full speed ahead

 i have signed up for another online class, aiming to practise my free-machining skills - Christmas Embroidery Club with Poppy Treffry

i have rather avoided machine embroidery for quite a while, preferring the portability of hand stitch - but a friend told me about a course which looked like fun so i am getting stuck in - also nice to know that she and nother friend are doing it - so we can compare notes and experience outside the class facebook group too

the course materials so far are impressively well prepared, video demonstrations relased once a week, showing the projects to be tackled - these are accompanied by written instructions and templates - there were packs with all the fabrics availlable but as i have a huge stash of stuff which needs using i was not interested - and knowing me, i won't exactly be sticking to the guidance

week 1 is a couple of zip-up purses - i was planning to avoid the zips but found some in my stash and decided to give it a go - poppy shows a nifty way of inserting the zip so i think the practise will be good for me

as it's Christmas themed the designs reflect that, but i don't really want a zip up christmas purse so i have strayed from the brief - autumn trees replace the christmas trees and the purse will be a larger tablet pouch ......... apart from that i'm doing what it says!

it looks like making up the purse will be more of a challenge than the free-machine part - doing the trees was actually pretty quick and painless - i bondawebbed the fabric for my appliqué, which helped to anchor them before stitching - once i embraced wobbly as a feature i thoroughly enjoyed doing wobbly outlines and filling in details, i also like the way the fabric has frayed a bit around the edges of the trees - perfection has never been my thing so why not make the most of it!

background fabric was bought at either Helmshore or Queen Street Mill, cotton mill museums in Lancashire - it was woven on the premises and i suspect it was Helmshore which had been a fulling mill before being repurpose as a cotton shoddy mill - very appropriate for me as i use so much reclaimed fabric in my work - the lining is old cotton sheeting and i am adding a stiffenner (reclaimed envelope insert) between layers on one side, to protect the tablet screen - the trees are reclaimed fabric too 

that was the easy bit, now i have to put it together!