Ta Dah!

Finished (sort of) journal.

The pages have not been stitched in yet because I am still working on them.

Tied up with the strip made earlier here.
(There are still scraps in that bag, so stay tuned!)

the hitch...and the solution!

I left you with a hitch...
The nature of the background means that the stitching on this needs to be quite intensive.
So now I have to stich in and out of those shapes!

First some big pebbling

I normally stitch my backgrounds before adding other elements, but got carried away with the freezer paper idea that I just ploughed on ahead without thinking things through.

Then some smaller ones (now you see it)

It is fiddly getting in and out of these motifs and inevitably some stray stitches will show up on the black.
 

(Now you don't) With the help of some black felt pen!

Of course all this could have been avoided if I had done the background stitching FIRST!!!

I will leave you with a view of the back/inside (sorry this is a non scrap bag piece.)

Stay tuned to see the finished article.

Trying something new.

I have had these doodles hanging about for quite a while. Time to put them to use.

I use freezer paper templates with paint and wondered about applying the same priciple for adding a stitched motif.

I could have stitched the motif I choose by eye, but would not have been able to keep any uniformity.
Seems to work!

I am feeling quite pleased with myself at this point....but I have spotted a hitch...

scrap bag book cover

I need a book cover and time is of the essence, so I have used the needle felter/embellisher on this.

I am not going to lie to you, I had to go into my stash to complete this one. The first quarter of the strips were from the bag, but I needed to make a cover and I didn't have enough to complete it.
Next step is to add the stitching. No idea what to do at this point.
As I have mentioned before, my "go to" is usually floral but I shall try to go in a different direction.
Until next time!

coiled and ready to go

#This IS the last post with alternative use for strips#

I have been admiring things like this and this for a while and I think I have found one use for these.

I have a plan that involves some baskets but for now I have been practising with a smaller project.

This is how I have been doing it but there are some very good instructions here if you fancy giving this a go. Just type coiled fabric wrapped bowls/baskets into your search engine to see more.

...still in a jubilee mood around here...

...I am going back to my scrap bag... which seems to be a bit of a bottomless pit...

More with the thin strips

This is my version of machine wrapped cords.

Darning/free motion foot and a zig zag stitch.

Zig zag up and down the strip, putting as much or a little stitch as you wish.

Here some  ready to go.

Put together some strips and use another to wrap around the middle.

Fold in half and wrap with another strip.

Eh Voila! One tassle!

This one is earmarked for wrapping a birthday gift.

This long multi coloured strip will be used to wrap around a journal or some such.
Are you tired of the strips yet? :)

the big and the small (scraps cont.)

There was one decent size piece of hand dyed in the bag, with a chunk cut out of it for the shed in the previous project! (Sorry it's not pressed!)

There are also a lot of these strips of various colours.

I have taken a few, tied them in a bundle and added them to the larger piece to make this...

Well those of you that know me well would know that at some point I would make a Prayer Flag!

This one is obviously for Play, which is after all, what I am doing here!

...and finally...for this piece anyway.

Last time I was waiting for inspiration to strike. It did in that curved horizon reminded me of a view I see often on a road that takes me out of the city to the coast where I live. It is semi rural with nice views, but this one particular scene always catches my eye and if there was somewhere to stop I would have taken a photo by now. I have attempted to get my daughter to try and get one while hanging out of the car window, but to no avail.
So you can see the I did a sketch from memory and proceeded to get the basic shape cut out of fabric.

The view is of a derelict building. It always looks different, depending on the time of day or time of year. I added some shading with a fabric pen.

I "thread painted" foliage, roof tiles etc and I changed the shape of the entrance when I realised it was looking too much like a dog kennel!

 I am not overly happy with the extra stitching that I put on the bottom, and I may chop that off.

'Til next time!

...and next...

Carrying on from my last post I want to show you a close up of the sheers that I have put over the fabric strips. (Both  of which were in the bag for some reason, honest!)

Here is another close up to show you how the lines of stitching flatten all the strips of fabric down. The green has been done, and now I need to do the sky area.

Background stitching done. I just need to come up with a finished design, as that is the way I am working with this scrap busting. Preparing a background with what I've got, and then seeing what it "says" to me.

Hope you come back to find out what this one says :)

Another scrap bag project.

I have done four pieces now yet I still have this pile left.

Time to do some scrappy layering I think!

It really couldn't be easier.

You can be as random as you like, as all the untidiness gets sorted when the layers of sheers get added.

This is the technique I demonstrated when I did a Poppy Field workshop and this is another take on it. What to do with it? Well the first step is to stitch everything down and I will show you that next time.