A long blog

I received a much appreciated 'You make my day award' yesterday from Sharon and so now it is my turn to make my awards.
I haven't been blogging long but have made some wonderful blogging friends and look forward to their comments each day.
I know how time consuming it is so that makes it even more special and appreciated.

I will begin my awards with Sharon who never fails to visit my blog each day and make such positive and encouraging comments and I so enjoy her sharing her family with us as well as her work and her personal creative development.
Then there is Lynda who is so generous with her fabulous workshops and experimenting and has been such a great help with information about paints and mediums.
Vivien too who regularly visits my blog and how I love and admire both her painting and digital art and value her expertise.
I would also like to send one to Karen who was such a help when I was revamping my web site, finding the time to find and email information and I look forward to seeing lots more of her work now she is feeling better.
And as Sharon has done - I give a big award to my OH who has been so supportive of my work and tolerant of the the time I take doing it and for being my own personal engineer - making all the gadgets I ask for.
And the little person who makes my day every time I look at his photo and even better have him stay every weekend is my gorgeous, gorgeous grandson.

The quilt is progressing - I am not covering the whole quilt with a sheer overlay. I am creating images of Ancient Egypt stitched on sheers, which will be cut out and appliqued onto the quilt. I have stitched three so far ready to cut out.

I think I may print some onto sheers too and applique them. (Just thought of that - using my InkAID) and there's the obelisks and columns yet - so a long way to go and I haven't forgotten about the foil painting Lynda.

Now to answer the queries about the machine stitching.
I have a Pfaff Creative 2140 upgraded to a 2170. It is an all singing and dancing machine ( doesn't make a cup of coffee though).
It is a fairly sophisticated computer which sews but is also used as an ordinary machine too and yes - it was expensive but wouldn't be without it. There are about 28 years between this machine and my old Pfaff so I could well justify the expense. I love free machining and do that most of the time but....
I have software which lets me digitise designs, send them to the machine and it stitches them out for me. I only use what I have designed and digitised myself.
One of the software components allows me to design stitches which I send to the machine and the machine stitches them just like any other built in machine stitch pattern.
When I was creating my Craster project, I created lots of stitch patterns all based on the name Craster and on the letters C-R-A-S-T-E-R(a different one) .

This design was created in Photoshop using the name. It was then digitised and made into a machine stitch.




I can also make them up to 6cm wide - maxi machine patterns and 18 cm long so they become motifs but I can stitch them as a machine maxi stitch.

This one was created in Photoshop using the name and digitised. I can stitch it continuously or just a single one.

On the Celtic manuscript piece you can see this motif and along the sides the machine patterns.

I also made a hanging which couched down threads using machine stitches designed using just the single letters.









I have another component which allows me to create all over patterns a bit like the embroidered papers you can buy. I can use my own motifs and digitise a pattern which will cover the whole fabric surface. Haven't used this one much as yet but I have created one piece with it when I was trying it out.
So as you can see - a very useful tool to make my work very individual and all mine.
I think I have reached information overload. Hope I haven't sent you to sleep.

I have my Grandson sleeping over tonight and will be with me all tomorrow so the sewing will be put aside and we will do other things together.