My embroidery journal

It's been so hot this past week that I haven't been able to spend much time in my workroom as it's at the top of the house, and hot air rises. But this means I have been able to spend a bit of time adding the many photos I've printed on other people's embroidery, techniques and a bit of my own work into my embroidery journal.

 

A lot of the photos are of Karen Ruane's work, which I find really inspirational and can look at again and again. Some of the photos are from Pinterest but there are some from flickr including from Colour in Stitch, Epochtextiles, CherieKim and Christine Barnes (let me know if I've missed you out).

You can see all of these on the internet, but the amount of work on there can be mind-boggling (not that it takes much to boggle my mind!), so these are some of my favourites. You can linger over them. Go backwards or forwards. Spot details you've not seen before. 

Do you like to linger over paper copies or are you entirely electronic when it comes to looking for inspiration?

TTFN
Louise

Latest handmade birthday card.

I've made this card using an image of a vintage birthday card, a variety of stickers and washi tape.
 
When a card is to be posted, I also decorate the envelope too (last photo).

TTFN
Louise

P.S. Email me on elsiemayandbertha@virginmedia.com if you would like me to make something similar for you.

Wedding anniversary cards

July is a busy month for wedding anniversary cards for me as both my Mum and Dad and my sister, Catherine, and her husband, Neil, both have their anniversaries on the 23rd July. That means I need to make four cards (two for me and one each for the others to give, if that makes sense!).

The first one is in more detail as I remembered to take more photos, the others aren't.

TTFN
Louise

P.S. Drop me a note to elsiemayandbertha@virginmedia.com if you'd like to make something similar for you.

This week's phone photos.

My 24th book of 2014.
Ollie not amused with me taking photos on 'his' settee!
French and bullion knots around a hexagon.
Jack, then Ollie, worn out by the warm weather.
The front of my embroidery journal.
A buttonhole laced hole.
A piece of happy mail (contents to be revealed soon).
My notebook full of scribbles, notes and ideas.

I hope you had a good week.

TTFN
Louise

Triple-layer sample

I'm learning all sorts of things from Karen Ruane and this is another new one for me, creating cloth with three layers, one of which is paper.

The bottom layer is cream lace that was from a vintage slip, the middle is rose-printed cotton, and the top is mulberry paper. The holes are created by revealing the underneath layers and the paper is attached to the layers of fabric and lace using free motion embroidery. The paper I've used can be damp-stretched so, once this has been embellished to my satisfaction, it'll be damp-stretched and will then become part of a journal page.

The embellishment done so far includes, buttonhole lace around the whole piece, french knots, blanket stitch, rope stitch and wrapped running stitch. I've also added an appliqued and stuffed bump.

You'll be seeing this piece again and I'll be using the technique again too, the paper creates a lovely surface to work on.

TTFN
Louise

Handkerchief keep.

I usually like to make something for presents and this is what I made for my Dad's birthday.

It's a simple pouch, two pieces of fabric sewn together, turned out, folded in half and the sides sewn up. It's kept closed via the tab, which, although it has a button on top, fastened by a press-stud.

As this was made for my Dad I used these, more masculine, fabrics, but this could be made in any fabric you like. If you used a finer fabric, such as silk, I'd add some batting between the two pieces of fabric to add a bit of body. The text is the definition of handkerchief printed onto fabric.

TTFN
Louise

Birthday cards

I've made a couple of birthday cards recently, one for the birthday card swap I'm involved in and two for my Dad (I made one for my sister as well as one for myself to give him).

Birthday card for swap. I also decorate the envelope when I make a card that's to go through the post.

This is the first of the cards for my Dad. Cards for men are so hard, but I think these vintage adverts fit the bill. I particularly like the 'Old Age' beverage one on the back (well he was 76 this birthday!).

The second card started with the background paper and the image (of an poster I think).

I still have a couple of cards to make for this month, so I'll share these when they've been opened.

TTFN
Louise