December Misty Shadows ATCs

Oo these are looking very foggy and misty! Do we need to have our fog lights on do you think? Definitely headlights to try and peer through the gloom with. Several of them definitely have that kind of wet fog which makes your clothes damp and sparkly without it actually raining. Question though, if you fly through a cloud in an aeroplane you can experience turbulence, but if you walk through a cloud on the ground you don't? Why is that? Is mist cloud and cloud cloud different types of cloud?

Anyway, whilst I ponder that, let's have a closer look at these beauties!!

There were several cards which I recognised the thoughts and techniques in as being very similar to the path that I went, layering fabrics to build a scene, adding some stitching then covering the whole lot with a sheer material and adding more fabric and stitching over the top to build depth and perspective. It's really nice to see what looks like different types of sheer used though, some are more sparkly and look more like the organza ribbon I used, but the one above with the woodland was a matte sheer so perhaps a chiffon? It certainly looks a lot denser than the organza ones. 

Some haven't layered a sheer so much but have gone with the colour scheme being greyed out and very muted, perhaps more of a light mist in those ones. We also have layers of mist created with dress net or lace which is very clever, and mist made with wool roving by the looks of things for a more three dimensional fluffy cloud look. 

I really enjoy this one - it could almost be underwater as well which, I suppose in a really dense cloud, you kind of are really. All of the textures of the trees and hedges are masked behind a layer of organza, apart from, what I'm interpreting as, the sequin moon which is brilliantly shining from the sky and cutting through those clouds. 

Jackie's is very clever with the built up layers and the pop of colour of the falling leaves works so beautifully with the greys and dark browns. I'd also like to take a moment to appreciate that along the bottom edge of her card she has changed her edging thread to green, varying the length of the stitches so that it becomes both grasses and the edging of her card! Very thoughtful. 

The colours alone say 'misty day' to me, especially with just the outline of trees with no real detail to view. There is also a fine netting added to the top of the trees which you almost miss unless looking closely. I love how this is more of a snowy mist though with the snowflakes falling as well. 

The lace in Sharon's card is beautiful. Different types of lace by the looks of things, with various scalloped edges and even colours. The tree has been fussy cut and just uses the print on the fabric, and there is a pale sun poking through there as well, can you see it?

Jacquie has used a dress net at the top of her piece to add a misty appearance although, again, the muted colours and plain-ish background hint at there being some fog hiding the rest of the wood. The stag silhouette is a really nice addition too, framed beautifully by the silver birch trees. 

This one is really lovely. There are lots of details within it hidden by the fluffy fog here, beautiful stitched trees and fences, plants and bushes. A pale sun here too which is a nice recurring theme!

Abi's cards have got swirls of mist in, almost like her trees are growing up a hillside with a different ribbon of mist on each level. The trees kind of appear and disappear, some half visible and others just a shadow. 

As always, I like to play the 'guess which card you're getting game' before I send them out! Of course some people send in rather distinctive envelopes so they would know straight away, but others would have a harder job of figuring out which one will be plopping through their letterbox. The one without an envelope is the one that I'm keeping so it will get added in to my ATC display folder - which fills it up completely actually! Three years worth of work in one little tiny folder. I'll have to show you in a different post. 

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in with the 2024 swap! I really hope that you had a blast creating your cards and interpreting the themes, whether you were fantastically inspired by them or had to work a little bit harder to get those creative juices flowing. It's all good practice to stretch your creative brain and keep the problem solving and stash busting going (assuming that you are stash busting and not rushing out to buy new materials and tools with every month!). 

Nempnett Thrubwell Stitchscape

Does anyone live, or know of, Nempnett Thrubwell? Does it have sheep in it? Well it does now!

 

Continuing my campaign of naming Stitchscapes after random and slightly funny (but not rude) places in Britain, I recently discovered - virtually through the internet - Nempnett Thrubwell which is a small village on the edge of Bath in Somerset. Apparently, so Google says, it is around 15km South-West of Bristol, but I don't know why that in particular is relevant, nearest big town/city? 

It has a population of about 177 people and, some interesting facts for you, it is the site of the Fairy Toot oval barrow (which was once huge but has now been mostly destroyed), it is apparently quite difficult to find via road mainly being comprised of isolated farmsteads and it is the subject of the song, Down in Nempnett Thrubwell, by The Wurzels and also mentioned in a song called The Clump by Adge Cutler. Now it's also the name of my Stitchscape and I hope that the residents don't mind my using their village name.

This piece changed a lot from when it first started, which I mentioned in November in an update post about it. It began as a workshop demonstration in Bexhill in a 12cm/5" hoop, just on layering and then had some random woven wheels worked over the top of it in no particular place. I needed the hoop for something so it got un-hooped and became unloved for several weeks in the corner of a room until I found it at a point where I needed a project to work on as Baby F was poorly and I was nap-trapped a lot. When I went to put it back into a hoop, I accidentally used a 15cm/6" hoop which left big gaps at the top and bottom. 

