Embellisher magic

I recently bought a Janome embellisher and signed up for a course with Dale Rollerson through the Thread Studio. I haven't had as much time to work on the course as I would have liked but I've finally finished Lessons 1 & 2.

This is my challenge piece for Lesson 1:

And this is my Lesson 2 challenge piece. It is a representation of scribbly bark. I would like to hand or machine embroider the 'scribbles' onto it but that will have to wait.

Where do you store your threads?

I bought these beautiful peacock-coloured threads from The Thread Studio many years ago but was frustrated whenever I tried to use them as the thread would break constantly. I would thread the machine, start sewing, the thread would break, I'd thread the machine, start sewing the thread would break ... over and over until I got bored with the whole thing and abandoned my attempts at machine embroidery.

Recently, Doreen suggested that I put them in the fridge for a few hours before using them. Of course, I put them in the fridge and then forgot about them until John was putting groceries away that evening.

'Why', he asked in a voice suggesting that I was well on the way down the dementia path, 'are there threads in the fridge'.

'Oh yes', I replied, much to his bewilderment, 'they should be ready now'.

John was very relieved to find that I hadn't put the milk in the craft room and I was delighted with my results when I had another go at machine embroidery with the threads:
Thank you, Doreen, for the tip.

Printing on fabric

My friend, Wanda, is making a fabric book as a wedding present for friends of hers and wanted to know how to print onto fabric. So I dragged out my bottle of Bubble Jet Set and package of freezer paper, both of which I've had for years without ever opening.

We soaked fabric in the Bubble Jet Set and ironed it onto the freezer paper but it didn't go through the printer smoothly and got a bit scrunched up. I will have to do some more experimenting but I might not have fed it into the bypass tray properly.

Finally, I opened up a packet of fabric sheets for the printer (which I've also had for years without ever using) and that worked really well. The fabric didn't get scrunched up by the printer at all.

Moving forward

I've been away for the last week, on a trip to Wagga Wagga and Melbourne. I have returned with lots of photos and inspiration but very little energy. I'm moving very slowly.

Before I left, I tried some more figurative free machine embroidery. It is meant to be a deciduous tree in winter. I definitely need a lot more practice but it's a start.

Getting started

Well, I managed to 'scribble' on the fabric without breaking the thread. That's a good start.

Now for something a bit more complicated - satin stitch. That worked okay, although it's going to take a lot of practice before I get it really smooth and consistent. And the fabric puckered in the centre.

This time I remembered to back the fabric with stabiliser and it is smoother, even though it doesn't look like it in this photo. I prefer the colours in this sample.

Let's try going around in circles. Well, a spiral to be more accurate. That's not too bad.

Introduction

The title of this blog reflects the many limitations on my textile art. After many years of knitting, crocheting, embroidery and, to a lesser extent, silk painting and quilting, I now have lots of time to spend on enjoying these activities and developing my skills. However, due to a wrist problem, I am currently unable to do any hand embroidery, knitting or crocheting, and I'm very limited in what I can do. 

So, I've decided to embrace my limitations and see what I can achieve while 'keeping to the limits'.

I've dabbled in machine embroidery previously, so now I can explore it in greater depth but within the limits of a 9-inch hoop. I can't hold and move the fabric without a hoop and 9 inches is the largest size that I can use on my trusty old Husqvarna 6370.