Edward Gorey skeleton embroidery

 As I mentioned in my last post Nicole  and Bridgeen have organised an illustration stitch a long on Flickr based on Edward Goreys work. I have put so many hours into this piece- but I think it was worth it. I'm not sure whether I am 100 per cent happy with the placement on the pillowcase- I didn't want to make it any bigger but there is a lot of space above and below. I am considering adding a sprinkling of tiny skulls above and below but think this might spoil the 'classic' effect of the vines. I might also add some initials to the middle oval.
The way the images are framed is perfect isn't it- I am going to steal the idea for some of my own designs.
Here are a couple more photos for scale and placement:

The design is seriously tiny- I used 1 strand of dark green floss throughout. I love working on this scale but think I need to invest in a magnifying hoop for my eyes sake!

WIP skeletons everywhere

 This is for the Edward Gorey stitch-a-long on flickr organised by the very friendly and talented Nicole. Still time to join in if you wanna join in. I wanted to work the design up fairly small as I'm stitching on the edge of a pillow case but it does mean those tiny leaves are a bit of a brainache to stitch- I'm doing then in satin stitch, for scale the skeleton is just over an inch high... yeah I know... I'm going to go blind stitching this. Also I have no idea how I'm going to do the shading - which in the original illustration is cross hatched because I'm already using just one strand of floss - I'm considering using sewing machine thread but that might be a completely crazy idea- or using one strand of a lighter coloured floss (this is actually stitched in a dark green although it looks black here).
I hadn't heard of Gorey before this stitchalong but wanted to join the fun so bought Amphigorey  (an anthology of some of his work) it is so darkly funny and I love the style of his illustration, especially all the haunted looking sunken eyed children. If you aren't familiar with his work look him up ... maybe you'll find something you can't resist stitching!

I've also been making some progress on this skeleton- I am loving how it looks all filled in baby pink. It is almost pretty! The mechanics of how all those pieces would fit together to make the framework for a face is fascinating me- and look at this how they have laid it out in a heart shape -  could very well be my next project.  Hope you are enjoying seeing this piece grow. I have to go now, back to sitting and stitching and ruminating on how we are all bags of bones!

Moth by Giddy girlie

I while ago I posted about the hummingbird I made for the Phat Quarter tiny swap. This is the beautiful piece I received from Giddy Girlie . She was inspired by my love of moths and created this gorgeous embroidery for me. His body is turkey rug stitch so he is fluffy and lifelike and the satin stitch is so smooth. I love the way it is so striking and graphic- the colours pop against each other. Obviously it will join my growing collection of bug and moth art - I'm thinking of either keeping it framed in the hoop or putting it in a box frame- I have other things displayed like that and at first glance they look like real entomology displays.

Make sure you have a look at the gallery- it's full of awesome stitches 

I'm a piece

These are my two jigsaw pieces for the Craftivist collectives I'm a piece campaign. The idea is to raise awareness of Save the Children's Race against hunger and to encourage people to sign the petition (please do!). Lets face it- we are all in this together and no one should have to go hungry today. The top piece was sent to the Craftivist collective and they are going to use all the pieces they receive to make an art installation that will be shown at several location throughout the way to promote peaceful activism and raise awareness of the campaign. The second piece I sent to my MP to ask him to support the campaign . If you would like to learn more about the campaign - there is still time to take part if you are quick have a look here  http://imapiece.craftivist-collective.com/