December days - 11 and more of the December journal

Yesterday I had a migraine most of the day, so only got to work on this from the late afternoon.

However, I was really pleased at how the cut back technique worked for the part of the net which is in the background.

This was before I picked it up and most of the bits came off. Then it really was a jigsaw!

And with the football all fused down.

and eventually with the foreground part of the net.

I fused sheer fabric to a waxy paper that had texture. When I had cut out the spaces, I used a cocktail stick and little by little put bits of Pritt stick glue behind the 'joins' of the lines in the net to stick it in place.

Hopefully today I can get the foreground net stitched in place which will make it just a bit more solid.

And if time, I will layer, quilt and bind it.

December days - 10 and a start on the December journal quilt.

Another Christmas present in progress happening around here. Progress on the December journal quilt.

Tracing a net so that with the football, it will be a goal. I am going to use my cutting back method that I use for the Ramshackle pieces to show the background lines of the net.

And considering a sheer layer cut back for the foreground lines of the net.

The Journal quilts for this year are eventually going to a Certain Young Man, and I have done several British sports so far. He says he doesn't like football, but you can't really cover British sports and leave out football so he is having one anyway.

Some I will give to him for Christmas, some for next birthday and some will be reserved a bit to be displayed with the other Contemporary Quilt 2014 journal quilts at shows next year. So, anyway, for now I will count this as a Christmas present.

December days - 9

Today I did shopping for Christmas baking.

And so to free me up to go off to the shops... Chicken and Pumpkin soup.

Starting to get into the mood to bake...for me it is a part of the holidays. The practical reason was that I was the oldest of 6 kids. So, in order to have any thing nice to eat when we got to Christmas, it seemed my mother baked a double batch of everything through out the whole month. One for that day and one for the Christmas break!

It probably wasn't everyday, but still it has come to be a Christmassy thing for me to do. And since there are only the 3 of us, I give the baking away here and there.

By the way, don't ask for the soup recipe. It is one of those things that will be similar but not matching if I make it again.

December days - 8 and "Framed Worlds" finished

I have finished 'Framed Worlds', the present for my brother. Hopefully will get it in the post today.

Rather than placing the original onto a background, increasing the surround. I decided to just get on with it as it is. The look was good as it was, as it wasn't going to be judged...being for my brother, after all.

So, I put the piece onto felt and then backed with a satiny blue lining which has glistenings of silver. It is what I used for the lining of the 'Midnight Dance...' coat.

inside back of the coat from the Fashion show ensemble

Then I quilted over some of the stitched curved orbit lines and added a few quilted rays on the sun to hold all the layers together.

The lining fabric worked so well for the back, I also used it for binding.
And then I decided
"as it wasn't going to be judged...being for my brother, after all." *
I would just get on with writing the Bible verse I knew he would like. But I had to write it right to left one letter at a time back to front. I am sure you can tell because the letters seem to start large and go small. So I wrote the reference up along the right side which helps a bit.

And actually, I am glad I put the verse because it visually balances the sun in a way.

*(This became a mantra at every bit I would normally fret over if doing it for a show. and you know what? I am quite pleased. I would actually be happy to hang it in a show! So, what does that tell me?)

"And the Bead Goes On and on..." 1-6 December and December days - 7

2014 - Week 49 Daily Beads

I was looking forward to doing blue and yellow for the fabric packets this month. I have learned that the fabric colour really doesn't work if it is a solid colour. It needs the variation in the fabric to keep it interesting. However, I found I didn't have a mottled yellow. So, I decided to try striped yellow.

And wow, it really works for me. When I complete each one (the blue bead used is different for each day) it just looks so fun. Like a circus. Maybe not evident in these photos, but when I am working with it very closely.

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Just to add to the movement, I am changing the position of the stripes to alternate horizontal and perpendicular to the long edge.

December days - 6 and a recipe

I mentioned in the pumpkin bread* post that one was for friends coming round.

Several of us in our church have begun writing letters to people who have suffered in various ways for what they believe. Like women who have lost their husbands due to persecution or false imprisonment. You may remember the letters I did last year for the ALAW peace theme. Barbed wire and flags. We wanted to do more than display something like my letters.

This month we are sending Christmas cards and words of encouragement to children in a home in a South American country. They have lost parents to some of the guerrilla fighting or drug wars where they live. (Drug runners not quite happy with the idea of someone speaking out against what they are doing!)

It was quite fun to look up Spanish words for Christmas greetings and copy them into the cards. And even better to think of how that card might bring a bright spark for someone who has been through so much.

