Solstice Yarns – Dreaming In Stitches

Moonbeams…

Inspiration comes from many places and sometimes we don’t really know exactly why a piece evolves the way that it does. But that wasn’t the case with the latest piece of stitched tapestry, because from the moment I saw the fabulous silk Moonbeams on a Mystic Sea from Eleanor Lee at Solstice Yarns, I had a good idea in my mind of how I wanted to use it.

And so here it is. I’m calling this one Moonbeams because that’s where it all came from.

In addition to the greeny silk in there, much of the purply background and big purple patches also came from Eleanor’s wickedly enticing store. There are also a couple of blatantly sparkly gold and silver metallics and a rather subtler, almost silver silk in there, to add a twinkle or two as you walk past.

Working with Eleanor’s threads has been pure bliss. They stitch into the cotton crash so happily, you’d think they’d been designed with that in mind.

Thank you Eleanor.

❤

Moonbeams.

Approximately 38cm x 38cm

Silk, wool and metallic threads on cotton crash.

May & June 2014

❤

False starts and moonbeams…

slow stitching

What do you do when something just won’t come together the way you think it should?

I’ve just had a stitching false start. The piece I thought I knew what I was doing with, didn’t agree. We couldn’t come to terms, it was deeply frustrating.

And although I like the old Robert the Bruce adage of ‘if at first you don’t succeed…’, I do not have the same mettle as fugitive medieval kings or patient cave dwelling spiders.

No, I failed, and so I did what was the most satisfying thing I could think of at the time – I ripped it out of the frame.

❤

Instead, I am now working on a new piece inspired by a gorgeous silk yarn from Eleanor at Solstice Yarns – Moonbeams on a Mystic Sea.

I am in love with this silk and I’m back in the flow – phew!

❤

This, that and the other…

slow stitching

Well, THIS is where I am with the current piece…

Would anyone care to suggest a title? Usually something pops up in my mind, but I think my creative impulse is taking a spring break…

Here it is a bit closer up…

)O(

While THAT – below– is what happens when you finally get your old easel out and play with paint all afternoon.

Although I always felt most at home with oil paint, the practical difficulties of using it in a house where there’s no space to leave your kit set up and where you have to snatch opportunities ‘as and when’, has prevented me from painting for years. But lately Number One Daughter and I have been dabbling in gouache and acrylics, which although not the same as oil, do give you the chance to use similar techniques, and can be tidied up fairly painlessly – (the kitchen gallantly doubles as a studio, but sooner or later it has to revert to primary function).

So as it was SO MUCH FUN, I shall probably do it again…

)O(

And THE OTHER news…

I’ve been going all soft and gooey over the delicious yarns from Eleanor at Solstice Yarns (be warned, a visit to her Etsy shop will have you dribbling and/or grasping for your credit card)

This little bundle of silky joy is my latest acquisition.

And on a more mundane front, I have just bought these little chaps…

I’ve had so much trouble with very sore fingers over the last year or so, sometimes I wondered if I was allergic to the yarn or scrim, but then I read something recently about nickel allergy and a penny dropped. Of course it might not be anything to do with it, but I’m going gold-plated for now to see if things improve.

Happy stitching!

)O(

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