Tast 28

Take a Stitch Tuesday - the stitch this week is 'up and down buttonhole' or 'mirror buttonhole'.

Another new one to me and easy once I had worked out how to do it. Having said that there are a few errors on the stitching over the feather. I have used the stitch to couch down both the trim and the feather. A friend was having a sort out the other day and the trim was in the box, so thanks Gill. I put a few decorative beads on the feather too. Quite a simple page for my journal this week.

All Queens Cushion

Another cushion finished. I created the queen design quite a while ago when I was at college and I've had a inkjet transfer print of it hanging around for ages so I thought I would use it. It was inspired by queens on playing cards. I also put on beads around some of their necks.

Above is the fabric, below is the original design, quite a bit brighter.

The same design is available on a t-shirt from my zazzle shop

If you would like this design on anything else that zazzle sell just let me know and I will see how it fits - no obligation to buy.

Collage - Sketchbook 16 pages79-89

texture, watercolour, pen, found images

texture, watercolour, found image, plastic wrap

texture, watercolour, pen

texture, watercolour, found images

texture, watercolour, found images

texture, watercolour, found images, real jewellery

Sketchbook 16 - Weird Collages

All are textured and coloured with watercolour paints, and collaged with found images

[click on images to enlarge]

the flowers are made from cut out paper coloured with wax crayons

pen drawn flowers at the bottom

Vintage Chair Back Cover Cushion

This is a cushion I made up using what should have been a chair back cover. It is vintage linen which has the design ready traced on and it used to belong to my Grandma at one time. The original pattern was a magazine offer and it gives suggestions on colours and how to embroider it. I did embroider a cushion, also part of this set, see the photo at the bottom, although I did not use the selected colour scheme. I wanted to use a different method for the chair back cover and as I would never use them as chair back covers I thought a cushion would be nice. I have not done any hand embroidery on it. To start with I coloured the flowers and leaves in with Berol fabric pens, but the choice of colours was limited and I've lost the darker green, so the leaves were the done with the lighter green. I then went over parts of the design with free hand machine embroidery. There was a wavy traced line at the lower end for shaping the cover, I used a fancy decorative machine stitch on top of this. I thought the blue traced lines would wash out but they haven't, perhaps vintage ones don't?

below is the cushion I hand embroidered, it took years to do which is one reason why I wanted to do a quicker technique on the cover.

Sketchbook 16 - 6 more pages

watercolour, found and altered images, real flower

crumpled paper texture, watercolour, found images

punched paper used in a mechanical music organ, watercolour, found image

texture, watercolour, pens

texture form magazine, watercolour, found image

texture, watercolour, pen drawing

TAST 27 and Pansies

Take a stitch Tuesday - week 27 - bonnet stitch.

A new one for me, looks quite complicated but it is quite easy really.

I used the stitch to couch lace and fabrics down and as single stitches for the flowers, although these did have an extra straight stitch too. The ribbon was actually a transfer print but I didn't like it so I stitched over the flowers. Click on images to enlarge.

Some pansies in my garden just now.

Sketchbook 16 - the next 8 pages

The background is watercolour, then a found image and on top is a print of my leaf photographs on embossing paper. [I cut around the leaves] 

textured watercolour, funny drawing and found images

watercolour, found images and drawing of flowers

watercolour and texture, the flowers were made from wrapping paper, recycled of course and pen marks

watercolour and texture with real leaves

watercolour and texture, found images

watercolour and texture, real plant

watercolour and texture, found image

Pages from Sketchbook 16

Watercolour and pen background.

The peas are a found image, but I drew on the faces.

The flowers are found images

These black flowers are made from black shiny paper