Crochet: Lap Throw

Pattern = Granny Wave and the yarn in a lovely soft and deliciously smooth 8ply merino wool acrylic mix from Abbey Road. I love its happy vibe!

Crocheted Throw from Scrap Wool given to a charity for homeless people

I confess I have a little obsession. I travel alot both in and out of Australia. Doing road trips in Australia I have a habit of dropping into op (charity) shops and searching for leftover balls of wool people denote. I like to make ‘scrap wool’ double thick throws from these random balls. Most I gift out but I keep one or two like this one. By double thick I mean I use two strands of yarn. This one suits a double bed. This magnificent obsession has two obvious ends: giving funds to a charity and making an extra warm throw to give away (friends or charities) or keep.

Modern Hand Embroidery: Maneki-neko

 My hand drawn Kawaii style Maneki-neko (招き猫, Japanese ‘beckoning cat') good luck icon. Sewn onto printed poplin scrap and using tiny Japanese fabric scraps for the ears, old largish sequin and DMC plain and metallic threads. The varigated thread is usually used in Japanese Sashiko embroidery. (Gifted to a friend)

Modern Hand Embroidery: Van Goghs Starry Night

 Sewn onto calico using DMC threads

Modern Hand Embroidery: Autumn

 It’s Autumn in my part of South East Australia. I did this in a few hours using Japanese variegated hand dyed Coron Sashiko thread onto unbleached raw calico and beads I repurposed from a charity shop handbag.

Modern hand Embroidery: Free as a Bird

This piece came to me as an idea as a push-back regarding posts in other embroidery groups that want embroidery to be confined to hand towel edging, babies bibs and the likes and certainly no hoop frames. I responded that we all are free to do with our needle and thread as our hearts desire and creativity should never be stilted or confined. I had these scraps of material left after a project, hand drew a bird and its title is ‘Free as a Bird’..a good weekends project!

Japanese Sashiko Large Sampler

Sashiko large sampler which I started on my travels from New Zealand to Fiji to Western and American Samoa and just now finished. I’ll use it as a runner on top of my antique Japanese dresser. Both sampler and variegated hand dyed cotton thread bought in a craft store in Yokohama, Japan

Cross Stitch: Golden Budhha

The Golden Buddha, Bangkok full name: Wat Trai Mit Wittayaram Worawihan Samphanthawing, Krungthep.It’s one of my favourite places in Bangkok. It’s 35cm x 37cm on lovely lemon tinted 14ct Aida. I used DMC Gold mettalic thread instead of DMC680 where required. Pattern via Etsy.

Modern Hand Embroidery: Tree of Love

Hand drawn Tree of Love sewn onto 100% natural unbleached scrap calico using Japanese Sashiko variegated thread.

Fine Art Cross Stitch: Yellow Cat, Red Fish

Henri Matisse ‘Yellow Cat, Red Fish ‘ 120 gorgeous DMC colours, 120,000 stitches, size: 42cm x 59.4cms (16.5 in x 23.4 in) on 14 ct impeccably woven Sullivans Aida with at times, over 40 colour changes per 10x10 square. Commenced 1 June 2022, Completed 10 Dec 2024.