Put a Bird on it

I do like an appliqued bird, and it is a very good way of using up scraps.

The pigeon was my first attempt a few years ago - featured on 'Sheila's backyard' quilt. It all went swimmingly (the sequin eye was a moment of brilliance) until it came to the feet. Not being used to metallic embroidery thread, I rather overdid it and they ended up looking like wiggly worms. Still, Liverpool pigeons often have deformed and mutated feet, so they'll do.

Pigeon toes

Pigeon sequin eye and beads

Spilt Beads and Bent Needles

I'm not too sure about these pesky embellishments, did I make the right decision?

Firstly, despite a number of friendly warnings about bead containers left un-lidded on side tables, I have managed to upset said containers at least 4 times so far. I am not sure if anyone has invented a machine for picking up tiny tiny beads from finely ridged mats (other than a hoover), but I have had to resort to licking my finger to create enough 'stick' to get each bead up. I reckon a couple more spillages and I might just hoover up the lot and be done with them. Also beading needles are so fine that if I sneeze they bend.

Secondly, I am just not quite sure about the result....take Vajras for instance (remember them from first post?) - well this is a Vajra:

and this is my beaded version:

Circle of Vajras

Now squint and look from a distance...

One nice thing is that in the sunlight it now sparkles.

 

Thirdly there is the embroidery issue. I'm just not that good at it yet. I would like to be really good. Each Mandala gate will have a beaded curtain effect (at least I think that is what they are). My first attempt is ok (again with a squint)...

The North Gate (I think)

Lovely beads

....but then there are the 4 corner bits which I was really excited about, because I got to use some beads I bought on a whim online last month (lovely lovely beads like little sweets). The beads are yummy but the hand embroidery doesn't stand close scrutiny. Maybe a C minus. I thought of redoing it, but have decided to embrace the process of creative learning. However I have now bought a book, so expect to see improvements forthwith.

Not so lovely embroidery

Great Great Grandma's book of samplers

I have some pictures of a book of samples completed by my great great grandmother (born 1856), who was a dressmaker in Manchester - her embroidery seems to have stood the test of time. Maybe in the year 2146 some great great grand niece will be looking at the Mandala family heirloom and wondering about her ham-fisted great great aunt...

More Crocheted Scarves!

So remember the granny square scarf that caught the eye in the flop series Jericho? (forget the big themes like nuclear Armageddon - pay attention to the fine crocheted details). Well this week when watching a film called Bright Star I was riveted by some incredibly beautiful crocheted pieces.

Crocheted cardigan in Bright Star

Some quick googling revealed the designer to be a woman called Sophie Digard. Her work is a positive inspiration. I was overwhelmed by the harmonising earthy hues of the yarns she uses...and the originality of the patterns.

This search led to a number of blogs where other like-minded enthusiasts were extolling her virtues - and on one of them I discovered this incredible site where you can download the most delightful patterns: Drops design. Looking at some of these designs I can just imagine myself walking along a white beach with the waves lapping at my feet and my crocheted shawl thrown carelessly over my crisp white cotton shift.

I will definitely be revisiting that site....once I get around to finishing the jumper I started knitting 2 years ago....and the crocheted afghan blanket I started last year....summer just seems to be the wrong time of year for handling wool.

Crochet granny squares - a work in progress - my first crochet

More Tricky Prayer Flags

'Quilts with Style' Tibetan Prayer Flag Quilt 

Next installment in the mandala saga: so, whilst looking for inspiration to make my midget mandala into a bed cover sized piece, I was flicking through my stash of old quilting magazines and serendipitously stumbled on Quilts with Style July/August 2004 (yes I really have kept it for 7 years but it is a good one). Who would believe it but they actually have a Tibetan Prayer Flag quilt (left)!! The quilt in question is rather fine, but I thought I could borrow the idea to make a border. 

It was a little bit more tricky than I had first anticipated and the whole project was almost sabotaged by some overenthusiastic hoovering too close to my design layout of little fabric pieces on the living room floor. Having picked said pieces out of the hoover bag and wiped off the hoover bag juice (what is that anyway??!) I managed to piece the border without too much problem (don’t look too closely - some points got blunted).

