Phoenix

As promised, here is what I've made for darling husband for his birthday. It's a picture of a phoenix, a firebird that dies in fire and is then reborn from ashes – to symbolize picking oneself up after various life difficulties, such as grant rejections, bad reviews, etc.  The Russian equivalent is Жар-птица, so I used my memories of beautiful pictures from the fairy tale books (although I haven’t heard any stories about Жар-птица burning and being reborn, but never mind).

 

The picture is not very big; the frame size is 25 x 25 cm. The felt that was used for the bird is from the Fabric Guild; as far as I remember, it contains some wool, but mainly viscose. I am definitely going back for more, as I found it much easier to work with for an applique than the acrylic felt from Hobbycraft and the eco-felt from Kunin (actually, from Coventry market) that I mainly used before.The black swirly-whirlies, which were to fill in the empty space around the phoenix, are made from the abformentioned acrylic felt from Hobbycraft. In my original drawing the bird looked peaceful and serene, but here it came out... different. It's interesting how a fraction of a millimeter difference gives a face a very different expression. Something to experiment with!  

Georgian cross part 2

 I finally managed to finish the purse with a Georgian Cross motif. 



 Making the lining was infuriating, with threads from fraying edges all over the place. Melting them slightly with a candle helped. Another difficult part was to get the size right for the lining – it came out too large first, so the purse looked like in was stuffed with brown fabric, and nothing else would really fit. But eventually it was all put together, and I am very pleased with the result.

An overexposed photo to show off the lining - my pride and joy!

  Now I really have to keep myself away from any crafting activities and from the computer (which will take some self-restraint) and get on with preparing for Anastasia's 6th birthay party tomorrow. Normally, we draw with the girls as to who makes the most mess in the living room, although I tell them off, but they don't tell me off – life is unfair, really!

                                                                                                                    

Embroidered jewellery box

I found plastic canvas for sale in the local sewing shop and wanted to give it a try. The embroidery  took ages, but I finally finished it - what a relief! Acrylic thread (dark green, pale yellow, dusky pink and lilac), dusky pink cotton lining, purple glass bead and green ribbon to fasten the lid. The size is 9x9x4.5 cm.