Project Updates

Hi all! I am so excited. I have been getting so much stitching done lately. First I want to show off the completed masquerade mask.

First I stitched the chain in place with a few detached chain stitches in two places. Then I ruched up the black and gold trim and tacked it around the outside of the mask. I added the red pipecleaners and a piece of ribbon to the right before stitching the lining to the mask inside out. I left an opening on the left side of the mask. After turning it inside out I inserted the feathers and ribbon and slip stitched the gap closed.

After the mask was constructed I glued a few rhinestones on for a glittery effect and voila! Masquerade!

I also made pair of cuffs with elastic underneath. They are made from a really nice wired ribbon I found at Michael's the other day. I siply cut and folded the edges ang stitched a piece of the black and gold ribbon over the raw edges. I inserted the elastic in and finished the cuff with a few rhinestones. Overall I am happy with the outcome for such a rushed project. Stitch and be happy!

Mask Update

So I got quite alot done on the mask last night. First, Sam and I went to Michael's to pick up some extra stuff for it. I didn;t take pictures but I will show you as I go along. Most of it was stuff to be added as I put the mask together.

For this embellishment i used a piece of red lace a small scrap of the backround fabric and a novelty button. I am trying to get the black fabric to fray a bit more.

Here I did some more chain stitch in red.

I added more half buttonhole wheels and embellished them with a gold bead. The trim is going to be black and gold so I wanted to incorporate a bit more gold onto the mask.

The studs I actually found in scrapbooking but I thought the were perfect. The black square is a beade that I sewd on with gold thread over 4 detached chain stitches also in gold thread.

So now I'm going to add on a few more beads. Not sure what else, but I may start constructing the mask tonight so for once I'm ahead of schedule. Yay!

Mask Update

Well despite the ridiculously busy weekend I managed to get some stitching done on the mask. I tried photographing the progress this morning. However, I couldn't get a clear picture no matter how hard I tried. i think it has something to do with the shiny patches on the fabric. The red swirls were done in a simple chain stitch with DMC cotton floss. I only used three strands to cut down on the bulkiness. The half circles are buttonhole wheels stitched with DMC black perle cotton #5.

I have a very strict schedule if I wanted this finished by Thursday. I have to finish all the embroidery tonight. That includes red swirls over the right eye and buttonhole wheels along the top of the mask. I was hoping to add more embroidery but only if time permits. Tomorrow I have to add all the beads, buttons and finish work (maybe a trim around the outside if I can find a nice one). Wednesday I have to finish contructing the mask completely. I have a lot of work and almost no time to do it. This is really going to push my skills.

On top of this workload I have to help my husband unpack from the weekend trip to the Amherst Model Railroad Hobby Show. It was so much fun though. I learned how to do landscapes and it is way easier than I would have imagined. I also bought my first model kit. It is a small house. I started putting it together this weekend but now i'm going to have to wait until I finish the mask before I work on it further. Well hopefully I will have a picture ready of the mask completely embroidered for you all tomorrow. Stitch and be happy!

Masquerade

So a few things have happened since last I posted. I have been invited to join Stitching Fingers an online yohoo group dedicated to textile arts. I'm going to swing over after this to set up my profile page!













The second I am most excited about. A friend of mine from work is attending a maquereade next thursday and I am making his mask. It is definatly going to be a challenge. The masquerade is at a goth club and did I mention my friend, Sam, happens to be a drummer in a death metal band? So it is gonna be dark.













Today Sam stepped in with all these design ideas which normally would have frustrated me. I like to go crazy creativly. However I was genuinly stuck and had no idea how to start. His ideas gave me a great jumping off point.

So to the left are all the goodies I picked up for the project. The blue fabric is the rough cut of the mask I cut to his face earlier today. It's hard to see in this picture but the card has 2 silver skull buttons on it and the shiny thread is a mettalic blue.

So this is a quick real size sketch of everything that will be on it. I'm sure I will add more as I stitch but this is the general idea. I am so excited because this is a small project that I will see an end result quickly. I love crazy quilting but I get so frustrated at how slow a process it is it actually deters me from stitching. This is the exact little boost I need to keep going.

Well I probably won't blog for a few days because I am attending a huge Model Train Show with my husband in Springfield, MA. I will be gone all weekend. Hopefully I will get some good stitching time in. Stitch and be happy!