Others from the church are also involved and the group that can meet up here changes each time.
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* underatopazsky asked about the recipe for the pumpkin bread. It is a recipe from an American community recipe collection. I 'translate' it to British!

Shaker Pumpkin Bread
My husband grows pumpkin and winter squash(like butternut) on his allotment. After removing the seeds, I bake my pumpkin or squash till soft and then peel it when it has cooled, followed by pureeing it in the food processor. I freeze it in batches of 2 cups or 16fl.oz. as most of my pumpkin recipes call for that amount.
(tsp. = teaspoon)
I have adapted the spices because we don't like as much cloves as they originally called for.

1-Blend/Cream together with a mixer.
3/4cup(6oz) marg
2 cups(14oz) sugar

2-Add these ingredients and mix thoroughly.
2 eggs
2 cups (16fl.oz)pureed Pumpkin (or 1 tin of pumpkin if you can find it in the shop)

3-Add next ingredients to mixture and stir well
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda(Baking soda)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

4-Stir in
2 cups (16 oz.)plain flour(all purpose flour)

5-Optional: Mix in
1 cup (8oz)raisins, sultanas or dried cranberry.

6- Turn batter into prepared loaf pans.
Makes 2 normal Loaves or 3 if you use small tins. It calls for greased loaf pans. I lined the bottoms with greaseproof paper.

7-Bake at 325°F (170°C or 160°-fan assisted) oven. Bake for 1 hour.(I would check with a skewer at 50 min just in case.)
For the small loaves I did it for 40 min and it was fine.

8- Leave to cool 10 min on a baking rack and then turn out.

VERY lovely with cream cheese spread over a piece.
(Peel the greaseproof paper/baking parchment off and set to cool completely if you want to put some in the freezer.)

Any questions, just ask.

December days - 5

Today...baking Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries

The recipe was meant to make 2 loaves. I used 3 smaller loaf tins:
-one for friends visiting today
-one for our tea
-one for the freezer

Mr Thoughtful found packets of dried cranberries at the pound shop. They were better than plain dried cranberries as they had been dusted in 'pure' cinnamon. Not coated but enough to make the cranberry and the cinnamon flavour blend nicely together. I think it would be easy to eat a whole packet. In fact since these arrived in the house a day or so ago, there was only just enough for these loaves!

ALAW - Burnt Letters and December days - 4

Second ALAW set for 2014 q-u
Still catching up the Burnt Letters

And the Burnt Letters up close...

info about the technique and concept here.

December days - 3

Today I made a dog happy.

I mended her teddies.

She doesn't mind them with holes, but the filling starts coming out. Then one by one someone takes them away till all she has is the "indestructible" snakey thing.

But these were her toys before she came to live here. So, she is very glad when they show up again.

Added: Thanks for the comments. Perhaps I should post Holly photos more often!

December days - 2

Also seen in Wimbledon at the weekend.

Detail

Beautiful gowns at a Wedding shop.

Detail

December days * 1

Spotted at the weekend

Some friends and I went to Wimbledon at the weekend for a Ladies Christmas Meeting. (yes, it was still November). Near the entrance to the train was also the entrance to a shopping mall. And there I spotted this sculpture of 2 shoppers. No signage.

*Trying to get back to posting more frequently! I can't promise everyday. But I will try. As I said, hard to do when you are actually making work all day or Christmas presents, none of which can be shown at the moment.
So, probably the posts will be short. And you know me, I am not good at 'Wordless Wednesday' sorts of posts!

"And the Bead Goes On and on..." 23-30 November

2014 - Week 48 Daily Beads

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no.333



And to finish the month, though today is the start of week 49...
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All of November's beads were posted yesterday.

"And the Bead Goes On and on..." November beads

I talked about the development of the November beads here.

I started with these mother of pearl buttons.

And though I will show the rest of the individual beaded buttons on Sunday, I wanted to show them all together and talk a little about what I might change if I did this again.

Here are all the November beaded buttons.

As you can see, even though the buttons are different shapes, they all work together.

And here is the however bit...
Somehow I had in my head that I wanted a circle of white beads around the button. Early on I discovered that half the time they were hiding under the edge of the button. Not Good.

So, then I used a pattern of one of the purple beads then the white bead and then the rest of the purples - number depending on how much space to the edge of the felt base. Well, that was much better but I really struggled to get them to line up in a proper circle/oval or what have you. By this time I had done the 'not quite a heart' buttons and the jar shaped buttons. And I decided to just carry on.

