Scrap Bucket

Last night, I took part in a two part zoom class with Canadian Quilter on Fire, Brandy Maslowski. This class was sponsored by the Mahone Bay Quilt Guild. Of course, I selected the fabrics needed for the first part of the class. Wouldn't you know it! Brandy decided to reverse the order and jumped to part two. Was I prepared? NOPE! I was going to rummage through my stash on Thursday to get ready for the class that night.

Since I was in my own space, I had access to all my fabrics. I wasn't interested in making a wine tote that was been demonstrated. Several others also decided to do their own thing. I made a scrap bucket, which is a free pattern from Heather Valentine, The Sewing Loft. 

My base fabric is a dyed piece with raw edge strips stitched onto it. I left some of the base fabric visible. The strips were stitched in place using black Superior invisible thread. Black invisible thread does not shine like the clear thread does. Free-motion stitching is randomly stitched over the strips of batik fabrics. I opted to not add decorative yarns, buttons, ribbons or charms.

Base fabric (actually has greens but photo shows up as greys and black)

 Strips stitched onto the base

 

 

Close-up of stitching

Different views of the bucket

Scrap Bucket from last year

• Free patterns: Fabric Baskets    
• Pinterest: Quilted Organizer Patterns
• Tote Bag Patterns from Quilt Inspiration       
• Car Organizer Sewing Patterns     

Enjoy!

Stay Safe

Working

Happy April! The weather is getting a bit warmer and we are having lots of sunny days. I've been making Shimmer Ornaments for customers in Newfoundland and they are ready to send in the mail.

Yes, that was the temperature on the back deck one day last week. It seems that we have a bit of a micro climate here in Pine Grove with all the trees around our property.


Today has finally been a partial work day. I caught a bad head cold this week and have been doing absolutely nothing since. Card Cases, in various stages of development, have been on my table for awhile.

Ready for free motion stitching with sparkly threads

Close up

Close up! Love the sparkly fabric

 

 

 

 

Ready to be made into card cases

• Art Quilts  (thanks to Magpie's Mumblings for this one)
• Fabric Surface Embellishment Techniques   
• Surface Embellishment on Pinterest HERE & HERE    
• Textile Artists 
• Me on Instagram  

Enjoy!!

Summer Garden

On such a winter's day, I'm wishing for summer heat and of course, lots of flowers! Here is my latest small embroidered piece, Summer Garden. The fence is a snippet from a photo of my mom's garden from many year's ago. The opening is 4.5" x 4.5" and the mat will fit a 10" x 10" frame.

Maybe I'll do some trees in my next one . . . 

Enjoy

• Garden inspired hand embroidery patterns (eye candy)
• Embroidered Gardens & Landscapes on Pinterest HERE & HERE 
• A variety of Hand Embroidery ideas / patterns on Pinterest HERE 
• Embroidered Knot Gardens, Royal School of Needlework on YOUTUBE 
• Vegetable Sampler free pattern 
• Hand Sewn Garden Embroidery   

Lots of Glitter!!

I made a few embellished Card Cases for the Craft Nova Scotia Christmas Craft Show which occurred this past weekend. Lots of glitter in this pile. I love using Sulky Sliver Opalescence thread for top stitching these cases. This thread colour reflects the colour of whatever it's stitched on.

I had 16 different cases (not all shown here) ready for the show. Only three are left! I'm making a few more for the Dalplex Christmas Show this coming weekend.

One lady visited my booth on Saturday and got very excited! 'I'm finally meeting you', she said as she rummaged in her purse and took out one of my card cases which she had purchased at the NL Craft Council Gift Shop, six years ago. It was stuffed with cards and still in great shape! WOW!!! Thanks to my customers for purchasing glittery card cases!

New Fibre Art Pendants

These Fibre Art Pendants were just finished. They are part of an order going to the Newfoundland Weavery, St. John's.
The base of the pendants are felted, surface stitched with glitzy thread and hand embroidered. 

You can also see my art and other 'stuff' on my Instagram page @jcfibreart. Have a look!!

• Interesting embroidery HERE
• Free floral embroidery  
• Stitching Freebies 
• Free Embroidery Patterns from Anna Scott  

Enjoy!
 

Crazy Quilted Post Card

As I posted on November 27, I won a gorgeous crazy quilted postcard from Magpie's Mumblings. It arrived a few days ago and is lovely. The button embellishments are quite tiny and the beaded stocking is very dainty. Thanks again, Mary Anne.

• Crazy Quilted Christmas on Pinterest HERE.   
• Christmas Crazy Quilt  
• Christmas Stocking  
• U Tube how to sew a Crazy Quilted Stocking 
• Crazy Quilt Embroidery Stitches  
• Crazy Quilting at Needle 'N Thread       
• Tutorial from Pin Tangle  

I also added Sharon Boggon's Visual Guild to Crazy Quilting, to my library.  In this book, Learn crazy-quilting techniques with colorful photos that show every detail. Sharon combines fabric, embellishments, and 35 stitches as well as endless variations of these stitches to create stunning crazy quilts. This is a 'must have' if you like making crazy quilted projects.

Enjoy!1

Variagated Yarns

I posted about Wool 'N Tart a few days ago. Of course, I just had to purchase some yarns! You can see my purchase below.

As I usually do surface embellishment on textile and felt, my eyes are always drawn to variegated yarns and threads. I will often unwind a ball of yarn and cut into its center. As a result, I do have lots of odd lengths of yarn to use in projects.

I just love the olive variegated bundle. Can't you just see some sea weed in that yarn! These three colours will be perfect for needle felting. I can't wait to get started.

Embellishments

Yesterday, I showed you the new yarns I purchased in Toronto. When I buy yarns, I always look at them to see of they can be taken apart and used in surface embellishment, if it can be felted and if it has good coverage to use in my Fibre lace Scarves. I'm pleased with these.

