Lucky Find - Cross Stitch

Take a look at this treasure that I found in an OP Shop. Isn’t it amazing? The colour scheme is so playful and daring, the stitch perfect.  I have put it on my wall until I make a decision on what to do with it, embellish a bag, part of a cushion… or simply just decorate my wall as is? The piece is only 30x20 cm.

In the past I have embroidered on top of embroidery that I have found in second hand shops, but not this one, it is too special. Any ideas?

xo Sarah

 

Quilts on Show in Brisbane

Quilt by Pamela Patterson, Tasmania. An interpretation on what "Free" means to the her as the artist.

I went to a quilt and sewing show at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre a few weekends ago. It is the first time I have gone, so I was quite curious to whether I would find it interesting. I did. There were some amazing works. The detail, the skill, the imagination that was put into some of the displayed quilts was quite amazing. I am a sewer/dressmaker and I have never really ventured into quilting, but I felt inspired afterwards, so maybe one day when I have some free time on my hands I might give it a go. Or maybe next time my mum, who is a keen quilter, comes to visit me she could teach me a few quilting tricks. I would never have the patience or skill for anything as complicated as the ones I have photographed and posted here. But I might give a simple one a go… after all my other projects. Take a look at my favourite pick from the exhibition:

 The title of this quilt by Ailsa Koloi is Whirligig and you can see why. It is an amazing combination of colourful off-cuts used so precisely to create this whirl wind.

The perfection and detail blows you away!

 

 

Quilt by Jan Phillips, title: Splash Pineapple Log Cabin. Made with Japanese fabric scraps.

The theme for this quilt made by Marlene King was "In the Heavens" and she named the quilt "Black Holes and the Milky Way". It is much darker in real life and reflects the magic of space very well I thought.

 

 

Quilt made by Jean Green and named "Star Crazy". Cute and colourful star quilt - no two stars are alike!

Quilt by Gail Chalker, "You Can Never Have Too Many Circles". Intricate work, the quilt is huge and the work just cutting the circles let alone putting all together into this beautiful quilt!

Such a happy and poetic quilt over the theme: "The Best Things in Life are Free", named "Sunset over the Ocean", made by Barbara McLennan, NSW.

I enjoyed the show - hope you did too?
xo Sarah

Sneaky Fox Embroidery

I embroidered this fox. Who is looking for an adventure, me I guess?! Maybe you too??

For the lettering I used a pen with ink that disappears slowly after it has been applied. A tip for successful lettering is to only write a few letters at a time, then embroider them, write the next letters etc. In this way you can adjust the writing as you go along.

 

I used Running stitch, Back stitch, Stem stitch and Blanket stitch for this one.

 

xo Sarah

A Garden in Lindved

 I decided to send some “flowers” home for my dad’s birthday. Flowers, that he can enjoy looking at, when the garden is all frozen during winter - in a frame on the wall.

 

 

 I used natural unbleached linen, my favourite background material for embroidering. The colours are pastels with a bit of pang mixed in.

 

 

 

 

The dandelion-type flower turned out really well. I mixed one string of metallic bronze coloured thread with a dusty pink for the "petals"... and I just love the texture of the French Knots in the centre. I will definitely use this design again.

 

 

My dad is a garden wizard. He can make anything grow. I send him seeds from Australia and he  manages to grow them into flowers and trees in the much cooler climate of Denmark.  My mum helps him make it happen and they both enjoy the short summers in their blooming fruit and veg producing garden. There are no rules in this garden all plants are welcome and are mixed in between each other, that is what is so great about it, layers and layers of colours and textures. Have a look at the pictures below. I took these when I was home in August last year. It was a beautiful, mysterious early misty morning. The colours of the Dahlias were glowing in the mist. It was a very special experience. 

 

I love this misty view from the back of my parents garden. What a lucky capture with the camera of my IPhone.

 

The colours!

 

This Dahlia flower is as big as a dinner plate