Rather than admit my mistake and go and find at 12cm hoop, the top edge I carefully unpicked and slipped an extra piece of fabric underneath to extend my sky and sunset/sunrise, and the bottom I planned to cover in rocks which are mostly just worked on the calico rather than over a cotton print fabric like I would normally have. The random woven wheels and other demonstrative stitches were removed and I could start stitching this piece properly!

It was the colours that drew me to this piece at first. The fabrics had been put together as a workshop pack but had been left by those in the workshop and there was something about the combination that spoke to me so I pilfered it back for my own uses. The purple and yellow just sing together so beautifully!

So, starting at the top you have the fabric that I snuck in that wasn't initially part of the party. The pattern is a beautiful wavy linear stripe and I've worked a single strand whipped back stitch (whip stitch over back stitch to give you a really solid line) following the line of the print. Bullion knots have been used to edge the fabric layer and my customary little kisses popped on top. 

Keeping the horizontal linear look, I've then used a single strand for running stitches across the layer beneath but I've followed the outline of both the mountain layer and the top edge so that when you get to the middle of the layer there are clashes and interesting shapes drawn in thread. Small birds have been made with fly stitch in white, and shadows added with a single strand of a dark grey just straight stitched under the 'wings' to help them stand out more. 

The purple batik layer (which you can buy on my web shop, as well as the yellow fabric above actually) has been outlined around each of the stripes and shapes using single strand back stitch in a variegated thread which has worked really nicely with almost the variegation of the fabric colours themselves. It's added a different depth to some of the areas and given it quite a three dimensional appearance that it didn't really have before. To edge this fabric I've used a purple cotton perle thread (the twisted thread you can see) and several strands of a couple of embroidery threads, loosely gathering them together and then pulling them out a bit when I couched them down so that they weren't lying flat.

The green batik layer under that I have filled in the splodges with two strand satin stitch, alternating the direction of the stitches in each splodge so that the light catches them differently. I've gone around those splodges as well with two strand back stitch in a slightly different green, just for fun really and to tidy up the edges of the satin stitches perhaps. Tiny little french knots (one and two twist) have been added in both the edging green and also a pale yellow used in the sky to help mirror the colour. I've couched on a lovely hand-dyed wool to this edge which has flecks of both of the green colours and just finishes the layer off so nicely. 

The sheep are my usual sheep, I'm not very experimental with them really. I did run out of white thread on the last sheep so he ended up being brown, and I wish that I'd placed the colour better so that he was the next sheep in from the edge to balance the colour but, perhaps he's on the edge because he's so muddy or naughty? Who knows. 

Around the sheep is a single strand seed stitch to give them some grassy texture, and I've edged this layer with bullion knots as well. 

The pink layer, now partially hidden by rocks, I had used because I thought it was a bit of a challenge. The pattern was a slightly wishy washy big floral chintz print and it wasn't the right scale, plus it's on a cream background which was just a tad too bright for a landscape. It was obviously waiting for this hoop though because the rocks have hidden most of the cream background, and the slice has gone right through the pink flowers so they just became areas of colour which I've coloured in with thread anyway as blocks of colour. Any areas along the edge of the fabric which weren't covered in satin stitch I've added some little green french knots, trickling them into the layer and dotting them right on the edge of the pink in some places so it almost looks like moss growing on a pink wall. Oddly, having been so reserved about using the fabric in the first place, it's now one of my favourite bits about the whole hoop!

Most people have been commenting on the rocks though. My lovely felt rocks. These are all individually made, and the felt itself has come from my stash of felt offcuts from Billow Fabrics - they do wool felt scrap packs in various sizes which are brilliant when you need just little pieces. I think I bought the smaller scrap pack which was just short of £10 and you get at least 30 pieces of felt in a HUGE range of colours! Nice colours too, not acidic or overbright. 

Anyway, the rocks are just hand cut big shapes, about two thirds bigger than you want your final rock to be, with running stitch worked around the edge. This is then pulled, the formed cup stuffed with some toy stuffing, and then I tend to knot off and lace up the back a bit to help keep the stuffing in. I don't pull the whole shape closed, just until it's the right size. 

Each rock is then stitched onto the hoop with little stitches coming up through the fabric, catching some of the bottom of the felt and back through the hoop again. I also stitch texture and further shaping in by back stitching (two strands) straight through the rock, the stuffing and the hoop, pulling on the thread to make it quite tight and draw in the felt. 

