I went to visit a friend the other day and wanted to make her a quick gift. This little pillow is the result based on a design by Ellen Chester of With My Needle from page 7 November 2007 The Gift of Stitching Magazine with some changes and using own choice of threads.
It is March 2021. Where has the time gone. We are in our second year of living with Covid. Life has changed but our need and desire to do what we love and to make what we love is ever present, maybe even more so.
I have found myself unexpectedly unemployed at the present time and I am taking a few weeks’ break before I start looking for employment, which at 57 and living in a small rural town will not be easy to find. I finished work at the end of January so one month has already vanished.
My 18 year old daughter has also left school having completed Year 13 and has also finished as a dance student which has also freed up time, so I suddenly find myself in a position where I have some spare time to be creative.
I have sorted out my craft room and have taken stock of what I have – so many UFOs (unfinished objects) and a huge wish list of things I would like to do.
My dolls house miniatures are still packed in boxes out in the shed (we moved to our current address in May last year) and I have yet to decide how much they will play a part in my creative future, although I anticipate wanting to do dolls house miniatures in the form of quilting, embroidery etc so my Myrtle Manor blog will hopefully still get some love at times. I also love hunting out vintage dolls house items.
So what am I ‘making’ in 2021. Last year I made the mistake of trying a little cross stitch project and discovered Flosstube (part of YouTube dedicated to cross stitch). I have fallen hard. I now have quite a collection of WIPs (works in progress). I did try a little bit of cross stitch in my late teens but it wasn’t my thing at the time. I can’t believe how far it has come in the last few decades and just what is available now as far as designs, fabric and floss and the great on-line cross stitch community.
Some cross stitch projects I have completed:
I am also keen to get back into bookmaking, specifically to create a journal to put small cross stitch items into like a scrapbook. The cardinal etching above will go into that.
I also do a bit
of quilting/sewing. My interest is mostly in art quilting and I look forward to
experimenting with some different techniques including paint, dyeing, stitch,
beading etc. I also enjoy English paper piecing and want to have a go at making some bags.
A small (almost finished) art quilt ‘Tribute to Clarice Cliff’:
I am also quite keen to look at using recycling items to make things, especially denim jeans and old doilies etc. I am currently working on a snippet roll which I will fill with stitching, embroidery and different embellishments over time. The base is made from denim jeans and small bits of hand dyed lace findings.
I will introduce other works in progress as we go along. So watch this space, let’s see where this bit of free time and my creative experimentations will take me.
