There are some hand embroidery kits available on the market today that I like because I like the project itself - and then there are some kits I like because I like the materials. And there are some kits I like because I like the project and the materials - and this is one of the latter. The project enticed me because it is a needlebook. The materials enticed me because of the threads...

I've made several embroidered needlebooks in my life, but I've never been satisfied with my less-than-professional finish. This particular kit, I surmised, would be worth the investment, because I was certain I would learn to make a nice, finished needlebook. That was the first thing that caught my eye about the kit - the look of the needlebook. Once I read the description of the kit, I knew it would be almost a perfect match for me: the threads are Au Ver a Soie's Soie d'Alger, a thread a really love working with!



The name of the kit is "Nicole," and it is a limited edition needlebook kit distributed by Access Commodities. I bought the kit through The Mad Samplar, justifying it for all the reasons above, plus the fact that I could make the needlebook up as a nice gift for Christmas.



The cover of the box doesn't quite display the finished needlebook to its advantage - you can see the finished needlebook on The Mad Samplar website, in their new needlework shop. The description on the website reads:

"This is the second in a series of French Needle Maid Needle Books. The design was inspired by the 18th Century French Reproduction fabric procured for the lining of the needlebook. In 'reverse' fashion, the line and embroidery color choices were based on the fabric..."



I liked the fact that, when I opened the box, everything was wrapped in matching tissue paper. Right off, I figured this was a rather classy kit. And you might be thinking that, for the price tag, it should be classy! I agree... but wait. Look what's in the kit, and then let's talk price again.



So far, so good - instructions abound! There are two sets of instruction for the needlebook: one is a general little booklet that covers the question of constructing the book once it is embroidered; the other focuses on this particular needlebook, and contains specific counts and patterns for the book.



Everything is printed nicely - and this little booklet will be a gem to keep for any future needlebook projects.



The instructions are accompanied by diagrams and are very clear. After reading through both sets of instructions, I did not have any questions about what to do to create the needlebook.



For fabric, the kit contains a piece of 34 ct Wren Wing linen, a piece of cotton lining (the French Reproduction fabric mentioned above), and two pre-cut squares of heavy interfacing.



Included are seven full 5-meter skeins of Soie d'Alger. There's no way the embroidery will require this much thread - it's a generous amount, and a real sell point for me.



There's a full spool of Londonberry Linen thread in black, and a full spool of Soie 100/3 from Au Ver a Soie, in black as well. Also included are two lengths of silk ribbon (pink and black) for finish work, buttons, needle felt, and three needles.



Now, let's get back to the price tag. I surfed around online to get some prices, and added up the retail cost of just these threads. Depending on where you buy them, the threads alone will cost a minimum of $31.45. That's more than half the cost of the kit right there. I'd estimate that the supplies in the kit, retail, would cost me a minimum of $40. Between the designer, the middle-people (the store that sells it and the distributor) there's a balance of $18.50 to be split.

I think that's a pretty good deal, then, for the kit, even if the first look at the price tag made me gasp a bit.

This isn't the type of purchase I would make every day (hahahah - or every month... or probably more than even once a year!) But given my excuses above (yes, yes, I suppose they are excuses!), I'm glad I bought the kit, and I'm looking forward to working it.

One thing I wasn't aware of was that the monogram alphabet does not come with the kit. It is an old Sajou alphabet, and it can be found in a number of places online, I think. I haven't looked for it yet, but it looks familiar. I may even have it in a book somewhere, myself. But, this didn't really both me much, 'cuz guess what??

Oh, I forgot to mention... I'm not stitching this design! ???? What??? I paid that much for a kit, and I'm not even stitching the design that goes with it???!!! That's right - I'm going Surface on this one instead of counted, using my own monogram. I'm going to keep the general look of it, with the stripes down the side, and the little bunch of flowers on the back - but I'm going to work everything in surface stitches. I think the roses are begging for bullions, as are the little buds in the fancy stripes. And the monogram? Well, I haven't decided on stitches for it yet. I'll let you know when I get there! Of course, I'm keeping the color scheme. The colors all work together so well - I would be daft to change them!

