Thinking about fabric ...... I've decided to play with one of the stained baby wipes left over from the transfer painting experiments earlier in the module....
..automatic patterns have been thought about and stitching has begun.....
So far just some work on the tree trunks, but I've already learnt alot and have lots of new ideas and thoughts coming out of working on this one. There is still a long way to go before it's finished but I'm really enjoying the process already.
I picked out some pink threads and three automated stitch patterns from my machine featuring hearts, flowers and a cross stitch which I thought could represent a cheeky little kiss or two. X
One of my threads had gotten pretty faded (I think this was part of a batch that I bought cheap from Ebay a few years back). I thought it might create some interesting colour variations and I'm happy that it did. Maybe a little difficult to see as I found it hard to get an in focus close up picture but I used it for the flower patterned stitch rows.
I have a good few unbranded threads lying around that I've bought over the years, I keep all my threads in boxes by colour. Thanks to a tip from my wonderful tutor Janet I have started putting a numbering system on the unbranded threads so I can go back and use the same colours again from my reference pieces if need be. I'm using Roman numerals as my pen is to thick to handle all the curves in the everyday numbering.
On the threads with black reels I'm painting the numerals on in white acrylic paint. 
I'm planning on working on it tonight so hopefully I'll be able to share in the next couple of days. But today I'm excited to be going off to Sue's whose going to hopefully teach me how to crochet - something I've wanted to learn for ages, but just haven't managed to be able to teach myself from books. I'm excited, it should be a fun and creative day!! :)
Finally the machine has been dusted off and I'm stitching again. Made my first sample playing with the automatic stitches on my machine and the second one is well under way. Actually the second one might have gotten finished last night if it wasn't for Pip cuddling up to my machine again last night and stopping play! :)
Life really does feel like a whirlwind at the moment. Busy at work, busy at home I just feel like I'm here there and everywhere. Still I'm not complaining life is for living right and I'm trying to squeeze every last ounce out at the moment, including getting in some stitching time. So yesterday in my lunch break I popped home and managed to get the third sample for chapter four done.
and this piece by Mondrian ....
as my inspirations. I really loved working on this one.
Next up I'll be playing with some of my machine's automatic patterns, but I'm away to spend a couple of days with family first.
Strolling the heathland
Climbing up to the top of rocky Tors
And climbing of a different kind too
After all the climbing there was still time for a beautiful stroll along the beach. Anyone want to come paddling with me?
Actually I spent most of my time out of the water, photographing all of the beautiful textures and colours of the mussels clinging to the rocky cliffs.
I have four more days of work to get through now, then I have eleven days off. Those eleven days will include plenty of stitching time I hope :)
I've started work on the third piece of stitching for this chapter, there are about seven altogether for this one so a long way to go yet. You might be able to tell from the light in the picture that it was pretty late.
I seem to be getting most of my course stitching done in the dark, apart from the odd hour or two at the weekends if I'm home. I like it it's nice and quiet and I can fully concentrate on what I'm doing once all other chores are out of the way. It's nice to be sat at the machine without my mind wandering off to the fact that the dinner dishes are still sat by the sink.
Of course at our place being up late doesn't mean you're alone. Last night it was Pip who kept me company. It was nice listening to him purr away until he decided that my machine had been worked too much for one evening and it had now become his pillow instead!
He snuggled down for a nice rest. If you listen carefully you might be able to hear him purring in this little clip, but I think it was drowned out by the tapping. That was me trying to get a reaction out of Pip, as you can tell he wasn't in the least bit interested.
I think this might be my favourite piece of stitching for the course so far. I used the cheaper rayon threads that I got from ebay last week and they have been running through my machine so far. I've not had any drama with tangles and breaks which is what I feared might happen buying unbranded.
I love how bright and vibrant the colours look against the black felt background. I also like the look of the piece in the first picture where I've attached it in the sketchbook. All those threads ends look like tassels to me. It looks like a little magic carpet, I wonder if it will whisk me away to somewhere exotic if I step on?
This chapter is all about zigzagging and using automatic patterns. The picture is a little peek at the first sample I made, which was an exercise in using different stitch widths. Last night I finished a similar exercise using length but haven't had a chance to photograph that yet. 
Look what arrived for me in the post today, just in time for the weekend too.
For some reason this picture has stayed in my head. It's taken a grip on some of that loose brain matter that I have rolling around in there and it won't let go.
I got some really kind and encouraging feedback from Janet on my transfer painting work yesterday, so I'm fired up and ready to keep going on this fun adventure. I can't tell you how glad I am that I finally took the plunge and enrolled on a City and Guilds course, it is good challenging work and takes time but I'm getting so much out of it. If you've ever thought of taking a course but haven't signed up for one reason or another, my recommendation is to just go for it!
Was trying to figure the best way to mount them in the sketchbook, and I ended up stitching them on to little pieces of watercolour paper. This way I got to stitch in to each type of fabric and also I'll be able to add some glue or tape to the paper to stick them in the book without the adhesive messing up the fabric.
It feels like it's been a huge amount of work to get all of this done, and I've spent a lot of time experimenting with the technique. Not everything has been successful but it's all in the book regardless of whether I like the results or not.