Goldwork Turtle

Just loved this design by Georgina Bellamy of  @thatembroiderygirl . The pattern and instructions can be found in a lovely book called ‘Passion for Needlework’ published by @inspirationsstudios . They are a good introduction to anyone interested in 3D goldwork embroidery and there are lots of diagrams included, which I find very helpful when trying to envisage each process along the way.

As with all goldwork – the main work is in the padding. I started first on making the shell which consisted of at least 6 layers of thick felt covered with a thin white felt. Onto this I drew the shapes that were to be filled with chippings and outlined them in gold pearl purl.

As you can see in the picture above I have began to add the chippings to the segments on the shell. Once the shell had been completed it was back to padding work. The turtle is constructed in two parts – the shell and the base.

Now that the base is completed I can start adding the metal threads – which is the fun part. I will keep you all posted as I progress.

Happy stitching everyone.

SAL 42: Slow progress, but a little in the right direction…

Hello everyone, another three weeks have shot past and life is still as chaotic as ever but I did managed to find a couple of hours today to work on my little blue wren etui, designed by Jenny Adin-Christie.

I have been adding a little texture to the base and managed to create a few fluffy, mossy hillocks out of embroidery thread.

• 

• 

Since the picture was taken, I have added 4 more tufts – I think I might have gone a little overboard! At least it is a little progress in the right direction!

Many thanks for popping in and look forward to catching up in three weeks time.

Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire,  Gun,  Carol , Sue,Constanze, Christina,  Kathy,  Margaret,  Cindy, Heidi, Jacky , Sunny ,  Hayley,   Megan,   MaryMargaret , Renee ,  Carmella ,  Jocelyn, Sharon,  Daisy,   Anne,  A.J. ,  Jenny , Laura ,   Cathie,  Linda,   Sherrie,  Helen

SAL 41: No progress here…

Hello everyone, the last three weeks have shot past haven’t they? I am afraid that I have made no progress what so ever on my SAL – as school life has been very hectic and hasn’t allowed any down time to sew. I will leave you with my little blue hen….

I look forward to seeing everyone elses progress – it might cheer me up!!

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire,  Gun,  Carol , Sue,Constanze, Christina,  Kathy,  Margaret,  Cindy, Heidi, Jacky , Sunny ,  Hayley,   Megan,   MaryMargaret , Renee ,  Carmella ,  Jocelyn, Sharon,  Daisy,   Anne,  A.J. ,  Jenny , Laura ,   Cathie,  Linda,   Sherrie,  Helen

SAL 40: Mossy bank

Hello everyone, I do hope you have all managed to enjoy Christmas. Ours was very quiet – just the two of us (and dog), but it was also quite relaxing as there was no pressure to entertain or get in the car to make the numerous visits we normally do.

Now that I have finally finished my little blue wren etui, designed by Jenny Adin-Christie – he needs a base to sit on, which also provides a place to put a pair of embroidery scissors and a little pin cushion.

The first job is to cut out and mount the velvet base onto a white cotton backing using herringbone stitch. Then mark out where the pin cushion will sit and the embroidery will go.

Applying the velvet base.

Once in place I made a start on trapping spangles in a green organza. These will create texture over the base.

Capturing spangles in organza

So that is what I have managed to achieve in the last few weeks – not much I know, but a step in the right direction. Many thanks for popping in and look forward to catching up in three weeks time.

Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire,  Gun,  Carol , Sue,Constanze, Christina,  Kathy,  Margaret,  Cindy, Heidi, Jacky , Sunny ,  Hayley,   Megan,   MaryMargaret , Renee ,  Carmella ,  Jocelyn, Sharon,  Daisy,   Anne,  A.J. ,  Jenny , Laura ,   Cathie,  Linda,   Sherrie,  Helen

SAL 39: Happy Dance….

Aaah, I had this all ready to post – but my brain has been such a scramble that I forgot all about it – sorry everyone!

Yay, feeling very pleased with myself as I have finally finished my little blue wren etui, designed by Jenny Adin-Christie. I have loved learning lots of new techniques, sewing with ribbon and using chenille threads.