The texture stitches on the rocks, french knots and seed stitch, are then stitched on as well, still going through the hoop, stuffing and felt but not pulling the thread so they rest gently on the top. It's such a nice way to add little nooks and crannies to the surface and additional texture of mosses or things growing. 

Between the rocks I've pulled in and couched more of the wool yarn used to edge one of the fabrics a few layers up, leaving it in long loops that stand upright supported by the rocks themselves. The bonus of individually stitching your felt shapes is that they do then have these gaps and cracks between them that you can stuff bits into. I've also added to the pinkiness of the hoop by stitching pink glass seed bead sticks to compliment the green couched wool. It all started looking very heathery!

The only problem with accidentally upscaling my hoop is that when I came to tidy up and secure the back, there wasn't an awful lot of fabric to stitch through to draw it up nice and neatly so please don't laugh at my attempt here, it was the best I could do.  

So there we have it, my Nempnett Thrubwell Stitchscape! 

The final stitch run down for this hoop is; bullion knots, whipped back stitch, french knots, running stitch, fly stitch, couching, back stitch, satin stitch, seed stitch, straight stitch and beading. 

Misty Shadows

 

The last swap of 2024!! Amazing to think that this is the 36th theme I've made cards for. Who'd have thought there even were 36 different themes? There is a slight similarity I think between these Misty Shadows cards and my December card from last year based on Still Reflections (you can see it here and let me know what you think). It's the silvery tones for me I think and the idea of water at the bottom of each card. Even the December cards from 2022 have a similar silvery background, it must be an unconscious colour choice that I keep coming back to - probably inspired by the mists and rain and general dark silveriness that comes with winter. 

These cards are bluer though and I was going for a sort of misty hill and valley type look, layering pale colours for the sky then a looming dark batik hill line and softer blue/grey fabrics coming forward. It's a bit like the view I have out of my kitchen window of the South Downs, lots of layers of tree lines and fields, building up in shades of greyish blue. Sometimes the mists sit in the valley and there's one bit that pokes out, making it suddenly look like an island surrounded by water. In the sunshine of course it's transformed and you can clearly see the browns and greens of the bracken and scrub and trees, but it does look very mystical at times. 

I've tried a little bit of extra layering on these cards - the challenge is keeping it flat enough to be posted as a normal letter (not large letter) as it goes out in a pre-stamped envelope. The background fabrics have been layered and stitched with textural embroidery stitches as normal; nothing on the top (not needed in this case), single strand running stitch in the next layer down and edged with couched yarn, single strand back stitch around the batik splodges but nothing on the fabric edge in the next layer, followed by seed stitch with a french knot edging, just a blanket stitch edging with a single row of running stitch to help hold the bottom of the fabric, and nothing really on the bottom layer. Instead of a texture stitch on the bottom piece, I have edged it with a really lovely trimming which is like a puffy ric rac but has a slight sheen to it which is gorgeous, and lovely muted colours. 

Over the top of the trimming I've made some straight stitch clusters to be reeds or scrubby plants (depending on whether you think the bottom layer is watery or not - I leave it open to you), and then I cut up some wide, silvery organza ribbon to go over the top of that. I've cut the edge off the ribbon, cutting slight wiggly lines into it and then layered it over the top of the fabrics, stitching them down with big invisible thread stitches. I've tried to make it a little bit three dimensional by pushing the second side in towards the first as I've stitched, puffing it up slightly and then stitching through it again to make less of a bubble and add interest with my invisible thread. There are three pieces of ribbon per card, criss-crossing over the fabric layers and overlapping each other in some places to make a more dense mist. 

Working back over the mist at the bottom, I've made more straight stitch clusters over the top of the ribbon, and then also added in some little grey beads to be rocks or bubbles at the bottom of that just to give a different sort of shine to the lustre of the ribbon - and also the silvery print on the bottom fabric. 

There's quite a lot going on in the card but I think it calms and comes together in terms of colour and tone. The organza ribbon blends and hides all of the stitches beneath it, but not completely so it wasn't a waste of time to embroider first. I actually really like the bold horizontal lines of the couched yarn, french knots and ric rac trimming - even the beads a little bit. It gives a really nice sense of order to the card and that layered look I was going for when thinking of looking off into the distance and seeing the lines of shaded trees and hills. 

I think my only change, if I were to do it again, would be to not make such big invisible stitches through the bobbled ribbon because I don't like how you can see them at certain angles. I could also perhaps try mixing different colours of organza ribbon, like pale blue or white, to see what effect that makes. There are always things you can think of to change when you've finished a project though, it's what keeps it interesting!

So, the final stitch run down, for the final swap theme of 2024, is; couching, running stitch, back stitch, french knots, seed stitch, blanket stitch, straight stitch and beading. 

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year friends! 

