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Karen Ruane Blog


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thoughts on embroidery and tradition, cloth, stitch, hand worked embellishment using new and vintage cloth for embroidery. Online tuition available.
2016-04-12 11:55
Yesterday morning I had all this laid out on the table.....or should I say piled haphazardly on the table. I looked, I chose, I mixed and matched, I changed my mind a million times. I then… Read More
2016-04-11 11:41
Snippets, samples, scraps, paper, cloth.....pages for artist books. Three new pages were put together last night, gathering has happened for other pages. These artist books have now bec… Read More
2016-04-10 12:07
In addition to having lace cloth coming out of my ears I also have a titivation production line going on. Suffolk puffs, fabric beads (padded puffs) and other such things for adorning ed… Read More
2016-04-09 11:55
A new pillow, doodled silk, chain stitch, cutwork prairie points, applique, gingham and spotty fabric. It's cheerful if nothing else, brightens the day. I'm not sure if this one will com… Read More
2016-04-08 12:20
I made you a video of me painting the new, pink background....I did, honestly. OOps.....something went wrong and it was unwatchable so you had a lucky escape.  To compensate I have p… Read More
2016-04-07 11:52
What am I doing here? I'm assessing, considering, questioning, wondering, faffing, being indecisive, wondering what, how much, how many of each, make more, don't make more, add buttons… Read More
2016-04-06 11:55
Two images today, both lace cloth, both from times when I was consumed by lace cloth. The top image is a ''wrap'', a ''throw'' , a ''shawl'', a ''wrapping cloth'' which I made a few years… Read More
2016-04-05 12:00
It's books again, well kind of. It's a single page with a little bit of paper I painted and a scrap of lace cloth. It's also a little chat.......and nine pieces of lace cloth.   Rel… Read More
2016-04-04 11:40
These little books are filling up gradually...there's no rush, a few pages here and there as I get time. Well I say no rush, next week actually, around ten days left to make sure each on… Read More
2016-04-03 11:54
A piece of silk, a piece of gingham, a pen, a quick five minutes doodling, add stitch add a few prairies points and hey presto....a pillow top. This one is light relief from my current… Read More
2016-04-02 11:55
I'm spending a lot of time doing this at the moment. I need twenty pieces of lace cloth for my workshops in France. There are five here but since I took these pictures the number is up… Read More
2016-04-01 12:04
This week is becoming a ''finished pieces'' week.....that's a good thing which means it's been a good week.  Two wrapping cloths are finished, (this one and this one) a white si… Read More
2016-03-31 11:52
I'm not sure you have seen much of this pocket before. This one came together slowly in class. Vintage white hankies folded and embroidered on to a white silk base. At one edge there ar… Read More
2016-03-28 11:52
I was speaking about a piece which had been languishing in an ''unfinished'' pile from a couple of years ago in this post and this post. Today it's another one of those pieces… Read More
2016-03-25 14:03
Did you think I wasn't coming today? I doubted it myself to be honest after spending most of last night in Accident and Emergency with someone who fell from a great height but… Read More
2016-03-24 12:43
Stitching a Story A story.....a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader... or....in this case....to record wit… Read More
2016-03-23 12:55
I'm putting together information for my next class at the moment and wrapped up in all that are pages, cloth samples, embroidered paper, inserting samples into pages......it helps to… Read More
2016-03-22 12:48
As promised yesterday...more pages, five to be exact. ''A few pages here and there'' books....they're taking shape. There are little scraps of stitched cloth with small pieces of torn… Read More
2016-03-21 12:58
Sigh.....cloudy day equals gloomy images....I must have a word with the guy who's responsible for the weather. Another finished piece of paperwork to add to the growing collection. You… Read More
2016-03-20 12:58
After much deliberation and dithering I finally made choices about which buttons lived together happily, complimented each other and them tied them to little pieces of button cloth, attac… Read More
2016-03-19 12:51
Friday, lace cloth and Suffolk puffs. The lace cloth here is for my workshop in France. I need 20 pieces...so far I have two. I'm not worried.....it is achievable, a couple of days intens… Read More
2016-03-18 13:01
You last saw this one here four days ago. Not a lot of work for four days you might think but I've been doing other stuff too....honest.... Four days ago this had a single, solitary bum… Read More
2016-03-17 12:38
I can understand if your first thought coming here today is ''on no, not this again'', but bear with me....it's finished!! You have seen it at various stages ''in progress''....now you… Read More
2016-03-16 12:48