Border before finishing off

So again in the end I seem to have made another HUGE quilt, this one being a square, but having tested the size/shape on a bed it should look fine (watch out for sharp edges poking the eyes).

Then a simple matter of hand quilting to the backing (in the sunshine whilst listening to corny romance audio CDs) and now for the fun bit - Embellishments! 

Quilt roughly finished (after hand quilting, before embellishments)

Some lucky finds at Woolfest

Had a pretty good time at the Woolfest this year. What a feast of colour and texture.

I have visions of a future spent spinning by the fire in winter, harvesting plants for hand-dyeing yarns in spring and summer, then knitting/weaving/crocheting wonderful things in autumn...just have to get that tension right and I know I could be a really good knitter....

Anyway, am finding it a little difficult to focus on the Mandala quilt today as I am too excited about my lucky finds at Woolfest:
Buttons:

Slate buttons!!! Totally impractical for regular button holes but really quite fabulous.


I think they are Welsh slate, but could just as easily be Cumbrian.

Also, I think I have stumbled on THE BEST BUTTON SHOP IN THE WORLD: The Textile Garden - this stall was so popular that I had to sharpen my elbows to get to the trestles. Then I wanted just about every button.

I have no project in mind for buttons but that doesn't really matter. I am contemplating becoming a button collector.

Buttons from Textile Garden

Border from Textile Garden

They also have the most beautiful embroidered borders. Just look at these others on sale :

and then there was The Natural Dye Studio: 
Beautiful crochet and Bluefaced Leicester wool: I spotted a lovely granny square crochet scarf on the series Jericho so was delighted to find a pattern to make my own crocheted scarf, plus the wool which is beautiful and so soft. They also had an amazing crocheted blanket on display- I have bought the pattern but just have to improve my crochet technique before I try that one.

Jericho crochet scarf

Queenies SABINE crochet scarf

Bluefaced Leicester wool for scarf

Bessies CIRCLES blanket

 and finally, vintage knitting:
A Stitch In Time (Vol. 1) Vintage Knitting & Crochet Patterns 1920-1949 : Volume 1
by Jane Waller and Susan Crawford
Published by Arbour House Publishing Ltd
ISBN No: 978-0-9556206-2-1

Knitted bathing suits!! and so many more wonderful patterns. Having inherited some splendid vintage patterns from my great aunt, this book appealed. Watch this space, project 6052...

Just one more thing...

Mandala-ing again

Prayer flag border

 So the tricky thing about this quilt has been the circles and curved seams, the straight lines being a relative breeze. Also, I was determined to get the right number of lotus petals so there was a bit of geometry and compass use involved (I am now the proud owner of a protractor for the first time since GCSE maths).

This was all whilst watching the Battlestar Galactica box set. So now every time I gaze at the centre of the mandala I get a slowed down version of 'All along the Watchtower' playing in my head.


The outer ring of 64 lotus petals that 'represent the purified state of mind and the nerves of the heart' was hand-sewn to Buffy the Vampire Slayer with red wine accompaniment.

Once the basic ring was complete the task was to set it in the centre of an even bigger square, because straight lines are much easier and bed shaped. I had bought a couple of Tibetan prayer flags a few years earlier (would you believe from a shopping centre off the M6?) with this quilt in mind. I wanted to incorporate these flags into the quilt and because the material is so flimsy I first had to sew them onto plain white cotton.

In doing this I have most certainly committed a huge faux pas. The idea is that these flags are hung in high places and when the wind blows the air is sanctified and purified by the Mantras, promoting peace, compassion, strength and wisdom. Because the mantras on the flags are sacred, they should be treated with respect and 'not placed on the ground or used in clothing'. Whoops.
The other oversight was that they are supposed to disintegrate as the images fade from exposure to the elements, 'just as life moves on and is replaced by new life'. I have to say I was warned, but I really liked these little fellas (wind horses).

Wind Horse

I started to panic a bit when I kept snagging threads with hangnails and needles - they definitely weren't going to stand the test of time. I did eventually find a solution to this, by sewing coloured organza* over the flags so now I have probably committed an even bigger sin, and I can almost hear these little trapped voices squeaking 'let me out'.

*Emergency organza shopping trip to Just Sew, my favourite friendly fabric shop