Change of pace! From big diamonds to small diamonds.

One of the things everyone has to watch out for with fiberarts is not overusing your hands with the same repeated movements.

 I was very pleased with the diz results, much better spinning. But because of the scrunching movement of the left hand as the roving advances, I started having a bit of left shoulder pain. Also the flicking movement of spinning is hard on my right hand. So I have to take a short break before I get trouble going on both sides.

So I picked up the epp, the big diamonds, and found I had unaccountably cut the fabric a bit small, or the templates a bit big. Either way I had unusable fabric bits.

Since I had planned on an array of diamond sizes anyway, I cut the undersized diamonds down further to make smaller diamonds, for which I had a bagful of templates from another project.

There might be a mad array of shapes, clamshells, hexies, diamonds, patch work circles made from tiny bits before this project tells me what it is.

And after this morning's drama, see https://fieldfen.blogspot.com, and waiting to hear Handsome Son has got home safely from work,trees down all over, flooding, a bit of quiet stitching is a Good Thing.

Hexies, or what to do when you're wondering what to make next

The rosettes and the silk piece all done, I need to think about what's next, while I consider the silk transparency processes to come.

So I thought I'd find out why people make hexies. And found that one reason might be that they're light-years easier than the other epp projects I started on. The other is that once embarked, you can't stop.

So I'm just making a whole bunch of them and will eventually find out what to make with them all. It will involve a table covered in them, and decisions about design and will require that I be done with the post-it posse work which currently occupies the table.

But meanwhile they're in a little brown paper bag as they get basted.

More epp capers, historical now

This book is a lovely guided tour through many needleart forms and history, from the V and A. 

I spent a lovely afternoon and a pot of tea, studying it. Came upon a design I fancied trying, and found it was Flossie Teacakes' adaptation of a block from a quilt from 1797.

I must be in tune with her. I had no idea it was her part of the book until I noticed the encouraging wording and recognized her style.

So here's the current State of The Piecing. All the components cut, wrapped, pressed, ready to move in. This is my version, named Strawberry Fields. Just getting fancy.

It definitely pays to have been a miniaturist if you're doing this scale.

I think this quilt will be good for a lot of future designing around here. And when I get back to weaving, once the season turns, ideas for weaving, too..

Yesterday the friend with the dog dropped in, and I showed her the previous epp completed, the one her dog took part in. She was quite reverent about how it came out! Also I'm guessing, relieved that Abby the pup hadn't done anything to it.