So here's another little work in progress. I've started setting up the fabric and basting in the areas for stitching... I'll show you as I go along!

Ok - tell me something! Was it silly of me to pay the price for this kit? What do YOU look for in a kit? Am I NUTS?! (Ok, maybe you shouldn't answer that one!)

Enjoy your Monday!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery kits, embroidery resources, historical needlework, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, November 16, 2009
PermaLink  |  16 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

Colbert embroidery is an embroidery technique that combines surface embroidery stitches and counted work in one piece of needlework. It apparently developed in the 19th century, to mimic the embroidered laces (such as Dresden lace) of the century before. It is not so fine as Dresden lace, though - in fact, Colbert embroidery tends to look rather bold and coarse next to the delicate whitework of Dresden lace. And, to boot, Colbert embroidery is usually worked in color.

Colbert embroidery reminds me a lot of the free-form blackwork of the 17th century. Like blackwork from this early era (and unlike most blackwork today), Colbert embroidery is typified by bold lines that make up the predominant design of the piece, while the backgrounds are filled with geometric filling patterns.

Colbert embroidery is not too well-known today - look it up online, and you'll find only a few resources available, some of which have simplified the look of the technique quite a bit. In fact, in its heyday, the technique was quite elaborate and intricate, as can be seen from the samples that are featured in Therese Dillmont's Complete Encyclopedia of Needlework.



The photos in Dillmont's book are black and white, of course, but you can see clearly that Colbert embroidery was a rather "busy" technique. The flowing lines and shapes of flowers, leaves, and so forth were formed by surface stitches or couched braid. Then, within the shapes and over the background fabric, various counted fillings were worked. The technique was used to decorate pillows, mats, and so forth.



The structured, counted filling patterns contrast quite vividly with the flowing lines and curves of the designs. According to Dillmont, Colbert embroidery involves "large designs worked on coarse, transparent material with various filling stitches and braid outlines... The foundation is soft (washed) congress canvas..." and the threads used were actually quite a variety, from cording to stranded and pearl cotton to silk.

Today, Colbert embroidery still exists, and there are even books about the technique, though they aren't very common. Through The Mad Samplar, I picked up one book on the technique at the online needlework retail show that ran last week.



You can see from the cover of the book that the technique has been somewhat simplified. It's quite bold and grand, isn't it?



However, though somewhat simplified compared to the samples in Dillmont, it still reflects the combination of surface stitches in bold designs and geometric background fillings. In the book above, Broderies Colbert, the actual design area is left voided, which makes it somewhat similar to Assisi work.



The voiding of the bold designs is effective, I think. It creates such a stark contrast with the background.

While the book does not go into stitch directions (at all), it does give close up images of different background techniques, which would be a cinch to imitate. The text is in French, dedicated pretty much just to materials lists for the various projects featured in the book - so knowledge of the language isn't entirely necessary, as most of the supplies are pretty straightforward.



In the back of the book are small line patterns that are suitable for enlargement.

When I saw this technique and started reading a bit about it, I made an immediate connection between it and the book Wessex Stitchery, which I've already reviewed.

Wessex Stitchery focuses on a variety of filling techniques - some, admittedly, are probably too busy for Colbert embroidery. But others would serve the technique well, I think.



The photo above is from Wessex Stitchery - and the filling pattern featured there would work for Colbert embroidery, too, I think. The idea of combining Colbert embroidery with Wessex stitchery presents some interesting possibilities.

Colbert embroidery is worked today on Congress cloth, Jobelan or Etamin fabrics - all of which are cotton or blends and resemble canvas more than they resemble fabric. And this means that, in the areas that aren't stitched, you can see through to whatever is behind the fabric.

