Out of Zone Mask 2020 Part 4

 Out of Zone Mask 2020 Part 4

For my next part I needed more material.

Plaited Copper

 

Since the last was Metallic I needed the same but instead of using Silver I decided to use Copper. This would tie in with the Copper Hands of the Clock.

I decided to take three strands of the Copper and Plait them together to make a twisted Copper Wire.

Copper Wobbles

 

My friend Laura had explained that Steam Punk was not necessarily symmetrical. I therefore Encircled the Clock Face. I have to confess that I was not entirely happy with the result.

Although I hadn’t completely Sewn it in place as yet I found it to be extremely bendy and twisted out of shape. I decided to have a vote on it and it turned out 3 to 1 against.

Copper Copy

 

I unpicked the Wire and with a much longer piece I started again. This time I mimicked the opposite side. This looked far better and got the thumbs up from my friend.

Cog Idea

 

My friend had also had the idea of moving the Ear Chains towards the Centre. However I had another idea and decided to try and continue the Clock theme using some of her Cogs along with mine.

Out of Zone Mask 2020 Part 3

 Out of Zone Mask 2020 Part 3

As I stated previously I am Out of my Comfort Zone with this Mask. Time to consult an expert a.k.a. my friend Laura https://www.alyssa-rose.co.uk/

We had quite a discussion, I told her my ideas and she told me mine plus a quick raid of her Steam Punk items. (A later blog)

Need Chain

 

I wanted to Frame the work that I had done so far but I was unfortunately out of Chain. So after a trawl around the Charity Shops and Flea market I got this for a pound. 

Pin Silver Chain

 

I cut off both sections of the Chain and trimmed to size. I have kept the Beads. I try never to throw anything useful away. I then began to pin the first section in place.

Sew Silver Chain

 

I Sewed the Silver Chain in Place using a simple Tacking Stitch through the Loops.

Silver Square

 

I now had a Silver Square or more accurately a Silver Rectangle around one of the Clock Faces. I was very happy with the result.

The next blog will deal with the other part of the Mask.

Yule Present 2017 Leads To New Skill

Yule Present 2017 Leads To New Skill

I mentioned a couple of blogs ago how Laura from Alyssa Rose Boutique (https://www.facebook.com/Alyssa.Rose.Boutique/) had given me a great deal of craft items. These included some tools I had never seen before.

Small Tool

  

Medium Tool

Since they had originally belonged to Laura’s Gran I thought I would ask my mum if she knew what they were. She had never come across them either so time for an Internet Search!

Large Tool 

I should mention at this point that the Large Tool I couldn’t really see because it was incorporated into a project started by Laura’s Gran. Therefore I knew that the tools were old, metal and used for some kind of sewing craft.

I used various descriptions to search through images. I finally found what I was looking for and I was lucky enough to find a website linked to the photograph.

http://www.knitting-and.com/embroidery/kays.html

I heartily recommend going to this site as it will explain far more than I can. A brief synopsis is that the tools are from the 1920’ – 1930’s and known as Kay’s Practical Embroider.

Kay’s Practical Embroider

This is the set after I had got them out of the material and cleaned up. What I learnt is that there are two sets. There are others that are just small leaves/petals and two small circles. I am not entirely sure whether this is a complete set or a mixture of both.

This craft work is known generally as Plush Work, Chenille Work or Amish Stump Work. As far as I can tell from my research that there are differences between the three and I think Plush Work is the best term.

The principle is like that of making a Pom-Pom. Wind yarn around the template and then cut along the middle and remove the template. I decided to try and finish the project Laura’s Gran had started.

Laura’s Yule Present 2017

I was very nervous doing this but I think the result is quite good. For those that are interested the Three Red flowers were done by Gran along with the leaf and stalk of the largest flower.

I did the infilling of the petals and the dark green part of the large flower. I also finished the pink flower and other stalks plus the embroidered leaf and the plush leaf.

I wasn’t quite sure what kind of yarn had been used before but I decided to use embroidery silks. This gave a lovely soft feel to the work.

So thanks very much Laura that is another string to my craft bow.