Slow Stitching - July 2025 - Week 5

With most of my social groups represented and an extra week in July I decided to add seed stitching to the background of this piece.

I used white floss so it only adds texture with not much visual presence to this piece.

It was a lot of work but slow stitching is always so enjoyable.

I have done this month's piece in advance because of the move with took place recently.

It adds some substance to the piece as well.

Upon reflection there a Flickr photography community that I have forgotten to include in this piece.

It has been a valuable experience to remind myself of these wonderful communities.

Slow Stitching - July 2025 - Week 4

I continue with my social group themed stitching piece as part of the Comfort Coverlet hosted by Kathryn at K3N Cloth Tales. 

I have added a few more groups. I belonged to a card making group on line for many years. There were challenges and exchange groups. I made cards and mailed them away every month for years.

I belong to a sewing group at church before the pandemic and has been reborn after. I belong to the slow stitching community through my participation with K3N's projects on You Tube.

I belong to an art group. I participate in art shows, regular meetings and social events.  Those have been curtailed due to moving but I look forward to getting back into it later this summer.

Slow Stitching - July 2025 - Week 3

I have belonged to bible study groups as a participant and a leader.

I was a leader in women's ministries at church for many years. This lead to organizing events, contributing at meetings, offering creative and practical help to create community for women.

I attended night school for many years and full time studies for a year where I met new people every year and made friends.

I organized a women's group which met in our homes to create community and support for women. It was called Welcome to my Kitchen.  It was a wonderful time. The pandemic put it on hold and it has not returned in that form.I loved it.

Slow Stitching - July 2025 - Week 2

I continued with my social groups on this piece.

This week I have added stitching the represent the neighbours I lived near over the years.  Some I have known well and others just enough to say Hi in passing.

I have taught many classes over the years - card making, paper making, and a few others. I have taken art classes.

I have belonged to several worshiping communities over the years. Some were places to connect on Sunday, others become places I made wonderful friends and I participated in activities at different levels. 

I remember many Tupperware parties, Stampin Up parties, and Pampered Chef parties and a few jewellery parties which all great fun. I just thought of these now so they are not represented in the stitching.

It has been fun to recall the group and then come up with an icon which will remind me of those folks I hung around with at that time.

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 4

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May- Week 4.

I finished my Books square in the coverlet slow stitching project.   

I added the tiny fabric book that hold my favorite authors.  You can find the details in this post.

I added more vine along the top of the book case from the blue pot. 

I added texture stitching - tiny seed stitching around the book to hold together the tea dyed top fabric to the foundation layer. 

I chose neutral tones used in the piece itself. 

I love it!

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 3

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - March - Week 3.

I continue to add elements to my books square. 

I have added standing books to the top shelf of the bookcase with a variety of colors. Again, the stitch is the outline stitch with 2 strands of thread.

Then, a set of books laying on the second shelf featuring nice colored covers.

I added a red vase with flowers on the bottom shelf. 

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 2

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May - Week 2.

I continued with my books theme this week. 

Added green leaves with vines in single thread to the vine along the left hand edge. I used a variety of green colored thread. 

I added a book to the top shelf featuring a green edge, gold oval and green star in the center. It's cover facing out.

Then, a clock to the middle shelf in gold thread with black hands. 

Then, glasses to the bottom one.  I need those to read. Very important.

The embroidery is all done with the outline stitch. 

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 1

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May - Week 1.

I chose books for my May coverlet square.  I read a lot. I generally get my books from the Thrift Store, library book sales or the little Free Libraries in my area.

I started with a bookcase in brown thread.  I added a plant pot in blue on top with a green vine travelling along the left hand side of the square. 

I added a Little Free Library structure in the bottom left and corner in blue with bright books inside.  I added grass near the base of the library.

The stitch used is the outline stitch. 

Slow Stitching - April 2025 - Week 5

My April piece of slow stitching following K3N Cloth Tales - Comfort Coverlet 2025.

I added a few finishing details to this piece.

Brown seed stitch in the tea bag to represent the tea.

I added grass with green floss in a variety of long stitches to ground my tea house.

This piece has turned out so well.

Slow Stitching - April 2025 - Week 3

K3N Cloth Tales - Comfort Coverlet - Week 3   

The theme for April is tea which I just love.

I added a tea house over my table of tea which I put in last week.

It is kind of modeled on a Japanese tea house.  I chose a dark grey floss for this addition to my composition.

Again, using the stem stitch to make nice even lines.

I am enjoying this composition.

Slow Stitching - April 2025 - Week 1

I chose tea for the subject of my April slow stitching square.

I chose a mottle blue piece of cotton fabric which I invisible basted to a thin cotton foundation layer.

I chose to create a tea bag and tag which adds a border around my square.

The tea bag has been running stitch around the edge of it with seed stitches towards the bottom to represent the tea.  

The green tag is at the other end onto which I added TEA lettered in turquoise.

The string was embroidery with stem stitch in a grey floss. 

Slow Stitching 2025 - March - Week 4

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - March - Week 4. "My Favorite Colors"

I am still working with my favorite colors. I felt the middle of the circle needed something else.

I decided to add 2 squares of white stitching to the center.  They were supposed to be less regular than they turned out to be. 

I then added a star of white stitching in the middle of the squares.  I have a really hard time making thing irregular.  

You can see that I decided to finish the seams along the 1 inch border.  I think I will be assembling these pieces with stashing with a backing fabric to hind all the stitching when all the pieces are done.  

Slow Stitching 2025 - March - Week 3

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - March - Week 3.

I continued to add stitching to the remaining bands of color. I stayed with my four colors and added yellow circles to the turquoise band.  