I am wondering how the technique would work on linen; perhaps the weave would have to be looser to accommodate some of the thicker background motifs. I'm also wondering how the technique would work for, say, a monogram, if the monogram were voided (that is, empty of stitching), but outlined with a surface stitch, and then the background were filled with some of the intricate fillings in the Wessex Stitchery book. A good pillow for a gift? A Christmas stocking? Oh, the possibilities...

And isn't this just the Greatest Thing about embroidery? When it comes to designing or to combining techniques, we really are only limited by our imaginations!

Have you ever tried Colbert embroidery? Do you know of any additional, thorough resources on the technique that you'd like to share with the rest of us? Does this technique appeal to you at all - or do you see any possibilities for combinations or for projects? What are YOUR thoughts?

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings! Have a terrific weekend!

Labels: book review, counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery books, historical needlework, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, November 13, 2009
PermaLink  |  10 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

This past weekend, I finished up a little project - some hand embroidered name cards for my nieces' birthday gifts. After a little trial and error, and a wee bit of "I'm-in-a-hurry-and-am-going-to-pull-my-hair-out" frustration, they finished up fine and I was happy with the results.

About a month ago, I reviewed a book on embroidery on perforated cardstock. The book focuses more on the decorative, lacy look you can achieve by cutting the perforated cardstock a number of ways, but it also shows a variety of hand embroidery motifs (mostly in tent stitch or cross stitch) that can be worked on the perforated paper.



Working at night, I found out that this kind of paper-cutting can be addictive. I don't suggest picking up your Xacto knife when you're supposed to be heading to bed! Though I enjoyed the late (late) quiet evenings cutting away the cardstock and watching the patterns emerge, I paid for it the next morning...



The first small pieces came out pretty well, so I decided to embroider my nieces' names on these cards and use them for gift cards.



Before embroidering the names, I had to decide on how I wanted them to look. I charted the names in cross stitch and also in backstitch. At first, I thought it would be fun to try different stitches on the cardstock. Chain stitch would work, I figured, so, using the backstitch design, I set out to work chain stitch on the first card.



I got through the first letter (a capital C) and immediately began taking it out, without even photographing it. Half-way through the take-out, I realized I needed a picture. The chain stitch simply looked too heavy for the paper. I was working with two strands of floss, and didn't like the look of the chain stitch At All. Switching to one strand of floss didn't help - it didn't show up well enough.



One major point of frustration while stitching these was the ability of the thread to snag up on the lacy points of the paper. I knew I had to be careful - I knew this would happen! But my gosh. It happened All The Time. And I swear I was being careful!

Part of my problem, too, was that I was racing the clock. It's never good to work on a delicate project when you're in a hurry!



I ended up cross stitching the names, and was pleased enough with the results. Clare Elizabeth got a middle initial on hers for two reasons: 1. Her first name is short, and it didn't cover much of the center card; 2. (and much more to the point!) I didn't center her first name correctly, and there was no way on God's good earth that I was going to take the whole thing out!

The cards are very light and lacy and pretty. They could be mounted on colored cardstock for a good effect, but I think the gals will appreciate the look of them like this. And since we're talking a 20 and 21 year old, I'm not really worried about the cards being torn to shreds!

I like cutting the paper, but I've learned that it's easier to stitch first and cut later, even though this requires very careful planning and counting.

These would make nice tags for Christmas gifts, for the Very Special people in your life. It's a time-consuming way to go about making a gift tag, but again, for special people or special occasions, I think it would be a really nice touch!

If you're interested in this technique, you can read my review of the book, Broderie et Dentelle sur Carton Perforé, where you'll find purchasing information. This particular cardstock is 22 squares per inch, while most other perforated paper available for stitching is 14 squares per inch. Personally, I like the higher count. The book, by the way, is also available on Amazon France.

