52 Tags Challenge - Tag 33

 

Tag 33 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Tag 33 and the prompt was "flags" and in the video Anne described this tag as fiddly flags. This was a week where I struggled to work on my tag and ended up doing it just before the next video was released.

I started with the bottom flag and before adding it to the tag it only had the two layers of fabric with some fly stitch on the woollen strip. Once on the tag I added the little felt heart that had some running stitch and loose french knots added to it with the same silk thread as I had used to couch on the silk fibres for the top flag. 

That top flag was a little piece of batting to which I had couched some silk fibres quite a while ago and was just waiting to be used. The little heart on the end of this flag was a small piece of my free motion fibre experiments with some more loose french knots attached. I am loving using those loose french knots - they cover a multitude of sins 😁

The selvage edge flag looked very plain so it gained some lazy daisy stitching and a little bit more free motion fabric to jazz it up.

Once they were all on the tag the right side looked to bare so on went a left over piece of my ORT fabric and then the top right looked bare so I found a tiny orange split pin in my card making supplies and added that with a little pen drawn flower peeking out.

Online I saw some great flags from fellow tag makers. There are so many interpretations for each weekly challenge being shared by the word wide participants.

What would your flags look like if you were creating this tag? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts.

52 Tags Challenge - Tag 32

 

Tag 32 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Tag 32 and the prompt was to learn about another embroidery stitch. This one was Lazy Daisy stitch. I have always struggled with this stitch as my perfectionist brain is happiest when each part of the stitch is accurately placed around its circular shape. I am rarely successful in achieving this and I do like how Anne's approach to Lazy Daisy stitch leave nice large loops for each section. 

I had fun using threads of a different thickness for my flowers and tried out full and half sided flowers. I also tried out one of Anne's suggestions for using one section with a fly stitch and a bullion stitch but was not happy with how it turned out so I added many french knots to this section. French knots can be so useful to disguise mistakes in your stitching.

Have you stitched with a Lazy Daisy stitch? What have you made? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts.

From the Camera

 As well as creating with fabric and thread I have enjoyed taking photos of my local area. I love the winter views that can be just as magical as our summer ones.

Winter View by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

I have also tried to catch some shots of the tiny wrens that visit our yard. Any shots that I take need cropping as the wrens are so tiny and very swift so getting close is not yet an option.

Wren 1 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Wren 2 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Wren 3 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Wren 4 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Last of all are some winter beach shots. We have had some cool but sunny days where the water colours are very vivid.

Winter Beach 1 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Winter Beach 2 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Learning More about Free Motion Sewing

Darning Foot attached by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

In my thirst for learning more about free motion stitching I have spent lots of time searching the web for tips and ideas. I came across the work of Meredith Woolnough and then found her website. Check out this short video to see Meredith and some of her intriguing work.

On scrolling through the home page I came across the section advertising a free online course and jumped at the chance to find out some tips from Meredith. It is a short course that just introduces the basics of sketching with thread using free motion stitching but so many great tips packed into some very short, sharp videos.

Thread Sketching by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

I loved the tips about machine tension and how Meredith was so encouraging in terms of not needing much to get in and have a go at sketching with thread. Her work and ideas gave me room to explore a different technique again. My first attempts were interesting as this technique felt very different to my Romeo explorations. I found a hoop that would just squeeze under my presser foot, added an embroidery needle and threaded up with ordinary old sewing thread for my first attempts but then branched out to exploring what happened if I used rayon thread and even double rayon thread in my needle. Lots of fun. part of her free course is the above small project to create a mini garden by thread sketching botanical elements. My attempt is very scribbly but that is fine and I am sure that over time I will gain more control over moving the hoop as I am sketching.

Having explored thread sketching very briefly on lawn fabric I then jumped straight to exploring with washaway stabliser again but this time in a hoop and using a different brand of stabiliser. I had a Frixion pen that Meredith recommended in one of her blog posts so I drew some leaves on a piece of stabiliser, hooped it up and had a go. What fun it was to try and create a stitched leaf that would stay together once the stabiliser was dissolved.

Thread Sketched Leaves by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

I can see room for improvement in getting my stitching lines linked well enough and am looking forward to more exploring. I have a copy of Meredith's book on hold at my local library and hope that it will not be too long before a I receive notification that it is ready to borrow.

What would you choose to sketch with thread? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts.

More Playing with Wash Away Stabiliser

Working with Romeo stabiliser by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

More Romeo has now been obtained from The Thread Studio and I have continued to explore creating fabric from silk fibres. As well as buying the stabiliser I also bought a small booklet with lots of interesting ideas for using Romeo. The process I explain in this blog post was learnt from both the booklet and the videos that Dale, from the Thread Studio, generously shares online.

I am intrigued by the slight difference in thickness that I seem to feel with this purchase but it is still fun to play with. I am wondering if there are slight differences in older stock as the first piece that I found was the last section that the shop I found it in had.

I sandwiched layers of silk fibres between two layers of stabiliser and then used free motion stitching to create circles of thread all over the fibres. After covering the whole surface with small circles and adding a border of straight stitches to help add a stable edge I cut out some circles ready for some more embellishing.

Working with Romeo stabiliser 2 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

The next step was to use small sections of stabiliser to continue adding stitching lines over the circular areas. I also added some of the small circles back in to the centre of the larger circles. I experimented with both rayon thread and Serafil in the bobbin and am still not sure which I prefer. Each gives a very different look to the underside of the free motion sewing.

Working with Romeo stabiliser front by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Working with Romeo stabiliser back by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

After all the stitching was done it was time to soak the stabiliser away. It is a cold water process that takes a little time to complete. I found that warm water cut down the time a little and that washing afterwards in a little warm water with detergent ensured all the stabiliser was washed away.

Working with Romeo stabiliser soaking stage by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

In the above image I have also created a flower by adding a circle cut from the large piece of work to another piece of stabiliser and then stitching the petals with a grid of lines stitched with more free motion sewing. I found that for these to be effective I need to have matching thread in the bobbin.

Silk Piece 1 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Once out of the water my first piece was a bit rough but I found that a good press with an iron helped to flatten the silk pieces. It would be personal preference as to whether this was needed depending on what was being created. The final piece of "fabric" is very soft to touch and appears to be quite delicate. I tried out the same technique three times and improved my control of free motion sewing a little more each time. By the time I was working on the third piece I also added some tiny leaf shapes in amongst my circles.

Silk Pieces 1,2&3 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

What to do with these creations became the next conundrum....

I had a shawl in my closet that I have owned for decades. It had been handprinted with leaves and ferns so I decided it could have a small make over. I added each panel to the shawl with a close zig zag stitch and then used my duckbill scissors to cut away the shawl under each section so that both sides of my silk fabric are able to be seen. I also added three of the flowers that I created with the circles cut from my silk fabric.

Silk Pieces 1,2&3 attached by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

The end result is something that I love looking at and have hanging over the back of my sewing chair so that I can glance at it when working away in my creating space. The colours are incredibly vibrant and add a little bit of sparkle to the shawl. What do you think? Below is an image of the back view. I used different coloured silk fibres for the back of each piece and a different thread in the bobbin and am still undecided about which is best to use. I guess it would also depend on the intended end point for each piece.

Silk Pieces 1,2&3 attached back view by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Have you used wash away stabiliser? What have you made? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts.