Where Did That Week Go?

I've noticed that more than one blog I follow has a post called something like, "Where did the week go?" so maybe it's not just me.

The weather has been erratic and we've had to make the most of the dry times to be in the garden and the wet times to do things indoors.  When it's been dry it's been hot and humid, not ideal for any work.

I have been stitching, however, and I have been dyeing.  Tuesday was an embroidery workshop at Country Roads Quilters and I was pleased with my progress.  I blogged about the preparation for this workshop here and now I can share some actual stitching.  It was useful to learn a few tips to keep stitches regular and even but it wasn't the sort of stitching I usually do.

This is more like my usual stitching:

I've just completed this prayer flag for my DS, David, who will be 30 next week. (I know, where did those years go?)

A parcel from George Weil arrived so I mordanted a lot of fabric in preparation for when the urge to dye strikes me, or when I find some wonderful potential dye material.  Exactly that happened earlier in the week when DD, Sara, gave me some eucalyptus prunings.  The mordanted cloth wasn't ready so I made silk bundles and steamed them, this is at the beginning, here's hoping…

I've also been on the computer for many hours this week but not reading blogs, nor writing posts, not even on Facebook or reading emails very much.  I'm trying to co-ordinate a "summit" for some of the members of my Global Piecers swap group.  It seems as if six of us, and our other halves, will be able to get together next Summer so, hopefully, there will be more on that later, we're hoping for a fest of sewing, eating, laughing, talking, exploring and shopping!

Whatever you do this weekend, I wish you a good one, and I hope next week goes a little more slowly!

Flying the Flags

I am very excited as I have finished the prayer flags for the Global Piecers' swap.  The sun came out this afternoon and I was able to hang them in the garden before packaging them up and sending them flying off around the world.  I've used one of the photos as my new header!  I know I promised to share my progress with these pieces but I have been so inspired by them (and the weather has been so wet) that I have been sewing almost continuously since I started.

I'm obviously not going to say which flag is going to which lovely lady but they can have fun guessing.   Written on each flag are words summarising my prayers for each person.  Here's a close-up of one of the flags:

The prayer flags are all similar in style and make up.  In in my previous post  I explained that I wanted to use global fabrics for the Global Piecers.  In this flag you can see persimmon-dyed linen from my sensei in Japan, eco-dyed silk that I dyed in Japan (using materials collected at the foot of Fuji san), batik fabric from Africa and the zebra button was made in South Africa, there are small pieces of vintage kimono silk, some of the streamers are recycled sari silk from India and the lace is from Malta.  The flags are all hand stitched, except for one line of machine stitching to attach the streamers.

Slow stitching!  As I said above I have been stitching by hand,  hour after hour, day after day. These flags hold my prayers, in some cases my tears but I hope I avoided adding my blood.  My fingers are severely punctured.  I wish I could get on with a thimble but I can't and some of the fabrics, especially the batiks and the kimono silk felt as if I was sewing through concrete.  At one point the fat end of a sashiko needle, complete with perle thread, was embedded in my middle finger!  I got through seven needles.  I don't mind a bit.

I hope the ladies like their prayer flags, I have loved making them and I must add a big thank you to Angela Daymond.  It was during her slow stitch workshop a couple of weeks ago that I realised what we were doing with her was perfect for making the prayer flags, thanks Angela.  I'm now looking forward to receiving my prayer flags from around the world and hanging them in my garden, more photos will follow, and have just heard that one lady is planning to string her flags under her avocado tree!!  Wow, I'd love an avocado tree!  I do recall growing a stone, supported over water by cocktail sticks, many years ago.  It did shoot, grew about three inches and then died.  Maybe it's time to try again.

Prayer Flag Swap

What a lovely afternoon I have had after the rain eventually saved me from having to do anymore work in the garden.  The veggies are all in and have been getting a lovely soak while I've been playing in my sewing room.

The current Global Piecers swap is of prayer flags.  One of our members suggested the idea and a quick search on the internet provided loads of inspiration, including The Prayer Flag Project.  We were all enthused and keen to start being creative.  As well as our swaps we regularly exchange messages on our Yahoo group, several of us are on Facebook and some of us even see some members in real life!  We support and care for each other as well as stitch for one another and send chocolate.  The Prayer Flag swap seems especially appropriate.

I started by pulling out a pile of fabrics and possible embellishments.  I had a few criteria in mind:

a.  as many natural materials and natural dyes as possible, I feel these will be more in tune with the flags blowing outside and gently disintegrating.  I have cotton, linen, silk, dyed with indigo, woad, persimmon, daffodils, weld…

b.  fabrics from around the world, as the Global Piecers are around the world, I have textiles from the UK, Japan, Africa, Malta, India…

c.  the flags to be along the lines of boro cloth, lots of pieces joined together to make a new piece. 

My next step was to sort the fabrics into colour piles:

Then to cut a piece of backing cloth.  I'm using cotton muslin (from Dunelm, £3.49/m 137cm wide, thanks to Angela for this tip).  The agreed size for the flags is 9"x7" and there is a 1.5" hem at the top for threading the flags together.

Next I decided which colours suited which Global Piecer.  I wonder who is orange?

And who is blue with a flash of yellow and gold?

Do you think you might be receiving a purple prayer flag?

Lots of tearing and placing and pinning later and I have six prayer flags laid out.  I shall leave them overnight and see how they feel tomorrow.

Then I shall make any adjustments necessary and tack down all the pieces.  Then the fun really begins as, after a quick line of machining to attach the streamers to the bottom of each flag, I shall be slow stitching each flag which will give me plenty of time to think about the recipients.  Running stitches, couched threads, a few simple embroidery stitches, then the addition of some special words.  I will share as I progress but, of course, I can't reveal to whom each flag will belong!