Friday, 22 July 2022

100 day stitch challenge

 I love a challenge & like to find time for projects - most often just for the sake of them, many do not have a specific use. 

My Elective Home Education students have been released from lessons now for our long summer holidays. It is always a time to step out of my routine & to do some of the creative things that I have contemplated. 

I saw mention on Instagram of The Hundred Day Stitch Book  and it appealled to me. 

The challenge is sewing twenty fabric pages over 100 days - 15 minutes a day for 5 days a week.  Each page is 7 x 5.5 inches big - a very manageable size to work on. 

I decided it will have a bit of an African theme & colours - something that I have been thinking about. 

I cut all 20 pages in colours I think go together - & then decided to iron some interfacing on them as they are too flimsy to work on. 

I put stickers on with the numbers that will go together & if it was a tab or a slot page (for assembly later on as they will be handstitched once they are inserted.) 

I decided to do some free motion embroidery as I really need to practice that technique.  The feed dogs do not drop on my basic sewing machine, but it has a plate that covers them. I do not do enough sewing to justify another machine. Fortunately I had the special open darning / free motion foot from a previous attempt. 


It is a lot harder than it looks & the results are ok. 

I had a night sky thought after watching the new James Webb space telescope in action - so I cut an additional piece of fabric, interfaced it & took it with in the car while waiting for hubby at the dentist.  I just scribbled an idea of a large moon against the dark fabric & the sewn lines of various blue threads just happened from there. 


Looking at it, it reminded me of the vast African sky on the farm I grew up on & so a little farm house & some greenery appeared. I wanted the sky to be the dominant feature & so it is.  The hand stitching on this one just developed because there is something very calming about just going with the idea. It needed a few stars, some darker lines hinting at the horizon & some other detail on the farmhouse. 

The cover has a map of Africa & it has some hand stitching on but more details will happen. 


The other two pages have large patterned containers / vases on that I loved on my last trip with my Dad, they are just the start of each page .... 


These rock shapes remind me of the Matopas hills in the Zimbabwean landscape & again, hand stitching features heavily. 

I don't know what each page will have, it will be something I am inspired by.

That is my holiday project, pop back for updates over my summer. Thank you for stopping by,  I am always thankful for your visit 

Dee ~💕~