Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Reader's Embroidery: Quaker Motif as a Christmas Ornament
A couple weeks ago, I posted a hand embroidery pattern for a Quaker sampler design, converted for surface embroidery. I haven't had time to stitch it myself, but Jan Miller has. Using the bird in a tree design, Jan made a beautiful Christmas ornament - and she sent pictures. Thanks, Jan!

My first thought when I finished converting this design into a surface embroidery pattern was that it would make a pretty Christmas tree ornament. So I was delighted to see Jan's rendition.

Reader's Embroidery: Quaker-style Design in Surface Embroidery


Using simple stitches that suit the pattern very well, Jan stitched the ornament on white velvet, I think. She finished it with a matching hand-made tassel.

Reader's Embroidery: Quaker-style Design in Surface Embroidery


I love the dark green and the deep red - they suit the design. One reader suggested that simple color tones were best, rather than a variety of shades, since plain color choices would work best in keeping with the simplicity of the Quaker design.

I still want to stitch this pattern up, and hope to one of these days! Has anyone else tried this design? I'd love to see what other people do with it!

Thanks again, Janice, for sending along the pictures!

What are you working on? If you want to share photos of your recent needlework adventures, drop me a line!

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Hand Embroidery Pattern: Quaker Motif 2 for Surface Embroidery
I'm still playing with the idea of translating Quaker motifs (that are normally worked in cross stitch) into designs suitable for surface embroidery. Here's a free hand embroidery pattern of a bird-in-tree Quaker motif suitable for surface stitches.

Now, this is a pattern I really want to stitch. The first Quaker pattern I posted for surface embroidery stitches looked fun, but since I had already stitched it on paper in cross stitch, I find I'm a bit more eager to try a different design. I played again with some of the Mary Wigham designs offered on Needleprint, and this is one that I like a lot. I think it could be fun.

I "updated" the bird a bit after finding it a bit difficult to translate the gridded bird into something smoother for surface work. If you don't particular like this bird, you can always sketch your own into the design, I suppose! (Don't worry - I won't be insulted!) In considering the bird, I wanted something suited to more than just an outline stitch. The wings, tail, and crest give some room for playing with fillings.

Here's the pattern:

Hand Embroidery Pattern: Quaker Motif for Surface Embroidery


The double lines around the outside of the pattern would be a good place to practice composite stitches, like the raised chain band, or double herringbone stitch. Ladder stitch would work well there, too.

I'm thinking about filling the trunk of the tree with stem stitch in several shades of brown, working the branches in stem stitch in brown, and working the leaves in a couple of colors of green using daisy stitch. The small berries would be worked in red French knots, and I think the bird would be worked in a variety of stitches in red, though I'm still contemplating that one.

I was thinking this might a good design for a Christmas ornament, too. What do you think?

Here's a PDF of the pattern:

Quaker Motif #2 for Surface Embroidery Stitches

Enjoy!

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, October 07, 2009
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Hand Embroidery Patter: Quaker Motif for Surface Stitches
Right now, Quaker motifs are very popular for counted cross stitch, and I really love the look of them. When I was working on this perforated paper embroidery project last week, I couldn't help wondering if Quaker motifs would 'work' with surface embroidery stitches. So I'm going to try an experiment.

I've drawn up a hand embroidery pattern based on the Quaker motif I used on the paper project. It is, in shape and layout, pretty much the same design, but the use of surface embroidery stitches, I suspect, will change the look of the design quite a bit.

Here's my line version of the motif:

Hand Embroidery Pattern: Quaker Motif for Surface Embroidery Stitches


Here's a PDF of the same pattern:

Hand Embroidery Pattern: Quaker Motif for Surface Embroidery Stitches

Ussing the PDF, the pattern should print at approximately 4.5 inches square. It can probably be taken smaller, but for this test run, I thought a medium-sized medallion would work best.

I'm going to combine a variety of stitches on this piece, sticking with the notion that the Quaker motifs generally come from samplers. My plan so far includes the following stitches:

Palestrina Stitch
Mountmellick Stitch
Satin Stitch
Long and Short Stitch
Fly Stitch or Fishbone Stitch (haven't decided which on that one yet)
Daisy Stitch
French Knot

I'll be working on this project over the next few weeks. I'll be stitching on a sturdy linen (Thank you, Méi! I can't wait to use some Portuguese linen!), but I haven't decided 100% on the threads yet. I think it will take some playing to figure out the best options.

What think you? Will this come off, or should I leave the Quaker motifs in their regular form, as counted cross stitch pieces? What's your take?

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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