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroider on paper, hand embroidered cards, needlework pictures, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, October 13, 2009
PermaLink  |  10 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Last week, I took it into my head to make use of this book on embroidery & perforated paper. I thought I would make a card. You know - one of those "I'll-just-whip-this-up" sort of projects...

As it turned out, it wasn't a quick project at all. I always underestimate things like this. ALWAYS. It used to be that I thought I was an optimist - and being an optimist is a good thing, right? But now I realize it's not optimism at all - it's a gross under-estimation of the speed at which the hands on my clock move. And this gets me into trouble.

The occasion for the card came and went.

And yet, I went ahead and finished the embroidery for the card. Some day, I'll cut out the lacy edge for it.

The design is one of the Quaker motifs available on the Needleprint blog. I picked the colors to match the cardstock I was going to mount the piece on. For thread, I used regular DMC stranded floss, mostly two strands. The count on the perforated paper is about 18 squares per inch, and three strands is too much for the holes - which was evident after I finished stitching the central "flower" in three strands, and found that the paper was trying not to warp. Two strands were perfect.



I like the blue / yellow scheme, and I think the design is neat. But you know what was going through my mind the Whole Entire Time I was stitching this? Any idea?

I was thinking.... "How can I translate this design (and similar designs) into surface embroidery?" And so, I played with it. And later on in the week, if all goes according to some kind of Plan of Sanity, I will share with you my version of the above design, re-structured for surface stitching.



I tried to get a shot where you could see how the three strands of floss started to warp that center area a bit, but I don't think you can really tell in any of the photos.

Sometimes, I kick myself for starting "quick" projects like this, because it takes away from making headway on larger projects that are already starving for time. But in this case, I made a couple discoveries along the way and came up with some ideas that I'll be sharing with you in the upcoming days and weeks. So I don't count this particular "quick (slow)" project as a complete waste of time!

Coming up this week on Needle 'n Thread: the final lesson in long and short stitch shading, a book review for a nice iron-on transfer book (really nice!), some thread talk, TWO give-aways to celebrate the end of the long and short stitch shading lessons, and any other tidbits that may happen to pop up! So do check back in during the week!

Have a jolly Monday!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroider on paper, Embroidery Projects, needlework pictures, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, September 21, 2009
PermaLink  |  2 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Adhering madly to my philosophy that a little time for needlework is better than no time for needlework, I've made some progress lately using the 15-minutes-for-stitching approach.

I'm still plugging along with the Long Dog Sampler I started last year, and since my last 15-Minute Stitching Update, I've made some ok progress, I suppose. It's time for me to switch this project out, though!

I was supposed to switch it out last week and take up my Schwalm whitework project again, but the truth it, it is much easier to sit down and drop in a few stitches on this sampler, than it is to situate myself with the Schwalm project when I'm in a hurry. I just haven't had time to do the switch-out and set stuff up for easy access with the Schwalm work, so I've stuck with this project so that I'd have something to do here and there, now and then, when the opportunity struck....

... which is, of course, the basis for this whole 15-minute-session idea.

But let me tell you - time management has its drawbacks! Take a look at this:



Determined to adhere strictly to the timer one day, I sat down to spend 15 minutes on this bit of the sampler. I only had one white blotch left that needed to be filled in with the green, and when I set the timer, I was confident that, when it went off, I would have this block finished. (And then some, or so I thought!)

When the timer went off, I had three stitches left.

THREE.

Three tiny, insignificant stitches.

But they were significant enough to bug me!

That session was a serious Only-15 15-minute-session, as a minute longer and I'd be late for work. So, the timer sounded, I dropped the frame, picked up my books, and headed out the door. I was not "relaxed" or pleased at the end of that session. Three Silly Stitches! For heaven's sake!

When I came back an hour and fifteen minutes later, the timer was still going off. Hmmmm. I decided I would have to take a much more relaxed approach to these 15-minute things if I were to retain (regain?) my sanity. Rushing through the minutes, trying to beat the clock, isn't precisely the best approach.



