Odds and ends and charity shop buys

Here are odds & ends I've been making, and a few charity shops purchases.  First up, this is a proudly taken picture of a slow stitched square, and in particular my French knots!  I used lengths of the crochet cotton that I'd previously dyed using Inktense.  I love the range of colours from my homemade variegated thread.  I won't show the whole square as it's going to be swapped with someone on a Facebook group.  It's unlikely they'll wander by my blog, but you never know.  

I'm also making a couple more owls that are for swapping.  I varied the embroidery from the previous ones I'd made, and prefer these.  (Though the owl on the right does have his wing applied back to front.  Why do I only notice mistakes like this after I've completed something?  Every time.  Every single time!)

These are my charity shop buys.  A dressmaker must've had a clean-out as there were lots of fabric remnants, though most weren't suitable for me as they were stretchy material.  These were cotton, about two metres in each and cost a couple of pennies short for £4.00 for the pair.  Another two quid for the handsome hardback, and I've read S.J. Parris books before and really enjoyed them.  

The other thing I did today may or may not work.  It involved rummaging around in the spare room and unearthing packaging paper that came with an online delivery. 

There are two lots of paper.  One slightly glossy and sturdy, the other softer and rips more easily.  I needed it as I wanted to try sewing on paper.  It's because of this article from back in the day when I used to spend money on magazines and tear out interesting or inspiring pages to keep for reference.  

Featured is an artist called Louise Baldwin who painted, stitched and embroidered on to paper.  I love the look of her work, and am intrigued by how she says the paper comes to resemble fabric.  

I splashed acrylic paint on two small pieces of the sturdier brown paper and two of the softer paper.  Then, because I had the paints out, I drew wavy wax crayon lines on a rectangle of calico and painted that too.  

Once they'll dry I'll decide if I want to add yet more paint to the paper pieces or begin stitching into them.  

Let's see how the softer paper stands up to being pierced with a needle and handled a fair amount.  Anyone else tried stitching on to paper?  Would love to know how it went.  

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by, and all comments welcome so do feel free to have your say.