Recent Work

I've been stitching like crazy for the last three weeks trying to finish this project for my friends who exhibit cacti and are going to be at the Chelsea Flower Show this week. I've made them both a jacket and they have a waistcoat and a skirt all covered in cactus flower embroideries like the one in the photo to wear on their stand.  There are 15 different panels in all; this beaded cactus is just one, it has green faceted glass beads and silk thread. The other panels have stitchery and a range of different colours and kinds of beads.

The skirt I made for my City and Guilds in red seen in a picture on my 15th March post, has been updated to include some applique, I cut out the printed leaves from a curtain fabric and applied them to the skirt.

Now I have cut out the jacket to match in this lovely red wool fabric and want to apply some more applique to the front and back of the jacket. This is something I am still working on. I can't work out yet where to put the appliqued leaves, so I need to spend some time on this before I stitch and put the picture on the blog.

I have finished my waistcoat for my City and Guilds.  I designed it myself and made the pattern, the idea came from a book 'Quick and Easy Vests and Jackets' by Kate Mathews, its an old book that I picked up for £2.50, at the book sale in Bingham, but the ideas can be adapted an turned into more up to date designs. I hope this is what I have achieved here.



I have used a contrasting grey fabric to make the flaps and piped around the collar.  I will use this grey to make some trousers to wear with the waistcoat. I've done a pattern, just need to toile it and try it before making it up in the fashion fabric.   I've found some more of this waistocat fabric in a shop locally, so I bought another 1/2 metre so I can make a new bag maybe a nice Amy Butler bag, I have her book 'Amy Butler's Style Stitches' I'm sure I can find a bag in there to make up, or I might just have some inspiration to design something myself.

My sister had a birthday earlier this year, so I made her a blouse to go with the trousers I made her for Christmas, I hope she likes it.