Heartsease

I forgot to include this when I posted work based on heartsease flowers. It is a folder, with a place for a special photograph inside. It is made of fabric covered board with cutouts for the embroidery, just like making a fabric covered matt, but using one piece of fabric instead of two and adding a long strip between the back and front pieces to make a spine. Then two more 'inside covers' also with cutouts are stitched to the fronts.

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The embroidery on the front is on white satin polyester dyed with silk dyes, then over printed with transfer paints. It is hand quilted using metallic thread and stranded cottons highlighted with pearl and glass beads and pieces of white net. The centres of the flowers are jewellery fixings. The front and back are stitched to the 'inside covers' using metallic threads and buttonhole stitch over a thin metallic cord. The spine is finished off with handmade beaded tassels and machine wrapped threads, stitched on to so as to cover the join of the metallic cord.

Closer view

This is a closeup view of part of a flowerbed with a large allium and some 'thistle-type' flowers at the front done as an exercise in experimental canvas work.

The 'leaves' in the background are stitched bargello style in tapestry wool and overlaid with net to diffuse the colour and give some depth. The allium in the front is stitched in a mixture of crewel wool, crochet cotton and accents of metallic thread. The 'thistle-type' flowers are knitting yarn.

Images of Hertfordshire

Allison says her landscapes are 'too picky' no Allison, this is 'picky'!..........

These three pieces were handstitched on calico hand painted with watercolour dyes. They represent scenes in the Hertfordshire countryside, near where I used to live.









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All six inches diameter.

I stitched these a few years ago while I was working away from home, they gave me something to do in the evenings!