For the next 15-minute session, I managed to finish those riffemrackemfrickemfrackem three stitches....



.... and to get out the colors for the next little square I wanted to stitch...

... and to work Nine Whole Stitches on it.

Twelve stitches in 15 minutes?

Perhaps that day, I was a bit tooooo relaxed.

Virtue lies in the middle. Next time, I will be relaxed, but at the same time, I am determined to accomplish a bit more than this!

How are your 15-minute stitching sessions coming along?

Labels: 15 minutes, counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, September 14, 2009
PermaLink  |  9 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Do you work outside your home? I do. Between the middle of August and the end of May, my real job actually takes precedent over my needlework! (Can you believe I allow that??!) Now, this isn't just because the real job pays the bills - it's also because, if it is to be done well, the job demands it, and I love my job! I like teaching a lot, even though, yes, it does occasionally have its Moments. Needlework, during the school year, becomes my carrot - the thing that motivates me to do what I need to do, work-wise, so that I can enjoy relaxing with my needle and thread. And, as you avid stitchers know, needlework can also serve as a tremendous stress reliever!

But, when the work week is hectic, it's often difficult to find time to squeeze in a needlework project. Often, what ends up happening is that, because no progress is being made at all on the project, it gets side-lined, interest in it gradually wanes, it is finally stowed away, and... The End.

To avoid this, I started "forcing" myself (ok! right! it doesn't take that much force!) to fit in at least 15 minutes a day stitching. Whether those 15 minutes are snatched on a lunch break or between classes, whether they are found at the very end of the day before hitting the sack, or whether they are squeezed in first thing in the morning, before heading out to work (assuming I'm ahead of schedule!) - whatever the case may be, those 15 minutes serve three useful purposes: 1. they provide a momentary "break" doing something I really love; 2. they keep my projects going at least a wee bit and I feel as if I'm making progress; and 3. I don't have that overwhelming feeling of "needing to start," which can make me lose interest in a particular project and relegate it to the shelf.

That's the background of my 15-minute sessions. And here are some results from a few sessions last week.

On a few days, I only barely managed 15 minutes! Other days, I had more time in the evenings, and could make more progress than shown below. But for now, here are three 15 minute sessions that were snatched during the week:



I had two projects out this week - my Schwalm whitework project and this Long Dog Sampler. I started this sampler last spring. My niece wanted to work a counted cross stitch piece since they were covering the technique in home ec, and she really liked this Long Dog sampler called "Angel Pavement." So I purchased two copies, one for her, one for me, and we went thread and fabric shopping, and settled on working the sampler on 28 ct fabric over one thread. She's still plugging away on hers, though she works more sporadically all over the place on the chart than I do!

I haven't made any progress on this since I put it away last spring, but it's out again now, because it is perfect for 15 minute sessions.



In the first 15 minute session, I didn't get very far at all! You would almost be tempted to say, "This is not progress!" But the way I see it is, any stitch is progress! During that first session, I had to dig for thread, cut it, strip it, and thread two needles (which was wishful thinking - I didn't even use one full-threaded needle).



In the next 15 minute session, I stuck the frame on my Needlework System 4 stand, rather than holding it, and I resorted to two-handed stitching, which is a lot faster than one-handed!



And, by the third 15 minute session, I was making good headway. When I ended the previous session, I threaded a new piece of floss and had it ready for beginning, and, with both hands stitching, it went fairly well.

Now, keep in mind this little piece is not quite an inch square - so, in the scheme of things, it doesn't look like much stitching! But really - it is progress! And, as I mentioned before, this really serves as a motivator! I find myself seeking the next 15 minutes, just to see how far I can get in the next session. And, better yet, I find myself getting other things done that I need to get done, with more efficiency, so that I can squeeze in 15 minutes.

