I haven't said anything yet about this month's TIF, the last one, but I have been thinking about it. At the beginning of December, I realized I needed to set this project aside until I'd finished some Christmas projects.The stocking I'm making is underway. I had planned to satin stitch the name in red and the outline is preparation but I rather like the outline and now all sorts of ideas are perking.
This is stitched in floche (the m at the end is yet to be done) but I have a set of Au Ver a'Soie threads in holiday colors and now I'm thinking about doing a multicolor filling or each letter with a different color filling, leaving the red outline, or leaving the red as is but adding some satin stitch holiday motifs (holly comes to mind but I'm very fond of holly). I do think it would look nice as red satin stitch, my original plan, too.
As for the TIF, I really like this month's theme and think it's quite appropriate. At the beginning of the month, I made this jotting in my notebook, just to capture my thought for later when I get a chance to finish November and begin this.I've been thinking of doing it in embroidered felt similar to a previous page. I enjoyed this one most of all. I thought to link the two by using a hand and heart image in this one, using hands for the wings on the heart.
Last week I picked up a copy of Artists’ Café (volume 3), a compilation of past articles from Somerset Studios magazine. In there I found a few instances of imagery where hands became wings. This made me think that perhaps I was on a good path, not so much because others were using similar imagery but more because it came into my life at the time I was thinking about it. I could have seen these articles before, and perhaps did and remembered them subconsciously, but it just felt like the timing of seeing them again is important now. So, I know the path I will tread when it's time.
I finished this last bird last week. It is a gift for my husband, who is fond of chickadees. It's also free standing. The other photos that showed this better came out blurry. My next project is what all of these birds led up to, more or less, a cat for my niece.
The birds came as a kit and each progressed in complexity so I learned about needlefelting and working with the designs as I did each one.
I have a book with some ideas on how to do other animals, including a cat, and I have some thoughts of my own. I'm debating about a pipe cleaner armature so it's posable. The cat in the book stands on it's own without it. I have enough wool that I can make more than one cat to test ideas.
I need to complete a scrapbook cover, which will be quick. I found some interesting old map prints and am just pasting them to the covers of purchased journals. I made tiny snowmen ornaments for some neighbor children (I forgot to photograph them) and I don't plan to do any baking, I think, so things are starting to come together. I do have a lot of shopping yet to do.
