More Anna Progress...

The last post about Anna really was how she was about 3-4 months ago so while it might seem like progress in a short time...in reality...not so much...but to end Anna's 2017 journey she now has...

the four corner six-pointed stars!

Not quite there yet.  There is one more shape to go to finish off the borders - I think there are 24 to make before they can be stitched on so it will still be a while before she is done as a top...onwards she will go into 2018!

Happy Stitching...

Quilters Christmas Swap Part II...

I've shown what I made for PH in the Quilters paper bag Christmas swap and someone else made for me, if I could just remember her name.  Because I can't go to the day group I don't know a lot of the members and while some of the day members I have met along the way, or look they familiar from other interactions, the lady who made for me was someone I had never met before (and I have to admit I am hopeless at remembering names, it take me ages).

Like a lot of the members I couldn't remember what fabric I had put in that paper bag way back in January except that maybe it was burgundy or maroon or something on that part of the colour wheel...so part of the surprise was not only what was made for me but also what fabric I had asked for it to be made out of.

I opened my parcel to find this neatly tied compendium...oh yes, I remember that fabric now!

Perfect fabrics chosen to compliment the one I provided and perfect for toting a small embroidery project I think. A zipped compartment to hold the work and threads, a good sized pocket for the pattern, a place for scissors and needles in the centre and that strip to the left is held down by a press stud at the bottom which is a great idea. I've given it a test at threading through my small embroidery hoop and it works a treat, will be nice not to have to scramble for the hoop because it has come adrift from the project again.

I'm sure I will get good use out of my present...

Happy Stitching...

Quilters Christmas Swap - Part I

Quilters group have a swap at Christmas dinner where members who want to play along put a fat quarter of fabric in a paper bag with their name on the outside at the start of the year.  The paper bags are then randomly given out and you make a present using the fabric inside for whoever you get - no rules, whatever the maker chooses, add any fabrics you like or not, put in extras or not, No. Rules. (I love that!) - with the whole year ahead to get that sorted.  I was given P.H.'s paper bag.

She had put in a fat quarter of a gorgeous fabric...

The design...really bad colour but shows the whole design...

a close up - shows the colours much better...

In March with the sewing friends a road trip was on the agenda to Terang's quilt show (we will definitely be putting it on the agenda again) and of course it was mandatory that we visit the local shop.  I had taken the paper bag along "just in case" which was just as well as I found lovely fabrics to go with.  Now all I needed was...well...what to make! I wanted to maintain the integrity of the pattern of P.H.'s fabric as it was so gorgeous and didn't want to chop it up into little bits and lose the pretty...Mmmm...

I chose a project but that was abandoned (fortunately before I started) when sitting across the table from P.H. at sewing one night she had that very thing.  Another night she noticed my thread bin on the table and made a comment on it, bells immediately went off - one of those for a start!! A further rummage through the patterns unearthed a Virgina Enright zipped box bag pattern where I could showcase her fabric.  I also made a large pincushion at the last moment because I had fabric left and I could...

 The finished zipped box bag...

 Surprise! There is P.H.'s fabric...

 The whole "set"...

P.H. told me she liked it and I saw her face when she opened it, looking for her fabric and then "surprise" when she opened the zip and saw it on the inside.

The brown and orange clamshell fabrics and green floral I bought in Terang and the red chrysantheneum and lining fabrics came from my stash and think they all went together rather well.

I'll show what I received next time...

Happy Stitching...

Button Challenge...

Embroidery Guild put out a challenge for our Christmas Lunch held in mid-November - a 3/4" cream silk covered button to be decorated in any way the maker chose.  The buttons were passed out by a member and came from either her wedding dress or her mother's wedding dress (I can't remember, I wasn't there being a day meeting and a button was collected for me).  Anyway, it was definitely a challenge from the beginning!  I thought of embroidering a little rose on the button but it was covered so tightly with the silk I coudn't get a needle point under even one thread let alone stitch through it.

The night before Christmas Lunch and still not done - I hadn't been able to come up with any other ideas to that point and while there is absolutely no obligation to play along with these little games at Guild I decided to see if I could come up with something.

I found some silk ribbon roses in a packet amongst the bits and bobs and came up with a plan (finally!) - make a bouquet.  A bouquet needs some greenery so leaves made out of felt with a backstitch central vein - all with the aide of craft glue, no need to get a needle through the silk.

Finished at about 1 3/4"...I was happy with it and have put it back in with the fancy buttons to one day decorate something or other.

And here are all the buttons...talented people at Guild...the stump work bird was the winner.

Happy Stitching...

Anna Progress...

Looked back to see when I last showed progress on my version of "Anna" by Karen Cunningham and it was 30/08/2015 when it looked like this...

with the tens of hexies prepped for the swags.  Oh well, it is a slow stitching project...so two years later...

Hexie swags all sewn down...I'm working on the next shapes to go on which will finish off the top..the four stars to go in the corners are nearly ready to stitch on but who knows how long the other shapes that go in the border will take to eventuate.

Happy Stitching...

Splashes of Gold Challenge...

October was the biennial Exhibition for local Embroidery Guild branch. The exhibition is always titled with a theme that includes gold and this year was "Splashes of Gold".  The challenge is anything that fits in with the theme as the maker interprets using any technique or article as long as it is within the designated size perimeters.  My interpretation of splashes of gold was gold fish in a pond splashing about...and I decided I wanted to make an apron...(I don't know why, I just did...)

It is surprisingly difficult to get a photo of...the blue silky fabric has a bit of a texture to it and the fabric the fish are cut from is also textured - when I saw it I immediately saw fish scales. I had intended to embellish more and include some hand embroidery (the fish shapes were machine appliqued) but work and being sick got in the way of stitchy time and I ran out of said time so beads to represent bubbles and splashes was the best I could manage...there were I think 17 challenge items, all very different from each other, and it was interesting seeing how the theme was interpreted by everyone.

Happy Stitching...

Sampling with Pink & Green - Part II

The next three blocks in the block of the month being run by local Embroiders Guild branch...

That makes seven done - over half way by a smidge...

Happy Stitching...

Wildflower Stitching...

2018 will be show time for patchwork group and mid-year the raffle quilt project was handed out - fabrics, floss and pattern. The quilt to be quilt-as-you-go blocks embroidered with wildflowers found in The Grampians (Gariwerd).

My wildflower was Grevillea Alpina.  We could use any embroidery technique/stitches we chose and instructions were to make-up the finished embroidery into the quilt-as-you-go block and hand quilt in the binding ditch and a little around the design.

Because I can't go to the weekly day group (I go to the day extended into evening which is held a couple of times a month) I didn't get to see all the blocks laid out, so I am looking forward to seeing all the different flowers in the finished quilt at the exhibition next year.

Happy Stitching...