Plastic carrier bags......................

I haven't got anything to post. I've been laid low by a vengeful bacteria. But I have a question:

Now that plastic carrier bags are biodegradable, does that mean if I use them to weave, knit, slash or burn on a piece of work, the plastic will deteriorate and spoil the article?

Anyone out there know the answer? - I've been saving up pretty coloured ones from the home delivery service because I felt I ought to recycle them, but now I'm not sure if it will be worthwhile.

A rather strange puppet

I made this puppet for my grandson. Its the first glove puppet with a stuffed head that I have made, and was a bit of an experiment.

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The face is painted with gouache mixed with fabric medium and touched up with water colour pencils. The ears were made on the needlepunch machine, and so was the front of the glove. It has a knitted mohican haircut. I have no idea what it is, but I am sure Joe will think of something!

TAST woven wheels - finished

Here is the finished vessel, complete with firm base stitched in.


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and here is a close-up of the stitching inside


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Tagged...........................!

I've been tagged by Pat of Altering Thoughts to tell 7 things about myself I wouldn't normally reveal. I tend to keep my blog strictly to stitching and related subjects and veer away from personal details, but I have enjoyed reading these memes on other people's blogs. It IS nice to know a little bit about the person behind the work, so fair's fair....................................

1. I weigh nearly 14 stone. I know I need to lose some weight for the sake of my joints, my liver, my self esteem, but I cannot honestly say that I am fighting a battle with the scales.

2. The things I like most tend to be bad for me. I buy wine by the box. I go out in the sun. I LOVE my own cooking!

3. I hardly ever get bored, because I can always find something to do, although it's very rarely what I am supposed to be doing. I am very easily sidetracked!

4. I don't subscribe to the view that the human race is responsible for global warming. I follow the scientific evidence and believe it to be a natural occurance in a climate reliant on the sun. But, I DO think we should be less wasteful of our natural resources and stop polluting our planet.

5. I follow no religion. I don't care WHY I am here, I'm just glad that I am. I try to live a good life and be a decent person. I take responsibility for the consequences of my own actions.

6. I have been constantly embarassed by the Prime Minister of this country. He has today announced his resignation and I heard a commentator refer to him as the first 'celebrity Prime Minister'. I do hope there will not be any more! It is a serious job, right?

7. I can honestly say that I am happy. We keep hearing how although we are more prosperous today, own more property, have more material goods, we are not happy because it is never enough. Well, of course there are things I would like that I can't have, but I'm not going to get myself broken up over it. I have everything that I need, gained by my own efforts (and the Boss, of course!) and that should be enough to keep a person content.

Without trawling through all the blogs I read to check, I reckon everyone that I might tag has already answered, so I won't tag anyone else!

TAST - woven wheels.................

I've turned last week's textile vessel running stitch sample inside out and started to cover the higher back part that shows when you look at it straight on with this week's Take a Stitch Tuesday, woven wheel and variations thereof:

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I've mostly used dyed crochet cotton and woven on wheels and in lines. I'm adding beads for a 'crustier' look.
Here's a close-up.

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Well, I couldn't leave it like that ..............

I had to do something with it:


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I'd stitched right to the edges of the piece, so I wondered if I could add an extra strip by applying it to a piece of felt with the needlepunch machine. That worked OK, although I broke my first needle in the process. Then I wondered if I could recreate the stitched and stuffed effect with needlepunching, so I added a bit more on one end using felt, wool tops (roving) and some scraps of silk and tried to harmonise it. That worked quite well too. (bottom picture)


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To help the new bit to blend in better, I needle punched some of the unstuffed areas of the original piece and added more running stitches. (middle picture)

Then I decided to make it into something - that turned out to be a textile vessel. There is no back seam, because I needle punched the pieces together before I had finished decorating it. I needle punched wool tops (roving) onto a piece of muslin (scrim), cut it to shape and stitched it in as a lining.

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I was about to stitch in a covered cardboard circle for the base, when I read this week's TAST stitch. Now I am tempted to turn it inside out first and add embellishment to the lining with this week's stitch.