Weaving

On Saturday I went to my weaving group and took along my current weaving which is based on a striped stone I found on the beach at Morecambe Bay.
The stone had been washed out of a drumlin made by glaciers as they retreated at the end of the last ice age.
It was a pretty pink colour with sparkles as you can see from the pictures below.

I simplified the stripes a bit and then decided to weave sideways. I had chosen just 4 colours but would be able to blend more by combining the weft in different ratios.

The weaving is finished and I have mounted it on a canvas.

By blending the yarn to increase the number of colours I found it more difficult to keep the weaving even but with plenty of practice I am sure I will improve.

Crazy Patchwork

On Tuesday I went to my Embroiderers' Guild meeting where I took part in a workshop on Crazy Patchwork so loved by the Victorians.
I had never had a go at it before but I had plenty of scraps from my stash to work with!
I had decided to limit my colours to green and orange but increase texture by using a variety of fabrics including velvet and lurex.
I started joining my pieces together randomly.

When the pieces were all joined and supported by a piece of blanket I was ready to begin the embroidery. The stitching is used to enhance, support seams and cover up untidy areas.
Using a combination of stitches enhances the look of the piece and I started with herringbone, straight stitch and lazy daisy, all worked in green and orange.

I shall carry on embroidering over the next few weeks.

I have now finished the piece but not sure what to do with it. I am thinking of possibly turning it into a jewellery roll but that may have to wait as I have quite a few things to finish.

Weaving

Last summer I went on a 4 day course to learn how to tapestry weave and during those few days I was hooked and you can see my efforts below. I decided to have a go at weaving a dog rose so I started with a quick sketch and then chose my colours.

 I warped up the frame and then I was off with just a plain weave. I was trying to weave a picture so decided to concentrate on the shape and colour of the rose.

When it was finished I took it off the loom , tidied up the back and then mounted it on a painted canvass with a haiku.

I also mounted another small weaving I had made earlier.

I have a long way to go before I can call myself a weaver but I am enjoying what I am doing and improvement will come with practice!

Winter Weather

 For a couple of days just after Christmas there was some snow which lasted for about a day and a half before it was washed away by the change to rain.
Snow makes everywhere look beautiful before cars and people get on it and make it dirty and it muffles the sound making everywhere seem peaceful.
The pictures below show how pretty, sparkly and clean my garden looks with the sound of silence.

When the snow is fresh you can tell what has been walking in the garden from the footprints!

I am developing an embroidery workshop entitled Silver. The snow has given me another idea for an embroidery involving snow and ice. I have already completed two which you can see below.

I will think of a different background and then embroider some leaves in the snow and ice with silver and white threads.