BOOM! CRASH! GRUMBLE! FLASH!
You can almost hear the thunder booming and grumbling in these cards. They are all so wonderfully evocative and totally unique. There's hammering rain, there's lightning strikes, there's starry night skies, even crashing waves. It's all very noisy looking - if you know what I mean.
There are fewer cards this month but the quality of each of them is exactly the same high standard. We had this last year actually where it dipped off towards the end of the year, it's totally understandable as the calendar fills up with things to be done pre-Christmas, then the usual festive things in the run up to Christmas. The calendar is busy for most, and for creative people who like to make gifts for loved ones it becomes even busier! We almost need to make two themes a month from June to account for it.
I like all of the blue that has been used in these cards. It's surprisingly more colourful than I thought it would be, but then I also plumped for a dark blue myself so I shouldn't be that surprised really. Lightning has been portrayed in both silver and gold which is interesting. I suppose the flashing of light could be taken in either way, it's both of them at the same time.
The simplicity of the card above is very striking. The blue block stitching onto blue aida fabric is very subtle, but then when outlined in gold it becomes slightly more padded looking and fades into the background so that the attention is brought to that golden streak of light. It's very effective.
Suzi's more textured lighthouse piece is really lovely, again lots of blue with the beautifully contrasting red and white of the lighthouse itself, beaming its light across the murky polka dot waters, topped with lacey waves. The lightning looks to be done in stem stitch for the thinner stranders and a satin type stitch for the bold streak.
I am thinking that the silvery stars on this piece have been added on by heat transfer. The background fabric looks to be hand painted or coloured, then with the stars perhaps ironed on to fix them and little metallic cross stars stitched in as well. The lightning streak also looks painted and edged with back stitch in a pale thread with metallic thread whipped through it. (I'm speculating on all of these really, if you have a different idea of how they were made do comment below!)
Abi has had a similar idea but I think has used a star printed jersey fabric, beautifully embroidering over some of the stars - look how neat they are! Such tiny stitches! The lightning is layered fabrics, each just couched down at the edges, with metallic threads couched onto the lowest grey fabric for some wonderful sparkle, and further detail added with a single strand back stitch through the middle of the streak. It's almost like a lightning bolt out of a comic strip with that bold yellow.
I am really intrigued by the above card. I can't figure out whether the striped stitching has been done by hand or if it is part of the fabric design itself. If by hand it's so neat and straight!! The little beads catch the light really nicely and the whole piece looks like it's absolutely pouring down with rain. Sometimes the rain itself can sound like thunder. At my Guide hut we have an old metal roof which isn't insulated (terrible on the heating bill) and if it rains really hard you actually can't hear anyone speak - it sort of looks like that would be the kind of rain occurring here, crashing into puddles and flicking up sprays of water.
Amazingly there is only one swap left for this year, and I think I'll have to make the deadline fairly flexible due to the post and bank holidays and everyone being busy around Christmas. Hopefully there will be a few moments where anyone who hasn't finished their card can sit in a cheesy haze by the fire and finish off their stitching to post in before New Year. I can't wait to see photos of everyone's collections and check through my own to see what they look like together.
If you would like to join in with next years' swap everyone is more than welcome. Pop me an email at sales@dottytextiles.com and I can forward you a PDF of more information. The themes are below for you to get the little grey cells whirring and inspiration building.
