I knew it. I knew this would happen! But I can't help it, and I think it's Much Better this way. I've gotten to the half-way point on a project, and, after much serious contemplation, I have made the decision to scrap it and start over!

You probably know how it is: you've set out on a needlework venture, excited to get going and see how the project works out, but unfortunately unhappy with your materials, or color choices, or threads.... Something is Not Quite Right, but you're determined to get going on the project, because you're excited about it!

And you know what happens, don't you? You stitch with slight misgivings, never Quite Comfortable with the project, but still pushing to a point where you can at least see it - that point where you know, for sure, that you were right and no matter how much optimism to try to pour into it, you aren't going to like it, and it just isn't going to work! You realize, at that point, that it isn't worth putting in the time and effort on the other half of the project.

I arrived at that point this weekend with the baby booties. I pushed to finish one booty, so I could sew it up and see for myself.



In fact, I didn't even "finish" the bootie. I just quickly stitched the seams (and did a rather poor job on the easing around the toe) so I could see it put together. On the turned-down sides, I did not do the buttonholing to finish the edges, and I didn't put the eyelets in for the little cord and bow.

I like the concept of the embroidery (though perhaps I'd modify the abundance).

I like the shape of the shoe. In fact, I can safely say I love the shape of the shoe - I think it's cute, and it looks so darling on Adele's foot.

I like the accents - the eyelets and the buttonholing on the edge.



But I just can't stomach the color problem.

Or the overkill. If I had stuck with straight pink, I'd be in Baby-Bootie-Maker's Heaven right now. But oh good golly, Miss Molly. The mismatched color, the polka dots, all the embroidery - on something barely 2.5 inches long? No, no. It won't do. It suffers from OMSS. Overabundant, Mismatched Sugar Shock.



But in concept, it's a sweet little bootie. So I'm going to start completely over and fulfill my Bootie-Making-Dreams before Adele decides to sprout farther.

This is what I've learned:

1. If I'm going to line it, I'm going to line it after I've done the embroidery, and in either the same color or a very subtle color, with no print on it, that I can easily match to available thread colors.

2. I'll use a larger awl for piercing the front eyelets.

3. Floche is perfect for embroidering on flannel like this. I like it a lot.

4. Before stitching the shoe up on the machine, baste the toe ease, then set the stitch length on the machine for very small stitches, and pivot every few stitches to get a smooth curve on the toe. In any case, take time with the sewing part!

Please understand I'm not crying over this!!! I'm glad I got to this point so I could see it, so I would know whether or not I wanted to put effort into the second bootie, or just start over. I'll just start afresh! And I'm a lot happier about that!

When you're in a similar situation (do you ever find yourself in such stitching situations?), how do you handle it? At what point do you scrap it? Or do you never scrap it, persevering to the end? Any pointers you want to share on this?

Happy Monday!

Labels: baby booties, Hand embroidery stitches, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, October 06, 2008
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If you're like me, when you look at a piece of thread painting (also called needle painting, long and short stitch shading, etc.) that's really well done, you can find yourself lost in the details, color contrasts, individual stitch placement, and all the elements that work together to make the piece a work of art. Thread painting, when done by a true artist, is a source of delight and awe for me. This is certainly the case with this very special gift I received in the mail this week.

Much to my delight and suprise, a package arrived for me halfway through the week. Can you imagine how excited I was to see an envelope arriving from Trish Burr in South Africa? She sent me one of her own works of art!

I want to show it to you up close.



This is the piece. You can be that I'm going to frame it and hang it in a prominent place of honor!

What particularly amazes me about the finished piece is how the contrasting colors work together to make the whole piece come alive. The colors in the piece, on each element - whether flower petal, leaf, or bud - are really amazing.



The flower moves from a bright white on the tips to a deep purple in the center, but that depth of color is achieved not just with the plum colors. Looking closely, you can see browns interspersed that give shadow and dimension to the petals.



If you look in the lower right corner of the above photo, you can see the brownish greys in there, shadowing the petal above.



In the leaves, you can see the same - the turnings on the leaf are made real by the masterstroke of the artist's 'brush' (a needle and thread, in this case), placing just the right color at just the right spot.



Look at the perfect stitch direction in every element!



Each row of stitches works perfectly into the next, blending the colors together.



All the details - the little white flower accents, the sprays of tiny leaves and bullion knots, the round buds - are fascinating.



These tiny buds have no less than four colors in that small space! The edge of the embroidery is smooth and slightly raised.



The white flowers with their little golden centers seem to pop up from the picture.



Step back and look at the whole piece - the artist's touch brings the embroidery to life!

Oh boy. I don't grow tired of looking at pieces like this, do you? I look in wonder, and then I remind myself that I have a heck of a lot to learn!

Thank you, Trish, for your gift! It's a treasure!

