Samples 2016: Week 21, Tufted/Peacock

Very slow hand stitching, but worth it yes? I love the effect!

It's velvet stitch, worked on single canvas. Mostly stranded wool except the purple band which is pearl cotton so a bit shiny - I wanted to try the contrast.

I didn't try very hard to make the loops the same length, as I planned to cut them. But I liked the loopy surface too much to cut it all, so I left the bottom section alone. Now I'm not sure which I prefer but I'm glad to have a sample to remind me of both - I must be able to use these one day?
 

Samples 2016: Week 20, Stripy/Malachite

Too much green for me here, but hey, the random sample generator said malachite, I must obey.

As you can see, I machine stitched strips of fabric onto felt and then added a few stripes of ribbon yarn and hand stitching. 

It is nice to have a little hand embroidery to pick up in the evening, but oh, I do prefer machining!

Samples 2016: Week 19, Topography/Indigo

I love indigo - the magical transformation of the dyeing process as well as the colour itself. So I've got plenty of threads and fabric that I've indigo-dyed myself in the back garden.

Used together, the effect is too subtle really - there are several different threads here but you can hardly tell. On old wool blanket that I felted in the washing machine before dyeing.

"Topography" suggested contours to me, so I just doodled in running stitch along those lines (!).

Samples 2016: Week 18, Streaky/Jewels

A very quick response to this week's random theme and colours. "Streaks" of bright sari silk scraps embellished onto gold metallic fabric.

Samples 2016: Week 17, Swirl/Neon

Free machine embroidery on black felt, using four shades of Madeira Polyneon thread.

Nice to have a chance to use these threads - I bought them for a piece about Chernobyl but they're not generally a good fit with my work!

Samples 2016: Week 16, Dotty/Kingfisher

Bright turquoise and orange for "kingfisher" colours, naturally.

And for "dotty"? Back to my favourite free machine embroidery on dissolvable fabric - tiny turquoise dots, linked to each other and a few big dots of orange felt.

I've photographed this one raised on pins for the shadow effect.