This surface was put together in class a few weeks ago. Vintage white hankies, folded, secured with embroidery, a tiny pocket at the top edge of one, (visible in the foreground of the s… Read More
2016-03-15 12:55
Yesterday afternoon....creating lace cloth on the sewing machine, measuring, pressing and marking silk and patterned cloth for buttons and Suffolk puffs. The buttons and Suffolk puffs w… Read More
2016-03-14 12:52
A new pocket taking shape, the early stages. So far it has three oversize prairie points, one bumpy bit and a strip of piping cord. The three fabrics pieced together here compliment eac… Read More
2016-03-13 13:02
This weekend has mostly been about the sewing machine...and cloth of course. I've made lace cloth and pin pillow cloth. The pin pillow cloth needs more work, it's in its very early stage… Read More
2016-03-12 12:49
Yesterday afternoon I made lace cloth, this piece and more. I thought it might be a good idea to have a little bit of cohesion going on....( just generally) so I am picking pattern out… Read More
2016-03-11 12:49
Last week it was in pieces, today it's joined, it has running stitch seams and a pocket crammed with silk Suffolk puffs. This is the front panel, the reverse and the lining are in progre… Read More
2016-03-10 12:40
More pages have been filled in my little artist books. These follow on from these ones and these ones....piling samples, scraps of paper, snippets of cloth, interesting textures and the… Read More
2016-03-09 12:55
There is a point to all this paper. Aside from it being quite pleasing on the eye it sparks ideas for stitch. I could take this further in so many ways...the button idea being just one… Read More
2016-03-08 12:49
Pillows, pillows to stick pins in...pin pillows, four of them....the pink one is new. It's this  piece, backed, stuffed and titivated. I love how they look together. I thin… Read More
2016-03-07 12:47
It's finished, another piece of paperwork to add to the collection. Can you spot a theme here? Domesticity, ironing boards, patchwork, domestic cloth...... This one has bling....little g… Read More
2016-03-06 12:50
If you are on Facebook you will no doubt know that every day Facebook provides you with memories, things you posted in the past. Yesterday I was shown these, my memories for March 6… Read More
2016-03-05 12:49
Do you remember this post, this red and white pocket? I said in that post that this pocket would look a lot different when it was finished and here are two more pieces of that puzzle, two… Read More
2016-03-04 13:01
Same process.....scrim, metallic silk tissue, one with holes and one without. These have different uses, create different effects in embroidery, catch the light differently, handle differ… Read More
2016-03-03 12:49
More work on the same theme as yesterday, the same collection, another piece. There are beads on this one....In case you missed my explanation a while ago..... the ironing board...it fea… Read More
2016-03-02 12:42
A new piece of finished paperwork, that makes three up to now. Number four is already taking shape and number five is doodled on a scrap of paper ready to be brought to life. I don't ha… Read More
2016-03-01 12:46
Two pieces being worked on in class, both still have some way to go before they're finished. The white piece is in its very early stages and I will be doing more with that over the com… Read More
2016-02-29 12:43
Another three pages, following on from these that makes 27 minimum still needed but who is counting! Mini compositions, scraps of paper, little snippets of stitch, tiny doodles....all o… Read More
2016-02-27 13:12
Slowly, slowly I am putting together five little artist books. Three pieces of paper have been stitched and doodled and I now have another three finished pages. Stitch has been extende… Read More
2016-02-26 13:09
We still have pins, we still have tacking stitches and we don't yet have a lining but what we do have is a boned lower edge, a hand stitched reverse and a couple of decorative lengths of… Read More
2016-02-25 12:40
It looks like there has been a button making marathon going on here over the past week but there hasn't. These have been created gradually over a number of weeks, this marathon is a l… Read More
2016-02-24 12:52
Doodle doo....do you remember? The reason this is out, (not that it's ever hidden), the reason it's open, pages being turned, old images being perused is to keep the momentum going for t… Read More
2016-02-23 12:46
No, your eyes do not deceive you.....it's an ironing board. The implement of torture which is the ironing board features a lot in my life (yours too I'm guessing) consequently it featur… Read More
2016-02-22 12:49
As promised....a past class....new to those who didn't take part in this first time round.  Not a ''work on your own'', this one is a work with me, work within a group. We start o… Read More
2016-02-21 13:01
Lace, lace cloth......the white piece is the latest of three pieces. This is what we will be doing in my Workshop at Pour L'amour du Fil. We will be embellishing lace cloth, lace c… Read More
2016-02-20 12:45
Another pillow top is taking shape, pink gingham flowers, silk background, lots of bullion knots and a a little chain stitch. This one will hopefully have oversized funky puffs too, some… Read More