I hope that you have all had a wonderful festive period, however you choose to celebrate. Were you all up partying last night or were you like us and in bed at 10pm? I did stay awake until midnight to say hello to the new year but I was the only one conscious so it was a very quiet "Happy New Year" moment - apart from all of the snoring around me. 

I don't make resolutions as such but I do have some wishes that I would like to try to make happen in 2025; some new adventures, places to visit and routines to start. I'm also going to try and go a bit easier on myself. I wear many hats and have many plates to juggle and I found myself getting a bit lost in it all last year, feeling a bit alone with everything that suddenly appeared on my to do lists, overwhelmed and frustrated. I think I hide it well and outwardly appear to have it all under control but it is bottled up inside, fizzing away until something gives and the thing giving way is usually me and my wants. My aim is to try and not take on as much - which I find difficult as I like to be involved in lovely things and find myself offering for roles or tasks almost by accident - or to ask more for help where I can. We shall see!

 

It's been a pretty quiet first day of 2025 for us. Usually we all meet up in a big family group and have a big lunch, almost like a repeat of Christmas but without the gift giving, but this year various family members were already promised to meet with others so my parents were just going to come to us for a roast dinner but now The Mother isn't very well so it's back to me, Reece, Baby F and the cat ringing in the new year by ourselves. 

These photos are from a couple of weeks ago when we took the smalls to one of our usual haunts, Sheffield Park. The weather was unexpectedly beautiful. Chilly but sunny with gorgeous blue sky and we took full advantage to get out as it's been so dismal and wet. As I type today it's pouring with rain, dark, and windy as we are finishing off a hurricane from somewhere. Not nice at all . 

Sheffield Park now has peacocks roaming the grounds as well which is rather exciting! They aren't as friendly as the ducks, who will eat out of your hand, but we might get some fun displays from the boys - or some pretty feathers to collect over the summer!

There was a winter trail based on The Snowman which we whizzed round as we'd gone rather late in the day. There were big snowmen cleverly painted on the themes of the 12 days of Christmas, little wooden snowmen of the one from The Snowman books and film, and then extra little fun bits for children to explore, and some of the trees had music coming from them! It is such a beautiful place and I feel really lucky to have it so close to us.

We didn't get time to come here during toadstool season to really look for the different varieties that pop up across the site - but I still managed to sniff out these beauties!

I took advantage of the period just before the Christmas days to catch up on my blog writing (a bit like I'm doing now). Cosied up inside with coffee and cake whilst Baby F was at his last nursery day. It has been very sweet to have our first few months of nursery experiences. He was Rudolph in his nativity and had a cute little costume. The children are 2-4 years old so it wasn't a performance so much as a sing-song with a quick overview of the nativity story read out. But Baby F danced in circles during each of the songs, he sat and stood when told and he smiled and did the actions. One of my best nursery experiences was giving a small token gift of homemade gingerbread stars to the lollipop lady who helps us cross the road each morning. She was over the moon and I was profusely thanked which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

It's been nice to have evenings where I'm not writing Christmas cards, wrapping presents, checking lists, getting last minute presents, cooking biscuits, finishing up end of term reports and business etc to sit and stitch! The cat enjoys these evenings too I think, just me and him on the sofa. Usually he's sleeping in strange positions but occasionally his kitten-ness comes out and he gets in trouble for chasing/stealing threads or trying to squeeze himself inside my project bag. 

I've been working on my Misty Shadows Stitchscape Swap cards and I will try and photograph them when the light is better. My camera is unfortunately still broken (thanks to the cat) so hopefully my phone camera will be able to do them justice. We are still waiting for cards to come in for the swap so it may be next week that I'm able to send them out to everyone. 

The themes and prompts for this year's Stitchscape swap is up and ready for you on my website, here. All are welcome to join in - even if you don't want to actually join in with the swapping you can still make your own little cards based on the themes and participate in the challenge of them in that way. 

I was given some amazing cosmic print fabrics for Christmas so yesterday I started a new little hoop to try and play with some of the patterns and colours. This will probably be my bus project for the next couple of months so we'll have to see where it ends up! 

Potentially there are some new events and opportunities coming up in 2025 - there is already quite a list on my website. I had an online meeting with a new gallery and workshop space about a series of workshops further in the year from Easter which I am waiting to here back about, there's possibly an exhibition that I've been talking about to have in collaboration with another textile artist, and I have today started sorting out some selling events and have applied to a couple of craft events so we'll see where that goes! Thank you to everyone who made 2024 such a great year for Dotty Textiles; invited me to workshops, came to workshops and listened at talks, sent me pictures of their pieces, purchased from Etsy or my website, left a lovely review, joined in the Stitchscape swap, passed on my details to a friend or followed me online. All of it is so appreciated!

Cheers to 2024, and hello to 2025!