Flannel Flower Tote in Fennel & Saltbush

 

This is the second colour way I bought of the Ink and Spindle Flannel Flower line. This is a mid-weight linen, a little lighter than the Spice but still sturdy.

I picked perle 5 threads in greens, cream, yellow and blue, trying to capture the colour of the actual flannel flower.  It's illusive. The overall sense, in my memory, is of slightly misty green.

This time I worked two centres on each side, mainly because the flowers on this print were more evenly distributed, and I thought two provided better balance.

I tried different combinations and stitching order on each one. At the moment this is an exercise in experimentation.

In the top left, I began with a yellow centre in each of the printed bluey circles, then worked out using a green thread with a fair amount of blue, adding in cream and another green to fill gaps. In the lower right I used much the same threads, but worked yellow and cream first, then added in green and a little blue. 

The other two used two shades of green more on the yellow end. I don't have a preference, and I suspect that Flannel Flowers probably vary as much as my experiments!

I made this one up using a cream linen, very close to the colour of the petals for the sides, base and lining.

Again, I used the square size, almost 40cm square. It's a good size to work with, and   means I can cut four bags from the piece of fabric I ordered, as long as I use a plain fabric for sides and base.

This is not as bold as the first bag in Spice, but it does have a calming feel and a quiet charm - a bit like a Flannel Flower!

And yes, it looks as if there will be a few more to come, with a bit of variation. I have a charity event in mind, as well as gifts - and maybe the Guild SALA Exhibition. As well as enjoyment in the making.

Flannel Flower tote

My apologies for a font variation in this post which I have been unable to resolve. 

Ink and Spindle recently released a new linen, printed this time with flannel flowers. 

Actinotus helianthi, for readers outside Australia, are native to our East Coast, particularly around the Sydney area. The flowers are usually 5-8 cm across and have a furry texture - a bit like flannel. The centres appear greenish from a distance and the leaves grey. On close inspection they have blue, yellow, grey and beige elements. They were very much part of my childhood and I have always loved them.

Ink and Spindle have produced this linen in several colour ways and I bought two of them with a view to making tote bags. 

I wanted to add a little embroidery, but not much, to keep the beauty of the linen print to the fore. I thought I would just embroider one flower centre on each side and checked lots of photos of flannel flowers online first to decide what threads to use. 

To my surprise, I discovered there is a pink flannel flower, Actinotus forsythii, which I have never seen. It is less common, but germinates in strength after fire, and has been prolific in the Blue Mountains since the 2020 fires.

I decided to use this as my colour way for the Spice linen piece and the conventional greeny colours for the other piece. 

French knots were a no-brainer, so I used various shades of pink perle 5 cotton to embroider one centre. I began in a very literal manner, using the printed pattern and working from a dark centre to lighter in the background.  While I was pleased with the result, a closer look at photographs suggested the colours weren't as ordered as that, so I varied the arrangement when I tackled the other side.

This got closer to the photographs but it still misses the hazy effect. The dark centres are also still too regulated. Variegated thread might work if I found the right range. This doesn't need to be realistic but it's satisfying to keep experimenting.

I did most of this stitching at night, and found the directional light I recently bought at Aptos Cruz was very helpful in this detailed colour work.

I stuck with my notion of only embroidering one centre on each side of the bag. I found some plain linen to both line and create handles, sides and base.  Construction was straightforward, particularly as I was able to use a single strip for the sides and base.  

I'm delighted with this result. I think the colours work well and the single centre embroidery feels right to me.

This bag is also squarer than I usually make - cut a little shorter in length to accommodate the fabric cut. I really like the shape. It is still practical and certainly fits this design. I have enough linen to make two bags this size in each colour. It might even become my default.

I'm now turning my attention to the other colour way, what Ink and Spindle call 'Flannel flower in Fennel and Saltbush'. 

                            

April Certificate Course Glazig Workshop

Last week I realised I needed to get organised for my April Certificate Course Workshop on Glazig Embroidery. The notice, with information about student requirements, needs to go into the Guild's March newsletter. 

While I have books, a finished bag, a project in progress, along with a PowerPoint  already prepared from WES Group last year, I needed to prepare student notes, plan a student project and make sure the resources are accessible. This wasn’t a straightforward task, given the specific and contemporary nature of the topic. 

I can’t invent a design of my own, and I can’t breach copyright, so am working in narrow parameters. 

I settled on two small motifs available in the book 25 Years of Glazig Embroidery. Use for study purposes should be OK. Motifs are small, simple and have stitch charts. I have 5 books of official designs and students can use any of them. 