What I would do if I did this kind of beaded button again (besides having the buttons all the same shape for more uniformity!) is to forget about the white bead idea and just fill the surrounding area with the chosen bead colour. But at least for these, they all have a random shape of white beads going round the button. And because the buttons are all different shapes, they all have their unique random white bit encircling!

Or at least that is my story.

And when they become embellishment on some fantastical garment, no one is going to be looking at it with vision enhancing sewing glasses like I do!

Needles for beading

As it is almost the end of November, I thought you might like a story about needles.

Somehow when I bead, my needles end up like this.

For some of these, I have made attempts to straighten them. But because I use the scoop method of taking a stitch (instead of stab down to the back and stab up to the top.) I guess I will always get a bit of bending.

Here is a comparison of what the needle should look like and the needle I have now after using it a month for the beaded buttons.


Part of the reason for the bending is the size of the needle - the thinness, if you will. They just bend easily. I could choose needles that aren't so thin. But I get so annoyed when I have added a pattern of 5 or 6 beads onto the needle, establish where I want to stitch and then find one or more of the needles won't go over the threaded eye of the needle. So, I go for needles almost every bead will go though. There are random beads in a whole bag where the hole is smaller than the rest, but most beads including size 15 allow the threaded needle to pass through. And for the most part, will allow at least one more pass or even two.

There are long beading needles I could use.

The threaded one is the one I like as shown above. Explained below.
It is great for picking up a whole set of one pattern. But the problem is that the eye is so small I find them very difficult to thread. and then when you are being miserly with your thread and need to tie a knot at the end? Well, being very thin and quite long they become even more bent! They work wonderful for bead weaving though when you need to collect the whole set of warp beads.

Here are a few options.



The long beading needle at the bottom. I can't remember the maker.

The John James beading needle at the top. I find this too short for a set of beads and for working from the top feeling my way through layers without the thread showing on the other side. I also have size 12, which is thinner, but even shorter.

And so, the one I have found to work best. Size 10 Milliners needle by Bohin. The middle one and the ones I showed above that are bent.

Recently I bought John James milliners size 11 just a little thinner than the size 10 Bohin. But I haven't opened it yet. Perhaps in the new year?

What kind of needles do you like to use for beading?

TVCT meeting - Damask

Because I am working on the Christmas beaded gifts which I don't really want to show here...well I haven't much to show!

And then there is the Big Project...which I am also reluctant to show even though the entry form doesn't specify not showing it on blogs. It does say something that implies not exhibiting it, so I am not sure how restrictive they mean to be. So, I'd rather be over careful.

But here are a few photos from Saturday when we had Jane O'Brien take about her work and the history of Damask. The talk was so interesting I frantically took notes and not photos! But here is one from the afternoon where Jane was giving a mini-talk/discussion about design and what she focusses on for her collages.

Here are a few pieces of damask and some of Jane's work made in response to her studies when she studied at Windsor School of Textiles.

What she found the most interesting was the fact that the same patterns can be traced from very early China through to Middle Ages and on to modern times.

Here is her statement.

The textiles in the basket show the way she explored the pattern and reduced it to stitched out patterns that became lace like...as if the fabric was gone but the pattern remains.

I have rarely had the experience of a lecture about the history of a cloth. This talk, with images of fabric as well as images of Portraits (many from the National Gallery) showing the rich damask fabrics being worn and even the changes in the techniques used to depict the fabric in the paintings was a fascinating experience.

"And the Bead Goes On and on..." 16-22 November

2014 - Week 47 Daily Beads

Up close these beaded buttons look a little higgledy-piggedy. But when the whole collection is together or at a distance, they all look similar and part of a set.
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Here is where I have run out of 2 of the different purples. So, have discovered two other purples to continue with the sets of 6 button shapes.
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Here is where I find that the pearly white beads run out. Or at least it looks like I could do at least one more beaded button to finish this set.

But... only 2 of these have holes big enough for the threaded end of the needle to pass through!

I was going to use a sort of clear with white lining. But then yesterday at the Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles meeting, my friend Margaret Ramsay was having a clear out. Some containers of beads and some collections of broken necklaces which had been part of her mother's stash.


And look! some small white beads. Not pearly finish, but white! I have other white beads, but no small opaque white beads. Creamy...Off white...yes, but none that would work for these. But now the little ones from the necklace will do.
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I hosted a meeting on Friday and then the TVCT meeting on Saturday, so I will complete this week's beads this afternoon.
Done!