slow stitching – Page 5 – Dreaming In Stitches

Gothic window…

The stitching has been especially slow for the last few days – isn’t it unfair how much life sometimes intrudes on stitching time…

But here is the current piece of work-in-progress, Gothic Window.

I’m struggling with the light (or more accurately, lack of light), but you get the idea.

I wanted to try adding some gothic structure to the piece, I know I’m obsessed with stained glass, but I thought I’d see if I could contain it in a semi-gothic frame.

Of course, my hopes for anything to stay straight while I stitch it have been dashed. I know I could go back to using interlock, but I’m still having too much fun with the scrim, despite the way it laughs contemptuously at my lines.

I’ve painted some of the canvas with acrylic inks to give it a tiny bit more bite and stability – it also stops me getting snow-blindness, sewing on the white scrim.

I had a mixture of twinkly blue threads that called out to be used in this window, although you can’t really tell from the pictures – it does look quite sparkly in real life.

If I can keep all the spinning plates in the air this week, I’ll hope to show you some progress next week – no promises mind, we all know where plans get us.

Happy stitching.

Indulging in hedonism…

slow stitching

Now, I’d be telling a porky-pie, if I said it had been a brilliant January – sick child, sick dog (when will they learn to use a bucket), leaden skies, snow, ice, more snow and more ice, frozen shower, sick car (amusingly timed trouble with the clutch – great fun on icy roads) – you know – very January.

But – while all that stuff was going on, I was also having a whale of a time with the piece of experimental couching/needlepoint I started at the beginning of December.

This piece has seen me through all the pre-Christmas stressiness, the relaxing time between Christmas and New Year and the grot of the last couple of weeks. I’ve loved every moment! (click on the picture if you want a closer look)

Something about the curviness drew me in completely. As it progressed, it demanded jewel colours and lots of twinkly threads. The day the first red went in, I held my breath, but it was right. So here it is, gaudy, swirly, shamelessly glittery – and I love it.

The only thing it never acquired while I was stitching, was a name.

But then as I thought about it, just one word popped up – hedonism,

Sensual indulgence – the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires), is the highest good and proper aim of human life. (Dictionary)

I think that’s what it wanted…

Happy stitching.

Playing with windows…

slow stitching

So here I am, happily couching for England, having a thoroughly good time with the treasures I bought last week, fascinated by watching where this experiment is going.

And yet I am living a double life, because while I’m stitching, my mind is actually seeing something completely different. I’m becoming obsessed again with stained glass windows.

I blame the visit to Prague last year. Seeing the windows in St Vitus’ Cathedral was a bit like being immersed in sensory overload. Looking at all that coloured glass was how I imagine it would feel like to live inside a kaleidoscope. I’m not sure my brain went back together with all the pieces in the same place.

And at last, thanks to seeing what can be achieved with couching, and being able to use a greater variety of threads, I can feel in my bones that what I see in my mind, might make it onto the canvas.

I’ve had a little play this afternoon to see how it might start out.

Of course it won’t look anything like this once I really get started, but sometimes it helps to get a few ideas down on paper.

Happy stitching.

Naughty girl…

slow stitching

Hello, Happy New Year!

OK, so it’s confession time – I’ve been up to no good.

The sun came out this morning and I was filled up with the need for colour. And so I tried to be good, I really did. I pulled out my yarn stocks and had a good rummage around. I have loads of course, but you know how it is, in my mind, I wanted rich jewel purples and reds and deep fathomless blues

And there just weren’t any that were quite right.

You know where this is heading don’t you…

Well, it had to be done.

The yarn with the curly texture, is recycled sari silk. I probably wouldn’t have had the confidence to give it a go until I started couching, but now I’m feeling happy that I can use it even if it turns out to be a pain in the proverbial.

The mixtures are from Oliver Twists – I don’t so much want to stitch with these, as to drape them all over me and hiss ‘my precious’.

Thank you to Rainbow Silks in Great Missenden for this little hoard. (And I don’t feel too guilty, it didn’t break the bank).

I can feel something stained glass-ish coming on again. Better go and start playing.

Happy stitching!

Slow art on Go-Slow…

slow stitching

It’s at this time of year, I wish I had staff.

There’s been the occasional stitch – grabbed during the cooking of the evening meal – very unsatisfactory way to work I can tell you.

I doubt if there’ll be much progress this side of Christmas – I can’t bury my head in the sand much longer – Christmas has to be done.

So the stitching and dreaming is going to have to go on the back-burner for a couple of weeks, while I change hats and do the domestic stuff.

(I might manage the occasional note at Wondrissima, but please don’t hold your breath).

And so, in case I don’t get the opportunity again before Christmas…

Wishing you the happiest possible Christmas

and may 2013 be the best year yet.

Great stitchy excitement…

slow stitching

Well, it is now confirmed – I can get high on stitching…

Last week, I mentioned that I’d seen some couching samples worked by Kat at Of Gardens, Grandmothers and Gleanings. Kat very kindly sent me lots of information, and also links to some simply incredible medieval opus anglicanum pieces.

I ached to have a go at the couching, and decided to daub a bit of paint on the scrim first.

So this is what I started with.

I put in a few random lines of couching, just to get a feel for it – it was love at first stitch.

But something about those opus anglicanum pieces had wriggled their way into my consciousness. So the girl who practically never strays far from tent stitch, found herself going mad – free stitching all over the place.

The textures are fascinating.

I am having more fun than drinking a bottle of Faustino I.

