#52 tags - Week 9 - Bits, pieces and a gift

The theory with this weeks tag was that you should use something that was given to you and some bits and pieces.  What?!?!?!  Haha.

OK, so seeing I've been scrounging denim (or denim looking pieces) from my sisters.  My wee niece contributed a skirt and a pair of stripey shorts, neither actually denim but definitely denim looking.  So I used a stripe of each of those.  Plus some even-weave that her mum gave me (I think) so long ago.  That covered the gift bit.  Anne used a safety pin on her tag this week and I bought some wee black ones a few weeks back but haven't yet had a chance to use them - so perfect time to use those to cover the bits and pieces!!

Feels summery this one.

In other news I finished the piece for my little sister.  I think it looks better than my first slow stitch piece.  Maybe I learnt something the first time around? haha.  

The colours aren't right in this photo, the photo is a bit washed out.  The piece is about 4 inches wide and to be honest I didn't measure how long it is.  Anyway she assures me she loves it.  So phew!

There are some closer up shots down below if you're interested and the colours in those shots are truer to real life.

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 #52 tags - Week 8 - French knots, bullion knots and pistil stitch

Ahhh bullion knots... I think I dislike those more than I dislike buttonhole.  I really should practice them more.  

The photo looks a bit washed out but the main fabric is actually a grungy green.  The brown and grey fabrics are ones I painted myself the other week.   And I just adore them!

Meanwhile I'm also working on my sisters piece.  Which at this point I like more than I liked the one I made myself.  She doesn't want to see it before its done.  But I am so pleased with how this beading looks I'm posting a close up of just that area.  

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 Oops I forgot...

To post my tag for last week (and this weeks one has just been announced).  The prompt this week was to make hexagons from circles by folding them.  A bit fiddly when you're talking about making them for a small piece like these tags.  This piece feels/looks a bit empty I wish I'd done a bit more now.  But at the time with the heavily patterned background I thought it might be a bit much.  Oh well, live and learn.

Last weeks TAST stitches were Herringbone and Raised Close Herringbone so heres my effort for those.

And this weeks TAST stitches were Detached Chain and Alternating Barred Chain.  The barred chain really did my head in.  As soon as I stop and think about which way to make the bar I get confused and muck it up.  But got there in the end :-)

Other than that I'm working on my sisters piece.  I think its gonna turn out better than mine.  So if she doesn't totally love it then I might have to keep it for myself.  😁

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 Slow Stitching

I think based on how long it takes me to make my mind up about anything, ALL my stitching is slow stitching.  But I've been watching Anne Brookes videos about her sew for the soul roll/banner she made during lockdown in 2020 and have been inspired to give it a go.  So the last couple of weeks I've been working on this.  Its been a challenge for the following reasons:

• As previously mentioned I overthink things
• I don't do well with  'just going with it'.. which probably translates to me being a control freak.
• I'm not good with frills, lace, ribbon etc
• Or beads
• Or uneven edges and fraying

I do love people who can 'throw' some scraps together and come up with something beautiful and I want to be one of those people!  So my main embroidery goal this year is just to be 'looser'.

The main idea behind Anne Brookes sew for the soul project was devised during lockdown and the theory being you should use stuff you had from your stash, your wardrobe or whatever.  My stash is small and certainly way too small to come up with a pile of different fabrics that will coordinate with each other.  My wardrobe is full of jeans and t-shirts.  While thinking on it I cut the legs off a pair of my old jeans to make Miss P some shorts.  Hubby then proceeded to do the same thing with his old jeans, I think mostly just to upset Miss P.  He keeps referring to them as his 'Daisy Dukes' haha (not that she has a clue who Daisy Duke is/was).  Now I had 4 legs worth of denim.  Oooh I have some denim in my stash.  Yes denim!!

I also read recently about making things for a purpose and I liked that.  Especially considering how many of my pieces are sitting in boxes around the house.  But not this one, its custom made to hide a bit of rough plastering in the dining room.  As soon as I figure out how I'm going to hang it.  Again with the decision making... sigh.  Tossing up between a piece of driftwood or getting Hubby to make me something on his lathe.

Anyway about a week ago I looked at it and thought yep it's done.  I walked away and came back and had a think about how it compared it to the sew for the soul pieces and realised it was the usual me done.  Not the looser me done.  So I kept adding to it.  Yesterday morning I thought nope its done and then promptly spent a few more hours adding things to it.  But I think its really done now.  Hopefully.  😜

Anyway here it is.  Apart from the circles everything has just been eyeballed before cutting so theres not a perfectly straight line to be seen haha.  

My little sister has just given me a couple of pairs of her old jeans.  So the next project is to make something for her with her own jeans.  The idea of hacking her jeans to pieces and then returning them to her as something else completely tickles my fancy.  It's probably a sadistic big sister thing.  😈

I've got a few more pics below closer up if you're interested.

Thanks for stopping by! 😁

 #52 tags - Week 6 - A bevy of buttons

I might not have a huge stash of fabric but I do have a couple of boxes of buttons.  As a kid if we were 'good' we'd be allowed to get out Nanna's button box to play with.  Kids these days (mine included) don't get it.  But for my sisters and I it was like heaven.  We'd sort them, swap them, make patterns with them, all sorts of silly games.  And the one thing I wanted when my Nanna passed away was those buttons.  

I don't usually use them but I still like to fossick through them from time to time with every intention of using a couple and then never being able to bring myself to do it.  Its so silly.  But this weeks tags was about buttons and I took a deep breath and used a few from the box and a few from my own stash.  None of Nanna's 'special' ones, that would be taking things too far haha.  Anyway, there's a piece of my Nanna in this one.  💖

I had such fun thinking up different ways to attach them.

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