Goldwork initials

Getting some Christmas sewing out of the way this week and decided that I wanted to personalise some gifts. With that in mind I decided to try my hand at some goldwork lettering. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the process.

I first found a font that I liked on line and traced this out on tracing paper. I then stitched this down onto a linen backing before removing the tracing paper. Larger areas of the lettering where then filled with a felt padding. The felt was then covered in coloured smooth purls. Here is the result….

There are a few little mistakes, where the purls are a little too long/short – but on the whole, and if viewed from a distance, I think they work very well together. Now to make the rest of the gift!!

Thank you for popping in, happy stitching!

A bird in hand….

Yay, happy dance! I have been frantically stitching and have finally managed to finish the little goldwork parakeet, designed by Georgina Bellamy of That Embroidery Girl. It was a lovely design to work with similarities in techniques used in her robin design. The top of the birds breast was worked in looped metal smooth purls tightly packed together. The rest of the birds face was stitched in long and short stitch.

Gold chippings hid any edges around the base of the feathers. Once the bird had been stitched, it was cut from the hoop and a felt backing was sewn on. I had chosen not to make the bird into a brooch and instead added a cord to hang the bird from….and here he is…..

I was really pleased with the finished results and he will be hanging in my kitchen window, catching the light!

Thank you for popping in, happy stitching.

SAL 36: No change here….

Sorry everyone, but I am afraid I have not made any progress with my little blue wren in the last three weeks. I am frantically trying to get all my Christmas sewing finished by the end of October as I have a feeling the post is going to be extra busy this year!

So here is where I was up to last time….

I hope this finds you all well and that you have had more stitching success than I have!

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

Feathered friends…

I have managed to do a little stitching on my goldwork parakeet  (designed by Georgina Bellamy of ‘That Embroidery Girl’) , The design was published in Inspirations magazine if you would also like to have a go. Last time I had managed to cut out all the felt padding and had started to sew it down onto some synthetic organza.

Once the padding had been stitched in place it was outlined in gold pearl purl, after which I could then start adding the birds feathers. These were made from cotton organza that had been coloured using painting pens. Feathers were cut out using a simple template and then sewn down to the felt padding. I also put some large tacking stitches across the feathers to stop them getting in the way of further stitching. The lower body of the bird was covered with smooth pearl in gold and olive green.

I have added a beak made from kid leather and started on the head of the bird. This is sewn in long and short stitch. The head has proved the most difficult part so far as there is such a lot of stitching around this area, making it hard to get even a beading needle through. Here is a close up of work so far….

I hope to find some time soon to finish this little fellow off.

Thanks for popping by, happy stitching.

Birds of a feather…

So what is in the hoop today? Well I fancied starting something new and as I enjoyed making the gorgeous metal work robin (designed by Georgina Bellamy of ‘That Embroidery Girl’) , I thought I would try out her new parakeet design which I found in a copy of Inspirations magazine.

Here is a picture of the finished design and the start that I have made layering up the padding…

It is suggested that the design be made up as a brooch, but I think I will make a little hanging decoration to ‘fly’ alongside my robin.

Thanks for popping in, happy stitching everyone.

SAL 35: Starting to come together

Hi everyone, I do hope you are all keeping safe in these strange times. My life seems to have gone back to normal, as 5 year olds find it impossible to social distance!!

On the sewing front I have not progressed very far since last time as I have been busy on Christmas sewing projects. So here is where I was up to last time…

I am currently sewing the edges of the wing inserts which will act as needle cases – but these are difficult to photograph as it is white stitching on a white background! But I do have something to show you as I have been working on putting the little bird together as well.

First a ceramic body was covered in a layer of felt and the front side of the tail added….

The next stage was to apply a tweed layer over the felt. Then the other stitched components can be sewn over the top of this. I have also added a silver mesh ribbon around the central belly of the wren.

All that needs to be added now are the wings!

Keep safe and well, and more importantly – keep stitching! See you all in another 3 weeks from now.

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

New Flower Garden

Another fantastic goldwork course with the amazing Georgina Bellamy of ‘That Embroidery Girl’ This time we were learning how to make a miniature garden pincushion with multiple elements to make up. Due to Covid19, the course was online and Georgina had produced a series of wonderful video tutorials which were very comprehensive and easy to follow. I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone wishing to try their hand at goldwork.

The pincushion design was made up of three flowers of differing sizes, a butterfly and a dragon fly. There was also the option to make a mini bee.

All the elements were then set in a felted pincushion and mounted on a wooden block. I then fixed the wooden block into a little sugar dish I had picked up at a car-boot many years ago. I preferred to have the pincushion raised up. And here is the finished pincushion….

Additional tufts of felt were added to the base and little french knot flowers.

Thank you for popping in, happy stitching everyone.

Using up those pretty scraps…

Hello everyone, I have spent the last few weeks making Christmas gifts. I know it is a little early for the ‘C’ word, but if I don’t get started now I will never finish!

The latest make is a @zeriano  pouch that appeared a while back in  ‘Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine’. I used lots of little scraps that I have been unable to throw away as I hoped I would find a use for them. I think it looks quite sweet, especially those mice, and I hope the recipient likes it too.

It is a standard pouch shape but with the addition of a vinyl pocket at the front. I added a little fussy cut behind the pocket – just because..

Here is a quick view of the back, nothing fancy….

Now, on to the next….

Thanks for popping in, Happy stitching everyone.

Wings of hope! SAL 34

Hi everyone, I have made a little bit of progress in the last three weeks, but it is small as I have been busy getting some Christmas projects finished (sorry if it is too early for some – but if I don’t get a head start, I won’t have anything ready!)

Both wings are now finished and cut out and I am currently buttonholing around the flannel inserts.

As you can probably see the left hand wing has a much better finish around the satin stitch semi circles and the shapes are more defined – maybe I should have practised before I started to sew! A lesson learnt – but I am not going to redo them as I would destroy the tweed layer beneath the stitching.

All the little elements are now completed and I can start to put my little bird together – yay! Then I just have to tackle the base!

Keep safe and well, and more importantly – keep stitching! See you all in another 3 weeks from now.

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 little birdie told me….

Hello everyone, after working on a beautiful goldwork robin, that had been designed by Georgina Bellamy of ‘That Embroidery Girl’,  some time ago – I decided to make another one as a Christmas gift. This really is a lovely little design to sew. It has enough challenges to keep you interested, but not so many as to make you feel totally daunted.

It took me three days to complete this little fellow and I am really pleased with the results. Here is a close up of his face and red breast. The top of the robin’s head was sewn in both bright check and smooth purl. As you can see I haven’t laid the metal threads flat like the sides of the bird – instead I have overlapped them all to add texture. The breast is worked in metal threads (in three different colours) that have been looped and sit tightly together.

Here is the finished bird, I hope the recipient likes him too….

Thank you for popping in. Happy stitching everyone….