I have created a series of blank greeting cards using some of my hand dyed fabrics, and embellishments collected over the years.
The note cards are a fun way to use some of my precious fabric pieces that are too small to stitch with (although some of my friends would not agree!)
Shells were collected from beach vacations. I purposely chose only shells that had a small hole, with the idea that I would stitch them onto some artwork in the future.
I love the beautiful and nuanced look of Oakshott Cottons. The warp and weft are woven with two different colours, you can see the turquoise and blue in the piece above. So much more interesting than just a solid!
A vintage linen napkin with a lovely finished edge in fuchsia is combined with cheesecloth and a heart. I call this one Twisted Heart!
Indigo paired with glass beads and ribbon to celebrate your accomplishments.
These blank mixed media note cards will be available soon in an upcoming holiday market.
I’ve been spending a little time doing some hand work. I was inspired to go back to a project I started 2 years ago after reading: Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art by Claire Wellesley-Smith.
Slow Stitch discusses how the Slow Movement, originally the Slow Food Movement started by Carlo Petrini in Italy, relates to textiles. Examples of Claire’s work and those of :
are included in this beautifully photographed book. There is a lot of inspiration and also a few ideas for starting your own slow stitching projects.
Slow stitch art quilt
The piece I am working on shown above started with an embroidery I began when I was a member of the Canadian Embroiderers’ Guild Guelph. I made a few small pieces incorporating all the fun techniques we were taught. But, the samples languished in a cupboard until my mother suggested that I incorporate them into my quilting.
This embroidered and beaded quilt really is a slow project! I see that I blogged about this project first in December 2014 and then in 2015!
Island Sands
The piece I am currently working is a companion piece to Island Sands which was completed a few years ago.
Island Sands detail
I especially like the texture created on the silk noile – ripples left behind in the sand when the tide goes out.
Slow stitch supplies
I’ve collected up the threads, fabrics, and beads I may use and placed them all together in a plastic box. Hopefully this will keep me organized and on track to finally finish this very slow but satisfying stitching.
This miniature quilt finishes at 12″x12″. I free-motion quilted densely in some areas, leaving other areas unquilted.
Spring in the City organza flower detail
The large red flower at the top needed some embellishment. Red organza ribbon that had beautifully wrapped a gift was perfect. I gathered the ribbon and quilted it into place with a zig-zag stitch. The center of the flower was outlined with a row of yellow silk ribbon. It nicely finishes the edge and draws the eye to this focal point.
Spring in the City flower detail
I added some hand dyed thread to the centre of the orange flower and quilted them into place.
