Progress on my Venice project and a tote

Hi
This will probably be my last post for 2012.  We haven't been away since the last post and as yet haven't made any plans for next year either.  I have, however been busy and not just with Venice. 
I have just altered a wedding dress for a wedding taking place after Christmas and will be doing a portrait photo shoot of the bride to be when she has the trial run for her hair and make up.

My grandson becomes a teenager, officially, on Friday.  I say officially because he has had all the traits of a teenager for some time - as they do these days.  We gave him an iPad which we now call his 'appendage' for obvious reasons.

Now back to the Venice project, although I did complete a bag which has nothing to do with Venice so I will deal that first.  I impulse bought a couple of dresses last year and I usual with impulse buys haven't worn them.  I had considered putting them into a charity shop but one of them had such a lovely front (which is why I bought it) that I was determined to put it to some use.  As the front design was so big I decided to use it for a tote.  I quilted the design for the front of the tote.



I made a bag tag by embossing part of the design on the front.



No back to the Venice project.  I have had the pieces finished for a while but have only just managed to photograph them.
On the last post, I mentioned that I had some surplus panels from the Ripple art quilt (because I forgot to flip them for printing!).  I used one for the book cover I posted last time and I have used another one to make this pocket page booklet.



I wasn't sure at first if this would work because I would have to simply fold the panel in half and turn it but it did work.  I quilted  the panel and lined it with colour washed pelmet vilene and then edged with machined satin stitch.  The inside pages were stitched down the spine.  I wrapped some matching cord for a tie.
I mentioned that I planned to create some jewellery using the bronze fret design from the vessel in the last post and here it is.



I had to manipulate the design in Photoshop in order to create the necklace.



As well as the water buses and water taxis to ferry back and forth across the Grand Canal, there are also gondola ferries. The landing stages for these gondolas are marked with green lanterns like the one in this image.  I decided to create a tassel based on these lanterns.  This one was quite a challenge as it was octagonal.  I did discover that they are not all the same and there were some square lanterns which would have been easier to construct - but...
I constructed the tassel head from some jade Thai silk.  I used a mixture of the largest beads I had for the glass panels. It was a fiddly job.



The next piece uses the carved flower stonework featured in the last post.  I made a pattern of the flowers and used my 'jewelled fabric' technique to make four small sheer flowers which were joined together to make a mobile.



On the Basillica there was a large carved block depicting a peacock design.



I used this design to make a stencil and a stamp which were then used to create a box.  I had a piece of ''mop up' paper towel in the colours I wanted to use.  I ironed vilene onto the back to give it strength.  I stamped and stencilled the design onto the paper.  I also traced a pattern to free machine on the top and inside of the lid. I noticed that using a dense satin stitch to machine around thee edges was in places serrating the paper.  The vilene held it together. Perhaps a slightly less dense stitch in future.



Some hand painting and beads finished the detail on the piece.
That is where I am at the moment. I have just begun a book and there are many more pieces on my list to create so watch this space.

Cheers for now and I wish you all a merry Christmas and should see you in the new year.