Playing with paint

Playing with paint
abstract art

04 November 2013

Back to the P...ages

 "Ages" is a very mild expression for the time it is taking for the Pages.  More like an ongoing saga. 12 pair (front and back sewn together)  of pages are now complete.  7 pair are awaiting embellishing and yesterday I came across 6 more old samples of stitches which need to be made into pages.

Does anyone remember my attempt at couching for  Tast way back in week 9 of 2012.   I now have it on one of the pages for the current Tast  fabric book.  The yellow ribbon has been replaced by lilac and I have cut the piece into a circle to fit onto the background. It is called "Dancing in the dark"

I have the Gimp photo editing programme and I have been fascinated at the many designs that can be created with the stamps and processes.  I think it was in 2010 that I took a couple of designs and printed them on to fabric and embroidered over them.  The next page is one of those designs
Here is the original design. The finished product is not much like this.  I can even see better possibilities now.

Since starting the putting together of the pages part of the project I have discovered quite a few examples of me playing with stitches over time,   from when I first started embroidery in 1994 so it looks as though there will have to be another  book for these older pages I have put together.  I even have my very first attempts at basic stitches on a sampler......or should I say scrap of fabric.

Early on in my embroidery life I became besotted with reef embroideries, and the next page is a sample of what  I came up with  trying out various stitches in relation to corals and grasses that grow under the water.  

In March 1995 I commenced a correspondence course on creative embroidery. which I was enjoying until I contracted Ross River Fever and had to give it away after the first year or so.

The  next are two pages I now have ready are  from early in the course of running stitch    Although my efforts back then were very amateurish I want to include them as a step in my needlework journey. 

Now if I can get these fabric books  completed before anything happens to me someone in the family might want to keep  them  rather than find a box of "mums rubbish" which would just be assigned to the bin



Last but not least are another two pieces of stitching  worked for Tast.  I got quite behind a few times due to illness and other things, so both of these are composites of more than one stitch.
 The lace and surrounding motifs on the page above  are from my collection of antique laces.  The piece of lovely tatting was made for my by my friend Sue of Suztats . The colours went perfectly with the background fabric which I dyed at a transfer dyeing class I attended last year. The stitches are up and down feather stitch, raised cross stitch flower, buttonhole bar, herringbone and french knots. 

Finally  another composite group of stitches from Tast.  I have called this "Mother fish and her babies".  I really went to town with the stitches on this piece.  Mother fish is outlined in Palestrina or Double knot stitch.  Othere stitches are Pekinese stitch, up and down buttonhole, linked double chain, oyster stitch, algerian eye, bullions, drizzle stitch and sheaf stitch.


I loved the background fabric for the page it reminded me so much of the frolicking fish so I outlined some of the shapes in running stitch.
Like threads, one can never have enough books....well that is my excuse for another purchase anyway.
At last I have my own copy of The Batsford Encyclopaedia of Embroidery Stitches by Anne Butler.  I found it at Abe Books and it arrived in a short space of time although it and the wrapping suffered some damage where the post lady forced it into the letter box.   Needless to say I have spent hours studying the contents.

Even though these encyclopaedia may cover many of the same stitches, there is always something new to find in them.

10 comments:

  1. Shirley this book or should I say books is a delight, such a good way of recording your samples over the years, it would be a great leaning book for a newbie. I am ashamed to say I threw away lots of my samples from when I was doing C & G, smack wrists needed. Have not got the batsford book but it looks interesting and as you say each stitch book has stitched in that are not in other books, happy book making.

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  2. Dear Shirley, this was such a great post! I want to try and out together a book also, although, as you know, I don't have as much yet! Your pages are fantastic and what treasures for your kids to acquire one day! I was thinking, you could write a book. I would love to get a first autographed copy!!!!!!!
    Love, Julie

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  3. Shirley, I love the fact that you've saved all your samplers and TASTs and are putting them together in a book! It will make a wonderful reference for any stitcher, but also show your stitching journey. It will encourage and inspire, and be a lovely collection of your beautiful work.

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  4. gosh you had me googling for ross. sounds awful.
    i am fascinated by your development from those early pages.

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  5. Shirley your stitcheries are beautiful and so original, certainly something to look over and enjoy your talents.

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  6. Certainly liked your title and enjoyed your post and pictures. Since finishing my stitched owl book I've been thinking of making another book of stitching next year. Your pages of stitching look super!! What a treasure you are putting together.

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  8. Dear Shirley ~ What a great post and a wonderful thing to do with your fragments of stitchery. It's fun to see what you've done and how you've put together your pages.

    I was all gung ho last year with TAST 2012, then I got sidetracked, then my dear husband became ill in August and passed away in Dec. So I didn't learn all of the stitches. I think having to learn one a week when some of them seem so difficult to me was too much for me to handle.

    Your work inspires me. We're never too old to learn new things.

    Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your kind comment.

    Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

    P.S. Are you still thinking about the passion flower?

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  9. What a wonderful way to keep all your samples, I certainly hope your children want to cherish the book forever. I am doing a catchup, haven't been looking at blogs much lately, but this is a lovely post. Cheers

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  10. I love your book pages!!! What a fabulous heirloom.

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