I haven't been posting much on this blog lately, apologies for that. I'm easily side-tracked and forget how quickly the days speed by. I've treated myself to a couple of books, so no change there! The 'Stitch, Fibre, Metal & Mixed Media' is a book I'd borrowed from the library, and liked so much I wanted my own. It's secondhand, as is the 'Modern Folk Embroidery' which I picked up for a bargain price and I've had on my list of books-to-buy for ages.
I love these fabric baubles from the 'Stitch, Fibre' book, and had a go at making something along these lines. I'd had the idea about three years ago that I wanted to learn needle felting, thinking I'd make lots of cute little animals and dazzle everyone with my needle felting skills. I acquired a boxful of supplies and - guess what? - I didn't get anywhere with that craft. My enthusiasm fizzled out.
Anyway, literally years later, when I decided to make a version of these fibre baubles, I dug out those supplies, as well as these reels of shiny narrow ribbon, some felt and pieces of organza. Oh, and I'd got a pack of water soluble stabilizer paper - the kind you use for embroidery - and that's important in this process. It comes in sheets of A4 size, and has adhesive for one side.
I laid a sheet of stabilizer sticky side upward, then placed over that a rectangle of organza, then layered on top lengths of wool roving, adding them in different directions to cover the organza. Then I added snippets of thread, tiny scraps of sari silk and tiny pieces of shiny ribbon. I covered it all in another sheet of stabilizer, sticky side downward. Then used my sewing machine to stitch all over the surface to sandwich the layers together. After that, I dissolved the stabilizer in warm water, and this is what I got.
The result was a fabric that looked pretty, but using organza for the backing wasn't sturdy enough to make baubles out of. So, let's try again.
I had another go, but this time I used a base of felt, not organza, and needing only one layer of the stabilizer. Laying the felt down flat, I used my needle punching tool to attach little clumps of wool roving to it. I did the same with sari scraps and thread pieces. Then a layer of the water soluble stabilizer on top, sticky side downward. After which, I both hand stitched and machine stitched those layers together. After I dissolved the stabilizer I was left with a sturdy enough material to make baubles out of. I've been adding beads and sequins to them today, and will take a photo when they're completely finished.
Hopefully that explanation's made a bit of sense? If not, I'll leave you with something else to keep you amused. It's another random video that the YouTube algorithm threw my way, all about wonder of natural dyes and the extraordinary colours that can be obtained from common plants. Maybe it'll interest you too? Why not take a look?
Hello! And goodbye, at least for now. The blog's on hold for a little while as I'm easing myself into 2026 gradually. I'm still stitching and reading and enjoying life with Badger the cat. Even though he treats my sofa like a giant scratching post!
Here's Badger, looking like the little cutie-pie he is. He's settled in so well, is absurdly affectionate and eats anything and everything I put in his food bowl. The only fault I can find is that he likes to sharpen his claws on the side of my sofa. This is despite having two scratching posts, one of which is part of a cat tower that's taller than I am! I may have to try trimming his claws, but I don't know how Badger will react to that. Anyway, expect to see more photos of him, so sorry in advance for any of you who aren't feline fans. Apart from gazing in admiration at the cat I've continued to experiment with embroidery. I really can't decide whether this mainly pink piece of stitching is something I like or just a dog's dinner of a mess. This is another embroidery I've been stitching. Frankly, at the moment it looks like it should be lobbed straight into the bin. I'd painted with a mix of watercolour pa...
The days are marching by at record speed, and I've finally - possibly - bought all the presents I need to buy and written all the Christmas cards I need to send. I decided not to put up a full-sized tree this year as I'm convinced Badger the cat would simply view it as a climbing frame, and I'd find it toppled on a daily basis. Instead, there's a small green tree, and a simple white twiggy one that has lots of vintage baubles dangling from it. To be honest, I prefer the twiggy one, so the green tree might be permanently retired from now on. I've not gone crazy with the decorations, but there are various strings of fairy lights that look so pretty when they're lit. I have - between internet shopping and baking mince pies - made a little fishy pin cushion, decorated with seed stitches, French knots, chain stitch and stem stitch. I'm on the look-out for grey tweedy material to make another fish as I think that'd look better than plain ...
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