La soffitta del tempo perduto...

....è là , nella mente e nel sogno, dove è possibile recuperare le speranze e le aspettative, dove volere è potere e tutto diviene possibile, dove la fantasia e la creatività non vengono strangolate dai ritmi di una vita frenetica ed il tempo scorre lentamente, dove la mente vola libera senza restrizioni, dove finalmente si è liberi di essere e ci si può rifugiare e prendere un respiro.

The attic of the lost time....is there, in the mind and dreams, where is possible to recover the hopes and the expectations, where what you want is what you can and everything becomes possible, where fantasy and creativity are not strangled from the rhythms of a phrenetic life and time flows slowly, where the mind flyes free with no restrictions, where finally one is free of being and can refuge in and take a breath.

The Pomegranate - PDF instructions available

The Pomegranate - PDF instructions available
CLICK ON IMAGE

martedì 12 maggio 2015

Not far..

The Elizabethan panel is not far to be finished, haven't worked on it recently because I was taken by the Castle making...here how it is coming out, love the colours !!



domenica 3 maggio 2015

Roof tiles and how the castle was made.

The most gentle adjective I can use to describe the making of the roof tiles   is : tedious !
I started on last Saturday and finished on Sunday late afternoon, those nineteen tiles have drived me nut; tiles are so small, about 5 - 6 mm each and that repetive work was really slow and boring. At a certain point I was going to give up. One of the main problem was that sometimes the plans one makes are not what expected....I took the shape of the roof laying on it a piece of tracing paper and I draw over it  the shape of the tiles but for some reason, when the tiles where done those where not enought to cover the whole space and  two rows where still needed! Gosh ! I could not understand why this happened but so was. I stopped for a while and decided I could only go ahead and finish it.
I'm I happy with the result ? not 100% but for  no reason in the world I will re do it. And I still have the other roof to make....
So if you are planning to have a castle with roof tiles, you have been awarded ! :)
Tiles where made in detached needlelace on a separate hoop with a size 33 paper covered wire for the shape using  corded buttonhole stitch. Then stitched in place.



Rae - Reconstructed Fabulousness - asked me to see a close up photo and to know more about how it was made, so here you go:
A-B-C-D : corded detached buttonhole using four strands of Pipers silk, couched in place then stuffed with wool batting.
F: wool batting first covered with CBH; a second layer made with a variation of CBH was applied over and the window hole is keeped in shape with a 0.30 metal wire included in the stitching. A little piece of  Mica was placed in between. Thread used was four strands of Pipers silk.
G: same as F but the second layer was done in up and down buttonhole, thread Devere Yarns silk  size 18.
H: a metal pin was used then covered with flat silk thread, then a little flag made in CBH over 0.30 wire was couched on top.
I: long and short stitch in Soie Ovale, no padding.
L: CBH worked in round, always supported by a 0.30 metal wire. Columns made in CBH surrounded by silk gimp.
M- E : CBH in four strands Pipers silk,  over two layers of wool felt. Brick pattern made with a ticker thread stitched over.
N: Brick stitch in Soie Ovale over 35ct linen fabric, then stitched in place over one layer of wool felt.
O: trellis stitch using the back side in Soie Perlè, stitched in place over wool batting, all surrounded by drizzle stitch made with Soie Perlè and 40/3 Seta Reale (an old Italian brand of silk).
P: CBH supported by 0.30 metal wire then stitched in place, same for all the other doors.

Hope this can be useful...any questions ? Feel free to ask !
XXXX