Monday 11 January 2010

This and that.

I have started to add a few stitches to my transferred photocopy and have just been doodling with needle and thread. There is actually more colour to the photocopy than appears here and I would like to have rubbed a bit more of the paper backing away, but was afraid of rubbing too much. This particular copy was made on good quality paper at a shop, but now I have my own copier I think I shall try making copies on cheap paper which might give a better final result, assuming that it will rub away more easily. It is a quite labour intensive way of creating a design but hand stitching is always therapeutic. This technique has great possibilities for other subjects like architecture, where textures might be applied to a larger scale design, with small pieces of applied fabrics and a limilted amount of stitching.
The light was fading the other evening when my husband noticed this chap sitting on a neighbour's roof just up the slope from us. I've seen herons flying over before, but never seen one sitting on a roof. I nipped outside the front door to get this shot. Poor thing - he must be feeling hungry as all the fish will have gone deeper into whatever water they live in.
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I wonder if I shall get to my group meeting tomorrow. We had a relatively mild night last night, with the temperature just on 0. The snow above our bay window was dripping gently even at 10pm, and the road surface is beginning to be visible again. The main roads are all clear - it is just the side roads that are still badly affected and we live at the bottom of one. More snow is forecast for Tuesday afternoon, but with luck I could be home again before it starts. We shall see.

12 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

I love that embroidery Heather - I am not sure I understand how you have done it - something to do with photocopying you say - coul you explain as i|would love to try it.
Do you ever make drawstring bags? I have been given a site where there is a super pattern for lined bags - so easy and foolproof; I have made on as a try and really enjoyed it. If you would like th e link, please let me know. Keep warm and hope to get to your group tomorrow. Thawing here but very cold and miserable with heavy sleet falling.

Cda00uk said...

I also think it is a beautiful embroidery - so delicate and summery - just what I need to see at the moment.

Loved the heron photo too - I've seen them in trees but never on a roof. Somehow they don't look like birds that would roost high up, do they?

chrissythreads said...

Lovely embroidery Heather. We also have a roof residng Heron- Every day he perches on the roof of the house at the bottom of our garden looking sadly at the space where we use to have a largish pond but has now been downgraded to more of a puddle. He sits, he thinks and then he buzzes off but he'll be back tomorrow.Sometimes I think I should bring him something from the chippy just to reward his vigil.

Maureen said...

Looking forward to seeing the finished article Heather.

Julie said...

I do love your embroideries Heather. I saw a heron flying over this afternoon and was thinking how difficult things must be for them at the moment with so many water surfaces frozen. It is thawing here with us too. Long may it last.

Heather said...

Your kind comments are very encouraging. I wasn't sure how my stitchery would turn out. I am thinking of using these little embroideries as pages for a fabric book about gardens. It might have some paper pages too and is a long way off!

Purple Missus said...

Very neat stitching Heather - I'm impressed, I don;t have much patience for lots of hand stitchery. :) Keep with the idea of the fabric book, it sounds wonderful.
Will have to send DH over to you - he loves banana bread. :)

sharon young said...

Lovely stitching on your image transfer, Heather , it works well on the muted BG.
Our side roads are very slowly thawing too, but we still can't see the road beneath, I think it'll be a while before we're back to normal.
Great spot of the heron, we have a regular too, but never on the roof.

Linda Vincent said...

Hello Heather...I've just had a catch-up with you. (Sorry I've been missing)
Your embroidery is delicate and beautiful...could be the start of a lovely book.
I thought that heron was a stork at first!! (Shows what I know about birds!)
XX

BT said...

What a super photo of that heron. He does look miserable though.

Your embroidery is wonderful, such neat stitches. I love the little stitches that look a bit like horse shoes! You are so talented.

Ann Christy said...

Your embroidery is lovely Heather. I have another method of printing out onto fabric - just email me and I will you have the instructions. It is very easy and works everytime.
Hope you are ok.

Ann Christy said...

Hi Heather
You could try emailing me again at annchristy2@gmail.com. Try it from your own email address rather than from inside blogger - quite a number of comments I receive are from no-reply so I can't reply to some people directly - yours included.
Cheers Ann