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What beautiful bling!!

It looks great Mabel!

Oh what great sparkle and I love those buttons down the front. Fabulous work as always Mabel

Mabel, I cant help dwelling on how artists really see the world differently from ordinary people. It is a mystery to me how you can see a future beautiful image in a few pieces of thread and a few buttons. My granddaughter has always been impressing me when she makes a miracle out of a few things found in my daughter's boxes with threads, beads, buttons, etc. When she was little we would ask how she came to painting or modelling this or that and she would think for a minite and say, "I am an artist, this is just how I see it".

Interestingly, true masterpieces always look simple to make, but given the same materials, I would hardly create anything worth looking at, let alone, showing. When I look at this shoe, I wish you created the rest that goes with it- the dress, the lady, her hairdo... One small shoe, but so expressive, so many associations with the historic period, traditions, fashions, manners.

Happy creating! I always like to look at your works, even if I dont comment.

Podolyanka, thank you for your lovely comments, and yes, it would be a gorgeous idea to do the other bits - I can imagine a rather pretty parasol actually.... This shoe/boot was the RSN tutor's design, and I do like the deceptively simple lines of it, but I am definitely going to be doing my own designs as well. And that parasol you inspired may well be one of them!

OK I now have a goldwork parasol design....

WOW the boot it so lovely. Esp like he top & toe, such detailed stitching. Look forward to seeing the parasol, that should be great too.

As I was working on getting the design for my beginners' goldwork workshop just right, I felt I needed something a little less challenging to take on our visit to my in-laws. As I didn't have anything else on the go, I went back to a Kelly Fletcher freebie (Bloomin' Marvellous 12) which I'd transferred but not so far stitched. I decided I'd work it in Gloriana silks, a few lovely shades which are - not variegated, but shaded within one colour.

I started with the centre, filling it with french knots. Then I looked at the goldwork materials I had with me as well (to show my MIL) and decided to add a bit of bling. Later I drew the five small leaves between the petals, because I felt it needed some green. Who knows what else may happen! Here is an artistically angled photograph of what I've done so far.

which is for the absolutely perfect french knots in the center. and another for the progress you are making. I think this will be beautiful.

Carole

I love the boot and your beautiful flower those stitches look very detailed and complicated

"Oh so rich and yummy" Mabel. Love it.

Lulu, so far there have been three stitches only, and they are quite basic: French knots (centre), reverse chain stitch (petals) and long and short stitch which is basically straight stitches of varying lengths (leaves). My MIL, who has done oodles of embroidery, now (aged 91) says she's happy to stick with french knots, chain stitch and stem stitch for most of what she does, as she can get pretty much any effect she wants with those stitches

Is there a reason why you chose reverse chain stitch (as opposed to the regular variety)?

Yes there was, but I can't quite remember now - but I do remember I thought it would be a good idea! I think it may have been that reverse chain stitch doesn't unravel quite so quickly if you need to unpick, and as this is very much an experimental piece I expected to do some unpicking along the way. Chain stitch has a nasty habit of unpicking itself rather further than you wish it to !

In one way reverse chain was not a very good choice, in that you have to take the needle underneath the stitch, which can be challenging when stitching several rows of it close together; fortunately that hasn't proved a problem as long as I take the needle underneath the stitch in the direction away from the previous line.

I also had some idea of working backwards and forward, doing one line clockwise in reverse chain, then a ine anticlockwise in normal chain, but as it happened I started on the left-hand base of the petal (when viewed right way up, with the purple petal at the top) every time.

All the French knots, surrounded by the gold look so effective and I love the deep purple of the first petal

A bit more done at the stitching group:

Lovely! As usual!!!

Carole

Lovely work!!

Beautiful!

Very pretty