Block of the Month

http://craftsy.com  Is where you can sign up for a free class to learn two blocks every month. I rarely do traditional work but have learned some things from watching the video, so I did January's blocks. I don't remember the names. For the upper right, I learned how to determine the amount of the strip to leave at the beginning, so that the corner comes out correctly and no fabric is wasted.

Take a Stitch Tuesday

This is the Cretan Stitch on wool stitched in an irregular manner. It is one I use a lot, because it flows so well.

Here is a sample using it as a filling stitch in an assortment of threads by stitching it close together. The second one down is the fuzzy thread I've been using but the eyelashes are matted down by the close stitch. The left side is a rayon over a ribbon thread.

It makes good flowers and leaves.

It is also a good way to attach Shisha.

Quilt

The design for this one is a cut paper one I did years ago. Chain stitch is the filling stitch I used, because I hate doing Satin stitch. The thread is some I hand painted and is embroidery floss and Perle cotton.

I echo quilted it and wish now that I had cropped it closer.

Felted Book

I do like doing the felting. This is one of the books with a felted cover. I baste it first with the hand needles then secure it with the embellisher. After blocking it with the steam iron, I machine quilt it with metallic thread. This view is the back.

Inside has three signatures each with a painted cover sheet. It's a good way to use up my painted papers, so I can make more.

Here's the front with a ribbon and button closure.

Take a Stitch Tuesday

Feather Stitch is this week's stitch for Take a Stitch Tuesday at  www.pintangle.com It's another favorite of mine-and, yes, there are stitches I don't like. 

Here are some variations.

It makes a good filling stitch especially when done in a variety of threads to create interest.

Blogger wanted this in the middle. I've been playing in the 13" of snow we had or stitching by the wood stove. That is-or was- a tall Flowering Plum tree. It has 2 major splits, so I hope we can save it. Melting and messy now but such a surprise for an area that rarely gets much snow.

Historically, it was used a lot in Crazy quilt and finds it's way into all of my blocks.  A friend gave each of us in the quilt group the "lady" fabric and challenged us to do something with it.

Fiberactions Quilt

The Fiberactions Challenge this time was to work in a color scheme that takes you out of your comfort zone. Neutral tend not to appeal to me-definitely a color person!

I found the leftover Seminole Patchwork pieces in my stash and decided that they made a good starting point. The African fabric sort of had an Indian feel, so it became part. The rust just had to go in the quilt to spark it up a bit.

Be sure to check out the others on the Fiberactions blog by clicking on the button at the right.

Take a Stitch Tuesday

Buttonhole Stitch is the next one given by Sharon at www.pintangle.com  It is also a favorite of mine. More stitching on black wool. Black makes colors sing.

I have a flower sampler started and addid this to it. It is all buttonhole even though part looks like Feather stitch-a relative of buttonhole.

Shisha is something I used to teach. Buttonhole is one way to attach objects to the cloth. In this case it is a large sequin which is lighter in weight than a mirror for clothing and comes in wonderful colors. There is a second row of buttonhole which is hard to see. The garment is a vest.

Buttonhole used in rows changing the thread for each row to add variety. It makes a good filling stitch. Then it is used to couch a yarn.

Quilt

Vicki at http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/ mentioned a Palette of the month challenge based on this photo she took. The details are on this post http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/field_trips_in_fiber/page/2/     The colors appealed to me, so I decided to try it.  At first the top was exactly the same as another I made several months ago and had forgotten about. So to create a new one, I offset the pieced blocks and like it much better.

Beaded Cuff

From the comments I already have-thank you by the way-I realized I should have added more technical information.

I felted the roving to a piece of felt a little bigger than the finished size. First I tack things in place by hand, then I take them to the embellisher to really felt them in place.

Once the beading for the center is in place, I backed the cuff with a piece of synthetic suede by lightly fusing it. Remember to do this with the beading cushioned of a bath towel, so it doesn't get hurt. My beads are glass, so melting them wasn't an issue. Then I finished with the edging.

Bead Journal Project

This year for the Bead Journal Project I'm doing beaded cuffs. This is the first one.

First I felted a background with roving and a thick and thin yarn. I machine stitched to echo the yarn then accented it with beading. The edge is picot stitch using seed beads. I'm also trying to use the pearls and pearly type beads I keep buying and just seem to store. It closes by overlapping and snapping.

Take a Stitch Tuesday

I love to do hand stitching and decided to take part in Sharon Boggin's TAST challenge this year at http://www.pintangle.com   The first stitch she posted was Fly Stitch-one of my favorites as it is so versatile. This is a section from an old sampler showing some variations.

Another old sampler with more variations.

This is on wool fabric which I love to stitch on. It is soft to the hand, easy to stitch, and has enough body to support the stitching.

Here is a Crazy Quilt block I'm working on where I used the Fly Stitch to decorate both the painted rickrack and the satin ribbon. It's a bit subtle which is the aim for this set. The rickrack was in my stash from ages ago in all the bright colors it came in. I found that I could paint it with acrylics and get something I was more likely to use.

For this one I used some weird yarns to stitch. The orchid has long threads hanging from it. I love what the blue did. It's the yarn across the bottom of the photo. I must use more of those types of yarns in my stitching but never did before. It adds an element you couldn't get any other way and a surprise.

Quilt

The center is a piece of Japanese print fabric from my stash that I machine embroidered to accent parts of it.  Japanese silk obi pieces make up the wavy border which seemed to fit with the flowers. The quilting is by machine and is wavy too.

Felted Purse

The flap on this purse is felted and was a more muted color than I'm used to working in, but I decided to decorate it anyway and couched a couple of cords down in the swirled pattern around the Shisha I had put on the piece. Then with Perle Cotton, I used running stitch to echo the couched lines.

While debating how to use the piece, I noticed that there was a piece of orchid Ultrasuede in the closet-have no idea where it came from but it was a perfect match. The cord was made on one of those plastic cord makers and is from yarns in my stash.

I'm glad people liked my rusted fabric and gave suggestions on where to find the soapless scouring pads. I did find some in the auto section but will look in the other places too. Thanks for the input-always love to get it.

Experiment

Here are some more samples of fabric I rusted. When I first tried years ago when the concept was new to fiberart, I didn't have much luck.

Thanks to the internet, I found a way to do it that works for me. The fabric has the soapless scouring pads put on it, sprayed with vinegar, and wrapped in cling film/plastic wrap. It only takes an hour or two to work. Then the metal is thrown away, and the fabric washed.

 The hard part is finding the soapless scouring pad that isn't treated so it doesn't rust! The other thing to watch out for is not cutting yourself on it when you cut and pull it apart to layer it on the fabric.