the house

Mr. Milkers came to visit for a week. The snow was still pretty deep then.

look at that chin spot and those tear-drop eyes! What a cutie!

















A wee bit of stitching was done on the Wedding Piece this week, with a few additions:

2 woven picot leaves, a cast-on stitch rose, and a bud.......more to add.......



On the wrapping cloth piece #12, I added a beaded center to a fancy picot flower. The base is a wrapped ring with rows of buttonhole lace 

 

bullions bridge the design of this lace

this giant bullion is 185 wraps!
Soon it will have a few more friends......

the progress so far

I need to create more wrapping cloth pieces

It was time to actually use my Kumihimo kit.

The large braid on the left was made with the kit material using 8 strands.


The braid on the right used 8 strands of size 20 crochet cotton. I've been playing with patterns.

 Tatted bunnies and cabbage edging is a seasonal tat with Easter next Monday. I used size 20 crochet cotton, so this feels quite bulky. Bunny 1 on the left has a major error with the neck join.

Next I'll tat the bunnies, with a longer chain between them, using a finer thread.

Two more gelli painted fabrics join the queue awaiting some hand stitching.

My art room has been re-organized. It's a small bedroom. (~9x11) Here's how it looks now..........( well, before I did the painting!)

north wall

east wall

This work table is a very old one with a porcelain top- once probably used for rolling out pastry, but now it's great for cleaning up spilled paint!

west wall

The center unit was fastened to the dining room wall when we bought the house, but didn't work with our furniture. Now it's a great unit for storing some of my supplies.

south wall

There's a bedroom closet to the left of the computer, and there I keep my fabrics in plastic storage tubs.

Here's how the work table looks now!
Neat and tidy didn't last long, did it? lol

 Treasure hunting this past week led me to a second-hand shop where I found these blingy buttons, ( up north near the lake house)

(aren't they pretty?!)

two packages of lace,

( rolls of lace!)

4 cut-lace napkins, and 2 lace doilies.

The total came to $5.00! Wow!

I love shopping there! (too bad it's so far away)




Well, that was my week with needle, thread, paint and fabric. Hope you've had a fun and creative week.

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Middle of March

Here's lookin' at you!

It's bashful bunny-- a pincushion for the Fiber Fest

lots of buttonhole stitch, embroidery, and a bit of tatting

one droopy ear, and a pink pouffy tail

another pin cushion in white and blue

tatted leaves encircle the bottom section

blue bead fringe sets off the tatted bow

a fancy picot flower is set with a blue AB crystal on the top

I've made some progress on the Blackwork Butterfly, but mostly, I've done a lot of frogging..........My fourth try I finally got the upper right wing section finished with the correct-sized squares.........


now it's on to the bottom sections........
I've made a start.....

Last week I took my gelli plate to our Embroidery Guild meeting to demonstrate mono-printing on fabric.
As a result, some new fabric prints were made

and some more layers were added to my large gelli-printed cloth.

There are some interesting results.


A few more layers and some of these pieces will be added to the sewing pile.

I hope you've had some fun, creative time this week.

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

 

March Makings

I put Wedding Piece #2 aside for the week.
At StitchMAP, a call came in for bookmarks for the Literacy Program at one of the elementary schools in Anchorage, Alaska. You can read more about that here and perhaps join in, too.
I'd been stitching on a gelli plate painted fabric, but had no idea what I was going to make with it, so the timing of the call was just perfect.
After the embroidery was completed, I pinned the side seams.

 Because of the pattern on the fabric, I decided to create the seam down the middle of the back.
It's all blanket stitched with the same variegated threads I used to create the tassel and embroider the fabric....

well, it's sort of a tassel.....maybe more like a tatted fringe.

here's how the front looks. Hmmm, ironing it means the seam shows...... tsk


 I've been creating a pincushion for the Guild Fiber Fest. 

It needs a bit of trim to sit atop the fringe.....

yes, that's better.......

topped with a bead and a tatted fancy picot flower



I've got another container the same size..........

I've made a beginning on Tanja Berlin's Blackwork Butterfly.......

Boy the stitching is tiny...........I need to unpack my magnifier, I think.......



That's it for this week.

Silly cactus!

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

 

Into March

March came in with cold temperatures and sunshine.

My Christmas cactus seems a little confused about  the season

It's bursting into bud



















I've been doing a variety of stitching.
The blue ORTS bowl is complete with added bullions, beads, and tatted flowers.

a layered tatted flower beneath a bullioned edging, accented by two beads

the opposite side of the bowl has bullions and beads on the edging

a wee tatted flower on the inside of the bowl covers up the stitching for the outside flower

for those who asked, here's the inside story on the green bowl 

one piece of my gelli plate printed fabric is being titivated with a bit of variegated thread
hmmm, what happened to that bottom right curve? Ha! What curve, you ask? Yea, that one.
To frog, or not to frog.......that is the question...... : b  ...lol



The last few
 weeks have brought wonderful treasures in the mail:
 Createology sent me a magical bubble wand. I can hardly wait for warm temperatures and sunny days to test out my new wand. I bet it makes fabulous bubbles!

In the same envelope was this little fabric pocket, perfect for carrying a credit card, or two or three.......













From Diane came some dyeing thread.

This thread is not colourfast, so it can create interesting marks on fabric........I need to find some more play time.






Jillayne sent me some Season's thread to try. It's a lovely floss with a nice sheen to it. I wish local shops carried it...........I'm using it on the gelli fabric above......and I really like it!

I treated myself to some pretty thread by Lorraine. Aren't the colours wonderful?

Then, Mary Corbett had a giveaway, and I won a Blackwork e-course with Tanja Berlin!

I'm so excited to learn from Tanja. My class supplies arrived! I have some reading to do........ :-)












A little package arrived from StitchMAP with a couple goodies inside.

a pattern transfer sheet for monograms, and a kit for a needle box! What fun!





I am so blessed.







Progress continues on the Wedding Piece with a few additions........

a few grapes on the left side tucked amongst bullions and curlicues

beginnings of structure and leaves on the bottom right

curlicues on the bottom left await leaves and wee stitchings

the big picture




I'm getting there........

 a wee bit more stitching on  the gelli painted cloth.....you can see that wonky curve is still there.... :-!

layers on layers on small fabric pieces, gelli plate and stencil painted

 a large cloth in progress
I love playing with my gelli plate!




That's all for this week
Hope yours has been creative and full of fun!

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz