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| Hanoi |
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| Charles Bridge, Prague |
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| Big Ben, London |
Click here to read more about Teresa and see more of her work.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Embroidered Scenes by Teresa Lim
Most of us take photos when we travel, but Teresa Lim has a unique way of capturing scenes and memories from her travels. She embroiders them.
Click here to read more about Teresa and see more of her work.
Click here to read more about Teresa and see more of her work.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Making Another Rag Doll
Some while ago I made a rag doll for my granddaughter which you can read about here. This is Goldilocks and her bear. Perhaps she's a cloth doll rather than a rag doll?
Sylvia, the lady who comes to help me clean our house, saw it one day and her eyes sparkled. She loved it. As I originally bought enough fabric for two dolls, I thought I'd make up the second doll for her little girl. And a whole year passed by...
Recently with my foot recovering from surgery and some time on my hands it was time to make the second doll. Still lying on my back, I started cutting out the pieces, just one or two at a time. I found it a nice break from reading. It is awkward though lying on your back and trying to work. I don't know how my friend Tricia managed to do some serious embroidery in a similar situation and go on to win an international embroidery competition.
Later, still taking things easy, I reasoned I could sit at my sewing table for ten minutes at a time - with foot propped up inelegantly on a stool next to me and use my left foot to work the sewing machine pedal.
It turned out that my left foot is not quite as clever as my right foot. I'd press down on the pedal. Nothing happened. Check the switch, press a bit more. Still nothing. Press a bit more. Oooooh! This time the sewing machine would spring to life, roar threateningly and sew at top speed. Lucky I got my fingers out of the way.
Not being familiar with the making of rag dolls I found the construction method interesting. Below you can see Goldilocks and her bear almost finished. I made some adjustments this time to the arms and legs. They are a bit narrower and in better proportion to the body.
A nice thing about this doll is that the arms and legs all move. Attaching the legs was easy. Tuck them into the lower seam of the body and machine stitch all the way across.
The diagram in the instructions for attaching the arms looked straightforward.
I found it rather tricky. Eventually Sylvia had to help pull the needle all the way through the arm, across the body and out through the second arm while I squeezed the whole lot together and kept it in place. Rod and his pliers came in handy then too. I couldn't get a photo of that manoeuvre as all three of us were occupied.
It seems an unusual way to construct a doll because the top half of the doll can't be undressed. The arms are slipped into the sleeves and then attached to the body. But I do like the final effect once everything is in place.
Goldilocks and her bear are already in the train and on their way to their new little owner.
There's another week to go before I can start physio for my foot. In the meantime I have trained my left foot well and can now sew on the machine at a fairly steady and predictable speed. Also, the doll fabric has been in my cupboard for a long, long time and its good to see it sewn up and on its way to someone who will enjoy it. Incidentally, it always surprises me how working at something in seemingly insignificant segments of time - like ten minutes - does get the task done.
I hope to get back to some embroidery again soon.
Sylvia, the lady who comes to help me clean our house, saw it one day and her eyes sparkled. She loved it. As I originally bought enough fabric for two dolls, I thought I'd make up the second doll for her little girl. And a whole year passed by...
Recently with my foot recovering from surgery and some time on my hands it was time to make the second doll. Still lying on my back, I started cutting out the pieces, just one or two at a time. I found it a nice break from reading. It is awkward though lying on your back and trying to work. I don't know how my friend Tricia managed to do some serious embroidery in a similar situation and go on to win an international embroidery competition.
Later, still taking things easy, I reasoned I could sit at my sewing table for ten minutes at a time - with foot propped up inelegantly on a stool next to me and use my left foot to work the sewing machine pedal.
It turned out that my left foot is not quite as clever as my right foot. I'd press down on the pedal. Nothing happened. Check the switch, press a bit more. Still nothing. Press a bit more. Oooooh! This time the sewing machine would spring to life, roar threateningly and sew at top speed. Lucky I got my fingers out of the way.
Not being familiar with the making of rag dolls I found the construction method interesting. Below you can see Goldilocks and her bear almost finished. I made some adjustments this time to the arms and legs. They are a bit narrower and in better proportion to the body.
A nice thing about this doll is that the arms and legs all move. Attaching the legs was easy. Tuck them into the lower seam of the body and machine stitch all the way across.
The diagram in the instructions for attaching the arms looked straightforward.
I found it rather tricky. Eventually Sylvia had to help pull the needle all the way through the arm, across the body and out through the second arm while I squeezed the whole lot together and kept it in place. Rod and his pliers came in handy then too. I couldn't get a photo of that manoeuvre as all three of us were occupied.
It seems an unusual way to construct a doll because the top half of the doll can't be undressed. The arms are slipped into the sleeves and then attached to the body. But I do like the final effect once everything is in place.
Goldilocks and her bear are already in the train and on their way to their new little owner.
There's another week to go before I can start physio for my foot. In the meantime I have trained my left foot well and can now sew on the machine at a fairly steady and predictable speed. Also, the doll fabric has been in my cupboard for a long, long time and its good to see it sewn up and on its way to someone who will enjoy it. Incidentally, it always surprises me how working at something in seemingly insignificant segments of time - like ten minutes - does get the task done.
I hope to get back to some embroidery again soon.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Tokyo International Quilt Festival
If you want to see some extraordinary quilts shown at the most recent International Tokyo Quilt Festival take a look at Queenie's Needlework blog. There have been a number of posts over the last week or so of the quilts entered, as well as some bags and embroidery too. The links to all the posts are below. The close up photos really show the incredible subtlety and detail of the quilts. All photos shown here are by kind courtesy of Queenie.
And the action!
The Tokyo Station quilt was made in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the station and its an interesting record of some of the architectural features.
The International Tokyo Quilt Festival is a juried show so only the best of the best are selected for exhibition. I would love to be able to see all those amazing quilts up close, but what a difficult job it must be for the 5 judges to make the final selection - and I'm very glad that I am not one of them.
Thank you Queenie for sharing your photos!
- Partnership quilts
- Flowers
- Thread play
- Framed Quilts
- Building Quilt Scenes
- Bags
- More quilts and other things
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| Quilt by Yoko Sekita. (Photo courtesy of Queenie's Needlework blog) |
Some of those landmarks look kind of familiar, don't they?
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| Detail of Yoko Sekita's quilt |
The Tokyo Station quilt was made in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the station and its an interesting record of some of the architectural features.
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| Tokyo Station Quilt by Chizuko Naito. (Photo courtesy of Queenie's Needlework blog) |
The top of the quilt represents elements of the roof of the station. You can see a photo of the roof here. I do wonder if the centre of the quilt is based on a tiled floor or mosaic. Queenie has said she will look when she next goes through the station.
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| Detail of Tokyo station quilt by Chizuko Naito |
Thank you Queenie for sharing your photos!
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