Stitches, Sketches, and a Wandering Muse

Well, I'm still in a slump that I can't seem to get out of. Doing a lot of TV watching and sleeping. Can't want to do anything, even the things I love to do. My muse is nowhere to be seen, or my want to either! Worsening cataracts and shaky hands isn't helping either. 😕 

I did manage to finish machine stitching the six foot long fabric roll (around the stitch meditations that were already hand stitched on) last week after I shared the beginning of it in a previous post. Not easy!

Now ready for buttons and a pretty lining fabric to cover the back!

You have to look close, but here's a close up of the machine stitching.

Earlier this week I played at sketching faces from TV on the smooth page with a gel pen and a face from Pinterest with a stabilo pencil on the textured page of my sketchbook. Sometimes, I think I just get worse all the time instead of better..., but at least I"m still trying, even if my heart isn't in it right now.

Yesterday morning, this Conte pastel pencil was laying handy, so I picked it up on the way to the kitchen to make coffee and did a quick sketch, from imagination, in my Wandering Muse Journal from Jeanne Oliver's class. It's on a thickly applied gessoed raw canvas page, which I used a brush end to texture, before letting it dry. This page, and the journal, are still very much works in progress. 

To all of you who are struggling, as I am, even a little bit of creativity is better than none. Let's not give up! OK? 😊

Fabric Roll Progress and Another Sketch This Week

I got up the energy to do a bit of sketching and stitching this week! Yay! 

I did another sketch from a paused TV program in my sketchbook with an Ebony pencil on the textured side of the paper. Good practice!

After I cut off and re-hemmed three pair of pj pants for hubby, I did some machine stitching on the backing fabric on my snippet roll, which I had been procrastinating on for some time. I first practiced on the blank end, which will go around the spool first, just to get the feel for the random stitching around the stitch meditations.

A closer photo of the first hand stitched meditation that I machine stitched around. I like it. It makes it not so plain. I do realize, however, that it would have been much easier to have machine stitched the background strip BEFORE I hand stitched the meditations on. Trying to control that long strip as I twist and turn it on the machine around them is a major hassle! 

I did the machine stitching around three more after I made the photo of this one before I had to stop. Eleven more to go, then I want to add buttons, etc., and a pretty backing to the strip before rolling it around the spool. I tend to procrastinate and get sidetracked onto other projects though, so that may take a while.😏

Fabric Roll-Third and Fourth Meditative Stitchings

Finally got the last of my 2020 meditative stitched pieces stitched to the fabric strip to make my fabric roll last night! Yay! All fifteen of them, which constitutes fifteen meditations for 2021! I stitched them to the cotton strip (6 1/2" x 78") with black DMC perle cotton thread, and I used a different embroidery stitch for each one. Perfectly imperfect, because I can't do perfect!

It's taken a while, because I just haven't been in the mood to do anything, again. 😏

Anyway, I laid the strip out on the bed and tried to make some pictures of my progress, so far, There is a blank at the end of the top, which will be wrapped around the roller and fastened when I'm finished. It's all one long continuous strip. I just couldn't get it all in the photo. Here's where it is for now!

My plan was to add a backing strip of cotton to the back and do a lot of machine stitching in white around the meditations today, but while the roll is laid out on the bed, I've decided it needs a few buttons, and maybe a few charms or embellishments, added, before I do the machine stitching, so we will see where that goes. Hopefully, the next pictures I share will be of the finished roll, which will be attached to my mom's 72 year old rolling pin, which I inherited! 

Now, I need a nap! Stay safe, well, and creative!

Fabric Roll/Second Meditative Stitching for 2021

 Three more 2020 stitch meditations stitched down to cotton roll strip, nine more to go! Yay!

The top one is actually black and purple (see previous photos) stitched down in DMC black perle cotton thread. I'm trying to use a different stitch on each piece. All hand stitched, so far! 

I haven't done any new stitch meditation pieces yet in 2021, but they're coming! For now, stitching last year's pieces down to keep up with them in a roll is counting as my meditative stitching for 2021. I love doing them and they relieve stress! Something we pretty much all feel right now!

Fabric Roll/First Meditative Stitching for 2021...

 Stitching the meditations down to white cotton strip with black DMC perle cotton thread-three down, twelve to go! Trying to use a different stitch on the edges of each one, and I've found out that I don't like the DMC perle cotton as well as the Eleganza. It's a little cheaper, but it's not quite as fluffy and it tangles worse. At least, that's my experience so far.

This is also my first stitching of 2021, and it counts as meditative!

The strip I'm stitching to was torn from a king sized vintage bed skirt body that had a gorgeous wide crochet lace skirt that I purchased at Goodwill for $5.00 several years ago. It's been used in several projects, and I still have some left to use. Worth every cent!

The short piece will be spliced to the longer piece to include the fifteen stitch meditations I did last year. See previous post. I do plan to sew a backing of lace or a printed fabric onto the back after all the pieces are stitched down, and there will be stuff added around the pieces, stitching, lace, etc. All perfectly imperfect, because I'm not selling it. Doing it for the fun in the process!

For examples of what I'm trying to do, go to Pinterest and type in snippet rolls. Some great examples on there!

The pandemic rages on. Stay safe and well! I'm trying to do the same!

Stitch Meditation 2020 Roll

 The beginnings of a fabric roll using the stitch meditations I made in 2020. I tore a long strip and laid out all of the meditations on it. The strip wasn't quite long enough, so the small strip of three will be spliced onto the bottom. When I got the meditations kind of like I wanted them (but not in the order they were made), I pinned them in place and rolled them up until I can hand stitch them onto the strip.

`After they are stitched down, I plan to machine stitch a fabric or lace backing onto the whole strip, roll it around some type of spool/bobbin or the rolling pin that I inherited from my mama, and tie a pretty ribbon bow around it for a keepsake.

You can see some great examples on Pinterest of fabric rolls!

Here are some close ups of the meditations. If you want details, there are individual posts during the last year of 2020, or click on the stitch meditations label at the bottom of this post.

Stitch meditations are great stress relievers. Liz Kettle has a great video how to!