First attempt at embroidery...

 So here it is...my first attempt at stitching! And I loved every minute. I spent between half hour to an hour each evening for a week on it, and it paid off, for what I learnt. It's still very basic, but I'm gonna keep at it until I get good.

I began with the text. For the word 'Portwine' I used Back Stitch with black thread, and for 'Rose' I attempted a Split Stitch, though I realise now I should use four plies of a strand rather than all six, just to thin it out a li'l. Then I sewed the rose button on - easy 'nuff. Then the brown vines I did with a Stem Stitch. These were tricky, as I found I had to negotiate which side of the vine I was going to continue stitching on. If it was ill-judged it didn't seem to flow well, and looked gappy. My best Stem Stitch was probably the bottom left. After the vines I did the green ivy leaves using a Split Stitch, but with 3-4 plies, depending on the size of the leaf. This bit wasn't quite so complicated, though I had to unpick it a few times. But at this point, when you stand back and take a look at everything within the hoop, you can't help but feel a li'l proud of what you've achieved so far. I dunno...maybe I'm just simple :o) I finished with a star in ivory using - guess what? - Star Stitches!!! And also some dusky-pink dots for decoration (though they were meant to be French Knots, but I couldn't seem to pull um off; whenever I tightened the floss around the needle I either drew blood from my thumb, or I'd pull the thread through and it would all come apart, rather than holding tight at the front of the fabric. So I did it my way.

I have ideas for my next endeavour, and once it's done I'm gonna try hand-sewing it within a book, and stitching a little poem or ditty upon the other pages. Et voila! My tatty books! Here's to hoping it won't fall apart. And who knows...maybe one day I'll get as good as this...

Edith Piaf and Marianne Faithfull by Jenny Hart

 http://jennyhart.net/#8b2/custom_plain

*

'Portwine Rose' is a pet name for a character from my book 'The Thicket Dwellers'. She is also my muse, and is very much alive in my head. She mumbles and murmurs all. the. time. She has a port-wine stain around her left eye, hence the name. I wanted to immortalise her somehow, before I came up with the tatty-book ideas, just in case my book doesn't get accepted for publication. I've written loads of li'l ditties about her and the book itself, and hope to make a series of books using fabric from up-cycled and second-hand clothes, around the idea of her. 

Smiles! Nina x