If you're interested in learning long and short stitch shading from a master, do check out Trish Burr's books on the topic. She has three of them: Long and Short Stitch: A Collection of Flowers; Redoute's Finest Flowers in Embroidery; and her latest, Crewel and Surface Embroidery: Inspirational Floral Designs (in which you will find the project for the piece I've shown you above).

Labels: needlepainting, needlework pictures, pictures, readers embroidery, Trish Burr

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, October 04, 2008
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I'm not exactly sure if this really a Christmas card. It was supposed to be! I'm supposed to be embroidering baby booties, Christmas cards, and a Christmas ornament right now. But I already demonstrated (much to my embarrassment, in retrospect) how easily distracted I can get when it comes to needlework! Whatever the case, though (whether a Christmas card, or just a card), I finished embroidering the chicken.

Inspired by Christine Bishop's book, Schwalm Whitework Embroidery, I adapted her little chicken design to a card. After drawing out the pattern and dotting it up for piercing, I transferred the pattern to a red piece of 5" x 5" textured cardstock and started stitching with #80 DMC white cordonette. For different parts of the design, I switched to #60, and I think at one point, I even used #50, but I can't remember where! (Tsk, tsk - another tribute to my present state of disorganization!)



I haven't mounted the piece on a white card yet, but that's my plan. As luck would have it, I have just about every color of cardstock except white. I contemplated using cream, but it kills it. So I'll have to pick up some white next time out.

The eyelets around the edge are a funny story. Originally, I was just planning on having larger open circles there, as seen on the card before it was embroidered. My idea was that the white from behind would show through and make the dots white. They would. But I held the card up to blank paper, and it still didn't look quite as I had pictured it. So I decided to outline each eyelet with little stitches.

The funny thing is, I hadn't pierced the cardstock for those stitches. I contemplated going back to the drawing board (piercing foam) and carefully pricking in a few hundred little holes... but then I opted for the lazy approach, and just used my needle, pricking and stitching at the same time.

Taking that approach didn't cause any trouble - it was rather easy, actually - but I did notice that it slightly dents in the card, more so when pricked before stitching. Still, in the finished scheme of things, it didn't make any noticeable difference.



Overall, I like the little fellow a lot. But, this is the thing: it took quite a few hours of stitching to finish this little 5 x 5 piece of paper. And in the long run, though I do like the idea of time and effort going into handmade cards, I'm not sure if 6 hours a card is a feasible idea.

That being said, I've got a couple other Schwalmish schemes bouncing around in my head. I'll let you know if they come to fruition.

Resources for Embroidery on Paper and Card Making

I also have a stack of cards and cut-outs already pierced for stitching. I've been using Erica Fortgens book, Merry Christmas Embroidery on Paper, for some designs, and I really like it. I like the fact that, on many of the patterns, you can take just one little element and situate it in the corner of a card or gift tag, or in the middle of a miniature card. If you're not familiar with any of Erica's books, you might want to check them out.

Another good resource for patterns for embroidered cards is Stitching Cards, where you can purchase patterns and download them right away in PDF format. If you haven't discovered their blog yet - Prick and Stitch is My Craft - you might want to take a look at it, too. They have some freebies on there, like this 3D Christmas Tree card, and heaps of excellent tips for embroidering on paper.

And then, of course, there's your own imagination. You know, if you can embroider it on fabric, you can probably embroider it on paper, too. It might be fun to take your embroidery niche and see if you can transfer the look onto paper! True, there might be some limits. I wouldn't necessarily do goldwork on paper, for example.

And drawn thread patterns might not work exactly the same way, but I bet you can mimic the look! Hmmm.... sounds like the beginnings of another distraction...

Whatever the case, as the holidays approach, if you're a card-giver, you might consider going handmade this year with embroidered greeting cards. They take more time, that's true. But somehow, I think they deliver a more personal message than any Hallmark card could deliver. You really DID care to send the very best, so you made it yourself!

If you know of any sources for paper embroidery, will you share them?

Enjoy the weekend!

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, October 03, 2008
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Yesterday afternoon, I headed out to the the little studio at the back of the house with the best intentions in the world. I was going to devote some quality time to "real" work - I had some paperwork to take care of - and then, once I felt I had accomplished a reasonable amount of work, I was going to do some more work setting up Christmas cards. It was a perfectly feasible - even admirable - plan for my late afternoon hours...

There I sat, inspecting the pile of paperwork before me, when suddenly, my eye was arrested by Christine Bishop's Schwalm Whitework Embroidery.

I contemplated the book. I contemplated the pile of papers.

The book.

The papers.

The boooooooooooooooooooooook.

Literally, it was calling to me. I'm sure I heard it. What can one do?

The next thing I knew, I was engrossed in a Chicken. (She's got a cute chicken in there.)

Now, I didn't stray so much from my Plan of the Day as to completely forget the cards I was supposed to be preparing. I thought to myself, "A Card. I could maybe make a Schwalmish Christmas Chicken card. I mean, everyone's heard of the Christmas Chicken, haven't they?"

