Virtual Threads On-line Course

Tomorrow, February 1st, is the start of my Garden Sewing Box Workshop. at Virtual Threads, a subgroup of the Embroiderers' Association of Canada. This is my first time giving an on-line course. At the moment, a video presentation, was not possible. However, I have lots of photos on completing the project. 

Closeup of part of a panel.

• Free Motion Embroidery on Water Soluble Fabric    
• Tutorial: How to Embroider your own Freehand Landscape   
• Landscape Embroidery Ideas       
• Best of 2020: The Most Imaginative Embroidery Art of the Year 
• Embroidery Landscape Ideas    
• Hand Stitched Landscapes in a Hoop (I could not find artist name. If anyone knows it, please let me know, so that I can include it here) thanks
  

 Enjoy!

Garden Sewing Box # 3

My first Garden Sewing Box was designed and created in 2005. 

The 2nd one  was finished late last year. 

I just finished the 3rd. one. Why a third one? Well, since the first one was made years ago, I had to check out my original notes and construct another version of it. After it was completed, my husband asked if I had documented, with photos, all the steps taken along the way. Sheepishly, I shook my head. I had taken a few photos but not to the extent for presenting an online course. You see, he's a curriculum developer and has graciously taken on the job of writing up the instructions with an abundance of photos and sketches.  In other words, this is a pictorial, step by step instruction package, for creating my Garden Sewing Box. 

These art pieces don't have to be sewing boxes but can be a treasure or jewellery box, trinket holder . . .  You see what I mean!

Anyway, feast your eyes! It's very dimensional. Bits of foliage and flowers stick out here and there!

It's too late now, but I should have used a lighter green thread for my name and date on the bottom.

 Enjoy and stay safe!

 

 

Book Review: Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery

I received Sharon Boggon's book, Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery, for Christmas. This book is a visual guide of 120 embroidery stitches. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced embroiderer, this book encourages you to create new patterns by playing with the stitches. For example, to manipulate the height and width of a stitch, to overlap and stack stitches, to combine laced and threaded stitches . . . Page 27 has a list of 21 questions to consider when using a particular stitch, such as

• How does this stitch behave on a curve?
• Can this stitch be laced with another thread?
• What happens if I add beads?

Lots of stitch combinations to consider!

You won't be disappointed with the coloured photos throughout the book.

You are probably familiar with Sharon's website, Pintangle. If not, and you are interested in hand embroidery (beginner or experienced), please check it out. 

Another TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) challenge started today. So it's time to get your threads and doodle cloth ready for stitching!

More links about hand embroidery:

• Nordic Needle   (free patterns)
• Freebie Gallery  
• Needle 'n Thread Network (Mary Corbet)
• Jo Butcher, artist  
• Emma Mattson, artist  
• Needle Work,  Needle Painting
• DMC free patterns   
• Tanja Berlin, Canadian designer 
• EAC, Embroiderers' Association of Canada   
• 10 Contemporary Embroidery Artists   

Enjoy!

Garden Sewing Box # 2

For the last several months, I have been working on another Garden Sewing Box. This one will be an on-line class for EAC - Embroiderers' Association of Canada. Since the original was completed in 2005, I felt it necessary to create another one. So here it is!

I enjoy teaching about the techniques used in my art work and this project has lots! 

Each photo was taken with the box lying on its side which is why the front feet aren't touching the counter top. Also, the top is not closed.

 As this is a functional sewing box, the inner box comes out.

To read about the first Sewing Box, please check HERE. 

See the four sides of the original box HERE. 

EAC Banquet

Last evening was the closing banquet for the Rock, Needle, Scissors 2017 EAC Seminar. (I would have posted about it last evening but my head cold was really acting up). The meal consisted of salad, roast salmon with rice and vegetables and a rich, creamy, custard crème brûlée with raspberries and cream. Delicious!

As part of the banquet scene, the hosting guild has favors for each guest. Our guild, St. John's Guild of Embroiderers', spent the last two years making cute little pincushion puffins. This particular bird is the national bird of Newfoundland Labrador. Each puffin was hand embroidered and then stitched together. We made over 160 + (I did know the exact number but . .  .)! In any case, they were a hugh hit with everyone. These first two photos were taken a few weeks ago.

