Friday, 15 February 2013

Twilight in Paris

Twilight In Paris 3


In January there was a stitch-a-long on Instagram based on Jenny Hart's Sublime Stitching patterns. I hadn't realised how prolific the craft movement is on Instagram until then so thought it would be a good time to join in. Also, I've wanted to stitch the
Sad Valentine pattern for a while now. It reminds me of the Twilight in Paris music video from the 80s cartoon Jem & The Holograms.... Yes, yes I'm a bit Jem obsessed lately.... sue me :-)

So I altered the pattern a bit, pulled out some funky pink and neon threads and stitched along:

Twilight In Paris 1

Twilight In Paris 2

I decided to frame it with a fabric wrapped hoop in neon pink, a very Jem colour! It now has pride of place on my wall above my framed Jem posted (see...obsessed!!)

If you want to see everyone else's Stitch-A-Long look up #sublimestitchingsal on Instagram for some stitchy goodness!

Saturday, 9 February 2013

Women of Influence

Women of Influence 1


Goodness! It has been a while since I posted but I have had so many projects, crafty and otherwise, on the go that I've got a bit behind. I've been working on family tree research, which has taken up quite a bit of my time and is very interesting. At some point I will have to share some of the best bits here. I have also been doing a little bit of stitching, the first piece of which I will share with you now.

My Women of Influence quilt square will be part of my Feminist Statement quilt.... when I finish it! It's one of those WIPs that goes on forever.... but I digress. Looking back at my childhood I have noticed many things that had shaped who I am today. Two of these things are She-Ra and Jem from Jem and the Holograms. Though both of these women are only cartoon characters I think they influenced my a lot - strong women who know what they want. She-Ra helps those in need and Jem has a fabulous wardrobe haha! So they both had to feature on my quilt. I wanted them to be on the same square as they are from the same era and the same media.

Women of Influence 2


I've had the image of this square in my head and sketched out in my sketchbook for a while but finally got the chance to realise it now. I used a simple back stitch so the colours and the image itself were the main focus.

Women of Influence 3


I used only three strands of thread at the most for the main outlines then striped down to one or two strands for the details and features. I'm always concerned about how facial features come out in my stitching but I think these came out ok.

Women of Influence 4


This was a pretty simple embroidery piece but I think it will be one of my favourites in the quilt when it is completed!

More Jem embroidery to come!!!