Old stitching, new sewing

One of my earliest cross stitch designs is The Light House No1 about which I wrote before. It is finished now but you still can not see it. It is for the exhibition at Nurmijärvi library. I have decided to share the chart in there. All the visitors can copy the 2 pages chart at the library. One page of black-and-white copy costs 0,40€ and you need to take 2 so it makes 0,80€. The fee is for the library to cover the copy machine costs. The instructions for the sewing and finishing will be published here at my blog when the exhibition will be opened. So far the chart is not shared anywhere else. So if there is any change, go to get it there. :)

Summer and Perforated Paper

 

Officially it is summer now. Apple trees up here are blooming! As you can see the apple trees are small but possible to grow around here.

Someone has lost its wing. :(

After a long time I stitched something on Perforated Paper. My own design again.

I finally discovered what to do with my very old project. It is one of my earliest designs. I designed it at first on paper. Later on -when computer times crashed into my house- I transferred it on modern tech times.

It was just like a flash light and suddenly I knew how to finish it. I need loose end threads...

...and Perforated Paper.

 No, no no, you can't see it yet. It is not finished...

Waste Canvas -tutorial

Also this heart is a part of a bigger art project. More pictures about that you can see at Heart hanging tutorial. 

I used old Waste Canvas which has blue lines to help counting. The canvas feels stiff and keeps its form easily. Because I used it on a piece of felt fabric; instead of  tacking it on by stitching I used just two pins. I placed the pins on the edges so that the holes they make won't damage the heart shaped area at all. Just like I did at Water Soluble Canvas tutorial. 

Also this is my own free stitching design. Which means I had no pattern -just the idea.

Fasten the canvas by tacking it with large stitches around the area or use pins. No matter which way you use make sure the stitched area stays free. It gets easier when few stitches are done.

Stitch the design as planned. If you use pins you can remove them when you can be sure the canvas stays on there where wanted. If you have used stitches to tack the canvas remove the stitches when the design is finished. This is only because the pins can hurt your fingers so it's resonable to remove them as soon as possible.

When your stitching is finished it is time to remove Waste Canvas. It really is waste now. Pull the threads away one by one to tear down the fabric structure of the canvas.

Just keep going on. Remember to use gently touch despite something has got stuck.

At the end or on the moment when nothing moves you can use pins to help the threads to get released. Be careful and beware of messing it up.

When it all is out and away you can do what you desire. I will iron and sew mine to be a cotton filled heart.

On Tour

So, lately, during the past 8 months I have been organizing also something else than bunnies. My last big exhibition was 7 years ago. It is time to put up a new one. My way of doing art is extremely slow. Anyone who has tried on cross or other stitching methods knows this. So, instead of arranging one single show I ended up to make a tour. In that way many more people will have changes to see my work.

Of course making these pieces of art has taken more than 8 months. I have been working with them for these 7 years. But now we are on the moment I can show them on public. That's why I put up On Tour site that you can see where to meet my art. I will update it when the dates come closer.

Harvest Day

It was a big day today. Well, everyone didn't think so. I was accused cruelty against animals by Little Lady. For several times she asked how on earth I can do so. But still I used Fiskars' hair cut scissors and did my job.

We sheared little bunny girls and Gynter. From the picture you can see the hair is really cut, not torn with the root from the skin. I was surprised how much hair fits in one Angora Rabbit. We all still need to wait for a long time to see finished crafts of this wool. We will collect them all and save. After a year we'll have enough to send it all to a spinnery to get woollen yarn.

It was really hairy thing to do. But luckily I have brand new hair removal brush.

It has a special hollow where all the hair goes.

We put the hair removed from clothes outside. It is for the birds and their nesting chores.

Yes, I know, he looks terrible. But I show you this to prove we really cut the hair off instead of torturing them by tearing it all off. It was my very first time doing this so I didn't dare to cut extremely close the skin. Gynter has approximately ½-1½cm long hair at the moment. I was surprised how small he -at the end- is. You can see him for example at Big Furry Adventure in his long hair. Later on my abilities on shearing Angora Rabbits will get better. :)

Little Viola is here in her new short fur. Awful job, I know. But it didn't hurt them at all.