K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challnege 2024
Week 51 - Grid Journaling Slow Stitch Style.
I stitched my 4 squares onto a piece of blue cotton with a foundation layer with stem stitch. Four different colors.
I then cut a few snippets of fabric to stitch at random in these squares.
It turned out quite bright and I was happy with it.
I watched this movie while slow stitching this week. A Man Called Otto - Tom Hanks.
We all grieve differently. We all have lost loved ones, jobs, family, countries so we can relate.
Mr. Otto lives an ordered life and follows the rules. When a family moves in next door it brings a warmth and caring (the color) he has been missing since his wife died.
He can manage most house challenges and starts to help this family in between trying to figure out how he is going to join his wife.
The pregnant wife is very perceptive and senses something is missing.
Very touching and at times very funny.
Loved it.
The Silk Vendetta by Victoria Holt. Another great novel from one of my favorite authors.
Lenore and her Grandmother live at Silk House owned by the Sallonger Family. Following a scandal and the death of Lenore's mother in France the pair were transferred to England.
The Sallonger family is in the silk business and get their silk from France produced by the St. Allengeres family.
Weddings, funerals, coming of age traditions, reunions and grudges all play a part in the story.
The divide between the upper and lower house in England is blurred with Lenore marries the son of the house and becomes the Lady. Her husband is murdered, but why?
Lenore and her grandmother start up a good business in London then expand to Paris. Silk is in good demand with a friend who becomes the business manager.
A great read!
I am working on making these ornaments for mysiblings and grand kids as a memory of Mom who passed Jan 2023.
We are having a family get together on the Dec 27-28, 2024
We did a similar one for Dad 2 years ago.
Wooden spool, with navy wool felt, a piece of Mom's favorite dress and a LOVE heart held with a safety pin.
Mom sewed all her life so the spool works well. We all remember Mom's special dress which she made herself.
She loves us a lot.
Nice slow stitch project which my sister helped with preparations since I have limited access to my tools!
K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024
Week 50 - Stitching Text.
I chose fabric with lines I could follow.
As it is snowing heavily today that is the word I chose.
I used stem stitch. Added highlight to the lines then used a white pencil to draft my letters. Then added a snowflake in the square and offset the empty corner with smaller snowflakes.
Really happy with this one.
I was donated some batik fabric from one of the girls at Sewing Group a couple of weeks ago.
The pieces were large enough to create an accent panel for a bag.
I tucked the 4 triangles in each corner then couched the seams to the foundation layer.
I used a white piece of linen as the background of my focal element. I cut the bird from a coordinating fabric from my stash. I made the wing from the same purple batik. Some heavy stitching for the eye.
Not sure when it will end up as a bag.
This is our seniors group at church, who served a wonderful turkey dinner.
It was wonderful to visit with friends and enjoy a great meal.
I skipped the concert afterwards because of having to walk at night.
I got some Caramel Popcorn made thanks to my sister.
I spend a short visit with her on Dad's Birthday.
We went to the grocery store and bought stuff.
Thanks to Mom there were plastic bags to hold the goodies.
I really appreciated a day of normal away from the hotel.
Treats for our family Christmas.
It's week 49 of the K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching 2024 Challenge.
This week's prompt was Stitch by Chance.
I put 6 prompts in a box and then pull one by one by chance and executed the technique.
1. Leaf (1)
2. Seam (2)
3. Color (1)
4. Applique (1)
5. Couching (5)
6. Patch
I pull 6 prompts and was lucky to get seam so I could add a bit to my piece to make it square.
This was fun!
I watched this Christmas Movie on Sunday. A Christmas Winter Song.
A new to me Christmas movie with a good story line and wonderful characters.
A story of redemption which fits in well with Christmas.
The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
I finished this book a bit ago. I wanted to document my recent read before my from the blog for a bit.
I was surprised to find this book was first published in 1925. Anthony Cade is doing a favor for a friend when he heads to the UK from France. A simple delivery.
Well, when he arrives at Chimney, the grand estate in the late evening he senses something amiss so decides to leave under the cover of dark and return in the morning.
There has been a murder! The story was very well done and Anthony uses his charm to get to the bottom of it and into a woman's heart.
It was a very good read. I will keep an eye out for more of her books.
Next piece of K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.
Week 48 - Cloth Gathering.
I chose this soft yellow cotton fabric. I cut a piece 3 times the length of my anticipated final piece (5.5 x 3 =16.5 inches).
