Wednesday 19 April 2017

Dove from Above

 I've just come out of one of those situations in life where everything goes into slow motion and you watch yourself and those around you go into free fall. My husband suddenly ended up in hospital for a prolonged period and what seemed straightforward escalated into something else.  The good news is, we all came out the other side, but the last few weeks have been chaotic and challenging. There was a lot of time to kill so in between staring out of windows, I sewed up the folk bird pattern from Nancy Nicholson's Modern Folk Embroidery book.


The original pattern is a felt appliqué design with embroidery on top but I needed something simpler and portable so I used Sulky Sticky Fabric Solvy which I ended up loving and hating but I've now decide I would use it again. The pluses are that it's printable: inkjet or laser printer, and the stabiliser sticks on top of the base fabric - I used Robert Kaufman yarn dyed Essex linen in Chambray. The downside is I could feel the stickiness as I gripped the embroidery hoop - not good for hot hands!  I worked around this, outlining the main design and trimming back the solvy as far as I could and after initially finding it rather tough to sew through, I found it did a great job as a stabiliser as well as being an easy way to transfer a detailed image. I tested scraps of it before I started sewing to check it did dissolve in water and it does, with a little soaking,  in a rather magical fashion.


There's probably about twenty hours of embroidery in the finished piece.  I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet.  Probably a small frame, maybe a fabric border. The Cosmo/Lecien threads were from a Fat Quarter Shop Bonnie and Camille colour selection from a one-off Sew Subscription box I bought a few months back and I used the Primitive Embroidery act needles that came in the same package and I really like sewing with them.  I tended to use three threads of the six-strand floss at a time which worked well with the long eyed needles.  Embroidery like this with a printed design is the perfect distraction, it needed enough engagement for me to concentrate but not so much that I messed up and helped to pass what seemed like endless stretches of time. I'm currently getting everything back on track at home and feeling very grateful that we're all here together, you never know what's round the corner.
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18 comments:

  1. It's gorgeous, and I'm so glad to hear all is well. X

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  2. Beautiful embroidery! Glad your husband is ok, these things can have such a huge effect on us all - my husband had emergency heart surgery last year so I may have some idea of how you may be feeling. Make sure you take care of yourself too xxx

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  3. It's beautiful Kerry, so glad to hear that he's back home, I hope things continue to improve. xx

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  4. Hope all's turned out well Kerry and what a beautiful distraction this turned into.

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  5. That sounds like a horribly scary time. I'm glad that you found the perfect distraction to see you through it. Sending so many good wishes your husband's way for a speedy recovery to full health and cuddles to you (and your daughter) - as I imagine you must be feeling a bit shellshocked. I'm so pleased that the scare is now over though :) x

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  6. It's lovely! I enjoyed reading your review of the products.
    Glad all is well and stitching helped to pass the time!

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  7. I am forever grateful that when life throws major upheaval our way that we can turn to craft to keep our hands busy during those stressful times. I hope your husband recovers well and that your embroidery finds a lovely home.
    I don't know if I could handle the sticky. I usually use the window transfer method of holding my project outline with fabric on top of it up to a window to clearly see the design underneath in order to sketch it out.

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  8. Glad things have improved. I love your stitching!

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  9. The stitching is just amazing,i love the colour choices. So glad to hear that your husband is on the mend. x

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  10. So glad you found a way to keep yourself occupied. It's so unsettling to be reminded how quickly life can change, isn't it? Glad to know you're together at home now. Soak it up.

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  11. Lovely stitching. Sorry to hear about your husband but very glad he is on the mend.
    Take care

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  12. Beautiful stitchery Kerry (and totally agree re sticky Solvy!). So sorry to hear about your husband, how very stressful, but pleased that he is getting better.

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  13. Beautiful embroidery piece - and beautiful stitching! So glad all is well again - my heart goes out to you, just thinking of the awful time you all had. Keeping hands and head busy is great, but knowing you are all well again is best :)! Thank you for sharing!

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  14. Dear Kerry, I'm sorry to hear about your very difficult and scary time and hope that everything is better now. Your embroidery is awesome beutiful! It will be gorgeus framed! It could also be on a pillow surrounded with that lovely grey fabric. x Teje

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  15. Oh my goodness Kerry! So glad to hear everything is okay now. I hope you get back on track soon. I agree that crafting is a wonderful therapy when things like this happen. Sending lots of love xxx

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  16. This looks beautiful as an embroidery without the felt. You won't be surprised to hear that mine is still not finished! Hope that life is back to normal and that your husband is now ok. You are right that we don't know what is around the corner but hopefully we are well prepared to cope with it and sewing is a great distraction therapy x

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  17. Lovely stitching and end result!
    May I suggest using Thread Heaven on your floss beforehand. It doesn't alter your floss or their colours in any way and you might find that it prevents the buildup of sticky residues.

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    1. Thankyou for the recommendation. I do use Thread Heaven for hand sewing and it's great stuff. In this case the residue is not on the threads though, it's where I hold the hoop- the fabric and the sulky on top of it.

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