Fibre Art Journal. "Aerial"

From a distance this gave me the impression of an aerial view of the countryside.hence the name :)

And this is the back which I have left uncovered to add even more texture to the inside of the journal.

For the pages, I have,

Basic black card

2 sheets of handmade papers

and a double sided print using 2 of my own photos of

some rust cloth and an amazing grid with shadows, taken on one of our walks thru the old railway sidings.

Then one of my stitched pages was added for even more textural interest.







Bound with a red n white twine and closed with a delicious wooden button from the collection. :)





All stitched in layers of calico, silk remnants, hessian,

coconut fibre all held in place by a layer of tulle, scattered with wool and a gold evening fabric. ( Gotta have some bling ;) ).

This sat beside my chair and was randomly stitched with thread ends from other projects. Just a continuous build up of textures.

Finally a small scattering of beads, that awesome button, textural papers and "Aerial" has arrived.

As in the final photo, it sits across the room from my lounge chair

so I can enjoy it while I decide what to do with it.

I hope you enjoyed the eye candy and maybe it will inspire you in some way.

Regards

Stitching more eye-candy

Phillipa





Dont Waste The Beetroot Juice.

Theres enough juice in a can of beetroot to still be useful once the beetroot has been used.

Dont throw it out.

Even this small amount can have a few pieces dunked in it.

I left the scraps in the juice for a couple of days.

Then drained and rinsed and drip dryed.

A lovely rosy pink colour. Hard to photograph. More like the colour in the sunshine.

And Still theres juice left, so another tiny batch goes on in.

Some small motifs from the stash.

Theres just enough juice to cover the bottom of the container.

See how the motifs have soaked it up.

Now to wait a couple more days.

Happy Waiting

Phillipa

Using up Leftover threads

A few years back I made this doll.

Over a stuffed calico shape, I detached buttonholed all over it using up whatever I had leftover from other projects.

The only planned bit was those symbols. The rest stitched just as they came out of the thread basket of itty bitty leftovers.

Definately made to be touched and squeezed.

More and more my work is made to be handled.

We get alot of pleasure from touch.

Happy squeezing :)

Phillipa

Quilt Exhibition here in Christchurch.

For all the locals who follow my blog, here is the link to

The Quilt Exhibition at Hagley College.

Rebuilding Stitch by Stitch

Christchurch Quilters post-earthquake Exhibition.

Off to admire.

Phillipa



The Generosity of Others

This is a wonderful give-away.

Over at Bustle n Sew the lovely Helen

has compiled and published this delightful book.

Its free to download and save with these common sense conditions.:)

The generosity of bloggers on the net is amazing.

I definately recommend that you scoot over for a looksee.

Happy Stitching

Phillipa





"Strata" Journal

What to do with my smaller one-off pieces.

A journal of course.

The cover is made up of layers of raw silk scraps, then thick rug wool, held in place with tulle and hand stitching on the top.

Just as I like my work.

Lovely and textural.

Begs to be touched :)

8 pages of coloured card and some handmade paper.

No, I didnt make the paper as well..lol ..Tho I have tried it in the past. I collect it when I come across if from Paper artists.

Then I glued in a few images from a vintage book.

Its all ready for adding artistry.

I didnt line the cover either.

I love the look of the back of a stitched piece, so I thought I would leave it on display au-natural.

I hope this helps to inspire your own work.

Lots of Yummy texture.

Happy slow-stitching

Phillipa

French Knots

French Knots can add lovely texture to a piece.

Happily Knotting

Phillipa

Lace Reels. A Tutorial for my Etsy Shop

Lace reels using my own images. :)

I know there a lots of tutorials out there for Lace reels BUT

my tutorial that Ive put up on Etsy here,

has images from my own projects.

They have a really nice shabby-chic feel to them so

I've stitched-up my tutorial with heaps of how-to photos and written instructions as well.

Hopefully Etsy shoppers will find them as pleasing to the eye as I do :)

Perfect presents in a set for a lucky stitching friend.

Happy Stitching

Phillipa





Cross-Roads.Hand Embroidered Fabric Collage

A small piece that Ive actually followed thru to the hanging stage. :)

On our trips to the beach Ive collected some lovely little driftwood pieces that are just perfect as a hanger.

Stitched Slowly

Phillipa

Feathers on Rust

Over at The Magic Feather project is a wonderful idea of Jude's to collect feathers from all over the world.

So this is my little offering to the project.

On pieces of my rust cloth are 4 black n white feathers and one in camoflage. I used the marks on the cloth to accentuate the feather to blend in as tho it had fallen to an earthy ground.

I really really enjoyed stitching these.

Are you doing any?

Feathery stitching

Phillipa





Dog-Face Close-ups

Dog Face is pattering along.

Lots of little stitches akin to hair.

The original base for this was newspaper stitched to a medium weight calico.

Then the whole piece is dunked in water and the paper scrubbed away, to leave a very interesting base with paper

to add a delicious extra.

Stitching Slowly

Phillipa

Stitching on Paper

While coffee dying a while ago, I also splotched some of the liquid thru an old novel I had.

Pages are just the perfect weight to stitch on.

 I stitched a line of poetry and glued it to a journal page.

Perfect as a stash builder for your journalling or even just frame the page.

Just print in your own handwriting and backstitch.

Be gentle as you stitch, and I used 3 strands of embroidery thread.

Happy Stitching

Phillipa





What is it about the Back

Why do they have white gloves available at Quilt shows?

We JUST have to check out the back of things.:)

Be it a quilt, or an embroidery.

What is it that drives us to do it.

The same can be said for boxes.We've gotta look in them..lol. Even when we know they must be empty.

Is it our inate curiosity, being nosy?

Or are we all programmed to check out the "finish" of a piece.

Soooo here's the back of a piece for you to check out for whatever reason you use. :)

Happy Checking

Phillipa

Do you Have a Board?

A very handy item to have.

Years ago I had this made and it has seen many many projects.

The odd shape is because originally it was nailed to the side of an old desk that I used as a sewing table.

An old blanket glued to a piece of plywood.

Just the right size for a quilt block and the iron.

For when I use the stitch n flip method for crazy quilt blocks.

Its also a good firm surface for heat transferring embroidery patterns.As I find the ironing board too soft.

I would thoroughly recommend getting your own.

Stitching Always

Phillipa