Do you use needlework as a carrot? Do you try to carve out bits of your day that you can devote to it? How do you go about doing so? Does it help motivate you in your other daily tasks? I'd love to hear how you deal with limited time and needlework!

Labels: 15 minutes, counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, August 31, 2009
PermaLink  |  13 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Here are two terrific resources online for charting text for counted thread techniques (cross stitch, back stitch, blackwork, canvas work, etc.) and for calculating fabric needs when setting up a new project.

The first resource is Crosstitch.com's "Fontform," where you can chart your own text in 21 different fonts, and print the chart from the generated PDF.



All you have to do is select your font, the width of the piece in stitches, and the color, then type in your text, check off whether you want it centered or not, and then preview and get the chart. It's that simple!



Here's my test run. I'm thinking this tool would be Particularly Handy for card-making and embroidery on perforated paper!

There's also a handy stitch calculator available on the same page.

The second resource is similar: Stitchpoint offers another text-charting program, but the format is different.



There are six fonts to choose from, four cross stitch and two backstitch. After selecting the font, you use the "keyboard" on the screen to select your text, then hit print. The image prints straight to your printer.



What I really like about the Stitchpoint page is their little fabric calculator.



Up in the right-hand corner of the page, you'll see three icons. The first one is a handy-dandy stitch calculator that tells you precisely what size to cut your fabric, taking into consideration the threads per inch (or centimeter - you can calculate it either way), the number of threads you are stitching over, the number of vertical and horizontal threads in the design, and the number of inches extra you want around the finished embroidery. Very handy, indeed!

So, if you're looking for a way to chart some simple text for your next project, check out both of these resources!

Thanks, Judith, for pointing these out!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery resources, needlework websites

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, August 19, 2009
PermaLink  |  1 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Last time we visited the Long Dog Sampler that my niece and I have been plodding through together, I was saying good-bye to it for a time, due to this commissioned project that I needed to design, set up, and stitch. Well, you know... I'm always full of a million excuses (a negative characteristic that I'm trying to correct in myself!), but the fact of the matter is, I never did quite put the thing away like I was supposed to! A reader asked in one of the comments not too long ago how this project was coming, so I thought I'd show you an update...

Now that summer has arrived, my niece has launched into her sampler with a little more concentrated effort. I haven't seen her latest stitching endeavors yet, though. Hopefully, next week I'll be able to catch up with her on that. She told me she plans to listen to audio books (she's a great fan of Agatha Christie) and stitch away. Sounds like an ideal summer plan to me!

After I told you I was bidding farewell to this project for a time, I discovered that I could slip the whole project into a nice basket and keep it more or less available, regardless of other work to do. It's much easier to take this project out and put a few stitches in when I have a few minutes than it is to go out to the studio, where I'm working on the ecclesiastical piece! So I've kept this thing next to the sofa in the living room, and have managed a few sessions on it here and there, as time allowed.



I've managed to put in almost three whole bocks up there on the right.

Each of these little blocks is less than an inch square, but in each of those little squares, there are 729 little stitches, so they actually take a while to do.



The sampler is pretty colorful, and no two motifs are the same, which is nice. While the actual stitching may get a bit repetitive, the changes in pattern and color make the piece interesting to stitch. It's kind of fun, filling in those little blank squares with color and shape. There's no stress at all involved in this kind of stitching, so it really does make a good, relaxing summer project!



This is perhaps the oddest square I've stitched so far. It doesn't seem to fit the style of the other squares, and the colors are quite bright and almost garish. At first, I didn't like it. I didn't like the zig-zag pattern or the color arrangement. But what's strange is that, just as I was coming to the end of this square, I found I did actually like it, somehow. I liked the way it filled in so tightly, and how all the colors formed their little own zig-zaggedly neat little rows. Overall, I wouldn't call it "me-ish," but I like it!



This top half of the grey and pink square is perhaps one of my favorite elements so far. I like that "carnation" look, typical to 17th century petit point slips and other historical embroideries.