Happy stitching!

The Celtic Swirl is stitched…

slow stitching

Well, somewhat earlier than I’d anticipated – I put the last few stitches in this morning.

Of course the beady eyed amongst you will realise that I’ve cropped and straightened the image – in fact I’ve cut off some fairly important bits!

The wonkiness of this piece is seriously annoying. Does anyone make frames in an almost perfect rhomboid? Well if they do, I am the customer for them.

I’ve asked the other half to pick me up something big enough to stretch it on – this time I might see if miracles are possible – it will have to be something pretty impressive though to overcome the lean (I wonder if I could hang it from the Leaning Tower of Pisa…).

Anyway – the best thing about stitching this piece, has been trying out a variety of knitting wools and discovering that they make excellent needlepoint threads. The silks in particular are a dream to work with – I’m a lady with expensive tastes.

Off for a coffee now. I’m going to be having a diversion to play at couching (thanks to Kat for tickling those particular creative taste buds).

Happy stitching.

Wobbling along…

slow stitching

The Celtic Swirl is coming along – slowly and wonkily. I’m not sure that it will ever be possible to pull it into square, but as I’ve practically never managed to frame/mount/hang anything I’ve made, I don’t suppose this will matter.

If I carry on at this rate, I’ll probably have it done before Christmas. Tart that I am, I’m probably going back to the linen scrim for the next piece – well I am a woman and I am allowed to change my mind.

Happy stitching…

A quick aside…

hearth and home, slow stitching

There is much whooping with joy chez Dreaming In Stitches this morning.

Courtesy of my new phone, I can now listen to Radio 4 Extra while sewing in the sitting room.

I know, I am very easily pleased, as I often tell my husband.

Little things…

Sunshine and swirls…

slow stitching

It was half term for my daughters last week and inevitably my normal routine – in as much as you can call what I generally do a routine – went up the proverbial Swanee River.

There was some stitching of the Celtic Swirl, but as of this morning this is what it looks like…

All the ribbons are done – I’m working on the backgrounds. I’m not a fan of huge areas of plain colours, so I’m experimenting with swirls and shading.

I’ve also given in to temptation and included some sparkly gold thread – although it doesn’t photograph well.

I’ve been stitching this morning in the office/dining room/studio/junk room, because I missed huge chunks of the play on Radio 4 extra on Saturday and was determined to hear it properly on iPlayer. The only way I can do that is on the Mac – I really must see if there’s any way to get a comfy chair in here – it just doesn’t feel right, sewing in the office chair.

In typical English fashion, the moment the children go back to school, the sun comes out, but we had a good week, even managing a trip to London, so can’t complain. Now we have the run up to Christmas to contend with – oh joy.

Happy stitching.

Celtic swirl creeping along…

slow stitching

It’s impossible to photograph anything here in natural daylight, as someone/thing has turned off the sun – we haven’t seen anything remotely bright in the sky for days now – and I’m getting moderately fed-up with it, arrrgh!

Okay, rant over – ish.

So anyway, (deep breath), moving on, just to say that there is some progress on the Celtic Swirl tapestry.

Having gone back to the hessian (burlap), for this one, I’m finding that although the stitches cover more quickly than in the last scrim piece, I’m having to stop and start a lot, moving the canvas around in my frame.

I know it’s not the way it’s normally done, but I just don’t like the idea of having the design rolled away so I can’t see it as you would on a traditional frame – I need to be able to see the whole design as I’m working, so I use a large square clip-on plastic frame – great, but it slows me down a little.

(I have considered making a much bigger frame, especially now that I have the floor stand, but I’m not convinced it would suit the ways I like to work, and would probably end up with a saggy middle – never a good thing!).

I treated myself to a handful of balls of knitting cotton last week – mostly Rowan Cotton Glace. I needed to find something that stitches up with a sheen, but without having to buy hundreds of embroidery skeins. The best thing I ever found was Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, but my local retailer has stopped stocking it. I might have to trawl Webland to find some more.

But I’m happy with the Rowan cotton – it stitches well and has a reasonable sheen, it also comes in the shades I wanted – something that’s not always easy to find. I never realised before I got heavily into needlepoint art, how much painters take for granted the ability to be able to go out and choose the colours they want off the shelf and then go home and mix up precisely what they want – we have to hope that we can find the shades we want, in a yarn that suits and at a price we can afford.

Yep, I think the day when I bite the bullet and try dyeing, might not be all that far away…

Anyway, the Celtic Swirl is definitely in progress – just don’t hold your breath.

Happy stitching.

Starting the Celtic Swirl…

slow stitching

Here’s a sneaky peek of the design behind my new piece of needlepoint.

I’m going to call it Celtic Swirl – I seem to have spent most of 2012 sewing swirly patterns, which might tell you about the state of my mind – but at least this time, I can say that I have positively tried to incorporate a Celtic theme – albeit in a loose, freeform style.

I’m going to use the hessian for this piece – partly because I want to see how it feels to go back to the bigger holes after the last piece on the linen scrim, and partly because as I mentioned in the last post, my stocks of crewel wools and silks are a bit depleted and I’ll need to get out to find some new threads before I make another large piece on the scrim.

I’ve been drawing it up this morning – I’m not sure if this shows up, but here it is anyway.

I like to have the main parts penned in, so that the form is maintained, but I prefer to keep the rest of it fairly fluid as I work.

As it stands, it’s about 28 x 18 inches.

So, off I go. Happy stitching everyone.