And so I tinkered, and this is what I came up with:



I drew the design out on graph paper first. I wasn't as precise as I should have been. Some intersections were off, and I didn't space the dots as carefully as they needed to be on the longer stretches of stitch. You'll see what I mean....

I placed a piece of tracing paper over the picture I had drawn on the graph paper, and used different colored ink (pink and purple - though you can't tell in the photo) to trace the picture in dots, where I would pierce the pattern.

Then I put the tracing paper over the cardstock - I'm using a textured red, with a red core (not white core card stock) - and pierced the design.



The large dots around the edge in the blurry photo above are eyelets, actually. The card will be backed with a white card, and the chicken's eye, the eyelets around the edge, and the eyelets on the wing and tail (which you can't see yet, because they aren't punched) will show the white background. That's the plan, anyway.

Once I got to that point in my Christmas chicken adventure, I decided I better do what I planned to do, or I'd be in trouble later.

So I readdressed that stack of papers.

But then it occurred to me that I wasn't sure what thread I would stitch that Christmas Chicken with. So I decided I better rummage through thread while it was still sunny outside. (Well, you know the old superstition, that thread rummaging should never be done after sunset?)

And I came upon a #80 DMC cordonette - small stuff, for cordonette.

I finished my thread rummaging right before sunset. But of course, you know I wouldn't start stitching until I had taken care of my paperwork! No, no. I just had to line up my resources, so when I could be irresponsible, everything would be ready.

Ok. So that's what I did yesterday before the sun went down.

And shortly after the sun went down, I did this:



There are a few blurby spots I need to take care of. I think, if I ever do this again, I'll change my approach on some of the pricking dots. It was a learning experience. Gosh, I just feel So Accomplished and So Responsible for making certain I had a learning experience yesterday.......

Tonight, I'm bonding with papers. And please don't try to talk me out of it!

Labels: Christmas, embroider on paper, hand embroidered cards, needlework pictures, pictures, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, October 02, 2008
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I'm happy that I managed to finish the goldwork project I'm planning to give to my niece as a wedding gift. In fact, I think that's the only worthwhile thing I accomplished last weekend!! I'll show you a few photos...

...but unfortunately, no "complete" photos! I'm dying to show you the whole piece, but, as I mentioned before, we need to wait until the design is published in January!

I hope you understand and will enjoy instead these little up-close "mystery" photos.



Here's a close-up on some chipping inside an outline of pearl purl. A friend commented the other day that the close-up photos always make the piece seem as if it is much larger than it really is; then, when you actually see the piece in real life, you're surprised that it's much smaller and delicate looking. So, even though this looks large, it isn't - it's about half an inch wide, and half an inch high at the tallest point.

I think my chipping is a little too crowded. I need to work on that. When I do chipwork, I either end up with chipping that is too spaced, or chipping that's too crowded.



This project includes a little bit of everything - I think that's one of the reasons I liked it so much! Here are some beads and pailettes for you.



And another bit of chipwork.

I love finishing a project. But I don't love the "let down" at the end. There's nothing quite like finishing and stepping back to look at a piece. It's so satisfactory! But then... gosh. The end is bittersweet, because now the fun's all over!

To avoid the let-down, I moved very quickly into the baby booties, but it isn't quite the same, you know! On the bright side, I am planning an ornament for a swap, and I do believe it will include many of the techniques on the project I just finished.

So, here's a question: can you guess what the goldwork design depicts, just from the photos you've seen so far? You can find a couple more pictures of this project here. Just curious!!

Labels: goldwork, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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I like these little booties - they aren't finished yet, but here are some photos so far. I'll tell you what I did, and then didn't do, and then did again....

I've got the embroidery finished on half a baby bootie - it's not really very complex embroidery, as you can see! Just lazy daisy stitch, French knots, and tiny straight stitches.



They look Humungous, don't they? More like whomping Baby Boots! Keep in mind that the cuff on top folds down (see below), and all the area that isn't stitched (around the base and up the back) is the seam allowance. I kept folding the seam allowance in, because I had to convince myself they were little, teeny tiny booties, not massive toddler whomping moon boots.



This is the cuff pinned down, so you can see the contrast. The red dots will be eyelets.

Ok, what I did about the violet:

I didn't like the match of the purples - I thought the floche was just "off" - so I matched and bought a skein of DMC that I thought I would like better. It seemed ok in the store. I picked out all the violet flowers. I started stitching with the new DMC color.

I cringed.

I picked out all the new DMC color.

I started stitching again with the floche.

And in the scheme of things, I like it much better, even if it's not quite the same color - it's close enough!

My favorite part so far, though:



I'm quite taken with the little eyelets. They look like nostrils.

Labels: baby booties, Hand embroidery stitches, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, September 29, 2008
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