Then tight waves in navy on the yellow band.  Then wider waves in turquoise on the pink band. I used a scrapbook tool to mark out the waves onto the fabric. 

I then added a circle of tiny white rick rack couched down with pink thread. 

It is looking pretty good.
 

Slow Stitching 2025 - March - Week 2

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - March - Week 2.

I started slow stitching some texture to my 4 bands of color.

On the navy band I added Sashiko stitching with white thread.  I am happy with the consistency of my stitches.  

I really need a palm thimble to do much more of the beautiful stitching.  I have found a tutorial to my my own so I will move forward with that project and post it when I am done.

I plan different patterns on each of the colors.

Sewing Project - Bread Bags

I decided to make myself some bread bags to bring home my Country Grain loaves from COBS because the plastic bags are stacking up.

I chose 100% cotton fabric in yellows, greys and white. This was a large piece of fabric that I have used for many projects.

I used the COBS plastic bag as a template - 18.5 inches tall x 11.5 inches W.

I wanted the seams finished on the inside and a generous gusset at the top so the measures were generous.

The first one I did was put together with out too much attention to measures of the beginning piece of fabric.

The second one was too large and had to be reduced to match the first one.  

The measurements of the fabric would be 26.00 wide to be folded in half and 20.00 inches tall with 1.5 inches for the gusset at the top.

I chose cotton twill tape for the string in the gusset.  

I added a buttonhole on the front of the gusset on the front of the back before I sewed down the gusset. 

A large safety pin to pull the twill tape through.

I added a tab of yellow cotton to the ends of the tape to give me purchase to pull the bag closed.

I then boiled them in tea for about 10 minutes to even out  the colors.   Once rinsed they were dried.

I added a "My Bag" tag to these bags and they are included in on my "My Bag Line" page.

I then chose to add some slow stitching to the front of the bags onto the light square.  There are 5 circles in different colors where the top was outline stitch and the bottom was the running stitch.

I don't know what the staff at COBS will think of the idea but we shall see.

For information on the line. 

Tree Scent Ornaments - Silver Plated Frames

 My tree scent ornaments sold well at the Christmas Store in the Allied Arts Council Gallery this year so I am starting to make more for next year.

I found 3 very cute silver plated cat frames while shopping at the thrift store with my niece this weekend.  The price was right so I took them home.

I decided to embroider small felties to put in them as the diffusers. I enjoy my slow stitching.

This one features a cat sitting in the sun with flowers growing in the garden.  The flowers mirror the potted flowers on the windowsill and the sun is warm and wonderful

A variety of greens for the garden in the beyond the window.

I mostly kept the pieces intact except the easel back which would not work for ornaments.

I added some fusible pelon to the back of the stitched work to hide the stitching and add some depth. I added a piece of white card stock to which I affixed the silver plated sticker.

I added a color coordinated 1/8" satin ribbon as a hanger which has been hand stitched to the embroidery piece itstelf.

I returned the glass for a spacer and allows the frame to be returned to that purpose if so desired.

The screws on the tabs needed to be tightened and I was done.

I created the night time scene with the full moon in the sky accompanied with silver stars stitched with silver metallic thread onto navy felt.

The moon is grey thread and the outline stitch.

I created a span of water below showing the reflection of the moon in it.  A few ripples in the water were added with a few grey stitches.

The cat is gazing out from its windowsill into the night.

I added a navy satin ribbon hanger and reassembled the layers into the frame and it was done.

I added a distant landscape outside the window with a beautiful warm sun.

The sky features a white cloud and a black bird.

The landscape is created with a variety of green threads with the outline stitch.  The are very closely stitched side by side to hide the blue felt sky.

The cat sits on the sill while enjoying the scene outside.

Slow Stitching 2025 - Feb - Week 4

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - Week 4.

I visit several wetlands with my camera during the summer.  It seem appropriate to add this element to this piece.

I have birds, clouds and a sun in the sky. I have trees and water ripples in the center.

In the foreground I put a duck and cattails with water ripples.

Since this was the last week on this piece I added a fall leave and a winter snowflake on the right hand side.

I think I will be assembling my 12 piece together at the end with a backer fabric to hide all my stitching.

Next week we move on to March's piece.

Slow Stitching 2025 - Feb - Week 3

Slow stitching with K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025.  February week 3. 

I continued my composition of subjects that I photograph.  

The top curlicue got some spring blossoms with tiny leaves, a song bird in blue ( I don't often see blue birds but the color made me happy) and a woodland mushroom.  Again, the ones I photograph are generally in the brown tones.

The shapes I just mostly hand draw to get them into the spaces that they need to occupy.

I am happy with my progress. 

Slow Stitching 2025 - Feb - Week 2

 K3N Cloth Tales - Slow Stitching 2025 - Comfort Coverlet. February 2025 - Week 2

I added curlicues around the edge in several colors. 

Then, I added the flowers and insects - bee, butterfly and ladybug to the left hand side.

I created a flower with long stitches then added some weaving at the center of the petals.  Several yellow French Knots for the center of the flower.  I used the end of the curliecue for the flower stem and added a large leaf at the top for the ladybug to sit on. 

There will be 3 more compositions to come to fill in the space on this square.

Slow Stitching 2025 - Feb - Week 1

This is my February piece for K3N Cloth Tales - Slow Stitching Comfort Coverlet 2025.

I chose my photography as the subject for this piece.

I have 2 layers - a top layer of light grey 100% cotton on a foundation of 50-50 cotton poly.

I placed a frame of running stitch about 1 inch from the edge. Using light grey 2 strands of floss. 

I drew a top down view of a camera in the top right hand corner stitched in black with accents of grey and champagne.

I will be adding subjects I photograph throughout the year.