Learning embroidery..

I got this embroidery kit last week from the church sale, it was 0.50 cent.

 it was easy to sew ..I would have liked some of the stitches in certain places were bit more together...practice will make it better for next time.

added the decorative lace butterfly to cover the print on the fabric.

a beautiful sunday morning...

Thank you for stopping by,

till next time
xox,
Gaia

Orange blooms... [learning left hand crochet]

A small throw...

I started this project several months ago, from a craft magazine called 'Americana Afghans' published in 1974.
After browsing through the projects, I was tempted to try out this particular throw, which had a vintage look  and, I also wanted to learn something other than a granny square.
Since, I do all my crocheting using thrift-ed yarn it was also a challenge to find all suitable yarn.

I got this far... I would have liked to complete the whole blanket with the exact number of motifs, according to the pattern, but I got bit impatient as I have not been able find more yarn of the similar shades at the thrift stores lately.(specially the greens) I found lots other colours and want to start something else and did not want this project to get neglected, for a longer period, so I thought to finish it with what I had.

the reverse

   It looks like I had understood the pattern somewhat.

from the magazine

saree quilt..
continuing on with hand stitching.. this is the border.

Thank you for stopping by today,

till my next post,
xox,
Gaia

bit of crochet...

This toy giraffe project is from Susan Bates "left hand crochet guide". It was very easy to make; basically it is blocks of single crochet. I reduced the size in half. I also sewed in the other details instead of gluing them as per the tutorial because I want to give it to a baby.

It does look cute isn't it?

~ there was only bit of sunlight on the weekend to get few photos.

Work is continuing on the bohemian quilt; I have started running stitch pattern around the blocks, and well as the centre motifs.

can you hear me tweeting !!

Thank you for stopping by today,

till my next creative post,
xox
Gaia

Update on a Thursday...

I have almost completed the applique part of the spring saree quilt. But, there quite a lot of stitching still to do. I would like to see it finished, at least by the end of spring; if not it will be 'summer' quilt.

The small embroidery piece is also coming along. 

On crocheting..
I made a wallet, inspired by this pattern that I came across in one of the "Crochet" magazine, it is from spring of 2012.

I followed the stitch pattern but changed the assembly part of it. I stitched the both sides and made it a pouch like, also opted out the inside pocket panel. I want mine to hold all sorts of membership and rewards cards that I have, the one I have been using has fallen apart.

I covered a simple white button with cotton fabric to make it bit more cheerful, also it adds contrast.

I am happy with the final result.

Thank you for stopping by for a peek,

till next time,

xxx,

Gaia

May

I took a break from crocheting and other sewing projects, to experiment on this cloth doll, making her brought back some nostalgia.of childhood.
I remember my mother sewing me a cloth doll when I was about 10 years. She had corn hair of golden colour, and has an orange flowered dress.

This pattern is from an Australian country patchwork magazine; was published about decade or so ago. It includes blocks for all the projects, and instructions.

I, however omitted  and changed some details, such as using paint to colour the boots, using felt markers, buttons, and using of a glue gun for attaching hair/hat. I did that because, I want to pass this on to a toddler and did not want to use any harmful items.

I hand sewed everything from body parts to dress and hair.. and making the tiny clothes were such a delight.

I would not mind trying few more projects from the magazine, which has another type of a doll.

I call her little 'May'

It is nice of you to stop by,

thank you,

xxx,

Gaia

Wasteful Art !

When you  buy bread or certain times packaged vegetables [at the supermarket] the plastic bags they come in are secured with  these types of tabs. [may not be the correct word for it]

I have been collecting the tabs for awhile just to see how much of a plastic pile I can make.

While the collection grew, I had sketched few ideas how to use them. This is an experimental mixed media project. Apart from the tabs, I also incorporated used tea bags, scraps of fabric, and lots of acrylic paint.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself doing the project; but I do not know how well my idea is presented here.

___________________________

This magazine was featured in many crochet blogs in the past month, and it did look interesting. So, when I saw it at the book store, I wanted to treat myself, and here's my copy. :)

It has a small crochet project included; yarn and a hook to make a snowflake.

The instructions are in UK terms. But it does have guide with all the abbreviations and US terms, in one of the back pages. I think I manged to get it fairly right. There was enough yarn to make two; the second one turned out bit smaller as I made the stitches more tight.

Let it snow ! let it snow !

I am taking little time off from work to visit my mother. My mother is turning 70 yrs. in couple days, and my grand mother(mother's mum), is turning 93 yrs. They both have their birthday on the same day.  

I wish you all happy holidays and a peaceful 2014 !!!

See you in the new year..........

Thank you for taking time to stop by,

..til next time,
xxx,
Gaia

Stitch [the magazine for creative stitchers] project
here is the link for their website.

I like this magazine a lot;  it carries out beautiful embroidery and great tutorials by very talented stitchers.



I started this piece from the 2005 magazine awhile ago, but I did not finished it until recently. The initial enthusiasm was not there after sometime as I felt the project was tedious. Then I had other art projects which I spent more time on.












Yet,I did not give up on it. When I took it out from the craft box last time, I made sure that I sew it to the end !

I ran out of yellow thread while stitching the background, and instead of buying new I used white thread which I had for the remaining of the work.  [not a good decision]

I also did not do a good job on the fly stitch on the background of the bird panel, there are areas I simply did the running stitch only.  The tutorial also mentions to add mirror pieces[shisha]  to the shisha border but I did not have enough do so.

..... nevertheless with many flaws here is my attempt.

I am glad I completed it :)

Thank you for stopping by,

Until next time,

xxx,

Gaia