I, of course, indulged in my obsession with thread! All the beautiful colours and textures are so appealing - my blog is appropriately named by my oldest son.
I finally tried Igolochkoy (ee-gó-luch-koy) - Russian Punchneedle Embroidery with some of my new threads when I got home (I have had the tools and book for a while).
The work is done from the back with the little punchneedle tool, I used 3 strands of embroidery floss (these ones are overdyed) for this piece. The fabric is held drum tight in the hoop. The penny is just for scale.
The pattern for this is from the book "Miniature Punchneedle Embroidery" by Linda Repasky.
Instead of making it into a pin like the one in the book, I glued it to an old magnet (lightly sanded first), and trimmed around it.
I then glued a twisted cord around the piece.
I seem to have been making lots of twisted cord recently. I make twisted cord using a bent nail in the drill instead of a drill bit. I place the other end of the thread around a pencil that I put in a drawer in my craft table. Super simple and no fancy tools required!
The above picture is actually my first attempt at punchneedle - I quickly learned why you are not supposed to use 100% cotton fabric, when I reached the middle all the the fabric gave way - there is a large hole in the centre. I then tried it with polyester/cotton fabric, it was much easier and no hole! Weavers Cloth (a polyester/cotton fabric) is recommended, but I couldn't find any.
These pillows are made using a very similar technique, only with a larger punchneedle tool and wool, on velvet. The tops of the loops are cut off, and each section is trimmed for a 3-D effect. I made these about 30 years ago (yikes - I must have been a baby!). The flower one was started by my grandmother, the other pattern was hers also.
When I was at Nordic Needle I decided to buy these two Romanian Point Lace books - I thought it was about time I had actual books on the subject.
Since I posted my RPL tutorial (2 years ago this summer), it has remained the most viewed thing on my blog - far outnumbering everything else on a daily basis. I am amazed since I consider this a "quilting blog".
Speaking of quilting - the pattern for the fifth Temecula Quilt Co block of the week - Blessings - came out today. Tomorrow we will get the finishing instructions.
I didn't buy any fabric while I was in the States - I did go to some quilt stores, just didn't find anything - I guess I really don't need any more fabric, and there is a large quilt show coming up in Winnipeg next month which I am really looking forward to.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