rubykittyruby

  Another grey Yorkshire day and I've already spent part of it outside, rummaging in the green recycling bin.  I'd bought someone a present that (a) is electrical, so there's always the chance it'll develop a fault, and (b) she might not like it, so I want her to be able to sneakily exchange it.  Which meant I needed to keep the receipt, instead of lobbing it into the bin, along with loads of cans, cardboard, glass and plastic.  No idea what the neighbours thought of my bin-diving, but the receipt's been successfully retrieved, so that's one thing to tick off my 'to do' list.   Talking of things I'm ticking off my list, I've decided to see December 2024 out by trying to finish lots of little crafty projects that're lying around.   I sifted through these shelves, tidying and grouping things together, and used several freezer bags to sort WIPs out.   The last of the embroidery's now finished on this heart.   These partly-complete...

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 f...

  As you can see, I've added another bird to my Corinne Lapierre style collection.  A white goose.  My embroidery's not exactly as per the pattern in the book, but it's good enough.   The goose joins the owls and blue tit, though the chickens have flown the nest, given as Easter presents along with a shed load of chocolate.  I also received a massive amount of chocolate back, which I'm ashamed to say I've already scoffed.  Delicious it was too.   Today was another Stitch Art class at Leeds art gallery.  Once again we took inspiration from the current exhibition, 'Found Cities, Lost Objects', and in particular this huge wall hanging by Young In Hong.  It's entitled 'Burning Love' and - to quote from the exhibition programme it ' illustrates a scene from a candle-lit vigil that was held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2008.  The demonstration was triggered by the South Korean government's reversal of a ban on US beef imports and saw hu...

  One more thing finally crossed off my 'still need to finish' list.  Yesterday I added the rest of the red ties to this lap sized quilt, and embroidered 'Val made this' on the reverse.  It's probably going to end up as a present for someone as I don't need yet more quilts strewn across my bed or sofa.  I did like working with the upcycled denim, and especially how you get a variation in shades of blue, often depending on how many times the original garment had been laundered.  Here's a glimpse of the backing fabric, with my purple clogs getting in the picture.   I also plumped for a hen as the next bird I'd make from the Corinne Lapierre book, having dithered over what to choose.  I realised I'd got just enough of the fudge coloured felt to make the hen's body.  So I spent yesterday evening dutifully following the instructions.  Step 1 completed, step 2, step 3.  It was only when I reached step 9 that I realised my mistake. ...

  No, you're not seeing double.  I made a second owl, following (with a few minor variations) the pattern from Corinne Lapierre's 'Folk Embroidered Felt Birds'  Then I had a go at a blue tit.  Unlike the owl where the embroidery's only on the front facing part, the blue tit's got embroidered wings on back and front.   This design was a little trickier than the owl, though the actual piecing together of the bird is easy enough.  It's the details on the head that I wasn't so good at.   Here's the image from the book of what my bird ought to look like.  The black lines on the head aren't made of black felt, but dense stitching with black thread. I'm not entirely sure I got the placement of the eye right, and my black stitching's a mite clumsy.  But at least my blue tit's recognisable! Note how my fly stitch is going in the opposite direction to that in the book's image.  I put that down to me being left handed, it's just easier t...

Spring days start early.  The sun rises and the dawn chorus breaks into song, and I unearth myself from underneath the duvet.  My Sunday's been productive so far, and I'm typing this at about a quarter to eight in the morning.  Laundry's already washed and pegged out on the line, and I'm already washed and full of porridge.  I thought I'd begin with a round-up of what crafty things I've been up to.  First of all, this piece of slow stitching.  I'd a grand idea about making a frame for it, covering sturdy cardboard with papier mache and white paint, then gluing on sea shells.  Only I've had a change of heart.  I've got so many works-in-progress that I need to get things finished before they get totally out of hand.  So I added a backing fabric to this stitched piece, and used embroidery thread to blanket stitch around the edges.  All it needs now is a couple of loops sewn on to hang it by.  Plus, maybe a few weighty beads added to th...