Photo courtesy of Mary Pippy

Photo courtesy of Mary Pippy

A bunch from our table

This one is mine!

My embroidery machine made the tags for all the puffins

A few leftover puffins were put on silent auction. For those of you unfamiliar with Newfoundland place names, the names below are actual places.

Enjoy!!

Boutique at EAC Seminar

EAC Seminar always has a boutique that is separate from the Vendors Market. L'Atelier de Penelopne provided the embroidery merchandise this year. There were lots of embroidery items to choose from.

Yes, I did visit the boutique and made a modest purchase. I've been looking at DMC Coloris floss since they came out and decided to finally get them. Not sure what I will use them in yet. I did discover that I don't have # 2, #23 & # 24 and I have two extras of # 12. It seems that some of the colors were in the wrong boxes. Tomorrow I will pay another visit to see if I can get the ones I missed.

Enjoy!

Vendor's Night

Tonight was Vendor's Night at 2017 Embroidery Seminar. There were 32 small booths set up at Gushue Hall and lots of people took advantage of this one night event. Here's my table top display. This time, I went with covered boxes to create step up shelving. It was much quicker to assemble and take down.

EAC Seminar 2017

Yesterday was a busy one for the St. John's Guild of Embroiderers' who are hosting this year's  EAC seminar, Rock, Needle, Scissors 2017. I was part of the committee that set up the display of all the beautiful embroidery entries sent in for this event. If you are in the area, drop by Gushue Hall, MUN campus. Entrance is free.

The opening reception was last night and classes started today. It will be a busy few days. Saturday will be the banquet and then everything clues up on Sunday.

 EAC Blog HERE
  

Friday Finds

Good news - The arm sling is retired and I can drive my car again! The arm is healing nicely and physio is helping bunches with extended movement. Isn't independence a grand thing.

Now for other 'stuff'!

Here's a peek at something I'm doing for the EAC embroidery guild seminar committee. I can't tell you what it's for but I can guarantee it's something fabulous! I have one more hoop to do. This one took 86 minutes on the machine.

Friday Finds

• Fort Worth Fabric Studio  (This one is for my American Readers however, I think we could make very nice table runners using Canadian fabrics. Since this is Canada's 150th. birthday, there are lots of nice Canadian fabrics available)
• Freebie Friday from March 3 / 17 at Happiness is Cross Stitch (scroll down)
• Canadian Needle Nana (Joyce Thurston) 
• Laurence Aquerre, sculptural textiles (a must see)
• Free Pattern Friday  

Enjoy!  

Temari Ornaments

Verna has been busy. She's added several new Temari Balls to her ever growing collection. Quite a number of Verna's ornaments will be on display at the EAC Seminar 2017, here in St. John's, NL.

Aren't these just gorgeous!!!

Birthdays!!

Today my embroidery machine stitched out 20 new Viking Shimmer Ornaments to add to the 30 Stitched yesterday. The Viking Ships are part of an order that I just received.  I figure I'd better make as many different shimmers as I can before the beginning of June. I will have a booth at the (EAC) Embroiderers' Guild of Canada Seminar to be held here in May, so Shimmers will be available. Also, I won't be making shimmers during the summer and I will need more for early fall.

I didn't have any birthday wrapping paper up a present for my granddaughter's 6th birthday on Sunday (her father is flying back to Nova Scotia tomorrow) so I stitched up a bag for the gift instead. That's what happens when you aren't permitted to drive until arm heals!. Now she will have a drawstring bag for some small objects. It's also another way to use up scraps of fabric.

I found this one in my cupboard that my sister, Joan, made years ago as loot bags for one of her children's parties. Both bags have something in them for Gale.

• Birthday Go Round Wall Hanging   
• Happy Birthday Place Mat 
• Paper Pieced Birthday Cake (scroll down)
• Happy Birthday Cake Quilt 

Enjoy!!    

Temari Balls

St. John's Embroidery Guild is hosting Seminar 2017, Rock Needle Scissors, here in May. As part of the guild's participation, members have been asked to donate small hand embroidered items as part of the gifts to be passed out during seminar week (May 16 - 21).

My friend, Verna, has donated these two beautiful temari balls. If you are a frequent visitor to my blog, you will have seen a lot of them. In fact, there will be a display of them at Seminar! Fantastic work, Verna!