03.21.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:09 pm by deRomilly
When you still like the effect of the stitching when you reach the halfway point!
The sample I posted about last time I was here is becoming a final piece of fabric quite quickly. I’m about halfway done with the first fat quarter. I’m guessing I’m going to need to stitch about three, maybe four fat quarters to make a full belt and bra set. I’m thinking it will be really pretty with a white vest and skirt.
And it’s pulling together in a way that I really like. It’s cotton, but the beads give it a shine that make it appropriate for a casual costume. I think it’s going to be interesting, and definitely different from anything any other dancer has! I did decide to switch to green and pink beads to match the embroidery. The entire thing is much lighter than the photo I posted would lead you to believe.
The problem is, since the herringbone stitch is so durn easy to do, and I’m a bit achey, it’s pretty much ALL I want to do right now. This kind of cuts into the enjoyment of the day job. And the husband would prefer that I help him maintain the house where we live as well… and there’s that garden that now needs to be planted…
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03.18.07
Posted in General at 6:43 pm by deRomilly
Yesterday I REALLY wanted to stitch. I mean REALLY wanted to do some stitching. I had an idea, and I needed to express it. There’s got to be a catch, you say. Of course there is. When it comes to my obsession, there is always a catch!
I was at work. I had brought knitting to do on my breaks, not stitching. (Oh, the downsides of multiple obsessions!) No problem, I thought. I’ll just run up to the fabric store on my break and pick up a little piece of fabric and a couple of colors of DMC. Well, I picked up a fat quarter of quilting fabric that was exactly what I had in mind for my little experiment. But instead of getting the DMC, I decided I wanted more choice in colors and didn’t have time to stand around picking them all out, besides, I’ve got ALL the colors at home, right? And this is just an experiment anyway… So I picked up a little package of cheap embroidery floss with several different colors – a brand I’ve never heard of before.
So I’ve been stitching away on breaks yesterday and today, and I’ve come up with some ideas I really like. In fact, I like them so much that I think I want to finish them and use the fabric to cover a dance bra and maybe a belt. The catch? That cheap embroidery floss… It stitches really nicely. It’s soft and shiny. It SEEMS to be a pretty good quality. But is it? What will happen if the fabric gets folded so that some of it stays in the sunlight? Will one part of my embroidery fade? I can’t be sure.
So what am I doing today? I’m going back to the fabric store to buy ½ a yard of that fabric, and several skeins of DMC floss and I’m going to start over in the stitching department. Thank goodness it’s only herringbone and buttonhole stitch… and that I came to my senses before I did too much of it as “practiceâ€! Besides… I needed enough fabric to make a belt, too!
Oh, you want pictures? Here’s one. I’m now already well into a “final draft” with more fabric and DMC floss – the other catch? The only way I could GET this fabric was in fat quarters. Now I am NOT a fat quarter wide, though that’s an interesting metaphor… I’m going to be piecing my belt… Wonder how THAT will work out?
And yes, I am doing some more experimenting on THIS fabric. And I’ll probably keep playing with the cheap thread so that I can see how it holds up. I don’t have high hopes for it, though.
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03.11.07
Posted in General at 5:06 pm by deRomilly
I can actually post this now: the lady in question has received this and it seems to have made her very happy. 
I found out that one of my online friends, and a dear friend of my sister was feeling a bit down. So I decided that she needed something to let her know she was loved. I’ve been wanting to make a bag out of one of my books for a very long time now, so this was my opportunity.
Of course, first I had to change the pattern! Instead of kimono fabric, I used a fat quarter set that I’ve had for a while, and embroidered a stumpwork dragonfly and blackberry branch on it. The directions for the technique of both came from Jane Nichlas’ stumpwork books, but the design is mine. And I’ve got the 10 rough sketches before I got it right to prove it. I used purple cotton for the main bag, and a cool purple print for the lining, which of course, I didn’t get a picture of…
And here you have the finished bag:
and a detail of the embroidery:
I couldn’t get a very clear image of the stitches. I thought the photos were clearer until after I mailed the bag away. I’m still getting used to this blogging thing. Live and learn.
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