I used pieces of embroidery floss longer than the cloth by a few inches. I chose them from my ORTS tin. I think I did 9 rows of running stitch. Make sure your knot is secure - a back stitch would be helpful.
I then pulled the threads to scrunch up the fabric. It feels really nice.
I really liked the stem stitch along the top edge which was just stitched to the top of each fold in green thread. I put crosses in blue on the left. I did not find adding stitches to this piece easy except the stem stitch.
I used a Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment pen to add more details.
The washes were added with Payne's Grey and Deep Red watercolor pencils by Faber-Castell. Got deeper color by letting it dry and doing it over again.
Like it!
Another extra square of slow stitching. I have used up the supplies I had packed for being away so I will have to dig out some more.
White cotton top layer on a foundation piece. I did not learn my lesson about now covering the front with fabric as well which makes for a thick piece. In all fairness, I did not have a plan when I started.
I chose strips of purple fabric in various patterns. I stitched the horizontal lines first in running stitch with purple thread from the ORTS tin.
Then I did the vertical ones with bright pink thread. Along the way I had found the lace flower I had dyed a while back and decided to use it.
I tacked it in place then added a purple circle which I over cast stitched to the piece. Then I added a lot of French Knots in yellow in the middle of that. That was very thick with 4 layers of fabric. Turned out nice.
Another Extra Square for my slow stitching project.
I decided on a landscape composition. I invisilbe stitched my white layer to my foundation layer.
I added a couple of pieces of blue for the sky with a yellow sun.
Two grey mountains and a green layer of trees.
A deeper blue layer at the bottom of lake and a brown piece for land.
Mostly running stitches on these pieces. A bit of seed stitching.
I did triangles on the green for trees but it is not very visible.
K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024
Week 47 - Wrinkle Stitching - wrinkling a piece of cloth then stitching along the fold lines creating a random pattern. Filling in the spaces you have created with the stitched lines.
I chose three pieces of pink linen as I needed something perky.
I scrunched it up then basted it to the foundation piece. The stitching in pink the same as the fabric is the original wrinkle stitching.
Then, I got carried away. I wanted colorful but I may have filled it in a bit too much.
It is what it is. It is what I needed today.
A pretty set of flowers today drawn with another Staedtler pen - cool roller.
Turns out it is not permanent so no watercoloring this bunch of flowers.
I love these nice smooth lines in this cool ink color.
I am working on the kitchen today and leaving just bare minimum dishes to facilitating feeding myself.
Still waiting!
I created this green leaves piece last night prompted by a photo challenge of green.
I used my rag tag watercolor pencils and the pencil sharpener to get some pencil shavings onto my watercolor palette.
With 2 greens, 2 yellows and a grey I managed to get a variety of colors for this collage.
Once it was dry I added the lines between the squares with a marker.
I then used a fine marker to draw leaves in the spaces. All kinds and shapes with a bit of help from the internet.
It's nature wonderful.
This morning looking at it I'm not sure that I will do for a photo challenge.
I will scour the place to find something green to shoot. I do have plants if worse comes to worse.
Sewing Group
I have joined a group who meets to do sewing the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.
The last group shut down when the pandemic hit and our leader moved away.
I got a call in early October to attend the first meeting. We brainstormed who we could find from the old group to invite? What was the purpose of the group? When were we going to meet?
A women's group. Tradition quilting is the focus but all are welcome with whatever project they are working on.
We will meet from 10 to 12 Noon then have lunch together for fellowship.
I missed the last meeting due to commitments here at home and made it for a bit of lunch.
Today, was our third meeting and fortunately I was able to attend. With most of my stuff packed I brought my slow stitching. The 2024 challenge will produce 53 pieces about I think I need 56 for the project so there is room for a few free lance pieces. I pull some fabric bits, some foundation pieces, my tools box and the floss box and a bit of lunch and headed out. It was a great time. Three of the ladies are working on their own traditional quilting projects, another brought knitting and me with my slow stitching. We shared our projects and then 3 of us had lunch together it was great.
I cut my foundation pieces 5.5 inches square from white cotton - top white and the bottom stained. I brought pink fabric scraps and some green. I cut the petals and leaves, pinned the pieces and stitched them down. Added the yellow center circle with running stitch and French Knots. I added blue seed stitches to the upper part of the background then some green below. A bit of a brown strip at the bottom. I think it was supposed to be ground but now it's just a random element/.