The Stole has Arrived!

Just over a week ago I posted the stole to Australia, and it has arrived.  Here are some images of Noel in his new stole:

It's always a relief to know when a stole has safely arrived, and even better to know that it's received with great joy.  Thank you Kristen and Noel for your support and trust.  

A Tree of Life is Complete

Ready to ship to Australia:

Detail view, lower edges

Detail view, a little higher up

Detail view, closer to the shoulders

Full view, front

Back view, detail

Stitching many leaves

Leaves pinned to the surface

Leaves stitched down.

Next up:  the lining, piping and label.

Leaves for a Tree of Life

A pile of leaves about to be pressed.

The first leaves--these were cut from scraps of brilliant Harris Tweeds.

Raw edges have been trimmed, and leaves laid on the surface.  I'll leave the stole on the cutting table for the next few days and play with the placement before stitching them down.

A Tree of Life stole, Part 2

Herewith some images of the stole progress:

Kristen sent along this sketch for the stole design.

My interpretation

The stole design takes shape:  I drew the outlines of roots, branches and leaves on the unbleached cotton foundation fabric.

Stuffing the "roots"--a large eyed darning needle has been threaded with cotton yarn.

The "roots" from the topside.

The two halves of the stole are on my design wall.  The stitching and stuffing has been completed.

Detail view.

I'm now making the many leaves which will be appliqued on top.

I used fusible interfacing to stabilize the fabric, and then stitched leaf shapes through the layers.

Each shape was stitched twice, then cut out.  Cutting a slit in one side allows the shape to be turned right side out.

Some finished leaves.

I have many more leaves to stitch and turn!  A good project while listening to the radio...

A New Tree of Life Takes Shape

 A few months ago, I received a package in the mail from Australia with materials for a second stole for Noel.  The suggested theme was "tree of life" with the colours predominatly green for "ordinary times".  Included in the package was a green satin evening dress with a voluminous skirt cut on the bias.

This collection includes the evening dress in the lower left as well as some scraps of Harris tweeds contributed by a friend in Scotland.

 I think I was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of fabric in the dress, so the collection had to sit on my table for a few months until I was hit by bolt of inspiration--to use the fabric in the dress in a "whole cloth" approach, creating an outline of a tree and then stuffing the leaves and stems from the back (a quilting technique called trapunto).

Sampler of the potential design.

The sampler from the backside.  I drew the design in pencil on the unbleached cotton and then stitched on top of the lines.  The stems are stuffed with cotton yarn, and the leaf shapes are stuffed with wool fleece.

A few more leaf shapes are appliqued on top.

Once I was satisfied that this approach would work, it was time to take it to the next level (next posting).

Scott's New Stole

It's always a relief to hear that a stole has been safely delivered, and a thrill to hear what the response has been.  I received this picture of Scott in his new stole with the following comments:  

"Our congregation was thrilled!! Scott loved it and says he will cherish it".

Scott's stole is almost finished.

Except for a bit of hand-stitching, this green stole is almost ready to ship.  I now have it draped on my mannequin (covered in a white sheet) to enjoy in my studio for another few days.

A Tree of Life has taken shape.

I feel however that the Tree of Life has morphed into "Leaves of Life".  I've managed to use a bit of almost every necktie from the congregation either as background, trunk, stems, or leaves.

The upper left side

Central section, both sides.

Back detail

This has been a very satisfying project.  I have revelled in the process, enjoying the luxury to work a little or a lot at any one time.  This has left me lots of thinking and planning time, an important part of the creative process.  

A Tree of Life Takes Shape

Both halves of the stole have been on and off my design wall for  the past week.  Yesterday I finally felt ready to start stitching the "stems" and "leaves".  Here's a view of the stole with leaves and stems stitched down on the left side.

A view of both halves of the stole on my design wall.

One of the light green cotton fabrics used for the background had ladybugs on it.  I was able to place one of these insects so that it's just peeking out from under a leaf!

Once most of the stems and leaves were stitched down, I  trimmed the two halves with a half inch seam allowance all round and then sewed the centre back seam.

  In this image the edges have been serged and the stole is on my mannequin.

Here's a detail view of a couple of the leaves:

Slow and Steady Progress...

This is the first time that I've attempted a Tree of Life motif and so I'm taking it slow and steady...I work for a few hours, then take a break, sometimes a day or more, before getting back to it.  I leave the work on my design wall so that I see it all the time--I make little changes or notes of ideas to consider.

A few days ago, I stitched the "tree trunk" using a selection of browns--solids, patterned and striped.  This morning I added the "water" below.

This is all bias-strip pieced.

My next task is to attach the stems and leaves.  I've made a pile of cording from a couple of the brown striped ties, and MANY leaves in various greens--dull, dark and bright greens.  I have managed to use a bit of every tie that was sent to me.

The "stems" have been pinned on, and I'll play with the placement over
 the next few days before committing to sewing.

Next to be pinned were the "leaves"--here's the current arrangement which will likely change:

This is a useful exercise--I've discovered that some leaves are too big.

I've learned not to ignore the "wrong" side of a fabric.  A quilting buddy of mine once said, "I've paid for both sides--I should use both sides!"  Sometimes a neck tie that is too bold or bright is better on the reverse side for the project.  This is true of these two ties:

The stripes are less obvious on the reverse side.

Stitching Progress

I finished the background piecing over the weekend.  I wasn't so sure about some of the fabric choices and left this on my design wall for a few days to ponder.  I did end up changing some of the fabric strips.  I was aiming for a dull, light green background.

Today I separated the pieced fabric into two halves, and cut generous seam allowances.  In this photo, I'm trying out a few different browns for the tree trunk and some possible placement for the stems.  All these dark fabrics have been pinned --I'll stitch them down over the next couple of days.  I might play around a bit more with the "trunk".

I've spent an enjoyable afternoon today listening to CBC radio and stitching leaves.  On some of the thinner silks, I fused interfacing, marked out some leaf shapes, and stitched two layers with right sides together.

These aren't boats, they're leaves!  You can see the slit that I cut in order to turn the "leaf" right side out.

It's starting to look like I expected!  I pinned all the leaves I made today randomly to the stems.  

Here's a close-up of the leaves pinned to the background.