More Pages for the 100 Day Stitch Challenge

I just wanted to share a few more pages from my stitching challenge. I've completed nine pages now but I've taken a break the last few days. I'm sure I'll do more, but less sure that I want to continue finishing a design every five days. I've thrown in some other sewing so I'm spread a little thin.  

This first design is a Hamsa, a charm or amulet, if you will. I think there are a number of cultures that use something similar. Often one of the symbols included is an eye and it is symbolic of warding off the evil eye. When the Hamsa faces down as mine does, rather than up, it is more symbolic of bestowing a blessing. I have chosen to have a pomegranate as my center rather than an eye. There are many other symbols and embellishments that can be included but I have kept my design pretty simple.

This next page is symbolic of the mountains at our little place up in Lincoln, NH. In an earlier post I had done a page representing the Pemigewasset River that flows outside our house and here are the mountains. I've included some stamping for the background trees. 

This last page was done in response to a prompt in the challenge. The prompt was symmetry. My interpretation is pretty simple and self explanatory.

Since I've haven't done much hand stitching and definitely have not started with a blank slate and tried to create something, I've found it interesting and quite rewarding. I've also done some research to see what some very notable slow stitchers do and have been in awe of what they create. I'll share some of my favorites in another post. The whole study of slow stitching has also opened my eyes a bit to things like visible mending and the whole sustainability movement. Some of the visible mending out there is quite beautiful as well. I am so enjoying this new journey!

Til the next time....

Loes Hinse Gore Skirt Revisited

It has been at the very least ten years since I last sewed this skirt.  I'm not even certain the pattern is sold any more - I couldn't easily find a website for Loes Hinse any longer. But I still own several of her patterns. This is Loes Hinse Gore Skirt which comes in several variations, with or without godets. I chose to do the four godet skirt and have tried to give a close up of the inserts, but it's difficult with black on black. 

I made it in a stable knit, lighter weight than a ponte.  This skirt is beautifully drafted. The godets go in like a dream. I stitched on my machine first and then serged the edges. Everything fits like a puzzle. The top of the skirt is done with 1" elastic. I had to take about five inches off the length of the pattern as I'm only 5'2" and it was way too long otherwise. I made it up in medium and am thrilled with the result. It's not so easy finding quality skirts these days and I'm much more comfortable in a skirt than pants. I'll be making it in a lighter weight for the summer.

 

One Very Free Elephant

I'm continuing with the Ann Wood 100 Day Stitch Challenge and I am actually very surprised that I've stuck it out this long. I have always loved slow stitch but never done it. I also tend to be quite rigid and don't particularly like staring at a blank page. But here I am coming up on forty days. 

I love elephants and I love the moon so I thought I would combine the two in one of my pages. My first stab at drafting the composition is below.

So many of the striking elephant drawings have the elephant decked out in rich fabrics across his back and on his head and around his ankles. I had a beautiful piece of brocade that was a perfect match. However, I asked a very young family member if she liked it with or without the blanket. After a considerable time thinking, her response was, 'It depends, is your elephant free or in captivity?'

Naturally I was horrified to think I would be responsible for a captive elephant, so here is my finished page - one very free elephant!

 

New Stitch Book Page - Loss

 I lost a younger sister and brother over the past eighteen months so on one of my slow stitch pages I wanted to reflect grief. I've taken a heart and torn it (the way a mourner's ribbon is torn rather than cut. I then placed the heart together with mesh to represent that, although it may be mended, it will not be whole again. In the bottom left I've stitched a triskelion, or triple spiral. In Celtic it can represent birth, death, and rebirth. 

100 Day Stitch Book

 This year I decided that I wanted to try more hand stitching, and I wanted it to be random rather than purchasing a scene and following explicit directions. It is a big departure for me since I am a garment and home dec sewer primarily. I  never think of myself as being creative in the artsy sense but I really want to explore that side.

I have followed Ann Wood Handmade for a while now and each year she invites sewers to do a 100 Day Stitch Book. The goal is to stitch for 15 minutes a day, certainly more if you are so inclined. And, she encourages you to just start without a lot of expectations of where to go, rather pursue a sort of stream of consciousness with your thread. Of course, she does encourage you to be prepared with your pages cut and your threads and fabric pieces chosen ahead. 

So, I have dived in. I have a theme in mind, though I may stray. I want to have my pages reflect home and family and things that are important in my life. For my first page I decided to stitch a sort of representation of the Pemigewasset River outside our condo in Lincoln. For the river I used a handmade paper (not by me) and I softened it by kneading it with my hands oiled a bit with coconut oil. The paper has holes in it which, in my mind, represent the river rocks. I decided to add the tree, stamped in ink, and stitched just a  bit. 

I'm not sure I'll do a book with it. I may just have some of them hanging around my studio space so I have backed my piece and joined them with the blanket stitch. The linen in the piece is a piece of old French linen, so it is very slubby. I'm not unhappy with my first try.

February on the Pemigewasset - View From My Window

 

Pillows!

I haven't used the embroidery attachment to my machine in so long, I was afraid I was getting rusty. Below are two pillow I did for Christmas. The first, St. Nicholas, embroidered on vintage French linen, was a hostess gift for a special sister who hosted Christmas this year. The back is a soft velvet with one of my favorite hidden zipper applications. 

The "Jack" pillow is for a grand nephew. The embroidery combines designs from Hatched in Africa, their African Jewels collection. 

I very seldom follow recommendations for thread, I use whatever I have at hand that appeals to me, though I did stick to all rayon for St. Nicholas. On children's pillows, I like to use regular cotton thread since it is likely to get washed and dried, and I think it stands up better to wear and tear.