18/37 Seaweed
Have you ever really looked at seaweeds? They're fascinating, the range of shapes and colours! So I did a few little seaweed experiments using free machine stitching
on Solufleece.
The feathery ones are easy enough... bladder wrack, not so much. For the air sacs I stitched round and round (and round), distorting the fabric to make little
raised bubbles. These aren’t solid, they’re hollow. You can get more height
working without a hoop, but I only wanted tiny ones. The end results are a little messy, but they look alright as a group; I might take these further.
18/38 Hedgerow berries
This little piece started with a
mix of yarns arranged on sticky soluble film (AquaBond). I free machined all
over this base with green to link everything and fill it in a bit, and added a
few blocks of satin stitch in shaded green for a leafy effect.
For the berries, I had in mind rowan, rose hips and blackberries.
I machined clusters and individual dots using straight stitch in those colours.
Then to make the berries stand out more I added a little hand stitching, mostly
French knots (there always has to be French knots!).
I was quite pleased with this one after dissolving, maybe
I’ll do more!
18/39 Seed heads
On holiday (Harris, since you ask - very
nice thank you!) without my trusty Bernina, I had to resort to hand stitching. But
nothing as normal as fabric – I used Somerset paper.
For each seed head I embroidered “long tailed detached
chain stitch” (phew!) into and around a small punched hole. The thread was a
lovely space dyed fine cotton from Oliver Twists. And yes, I did take my
Japanese screw punch and a cutting mat on holiday… wouldn't you?! Well, you have to have some rainy day
entertainments in the Outer Hebrides!
I love the crisp effect of stitch on paper,
the embroidery really stands out.