2016-02-19 12:45
Buttons......quite a few buttons. These are the latest ones I have made but there are more.... Eventually these buttons will find their way onto Button Cloths.....eventually. Related art… Read More
2016-02-18 12:50
A new panel has been added to the lower edge of this pocket, an extension, strips of silk Habotai, strips of metallic silk tissue, strips of vintage lace. It's part of a bigger plan to… Read More
2016-02-17 12:55
A few images from my phone, taken at home. I've been on the sewing machine a lot lately, making cloth for pin pillows and making lace cloth for who knows what....I just like to have… Read More
2016-02-16 13:10
Two pin pillows....finished. Spaghetti edges, flounces of gimp. Each pillow has a label button too......more things which will be difficult to part with but how many pin pillows does a… Read More
2016-02-15 12:57
Before I did my disappearing act I made you a very short video.....just me chatting away about nothing much whilst I added a few glass beads to my pin pillow cloth. Tomorrow you can see the… Read More
2016-02-14 13:44
Image overload? Sorry.....I couldn't decide which ones to leave out. This pocket is finished. Well, I say it's finished there could be Suffolk puffs appearing on here too in the… Read More
2016-02-04 12:38
Thursday, wet and dreary Thursday. What to do? What to do to make the world seem brighter? Play....so I did. Five minutes, a little scrap of paper and a tiny scrap of snippet cloth and hey… Read More
2016-02-03 12:55
Compare these images to these images......it's come a long way. The upper surface now has complimentary strips of silk habotai, metallic silk tissue and lace secured and embellished us… Read More
2016-02-02 12:41
Embroidery is now complete on the pin pillow cloth from this post. It was damp stretched last night and now the fun of putting these two pin pillows together can begin. That will invo… Read More
2016-01-31 12:39
Five little books, five pages. It's a start. My aim is to cram these little books with samples....like this.....in readiness for France. There will be doodles, scraps of cloth, snippets o… Read More
2016-01-30 12:57
I grow to love my postman more and more......... he does make me happy. Two wonderful and unexpected parcels this week. One a box crammed with beautiful hankies and fabric, the other… Read More
2016-01-29 12:50
An embroidered silk pocket front, an embroidered silk lining and a hand full of patterned puffs...pieces of a pocket. I now need to put all this together starting with stitching the seams… Read More
2016-01-28 12:45
Repeated images, folded one way then the other...please indulge me. I am completely in love with this cloth. (I know...I say it all the time....again, indulge me) The top piece in the f… Read More
2016-01-27 12:43
This is the lower edge of this piece. Many more bullion knots have been added around the little circular cut away areas. Those spaces were edged with buttonhole lace first, to define. I w… Read More
2016-01-26 12:48
I had a feeling that this cloth was appearing on here every day, that you would think I kept it in a cupboard to pull out and show you when I had been lazy, feet up, watching TV, drinking g… Read More
2016-01-25 12:45
I'm feeling a little better today...thanks for the well wishes yesterday. I'm ''fragile'' if that makes sense but much better than yesterday. This morning I took it easy, peppermint tea an… Read More
2016-01-24 12:47
I have lace on my mind at the moment, plans for working with lace. This morning I was looking through my images again, these inspire. Well, many of my images inspire, these are the ones… Read More
2016-01-23 12:55
I'm still not here, I am probably here. To keep you entertained in my absence I have edged a tiny section of lace cloth with buttonhole stitch.  I will be back tomorrow...all going wel… Read More
2016-01-22 12:55
Last time you saw this it looked like this....since then more layers have been added, more hankies, more lace. There are now bullion knots and a little running stitch. I'm not sure whethe… Read More
2016-01-21 12:55
  Look at the fun I have when I'm on my own, no domestic chores outstanding, nobody to feed, door locked, telephone switched off. I recommend it, try it.  These were taken ov… Read More
2016-01-20 12:47
Three newly embroidered buttons and a few not so newly embroidered buttons. it's my aim to embroider approximately forty buttons before April. Can I do it? I think so....if I do them in s… Read More
2016-01-19 12:55
Very much in progress, evolving, being developed....hankies on silk with added hexagons. This has the most beautiful lace overlay, vintage lace. The side of this you can't see here, which… Read More
2016-01-18 12:59
We made buttons in class and we attached them to a pillow and a pocket.....finishing touches. All my labels will be attached this way for France, each piece will have a button created… Read More
2016-01-17 12:42
Metallic silk tissue, silk, cotton, Broderie Anglaise.....pin pillow cloth. Each seam will be embellished with either French knots, bullion knots, chain stitch or gimp. Beads will most li… Read More

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