Since the last time we met I have added the wings and flannel underwings which act as needlebooks. I have also added two small magnets to the end of each wing – these help to keep the wings down when the needlebooks are not in use.

So here is my little wren…

My little blue wren

A little closer

All I have to do now is to make the little mossy hillock for him to stand on – so I thought I could do this as my next SAL.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire,  Gun,  Carol , Sue,Constanze, Christina,  Kathy,  Margaret,  Cindy, Heidi, Jacky , Sunny ,  Hayley,   Megan,   MaryMargaret , Renee ,  Carmella ,  Jocelyn, Sharon,  Daisy,   Anne,  A.J. ,  Jenny , Laura ,   Cathie,  Linda,   Sherrie,  Helen

A better bit of bunting!

Fancy a bit of bunting and a little scrap busting all in one go? Having seen some lovely bunting on Instagram by https://www.instagram.com/katewebberdesigns/ I thought I would make some for some younger members of my extended family!

I kept the design simple and matched together some material scraps and a few cute fussy cuts.

Once I had sewn all the materials together and backed with a thin interfacing – I then added some little embroidered details and appliqued hexagons.

Then it was simply a case of adding a bias strip along the top of the pieces of bunting and for a little added decoration I made a small folded flower that was sewn onto the bunting with a button. Here are the results of an afternoons sewing…

I think they will look really cute above a bed!

Thanks for popping in, happy stitiching!

Nutcracker

I was going to make a second reindeer stocking, but decided to try something a little different. So this time I adapted a pattern, that I already had in a kit, for a little nutcracker. I worked him in goldwork and attached him to the front of a quilted stocking. As with the last stocking, I embroidered the child’s name on the back in goldwork.

Unfortunately I was in such a rush to finish I forgot to take progress pictures – but here is the finished stocking….

• 

And here is the back…..

It is starting to feel a lot like Christmas now (even though it is still early).

Thank you for popping in, happy stitching.

Stocking up for Christmas

I thought you might like to see what has become of my goldwork Rudolph. Well I had always intended him to decorate a child’s Christmas stocking. So I first set about making the stocking by quilting square scraps together and adding a linen section as a base to the goldwork.

I embroidered the name of the recipient in goldwork on the back and applied Rudolph to the front.

A little bit of hand stitching and a lining and this is what the final stocking looked like….

Rudolph is home….

The back of the stocking.

I really enjoyed making this stocking and am quite pleased with the results. Just hope they are enjoyed now for many years to come!

Happy stitching everyone.

Rudolph is ready…

I have managed to finish Rudolph! It has taken longer than I thought, almost a week of sewing, mainly due to the fact that the initial padding was so thick which made it rather difficult to plunge the Japanese gold thread through.

Last time I posted Rudolph, he looked like this….

Over the last few days I have been covering the head and neck in Japanese gold thread, plunging all the endings to the back of the work and sewing them in place. As usual I did not plan this piece before starting it – so I had not thought about the direction of the Jap thread, so I am not totally happy with the way in which it is lying on the final piece. Luckily it is going on the front of a child’s stocking – so they probably won’t notice too much. Here are some progress shots.

I may just fill in the eyes with white embroidery threads, but other than that – here is the finished piece….

Now all I need to do is cut around the pieces and sew back the organza before applying to the front of the Christmas stocking. I will post pictures of the final project when completed.

Thank you for popping by, happy stitching!

SAL 38: Buttonhole bananza!

Hello everyone and what a dreary, wet weekend it has been so far! I have finally managed to get a little bit of sewing done on my Blue Bird etui kit – although not a huge amount!

The wings of the bird act as needle cases with flannel panels underneath each side. I have spent about 6 hours in total slip stitching around the edge of each wing before sewing buttonhole stitch over the top. So much time, so little progress!

Thank you for popping by. See you all in another 3 weeks!

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire,  Gun,  Carol , Sue,Constanze, Christina,  Kathy,  Margaret,  Cindy, Heidi, Jacky , Sunny ,  Hayley,   Megan,   MaryMargaret , Renee ,  Carmella ,  Jocelyn, Sharon,  Daisy,   Anne,  A.J. ,  Jenny , Laura ,   Cathie,  Linda,   Sherrie,  Helen