There are also three balls from Michael's that I bought yesterday. I included these as I wanted you to see how many different fibres make up one ball.
Have a look:

The yarn on the right separates into two different fibres:
 a soft, variegated eye lash and a thin ribbon.

Scrumptious fibres! I can see flowers in small embroideries.

These will work well in felting.

From Michaels for $3.99

I took apart the lime green one (from Michaels). Look at the
various embellishment threads!





These needle felt very well.

My Sewing Kit

Several of my stitching friends have made themselves Sewing Wallets. I've been looking at theirs for ages and finally got around to making one. Of course, I had to do something different (which is another story)! Things don't always turn out the way they should and I ended up doing some extra fiddling around to get it right. Reminder: read pattern over several times and think it through before proceeding !!! My friends will laugh at that, as I took apart another project last week (which I now have finished - again).

I still have to add a needle nest on the inside cover as well as a magnet for holding sewing needles when working. A decorative button might be put on the front. I haven't decided on that yet. There are three pockets on the inside. 

Here's the easiest one ever. It's an idea from Sew Many Ways. I think I'm going to get some of these and turn them into sewing kits. OR make one from scratch! You have to visit Sew Many Ways to see what I'm talking about.

Don't forget to check out the previous post, Meet & Greet Stitchers Around The World.  A list of participants can be found HERE.

Enjoy!

Before embellishments

embellished piece

Size when closed: 7" x 10"

Pockets piped with red. yellow & blue (the blue one is hard to see)

back of sewing wallet

Wild Blooms & Colorful Creatures

Wild Blooms & Colorful Creatures, by Wendy Williams, has also found its way into my collection.
I think I was attracted to the vibrant colours on the cover. When I was teaching, I would tell the students that you can't tell a book by its cover. That is so true in most cases. However, for the applique enthusiasts, this is a nice book to have. The book is filled with fancy flowers and cute animals which are used in the various projects.

Read about new ways to mix wool, cotton, and linen to give a fresh new look to your applique. Continue to have fun by embellishing with both hand and machine quilting as well as hand embroidery. Add a few beads and bobbles for extra embellishment. In fact, use the designs to create your own piece of art. To me, the book is another source of inspiration.

Wonky Houses Advent Wall Hanging

Well, my Wonky Houses Advent Wall Hanging is almost finished! YAH!! It was a lot more work than I thought when I started it. However, I'm pleased with the result.  I still have to sew on some embellishments (decorative buttons & beads) but they won't get done until I do it with my three year old granddaughter in Chicago. She will help me sew on the stuff! At least she will indicate where to put the cats, and other things that you see in the buttons photo below. It should be interesting and fun! I'll post a final photo when that's completed. This is not an original design. The pattern comes all the way from British Columbia, Canada!

Here it is:

Book Review

I just received Alysn Midgelow-Marsden's book, Stitch, Fibre, Metal & Mixed Media. The photography throughout the book is excellent, with lots of close ups. There's lots of inspiration for the textile artist.

Alysn shares her ideas for working with embroidered textiles by combining fibres and stitching with various forms of metal and other mixed media. Her work includes dying, painting, piecing and burning fabrics as well as adding embellishment by hand and sewing machine.

The section about materials is quite informative and to the point.

The project section comprises most of the book. The directions for each project are excellent and can be translated into other projects and not just the ones shown.

If you are interested in exploring different methods for surface embellishment, consider this book.

Almost Finished!

Yesterday I chose the base fabric for my row house pins. The next step was embellishing the fabric and stitching all over it with Sulky Sliver Thread. Then the embroidery machine did its work! I still have to trim the threads from the edges of the houses. Have a look:

Before stitching

Before cutting out and snipping threads!

Ready for the backs. I use recycled leather and suede
for the backs of my wearable art pins.

Fabric Selection

Today I selected several pieces of bright coloured fabric from my stash. The time has come to make a few more Wearable Art Pins: Row Houses. My supply has dwindled and I need more.

Hopefully, I'll get a start on actually doing the surface embellishments tomorrow. Anyway, have a look at the fabrics I pulled out and the one I finally selected. Since the pins are small, I try to start with a bright base. Then small bits and pieces of shiny, glitzy stuff are laid on the surface of the fabric. I keep the scale of the art pins in mind so that the yarns and other embellishments don't over power the end result.

Sulky Totally Stable Iron-on Tear-Away Stabilizer is ironed to the back of the fabric. This product is a tear-away stabilizer that provides support, and prevents puckering. It's perfect for applique, decorative stitching, buttonholes, delicate fabrics, quilt templates, and more. I like it because it is quick to iron on the back of my fabric and is perfect for the free motion stitching I do on the fabric surface.

Check back to see the next steps.

Silk Chiffon

Yesterday I purchased 2 metres of silk chiffon at Fiber Lilly. My plan (when I get time) is to dye the chiffon to use in surface embellishment. You can find out how to dye chiffon HERE.

I also found a couple of YouTube videos using chiffon.

• Crinkle Silk Chiffon (inspiration for surface embellishment)
• Painting Silk Chiffon

Other sites of interest:

• How to Make a Felted Chiffon Scarf
• How to Sew Chiffon Fabric
• Nuno Scarf Tutorial
• Painting and Felting

Enjoy!

Pendants

Thursday I showed you some work in progress. Well, the needle felting has turned into pendants. I have also added some beading to further enhance the design. In a few (not shown) I have not added beads as I think the embellished felt looks great as is. These are metal (lead & nickel free) in 5 different colours: pewter, silver, black, copper, and antique gold. These pendants measure approximately 1" x 2". I am also ordering the 1" x 1" pendant sizes and 24"chains to match the 5 colours. The green in the first photo is darker than shown.