I cut squares of linen, discovered my iron-on transfer pen was defunct,  so decided I could use (some very old) dressmaker's carbon to transfer the designs to the squares. This enabled me, in between a  hairdressing appointment,  shopping  for  family dinner and weekend house guests,  to write the notes and newsletter notice. I emailed the notice to the Guild and the notes to Officeworks for printing.

After transferring about 5 motifs to linen using the carbon, I found time for a trip  to Spotlight  between picking up the printing and taking a granddaughter to JEMS on Saturday, to buy a new transfer pen.  It is medium thickness, and worked well.

The Au ver a Soie Perlee thread used in Glazig embroidery is so hard to get in Adelaide it is unreasonable to expect students to obtain it for the workshop. I have a supply I have acquired since diving down this rabbit hole, some of it from stock clearance sales. I figured I could cut some lengths of this to add to small kits.   

I used a punch to cut cardboard circles into which I punched 7 small holes, then cut lengths of 7 different coloured silk perlee threads and attached to the cards. If students need more thread they can cut a length in class from the remaining reels.

I now have 15 kits prepared, another 5 linens printed, 5 more sets of instructions and some spare cards, so I can quickly create additional kits if required, or support students who don't want kits. 

The notice has gone to the newsletter. I've amended the PowerPoint but will check it again before creating a USB closer to the workshop.

Phew! Panic averted!

                     

Botanica Linen Bag

Early in December I bought a remnant of linen, Botanica in Earth  from Ink and Spindle. The remnant was 70x40cm, the perfect size for a tote bag. 

Although it was a single pattern piece, I was able to cut it fairly neatly into two to form the sides of a bag.

This is really beautiful linen, heavy weight, designed for upholstery, woven in Belgium, dyed and printed in Melbourne. The design is so lovely it seemed a shame to embroider it.

Eventually I decided to use one colour, one thread, and to embroider just one plant on each side of the bag. The colour choice was easy. The waratah, grevillea and gum blossom all come in reds. I used perle 8 in a couple of shades of red. 

I began with the Waratah, whose petals screamed bullion knots. Some embroiderers avoid them, but I'm OK with them. It took  thought and couching to get the shapes, and the final few required me to find a  long upholstery needle to manage the 30-40 wraps to get the length.  I got the texture I was after.

While I didn't want to embroider all the leaves, I felt the centre of the bloom needed a focus, so I tried green in between the printed lines, leaving the outlines. This didn't work at all, so in the end I filled green over the lines. It's far from perfect but has the visual impact I wanted, while reinforcing my belief I should not try to 'colour in' the print. This was enough highlight for one side.

On the other side I worked the grevillea with pistol stitch - again, the plant dictated the stitch.

This was an easier task. By the time I finished I had decided to add a second touch to this side. 

French knots on the gum blossoms seemed a no-brainer.

I did, however, stop there.

The length of the front and back gave me a couple of inches to fold in for the base, otherwise the bag would have been inconveniently deep. I found a couple of pieces of linen blend in a colour close enough for the handles to avoid cutting into another metre piece of the lining. These are secured with three layers of stitching, so shouldn’t give way under most weights (nor if they get caught in the door of a moving vehicle or an escalator, which may be less of a good thing).

Construction was easy (not often I say that!) because the fabric was heavy, straight and ironed (not often I say that either!). I had some matching plain linen, lighter weight but still firm and straight, for the sides and lining. No special treatment needed. 

I am very pleased with this result..I think lots of people will like this one and it has potential for a charity auction that is on this year’s calendar.    

Yes, it's true the bird (which Canberra bird-watching friends tell me is a Channel-billed Cuckoo) on the grevillea side lost its head in the hem,  but his mate on the other side came off  triumphant.     

Birthday Bag

Last week I turned my mind to a bag to use as wrapping for Katherine's birthday present. I went through my stash of printed linens and eventually settled on a remnant of Ink and Spindle's  Wrens in Bluestone. This gave me the scope to add some embroidery, in this case, leaves to the number of the birthday

I had an unexpected free day last Friday, so made the most of it embroidering leaves, as well as visiting Create in Stitch. As I had hoped, they had a zip that fitted the pouch I had in mind. They had also advertised some leaf and flower-cup sequins that I wanted to investigate.

I came away with the zip and a life-time supply of sequins.

Blue fairy wrens are mostly ground feeders, but their habitat is amongst flowering gums, as well as grasses. While the sequins don't have stamens like flowering gums, they do have the shape and approximate colour in the light, so I added the number of sequins to fit the birthday.

