Cheating a Little

 I am hoping that this post will go online at 2am (I have tried for 2.22am, will see how that goes) on 22/2/2022. So, obviously, I am doing it beforehand. I am most definitely not going to get up at 2am to post it, much too early in the day. 

I have done another small free motion machine sewn fabric collage. It is still too big for a doll's house, well, one that is the usual proportions but I am finding out what I can do and what I can't. 

I actually did a bit of collage with tiny strips today, to try to get different greens and blues, not such pure colour as I had previously. I am still using the leftover silk organza from the bogaji class. It should last me into the next century - maybe even till 3/3/33 (not that I will last that long!).

The piece is based on a photo of the Yarra River at Warburton, taken last year during a break between lockdowns. Or maybe it was the year before. I have lost a sense of when I did what over the last couple of years. As have many others I know. 

I laid out some fabric, decided that it was so small and fiddly that I had to put Vleisofix on the back so I could make it stay, then laid it out again. Then I did some free motion sewing. 

I think I prefer the image before I put the final touches on - too late now, those final touches are on. 

I've been reminded that it is 20/2/2022 today.

 As the heading says, today is 20/2/2022 or 20/2/22. Still lots of 2s! 

What to post about?? 

I have put away my tapestry wools for the moment as I have finished my small tapestry. But it is so small that there is a whole lot of warp available above it, so I am considering doing another at this warp sett. 

I have a picture of a leaf that I saw on the ground, I am considering doing that. I may even be adventurous, for me, and do a shaped piece. I will take some time to consider it, but not too long because I will want to get the first piece off the loom. 

I also have some gorgeous silk threads that I got somewhere, sometime. I am thinking about how to use them, they are the right colours, mostly. Of course, I will still use the ATW wools as the basis, silk is a bit too slippery for proper bedding down. 

The different thicknesses will be my excuse for having to do eccentric weave at times, the sort that doesn't match up with the weaving around it - well, that's how it works for me. 

Now to look up how to do shaped pieces, how to hitch on, etc. I think it is fairly straightforward but I will look up my notes and books, just to be sure. It will the the first hitching on method I learnt, not the small tapestry hitching on that I commonly use now. I have talked about both here, when I was still doing the textile course. 

Another interesting date!

 Someone pointed out to me that today is 11/2/22 - I will have to post! But I am really waiting for 22/2/22 - hope I don't lose track of the days!!

So, what to post about? 

I haven't done anymore small embroideries, seem to have run out of oomph. I am working on a small tapestry, based on a photo of a local park. The theme is Sense of Place. If the tapestry works, it will be a good reminder of the park. It is Heidelberg Rd, over Darebin Creek. (That was a lot of bother to type - it kept trying to auto-correct to Darwin!)

I am not going to post a picture of the tapestry yet, just in case I decide to put it in for the Petite Textiles exhibition at Wangaratta. I think they don't like you to post images beforehand. Not that it is finished and I probably won't go in the exhibition, but you never know. 

Here is a picture of the park though. I am weaving it at about 20cm wide by 10cm high. That's the plan, not sure how it will turn out, I'm not very good at following my cartoons properly and end up winging it a bit. 

I played with it a bit in PhotoShop. It is a bit harder to do than I had anticipated because I am trying for a rather large landscape image in such a small format. But I will persevere. I am doing it with seine twine 12/6 and 3 strands of ATW wool, much smaller than I usually do. 

Tiny embroideries. And lots of 2s.

 I had to post today, it is 2/2/22!! And you can do the date D/M/Y (as we do here in Australia) or M/D/Y (which I have never understood the logic of). I have scheduled it for 2 am! 

Anyway, onto creative matters. I have done another tiny machine embroidery. It is slightly smaller than the previous one. Once again, I have used the silk organza that I collected from the scraps, they are in a separate bag from the class scraps that I initially collected, these were ones that people in the class couldn't comprehend that I might want. The pieces are tiny!! I'll never be able to throw anything out again. 

I think the silk is making it easier as it is very light and not adding to the thickness too much. I may find out more about that later, if I keep experimenting. I'm hoping to try another this afternoon. I just had to make sure that I remember to post today today. 

The fern didn't turn out quite how I envisaged it but it is so small that it doesn't really matter - and I have to keep reminding myself that I am learning, don't have to be able to produce great things straight away. Or ever, really. I just have to enjoy the process. 

Now it is later and I have done another. I found a piece of silk that looked like mountains - it was a plant print in reality. Because it had such a strong image, there wasn't much sewing needed, just enough to hold it down. And some little features. It is actually probably too big for a doll's house, depending on the size of the house, of course. Ah well, time to have another go soon. 

If they are destined for the drawer, it will be a small drawer anyway. Not like lots of old UFOs (WIPs) taking up too much space.