I've not been doing hand embroidery for long and this was just a little piece for me to practice a bit of back stitch. It's only about ATC size and was a wee scrap of cloth that only just fitted into my tiniest hoop.

The design is something I saw in a teach yourself calligraphy book ages ago and for some reason it really lodged in my brain.

I haven't tried cross stitch since I was about 16. I was always unimpressed by the patterns available, too cutesy or too middle aged, but after discovering exactly how creative, edgy and interesting modern embroidery can be (thanks to Crafster, MrXstitch, Subversive crossstitch, etc) I was inspired to try again.
So here is my mini tribute to my favourite Scottish expletive.
 
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This pic is a bit shiny so here it is out of the frame.
 
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It's only wee, about 1"x1.5" made to fit this tiny charity shop frame.
I've already completed a couple of larger things this week and I'm getting quite obsessed!

You wanted a before pic, well here it is!!!
Don't we look thrilled... We all hated them. I'm only smiling(that's me top right) because I started early on the gin!

The best thing I can say about the dress is that it has provided a lot of fabric for projects (I took the scissors to it the day after the wedding).
I'm getting married next year and I had considered getting her back with something truly dreadful in peach with ruffles and bows, or maybe floral with leg of mutton sleeves (she'd hate me for ever she's a punk!).

In my continuing struggle to up-cycle the hideous tent of a bridesmaid dress I was forced to wear at my sisters wedding, I have just finished this little mini art quilt. It's 12 "x10" and free motion quilted.
It's a birthday present for my partners sister. She used to have some large metal cogs hanging on her living room wall like sculpture and I always loved them.
I also like the idea of trying to picture something so hard and industrial in such a soft medium.


Here's the cogs before I started squiggling like a mad woman

I started off with a light blue squiggle all over.

Then went over with a navy blue to try and make the cogs really stand out.

This was the first machine embroidered picture I attempted. It's not completely free hand as I traced out a very simplistic outline on freezer paper then stitched through it and tore it away before going on to the detail and texture. I was really happy with it until I started to fill in the heavy black round his glasses frames and the fabric began to pucker up in the middle   
I'm thinking of adding some colour to the arm of his glasses as they are a striking lime green in real life and are so distinctive that they were one of my main inspirations to stitch this.

I've been working on a few free motion, machine stitched pictures lately and I think this is the one that came out the best.
My wee laddie totally adores his wooden train set, so I have tried to capture him in a moment of concentration.
I had real problems doing the hair. He hasn't got all that much and what there is of it is palest silvery blond and nigh on impossible to draw properly with black thread!

I made this for the sea life swap. It was intended to be a motif on the flap of a messenger bag but I got WAAAAAY over involved with the stitching and ran out of time so I slapped it on a piece of foam camping mat and crazy quilted round it. I guess that makes it a mini quilt now but I think it's more about drawing with my sewing machine than making a quilt so that's why it's here on the needle work board.

The silver satin was from a truly hideous tent of a bridesmaid dress my sister forced me to wear and I am now attempting to up-cycle it into things of beauty (I took my scissors to it the day after the wedding!).

It didn't quite look right 'til I gave it this beady little eye...



I tried to get the flimsy, see through look of it's fin.
I really liked the way it turned out and was sorry it was already promised to someone else.

Here's the wonderful array of oceanic goodies the talented Samsara sent to me!
I had to sneakily steal this octopus badge back from my two year old to photograph it. He's at playgroup so he'll never know. I'll probably end up stitching it onto his coat as he adores it and I don't want him playing with the pin.

I love the mossy green colour of the ribbon on the necklace. It reminds me of sea-weedy rock pools and contrasts the little bit of glitter on the seashells really well... pretty, pretty.
The shell is a sort of "shrine" to fish and the sea and will hang in my new conservatory (when it's finally finished!) so it can catch the light.

Next is a candle holder beautifully painted with shiny sea creatures. I tried to angle it into the sun so you can sea all the colours and the beasties to their full advantage

Then there is a lovely sealife painted light bulb. I tried to get a picture of how it casts shapes on a white lampshade but the camera wouldn't play ball...

 lastly and def my favorite, this beautiful wave scarf/wrap in sea colours.

And this little fish/whale shaped wrap pin.

I've been really spoiled. This has been a fabulous swap thank you Samsara!
 

I totally love Jenicat's coiled fabric bowls http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=292234.0
I love the way they remind me of coiled pottery, so I decided to have ago at my own version and see what shapes I could produce.
My colours are not nearly as nice as Jenicat's originals, as I was using the offcuts from the curtains I had just finished for a client (I make soft furnishings for a living). I always have loads of long thin strips left over at the end of a job and there is a huge roll of piping cord in my work room, prob why this appealed so much.
My first effort was this sensible little oval shaped number. Which holds my tape measure pins and little scissors when I'm working.

Used some dark red contrasting thread to zig-zag it together and I quite like the effect.

With this one I was trying to see how easy it was to change the shape of the base of the pot (It's not!)
Turning the inside corners is a nightmare and you end up with an ugly hole in the middle, swiftly hidden with a covered button in the same fabric. This one was made with bias cut strips which weirdly left more rough thready bits than the straight cut ones

I then had a go at a more kinda vase-like shape ended up with this.

didn't like it so it got remodeled into this, which is much more what I had in mind.

It may be a bit wobbly but can be quite pleasingly squished into shapes like this

and I had enough covered cord left over to make a little bowl too.

I'm thinking of making another with some kinda design embroidered onto it to mimic a real piece of pottery.
Thanks Jenicat!

Here is the fantastic quilt made for me by Cohesivechaos,
I like to think of it as the "spicy triple sunset" quilt.
It's like looking out from a cool wood into a hot sunset.

beautifully pieced drunkards path blocks, my favourite.

most of the quilting is lovely free form that goes into swirls round the sun shapes and picks out the bark on the trees. love the stump!


thank you, thank you. I love it