For Jane and a little extra...

 

Round like a circle-like a wheel within a wheel……………

Joining stitch and woven circles and colour cream/gold. Well nearly there Jane, some gold thread but also a bronze glitz to complement the tan colour which I know you just love. Please forgive me wandering away from the brief but I felt happier with stronger contrasts. The joining stitch – well I was just amazed at the number of combination of stitches that could be used to achieve an interesting piecing of fabrics certainly worth exploring another day for sure. The cream fabric with a music print I had used to make a quilt for my son Luke which in turn had featured circles of different colours so it seemed fitting to find a few pieces for this to also feature circles. Just loved the rhythm of sewing the circles but confess you do need a very long thread if wanting to avoid joining a thread in the middle. Bronze coloured beads and shisha mirrors for extra contrast. 

Who doesn’t like a shisha mirror or two!!!!

Daisy, Daisy !

I have had a passion for ‘daisies’ since my childhood, so they are my go-to flower. Following my choice of colour for this project page I embarked on a range 

of neutrals, beiges, and always a little glitz. The larger daisies are from a music/maths fabric (as in Jane's piece), from a quilt I had made for my son five years ago so these petals were the very first layer. My chosen two stitches, were lazy daisy - what a surprise and cretan. I was trying to create a field of daisies, so decided to stitch a few of those first over the background, around the main larger fabric daisies. The cretan stitch I used in a very random dramatic way for the next layer, then more hand stitched lazy daisies over the top. It all seemed a little flat, despite using a variety of threads for the flowers, so added smaller machine embroidered flowers in gold thread. Although the finished piece not as in my mind, but I thoroughly enjoyed  the fun journey, once I got started. I have to own up to being always the last person in the group to finish projects and have given myself a title of Professor of Procrastination !!!!

Jenni - PP

For Margaret and a little extra...

 

My Lady's Chamber
I felt that I wanted to make a very feminine piece for Margaret as I believe as a farmer's wife and mother of two sons all things go out the window! 

The background is calico and neutral colours were requested. I have used pieces of old lace and beads and completed the piece in running and back stitch. I really enjoyed making this piece for Margaret.

My own piece is black and grey with raised chain band and chain stitch. I found the ammonite fabric in my stash. Just the right colours. I bonded torn pieces of this to black poly cotton.  I used the coils to guide the stitching. I like the single raised chain band and will use this again. Beads and a button finished it off. 

Thank you for continuing to follow us.

Rosemary.

For Jenni and a little extra...

 

Jenni wanted light cream/naturals so I looked out some silk strips that I frayed and crisscrossed these and some lace over a calico base. I did Lazy Daisy stitches meandering up the side. I used Cretan Stitch for the grasses. When finished I felt it needed something more and couldn’t resist adding Hot Crystals to the daisies.

I had chosen cream and gold as my colours, so I started by painting some Pelmet Vylene with a shiny gold paint. I put a pleat and cut stem/grass shapes in a cream silk fabric to accommodate several different Insertion stitches and reveal the gold. I added some beaded lace trim and woven circles. It needed something more so I made a wired organza dragonfly.

Thanks for looking Janex

For Debbie...

 

Pistols at Dawn !

Not being a stitcher as in embroidery stitches, this the latest of Maids projects is proving to be a real learning curve. 

This piece for Debbie, features pistol and herring bone stitch. Pistol stitch is just lovely, and in my mind immediately created daisies. The background fabric, was a piece in my stash, and naturally daisies in this instance needed to be white. The centres of the flowers are beaded. The leaves I could have done forever, such a creative stitch perfect for creating leaf shapes. 

Thank you so much Debbie for choosing such a lovely colour as our base. Do hope you will like it when you see it properly when we eventually get to exchange all our glorious pages.

Thank you for joining us.

Jenni