I'm glad we undertook the project. It's given me a better appreciation for counted techniques. And I still do intend to carry the whole project through to then end, which, for me, is a good sign that I'm enjoying it.

I haven't stitched on this for a couple weeks now, but I am still keeping it next to the sofa, awaiting the next 15 minute break that I can devote to it!

Now, this is the thing: two weeks from yesterday, the embroidery piece I (finally) got set up the other day is due. I bet you know what that means! It's the only thing I'll be stitching on now. I must get it done! I have so many other projects, too, that I want to start! I'm also going out of town in two weeks - before I go, I want to set up several "on-the-go" embroidery projects that I can work on while I travel. So, keep your fingers crossed for me, that I actually do get something accomplished! THANKS!

If you haven't signed up for the Trish Burr Embroidery Kit Give-away I posted yesterday, do take a minute to read the post and add your comment!

Enjoy the day!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures, pictures, sampler

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, June 04, 2009
PermaLink  |  7 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

My Mom was cleaning out some stuff the other day and came across a few little needlework-related items that she handed over to me, which led me to thinking about different needlework projects Mom has done over the years.

Many folks are lucky enough to learn their needlework skills from their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. In my case, I'd say I learned the proclivity towards any kind of crafty-artsy stuff from Mom, but not necessarily specific needlework skills. My Mom, who turns 75 this weekend, was rather the artistic type when she was younger. She took up painting at some point in her eary married years, and even enjoyed showing her work at an art gallery at one point and selling it. She also taught art in a private school in the San Francisco Bay Area for a bit. She was dabbler in lots of things - sewing, painting, needlework, crochet, etc., and most of her kids have ended up being dabblers in one (or many) creative way or another. We dabble. We flit about. What can I say?



These are the pieces that instigated this post. They're needlepoint versions of Pinkie and Blue Boy, famous paintings by Thomas Lawrence and Thomas Gainsborough, respectively. They're not finished. In fact, I think Mom picked out the background stitching and never finished them.



I like them - they may be salvagable, though I don't know what I would salvage them into, except framed pieces.



They're worked in two sizes of stitches on Penelope canvas - the detailed faces are smaller stitches, and most of the rest of the figures are worked in larger stitches.



I always thought Blue Boy looked a bit jaunty.



I like his little shifty eyes. He's definitely checking out Pinkie...



My Mom has always had a penchant for Things Pinkie-and-Blue-Boy. These statues were with us in every house we lived in - and we lived in Many Houses, all over the country!

Studying the Pinkie and Blue Boy canvases led me to another work of my Mom's from her early married days:



I never knew a time when this wasn't on a wall of our homes growing up. It was made from a stamped cross stitch kit Mom bought two years after she was married (so that would have been in 1959, making the piece exactly 50 years old).



Let's see if I can get it right: the stamped fabric cost her 59 cents, and the thread for it cost 30 cents. An 89-cent project - 50 years old - not bad!



She paid $20 to have it framed four years later.

The year Mom got married, she made this baby quilt:



This was another kit - stamped embroidery, featuring Peter Rabbit and Company.



The piece features several stitches - mostly cross stitch, but also a good smattering of satin stitch, stem stitch and daisy stitch.



It's funny to look at this now, when these types of vintage embroidery patterns have become pretty popular once again.



There are a couple stains on the Peter Rabbit section. One of these days, I'll try to remove them!



Nice little watering can... The quilt top was pre-printed with the pattern when Mom bought the kit. She did the embroidery, then put the blanket together.... almost 52 years ago! She was expecting my oldest sister at that point.



I like the little bird...



...but the pink eyes are a bit freaky!



The cottontails are little cotton pom-poms that have held up really well for this many years and several babies' usage!

Later on in life, Mom took up counted cross stitch, and vestiges of her efforts can still be seen around her house.



Mom has always liked birds.