The next day I emptied my drawer of cotton print fabric. I had lost track of what was in there and past rummaging hadn't improved accessibility.

I found fabric soft enough to work with the linen and,  which was pleasantly associated with Katherine's childhood.

I then created the pouch using the cotton as lining. I did all of it on my machine, except for the turn at the end of the zip, which I finished by hand.

I usually stitch the lining to the zip by hand, but was feeling confident (as, of course, I should, given the number I have made!).

I added the year and our initials in one corner. I used the DMC Etoile for this, but would probably have been better off using linen thread given the amount of shaping required. It is, however, quite readable.

The result was fit for purpose, and appreciated.

Linen tunic

Although I stopped making most of my own clothes in the 80s when work pressure left little time for sewing, I still get sucked in every now and then - usually when I get an email from Tessuti Fabrics with some natural and non-iron fabric that inspires me. This time it was their crinkle linen.

In September they had this in a range of colours. I chose the cherry one. I like linen to wear - but not to iron. It also takes much, much less water to produce than cotton.

The crinkle takes away the ironing problem (in my experience, even if I put in the effort to iron linen, it crushes as soon as I sit -especially if I drive).

I also like Tessuti patterns, which are simple to make and to wear, so I chose this one.
From the layout information online I figured I could get the length in the photo economically by cutting across the fabric but when I had the fabric in hand I realised this wouldn't work. The crinkle needed to run the length of the fabric.

Not to worry - I'm generally happier with a slightly shorter tunic anyway.
I also altered the pockets to make them side inserts rather than external. The fabric is a bit light for useful external pockets.

The hardest bit was cutting out. I added very generous seam allowances to make sure the garment was really loose. This is a summer, hot-Adelaide-days garment.

Cutting out took longer than sewing it together. In cutting it larger I forgot to leave the neckline untouched, so I have added strap holders at the shoulders.  I wouldn't want my underwear to show!

It's a comfy, happy summer garment!

Fool-proof bag

I attended Christine Bishop's Fool-proof Bag class at the Embroiderers' Guild in February this year. The concept is a linen bag, put together using counted thread embroidery techniques, and adaptable in size, colour and decoration.  The class teaches the basic construction and foundation stitches.

While I have done a little basic counted thread work, it is not my strength, and this year I wanted to improve my counted thread skills. The two-day course was a lot of fun.

Between the two days of the course I dug out a book with a design for a cross-stitched flannel flower and added it to my bag at the crucial stage - before the sides were sewn together.

I was very happy with the result.











Christine pointed out that the bag lends itself to using up off-cuts of linen - or left over bits and pieces.I didn't need to be told twice! I made straight for my stash of left-over linen oddments and tried it out.

With the help of some silk scraps for lining I made another bag in which to store jewellery and preserve lustre.

















I then followed Christine's advice, and tacked the hems on a range of off-cuts, putting them into a bag for those rainy days when I need a quick project.


Some of the linen is fine and some fairly course.  Each piece, however, has potential to make an attractive and useful bag.














I confess to taking these to England in the bottom of my suitcase but not progressing any. That's because, as I travelled, I was able to continue work on the projects from the embroidery retreat.  The linen bag pieces did not take up much room - and would have come into their own had I run out of stitching while away (Heaven forbid!).

It's another great idea from Christine. I owe a lot of my growth as a needlewoman to her.

Jewellery bags from scraps

A couple of months ago I was on a roll - or is it a binge?- with bags for storing jewellery.  After making the blue linen into a bag with Zakka embroidery, I had quite a few odd bits of the quite lovely linen left over, along with some of the gold silk lining, so decided to turn the left-overs into more small jewellery bags.











The first one is tiny - good for a pendant, or earrings. It is not evenly cut - and I quite like it for that







The Zakka had worked so well I decided to try some motifs from Karen Holmburg’s book of Scandinavian Stitchcraft I had recently purchased.

The thread is the remains of the silk from the Gift of Stitching kit I used for the Zakka bag, supplemented by a hank of red silk I had from my daughter's gift last year of monthly surprise thread packs from Stitchy Box.

In addition to the tiny snowbells pouch, I made a drawstring bag, with a silk cord on the outside





I added a tassel and a needle-lace button (using a scrap of the linen as a base).

There was still some linen left so I fashioned a folding pouch in three sections, lined with silk and folded.

With the last strip I made an of even smaller folded pouch for pearl earrings.










This was a productive way of trying out the motifs and stitches in Stitchcraft: Scandinavian Embroidery, using every bit of this lovely hand-dyed linen, and yielding several useful bags for storing my jewellery.