Trance

I have been gathering my naturally dyed cloth all summer. Old sheeting and pillowcase's have languished in jars with leaves, berries, petals and what not. Some have been boiled, soaked, tied or bundled.

As summer draws to a close and the autumn chill seeps into my bones, I decided it was time. I gathered my fragments of cloth, and finally, they became one.

It isn't square, it doesn't matter. I will stitch it at night, whilst the babe's sleep, it is large, maybe queen size. Draped over my lap as I stitch it, it will keep me warm. I am a little overwhelmed by it's size. It will take many months and I do not yet know how it will look when it is completed, I think this is, in part, the point.

It has a hole, this excite's me, I wish I had made more holes. I will start with the hole.

After much consideration, I decided to name it Trance, being as this is what stitching is all about for me.

Trance [trans, trahns] noun, verb

1. a half-conscious state, seemingly between sleeping and waking, in which ability to function voluntarily may be suspended.

2. a dazed or bewildered condition.

3. a state of complete mental absorption or deep musing.

4. an unconscious, cataleptic, or hypnotic condition.

5. Spiritualism . a temporary state in which a medium, with suspension of personal consciousness, is controlled by an intelligence from without and used as a means of communication, as from the dead.

I hope that the pale tones of mother nature, will give way to a rhapsody of colour in stitch, it will need careful balance I think, to keep it all in synch. I am ready to be lost in cloth. Skitchbook at the ready.

What are you stitching lately? Have you joined in the thread swap yet? Please do!

Going in

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." ~John Muir

It has been a long while since life really slowed down, for more than a few moments, and in day light. Work and children, joyous as they are, are constant. We snatch sweet moments here or there, like hanging out the laundry, when everyone else is inside, for a moment there is just you, the blue sky, the birds, hopefully a ray of sunshine and phew, breathe.

Anyhow, our long while was up. We packed the car, dropped all four children at their grandparents (thanks goodness for grandparents!) and headed for the hills, quite literally.





No lights, no phones, no television, no computer, no people. Just shelter, earth, fire, air, water.
Simon fished, I stitched (the skitchbook!) and foraged.

















We made wild mushroom risotto, something I rarely cook because the children loathe it, so it was a special camp fire treat.





And our sleeping arrangements were delightfully comfortable (thank goodness for grandparents AND airbed's!), resplendant with jolly vintage bed linen, the bed and it's layers are my camping indulgence, and yes, I confess, that is a rug on the floor of my tent, what can I say? It folds up real small...



John Muir was a clever old boy, wasn't he?

Skitchbook Tutorial & Giveaway

Do you remember the skitchbook I made?



Well, I did say I would do a tutorial....

This is the first time I have ever written a full blown tutorial, and well, my making is a bit wonky donkey, a little bit, um, shall we say... homespun?
So, if you are to make yourself a sweet little skitchbook of your own (and I do so recommend that you do), I apologise in advance if my instructions are somewhat higgledy piggledy. If you are confuddled at any point, do drop me a wee message, and I will be sure you get back to you.

skitch·book
[skich-book]
noun
1.
Also, skitchpad. a fabric book or pad of felt sheets for stashing of needles, scissors and other notions, and for stitched sketches [skitches].
2.
a book of textile sketches.









My first Skitchbook was born out of necessity, I needed a needle book to keep in my handbag, and I thought it would be a fine idea to add pages and a pocket, to store other notions and small projects which I could Sew on the Go.







The monster pocket happenned entirely by accident, it holds my scissors, which are attached to the inside of the pocket, by a long scrap of fabric, so they always stay with my skitchbook, and I always have scissors, perfect!



I am going to take you through the motions of how I made mine. It should be noted, that mine is entirely made by hand, and this makes this a slow project. As you can see, I am not inclined towards neat stitching, but if you prefer a cleaner look, you can use a sewing machine, this will likely be much quicker too!

What you will need :)

8-10 pieces of Square Felt/boiled wool fabric (mine are 5"x5" for the small skitchbook and 8"x8" for the larger)
Scraps of fabric and felt
Various embroidery threads & needles
Embroidered fabric squares for front and back, the same size as your felt squares

Make the front and back covers-

To decorate your front and back covers, you will need some embroidery on fabric or felt, this could be anything you have to hand. For the smaller skitchbook I used a couple of woven fabric samplers I made, and for the larger - the front cover is a piece of old hand dyed linen, which I kantha stitched teardrop shaped scraps to. I didn't have a suitable piece for the reverse, so I stitched lengths of scrap fabric to the actual felt square. What you choose to use for the cover decoration is entirely up to you.



Once you have chosen your decorative piece, you need to baste them to the two pieces of felt you have allocated for the front and back cover, and quilt them all over, this is to give them structure, so they don't go all floppity flop on you, more book like, if you will :)



When both your front and back are quilted to the felt pieces, you must now cover the reverse of each piece with another square of felt, pin in place, leaving a gap at the right centre middle, this is where you will insert your ties.



Take two long lengths of scrap fabric or ribbon, 1" or so wide, and insert them between the layer of each cover, centred on the right side, pin in place.
Now whip stitch all the way around the edge of each cover until you reach the tie, then back stitch the tie in place.
Set your covers aside.

To make the pocket -

The monster pocket is one long piece of scrap felt, folded in half, leaving 3 sides open. Stitch up both long sides, to form a pocket. The open width will be tucked into the binding of your skitchbook, so you must now cut a slash in your pocket about 2/3 away down, to form an opening (the monsters mouth).

Now whipstitch tightly all the way around the edge of your pockets mouth, preferably in a splendid lip colour.







Cut eyes from scrap felt and stitch them above the mouth, they can be any shape you like. Feel free to add any quirky details, like a moustache or teeth.

Putting it all together -

Now layer everything up in the order that you want it, don't worry if the inner squares don't line up perfectly, you can trim them later if you need to, but you must make sure the left edges are lined up well, including your pocket, as this is the side you are going to bind to form the spine of your skitchbook.



Baste the left edge in place, and then whipstitch it firmly up and down the length of the spine until it is firm, and all the layers are tightly in place.



Now your skitchbook is assembled and almost complete, you just need to add the needle stop and scissors.
The needle stop is pretty self explanatory, it stops your needles from sliding out of your book. Cut a strip of scrap felt, and roll it up, then stitch it down on the inner cover of your skitchbook.





To attach the scissors, get another long strip of fabric, being mindful of how far you will need your scissors to stretch from the book. Attach one of the of the fabric scrap to the inside seam of your monster pocket, and tie the other end to your scissors, pull them out of the pocket opening and note how the fabric strip looks like a great lolloping monster tongue, and ta-daaaa! You have your very own Skitchbook!

Would you be so kind as to make sure you do not sell or use my skitchbook pattern and design for commercial purposes? Thank you sweetly!



If all of that sounds like too much hard work, then leave a wee comment on this post, and you can win the one I made above :)
If you follow, tweet, pin, facebook or blog about my tutorial and giveaway, you can have a second entry.

I will announce a winner on Sunday the 16th of September, hurrah!
Please note, the needles will not be included.

If you do make one, I would love to see!