Pretty things for embroiderers

It's nice to combine lovely fabric with pretty embroidery so these new designs really appeal to me.

I wanted a pocket to keep my embroidery hoop and a small pair of scissors, along with storage for needles and thread that are handy when I'm travelling.

My friends at Dotty Dolly gave me a gift of five fat eights of lovely red Moda Fabric which just called out to be something special.

First a pocket for my hoop. I picked up the design on the fabric to use in the embroidered panel. The flowers are formed with Bullion Knots, French Knots and tiny seed beads.
The bag is lined and has a pleated ruffle along the top.

  On the back is a place to keep a small pair of scissors held in with a covered button and loop.

     Next a place to keep needles, threads and a marker. Again I've picked out designs from the fabric for the      
stitchery and fussy cut the fabric for the covered button.

     Inside, a pocket for packs of needles, a place for a fabric marker, a pocket for threads and a pretty            
 stitched needlekeep

                        a real chance to play with stitches here......

I'm working on the patterns for these and more sewing treasures to put in my Etsy shop soon.

Meanwhile, at long last the sun is shining and the sky is blue so I'm enjoying some spectacular walks. After a long wet Winter it's a real joy to be outdoors.

Have  a great weekend.

xox Angela.

Felt and Stitch.

I am loving making felt but will always feel the urge to stitch on all my work. There is nothing that I enjoy as much as the feel of needle and thread...

I made my first felted beret this week in a workshop with the lovely Julie Bowen. Her instructions were clear and concise and her work was a true inspiration.

After a couple of  hours I managed to finish most of the initial layers of wool and silk fibres. Time ran out in class so I've finished the felting process at home.

Here is the finished beret with some hand stitching,

 I am pleased with the way it turned out although I need more practise so  will be making more...

It goes perfectly with this spotty fabric... so a bag was needed, a quick and easy make that's light and easy to carry.

 
                                                 This is the label for my new collections.

                                                            '' Raggle Taggle Gyspy''

I had just enough of the yellow merino tops along with some silk waste,

 chiffon sari silk ribbons and bamboo fibre to make this journal cover.

                                             
                                adding beads and stitching really finishes it off...............

                                                           
                                          Inside are five blank signatures just waiting to be filled.

                 
  and to finish, I used some of my sample pieces of felt to make these brooches.
                                   
 The blue is indigo dyed with a resist, a fabulous process that I really loved.    
 The orange leaf is my first attempt at eco-dyeing using eucalyptus leaves

 I stiffened the felt a little and needed to create a firm backing to hold the brooch pin but I've solved  the puzzle of ''how to'' and will be making more soon..

                           I'm learning so much, expanding my knowledge and loving it!!!!

                                                 Have a fun and creative week
                                                                xox Angela.

My first attempt....

I joined my Fibre craft/felt making  course at the beginning of February. We have a class for four hours on Tuesday afternoons and have been looking at some interesting techniques including the wonderful alchemy of Indigo dying, which I loved, and this week the magic of 'Cyanotype'.

We painted a piece of white cotton with a green coloured chemical then immediately placed some leaves and grasses on the top. The whole thing was covered in a piece of clear perspex then placed in the sun for the rest of the afternoon. The fabric turned a steely grey where it was exposed to UV light and stayed white under the leaves. when we rinsed the fabric in cold water it turned this fabulous blue.

It's truly an amazing process, I'm embroidering over this now and will share the results soon.

Felting is a really new skill for me, and I need lots of practise. I love the random nature of the finished results which can't really be predicted.

I love the soft feel of 18 micron Merino, so I combined it with a flesh coloured 23 micron Merino to try my hand at making a collar.

                                Now, I'm really a novice and I'm experimenting so be kind to me.

  I used little pieces fleece from Leslie Prior's wonderful Angora goats to add a little texture and  mulberry silk to create the large flowers.

I couldn't resist a little free machine embroidery over the holes, around the large flowers and lots of
small flowers in a soft pink.

The rose pin was made from felt which I cut into petals and stitched adding stamens and seed beads to the centre. Two silk cocoons have been embellished and hang below the flower.

                                          This is the back, aren't those curly bits lovely,

                                    The felt is very pale so I hope you can see the pictures...

   I had a small piece left over from making the flower so I've stitched a little pocket. it's not quite finished so that's a little project for this evening.

I hope you have all had a wonderful Easter and not eaten too much chocolate....

Have a fun week, xox Angela.

Little White Rabbits and flowers for Mothers Day.

It's Mothering Sunday here in the UK and I received some beautiful flowers from my daughter. She lives 200 miles away in London so we can't get together very often.

                     My surprise came carefully wrapped in a pink box..............

        They are beautiful now that they are in a vase and the Freesias are sending a wonderful perfume around the room.

It's a cold wet and gloomy day so I'm sitting cosy and warm and making more White Rabbits.

 These two are for an Easter present for my granddaughters, I'm sending them off with a copy of Alice in Wonderland and some delicious Swiss chocolate bunnies.

I've just looked outside and the rain has turned to snow and sleet ...Yuk!!!

I'm cooking dinner, spending an evening with an episode of ''Call the Midwife'' and a glass of wine.

Have a great week.

xox Angela.

                  

Baa Baa

I'm four weeks in to my Felt making course and today was a special day spent talking about wool...and visiting Devon and Cornwall Wools.

Wool is a by product of meat production and therefore needs to be disposed of by farmers. Fleeces are brought to this huge (and very cold) warehouse where they are sorted and graded before being shipped out to different manufacturers.

Each fleece is individually graded by experts who can instantly assess the micron count and also see if the sheep has been under any stress which may affect the strength of the wool fibres.

Different breeds of sheep produce a variety of types of fleece and in many colours..
a really informative and interesting peek into wool production. I'm looking at sheep in the fields in a very different way now.

The rest of the day was spent at a wonderful farm on Exmoor specialising in a modern rare breed sheep the Bowmont . these  pretty little animals can be seen at Devon Fine Fibres I won't even try to tell you about this little bit of heaven just click on the link and see for yourself....

Enjoy,
Angela.xx

Finished quilt.

I joined with Temecula Quilt Company in their Anniversary Quilt along. Each Friday there was a row of 5"  blocks  to complete.

It was a quick and simple little quilt to make and I managed to use up lots of smaller pieces

from my stash.

I'm so pleased with the mix of colours.

A little machine quilting and I have a cosy lap quilt to pop in my car.

xox Angela.

White Rabbit and Vintage Linen

I loved Maureens new rabbit pattern from Sweet Meadows Farm, he's a really well fed little chap. I bought the pattern and it arrived really quickly, Thank you Maureen, and I got started.

I've had a piece of vintage wool flannel for a long time. I think it would have been be used to make warm underclothes in times gone by. Perfect for a White Rabbit.

 She's got pearls for eyes and a pretty lace shawl pinned with a rose. Not like Maureen's picture on her pattern but I do think she's sweet.

A friend very kindly gave me some lovely pieces of vintage linens and doilies. I decided to use them to create lovely gifts for ladies who stitch. What a lovely way to spend a rainy Sunday!!

 This little set is made from linen place mats. I started with a needle case......

 added a little heart pin cushion..........

then to complete the set, a pretty sewing roll with pockets inside.

I've added lace from vintage handkerchiefs and some hand embroidery .

I'll be listing them in my Etsy shop later.

I'm popping across to post on Mouse House Tales about my felt making course. I'll be posting on my progress in an on-line diary, so join me on my felt making journey.

Have a wonderful week my blog friends, keep warm!! dry!! cool!! wherever in the world you are.

xox Angela