Late Christmas, Oscar Wilde and Flowers

So I know I'm 32 days late, but I guess there was more sewing involved than I had anticipated.

But my cross stitch is now COMPLETE! :D

 

 On another note, I have just finished reading 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde, and it was very interesting. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was amazing. I could understand why it had become a classic, and it had some very interesting ideas about society, but beyond that the plot was a bit thin. I had to read it for research in my gothic story English majorwork.

I have been experimenting with different methods of making fabric flowers. Well, I've only made one so far. I think it's pretty cool, but it's not what I'm looking for. This looks more like a rose, whereas I am looking for a more traditional petal shape.

New Year

 To be honest, one year seems to just roll onto another without too much differenciation.

Looking back on 2011, I decided that my resolutions for 2012 would be to meet new people and strengthen the relationships I already have.

Then of course I was reminded, this is my HSC year.... NOT LIKELY!


Anyway, my Christmas cross stitch for my parents that I have been working on since easter last year... Sadly, it was not complete by Christmas T-T


(P.S these photos were taken one week apart - shows how much work can be achieved with a deadline!)

I am very nearly finished, and like all projects I work on, I think it is very ugly! It is way oversized, who wants that thing framed on their wall?! I'll just be glad when it's completed :)

I have decided the gold/green fabric was hideous, and have now re-ordered my colours. The plain silk 7 colour is a dark red woven with black and will be used for the decorated sash. The lighter red (the colours in this picture are a bit off), plain silk 4, shall be used for the bodice. The red/white striped material is a krama scarf I bought in Cambodia last year which shall be incorperated somehow into the design. The black is for the skirt.

Beginning my Project

I have imported silk through Tabitha, a fantastic organisation that raises money for poor families in Cambodia.

So I got my silk last week.

And there's an issue....

My lovely gold colour...... Well, the weft thread is gold. The warp thread is GREEN!!!!!

What am I to do now? Does the green look hideous? The only issue is that it's not a simple process to go back and re-select the colour. What do I do? Is this alright? It only appears green in some lights, as you can see above. Uuuuhhhh -_-

Tea and Cambodia ideas

So I created this mini table runner thing for my parents' cups of tea that mum frets will ruin her nice table. It was a birthday present for my mum :)
(If you look at my previous post about my cushion, you may spot some similarities in fabric ;))

And a nice shiny backing :)

So I went to Cambodia earlier this year, and really liked this image of a traditional wedding outfit (Right hand side)

.
Excited!!

P.s does anyone know how to make a silk bodice that I don't think has any boning?!?

Face Shading

So, I've decided I'm going to further my experience in realistic shading-type drawings, particularly faces. And I LOVE IT!!!

This first one was taken from a random black and white picture I found of a woman online, claiming she was Joan of Arc or something, but the face and the shadows struck me and I decided to draw it.

 And then, of course, David Bowie :D He never loses his charm.

This was my first attempt at trying to draw blonde hair in contast to a dark background, and it didn't work out completely, but it's pretty alright for a first attempt :)

My dad picked out it was David Bowie the moment he saw this, and mum is still asking who on earth David Bowie is. Even I know who he is, and I wasnt a 60s kid like her!!

Getting excited to just sit back and sew and draw all holidays :) Spent today sewing a table runner for my mum's birthday, I really hope she doesn't read this blog and ruin the surprise!!
Photos shall be posted soon.

SQUARE

It's more than a square!

It's a SQUARE CUSHION!

I apologise that this is not straight, but my blogging thing just got updated and I can't work out how to turn pictures around....

Unfortunately when it's on the pillow you lose all the exciting bits around the edge D;

 

And this is the back!

 I'm so proud that this is done - there was a point there where I wondered if it would ever actually look like a cushion, but it surpassed my expectations!

I must just be awesome :D

Some more squares...

I am currently at a half-way point in two squares for my large embroidered cushion for school textiles.

I struck difficulty with the rosella one, I need to find some kind of eye-looking button or something to sew on for an eye, and I'm having a bit of a block about the blue thread which does not really show up, at all. I'm considering going over it in white thread?

I moved on to the bottle-brush in the meantime, and I quite like the overall effect. This is a terrible photo though, I hope the leaves don't look that bad in real life... Dang it, I knew I should have made them equal!!

I realised with horror today that my mum will be away during the time leading up to my handing in of this task, so I'm either going to prove my genius by whipping up some original construction stuff about making it actually into a pillow, or else I'm going to suffer with this assignment.

On the note of failing in textiles, we have an assessment next week on the properties of fibres and fabrics. I am SO dead. I very rarely come up to an assessment feeling completely and utterly unprepared. In fact, I don't think I've ever felt that before...

So I'm either going to have some brainwave about it in the next week, or I'm doomed for that too!