applehead

a stitch or two...

 ...a present in the making for a friend 's birthday.

Just a few grinning skulls to go.

small hands....

Little fingers that just couldn't resist touching.

Tiny embroidered pincushions that should have been finished in time for Christmas.

Almost there....

introducing ....

ummm, skull.

Yet to be named but needs a good strong German name as that's where he hails from. At least I think he's a he.Why is he wrapped in tulle?

Skull is going to be part of my embroidery workshop project. Or perhaps all of it depending on how long he takes me to finish.

This is skull after the workshop yesterday. So far so good - but I have yet to tackle the bottom half of his head. I also think he needs a bit of dental work- gold or silver tooth? Or would a big fat diamond be just a little too much?

More photos soon.....

ink, paper and thread...

add a little glue and you are well on the way to making a book.

Day one of the embroidery workshop yesterday and our first exercise was to make a book with a decorated paper and fabric cover.

One of the aims of the workshop is to use hand and machine embroidery and to work beyond your usual boundaries. My natural inclination would be to stop here, or at the most add a little texture and depth to the body of the cover using (most probably) white thread so that it blends into the background. Maybe a small amount of blue or even red thread for contrast but nothing too alarming.

Do I stick to my usual aesthetic ( simple and fairly minimal) or try to do something different - maybe add some shocking colour or bold texture? The materials requirement list included beads, buttons and lace to embellish the cover.
All of the above which are still sitting quietly in my workbox. All around me there is a riot of colour, texture and embellishment happening. Lace, crystals, heavily stitched surfaces.

I have already taken the bold step of messing up the surface of the accordion pages I am going to stitch into the book.

Crumpled, ink stained and torn - quite a world away from my standard clean ivory pages.

Embellished or unadorned?
Need to think about that one.

stitch by stitch...

 

I have always been tempted by the beautiful vintage French linens on offer on EBay- however the cost of shipping to Australia meant that I only ever window shopped.

When I saw this piece of linen and cotton ticking up for offer I just couldn't resist it- and shipping to the UK is not quite so scary.

Perfect for making a present for a new baby due to arrive next week - heavy and textured, yet with a lovely soft handle.

 

I've had the fabric for a while and a vague idea of what I wanted to do with it.

At last I have cut into the fabric and started to stitch. I'm still not quite sure where it is headed but I am enjoying watching the design slowly appear stitch by stitch.

Unplanned yet thoughtful;patterns taking shape under my fingers almost without me having to think about it.

Not the way I usually work at all.

I like it.

not tab curtains....

Tab curtains are very tedious to make and not very inspiring or exciting to photograph. Longer days have highlighted the pressing need for curtains to block out the light in the front bedrooms.The past week has been spent cutting, sewing and hanging. My pincushion and most of my pins went missing in the move and as I found that eight pins were just not quite enough when making curtains, new pins and a new pincushion were called for.

Which is why you see a photo of a pincushion rather than boring old tab curtains.

Much quicker and more fun to make, as well as a good excuse for a bit of therapeutic embroidery after stitching all those tabs.

A big thank you to everyone who has sent mail to Charlotte - such a big smile to greet the postman each day! Your postcards have been sent (or about to be posted - I am a little behind on the mail) so be sure to let me know if you didn't get yours and should have!

two small trees

they're small, there's two and they're trees...need I say more?

No purpose really except to keep me out of trouble when I'm not in the kitchen making mutant meringues...

no glue involved

In between peeling gel medium off my fingertips and picking scraps off paper up off the floor ( I'm a bit of a mess when I'm making stuff) I have managed to finish embroidering this fish.
I am happy with the shape of the bag and the handle but just need to decide how I wish to attach the strap.
So close......

Oh, and I get to write my very first note to the teacher today! Poor Rose had a stuffy head cold and I thought it best not to infect her whole class( gee, that would make me a popular person). So, she is home to day for a bit of a rest and I get to write the aforementioned note.

Dear Teacher,
I felt it best to keep my runny nosed, germ sneezing  bundle of  joy at home yesterday as it meant that we could all stay in our PJ's until 10am and watch Playschool together.Oh, and we had pancakes for breakfast.
Kind regards
Rose's mama.
xxxx
( a bit of sucking up never goes astray, I'm thinking)

This note writing gig is a breeze.......

Here's a book I finished putting together the other day.

Vey satisfying, indeed.

We're really enjoying the spot of fine weather that is with us at the moment. Long ,lazy days spent swimming and just doing nothing ( nothing of course,after you have finished the morning run of washing, cleaning and cooking and before you start doing the afternoon/evening routine of washing,cleaning and cooking!). Love it!

In between times, I have been having a bit of a play with constructing fabric bowls based on a pattern found in this book ISBN4-579-11088-9.( highly recommend this one by the way!)

 

I  felted an old cream baby blanket for one bowl and used a heavy blue linen for the other ( it has been tipped over in the picture below,so you can see the stitched base). Here is the cream bowl at the almost finished stage.

A few french knots and a bit of running stitch and you have a bowl!

I still get emails ( and photos, thank you very much) from people who have made this felt box. I had been planning to make a few more and then came across the fabric bowl pattern. I decided to try those instead. They are a little more wobbly looking than I expected ,but in the end I have decided that I quite like the whole effect.Sort of soft and sculptural looking.....

These bookmarks, also from the same book, are on the to- do list.

In my world, you can never have too many bookmarks and I think that these are particularly appealing.

it was the night before Christmas....

and the girls have hung up the tiny felt stockings that I sewed very,very late one night this week.

That was about the only time spare in a very busy but lovely week. My best friend Carla and husband Matt arrived from London early on Wednesday morning and we headed out for an amazing dinner at Tetsuya's that night. Shopping and getting ready for a get together with best friend Steph and her family the next day...busy and noisy but fun!
Friday morning, Carla and I managed to squeeze in a 7km run, where we finally had the chance to just talk and catch up on bits and pieces. We could talk underwater ,so running and chatting was a breeze!
Then it was out to the airport so that Matt and Carla could catch a flight to Adelaide to spend time with family there. I will see them hopefully for one other day, before they head back to the UK and work, just before the New Year. A super quick and full visit but so wonderful to have them in the same country again for a few short days!
I am busy cooking for the family feast tomorrow and finishing off a last minute gift for Damian.He is off to Paris for a month's work on the 27th off this month, so we have also been trying to make sure everything is packed and ready to go! I think next week will be lots of lazy mornings sitting around in our PJ's until late morning......
A very safe and peaceful Christmas to you all - thank you for all of the comments and feedback this year - thoughtful, funny, supportive and just plain friendly! I consider myself lucky to have made some very special friends through this blog- you know who you are!

An early gift from the lovely Pip from "Meet me at Mikes" -
a happy applehead that plays a cheery tune!  Makes me smile just looking at it!