Memories by the fire...

Like most of us I have had a struggle with creating during this most extraordinary year of lockdown but the one thing I have really enjoyed making is the pages for my fellow Maids. There is something so very comforting about hand sewing that brings back memories of learning to sew sitting by the fire with my mother and sisters and probably a piece of binca and stranded cottons. It has been a joy to rummage through the fabric stash to find the right colours and of course thinking about the recipient with every stitch. I just am so looking forward to seeing the pages put together into a book and just being together again as a group. Although it has been great meeting on Zoom each fortnight it will be the best when we are together again.

These pages are for Jane and Debbie and I hope they like them.  

Thanks for reading and stay safe everyone. 

Margaret

Into The Blue etc.....

Into the Blue

This page made for Jenni is mainly made up of papers from my stash. There is some handmade paper printed with a home made kebab stick print block. Other painted and printed papers, scrim and some fabric Jenni and I made at a workshop with Lynda Monk. Some painted lace, beads and a flower complete the page.

For Margaret

I have been working in greens quite a lot during the last year. Including a Chairman's challenge for my WCE group. So this colour was at the top of the pile. I had intended to use my Embellisher with the felt pieces in quite a free way as Margaret loves all things felted but something took over and the page became a sort of "knot" garden. Both French and Bullion!! I did enjoy this piece.

Cut the Mustard

My final page is for Debbie who requested mustard/ochre. This piece of fabric which has been in my stash for a long time jumped out at me and said "now you can use me" I cut silk fabric and paper in triangles to follow the pattern. Covered the whole with two layers of sheer fabric and machined in place. I then cut back in places to reveal some of the triangles. I machined couched some hand dyed thread and used a set pattern for more decoration. Baby hearts complete the page.

Keep enjoying all this extra time for stitching!!   

Rosemary

Flower Bouquet....

My blue page for Jenni was inspired by us both finding time to finish pieces of canvas work over the past year, old projects that had laid forgotten and forlorn but now come to the surface. There is a comfort and joy to be taken from the picture gradually filling in with colour and thread, along with the rhythmic plying of the needle in and out of the canvas.

So... I started by painting a small square of canvas, then began to fill it in with a millefiori of flower heads in varying blue shades of cotton and silk threads. Stage one completed, life events paused progress.

But what a delight to then be able to  pick it up and add some favoured blue fabric pieces from my stash- a piece of our eldest daughters first party dress, a snippet from a sundress of my mother from the 1960s or ‘70s.....

Then onto more flowers, making Suffolk puffs from Liberty tana lawn floral prints, or scraps of silk. And paintbox out again to dye some of Granny’s old linen buttons, cut off and saved from shirts long ago.

Blend the edges in with more lazy daisy stitched flowers, French knots, wonderful for adding texture and space filling!  Final touches, bring on the bling!

I think we all feel that stitching these pages for one another is very rewarding, and we are so looking forward to being able to exchange them in person before then having fun compiling them into our books of colour!
Thank you for reading my waffle!
Debbie