This was one of my grandmother's favorite prayers (my Mom's mom), and subsequently one of Mom's. Mom said she almost kicked herself when she finished the piece and realized she had not cut her fabric large enough for the type of framing she wanted. Still, this has been a nice piece in her house for the past 25 years or so.

Like Pinkie and Blue Boy, the St. Francis Prayer is a recurring theme in her house:



My grandmother gave my Mom and Dad this plaque (which is only about 4" x 6") as a gift many, many years ago - another thing I remember always being on a wall in our homes across the country.

Mom's present needlework pursuits involve crochet only, and she makes some pretty nice doilies, tablecloths, and filet crocheted lace for church use.



Mom didn't make this, but it was in among her needlework things - a souvenir from a one of her trips to Hong Kong many years ago:



She says it's a baby carrier. Her escapades on this trip to Hong Kong were pretty funny. It was her first time abroad, and she had no idea how money exchanging actually worked. When she exchanged money for the first time, she couldn't believe how much they gave her back! So she had fun shopping with it!



The embroidery is machine embroidery; I think it's kind of neat! This has seen several appearances on kids in school plays, costumes, and so forth. I don't think she ever actually used it as a baby carrier!

Mom's needlework adventures also included afghan-making, quilting, sewing children's clothes, making things for the house, and so forth. She's always been a project woman! And it's always heaps of fun, going through her old pattern books and needlework items!

Happy 75th, Mom!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, crochet, embroidery for children, needlepoint, needlework pictures, personal, pictures, vintage embroidery

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, May 15, 2009
PermaLink  |  19 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

I've been stitching along rather diligently on the Long Dog sampler that I'm working with my niece. Though it doesn't look like much progress, considering the time I've had to work on it, I think it's coming along well. I thought I'd give you a quick update and then talk plans!

This is a project I started as a stitch-along with my niece, who is learning counted cross stitch in one of her classes. The sampler is called "Angel Pavement," and it's produced by Long Dog Samplers.



This is the progress so far. The outlines of all the "memory blocks" around the edge are complete, so now it's just a matter of filling the rest of them in. Each of those blocks is slightly less than one inch square.



These are my favorites so far. I love the colors and the designs of all three.

Now, onto the question of a hiatus. Wow - time really flies, doesn't it? For those of you who don't know, I am a teacher. I teach English at the high school level, and I also teach six hours' worth of college courses a week (two courses), in the field of education. It almost seems as if the school year just started. As the year comes to a close, things are getting hectic, to say the least!

On top of the end of the year activities, I'm faced with a project with a deadline. A few months ago, I agreed to embroider a pall (a small altar linen) for a woman whose grandson is being ordained a priest this summer. As yet, I still haven't started that - it's due in the middle of June. Heh heh. Oh sheesh. I do tend to procrastinate. I always claim I work better under pressure, and in some cases, I do. In other cases.... well.... The inspiration for this project just hasn't hit me, and the more pressure I feel over it, the more distant my Muse seems! Not a very good situation!

In addition to the above, my family is descending upon Kansas next week, to celebrate my mother's 75th birthday! There are eight children in my family altogether, and all but one will be here, along with some grandchildren, husbands, wives, etc. It'll be fun! Hectic, but fun!

Plans, plans, plans! So I'm planning on taking a hiatus from the sampler here for a bit, until I get all the upcoming major stuff out of the way! You may bid it farewell, then, until the (hopefully not too distant) future!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures, personal, pictures, sampler

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, May 07, 2009
PermaLink  |  4 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Last week, I mentioned the Long Dog Sampler that I'm using to teach my niece how to do counted cross stitch. Here's an update on our progress...

The Long Dog Sampler, Angel Pavement, is proving fun to work, due to the variety of little motifs. I'm glad we chose 28 count linen to work the sampler on - it is ending up looking like little petit point squares, which is nice.

By the end of the weekend, we had both worked several of the designs within the squares on the sampler, leaving the backgrounds blank. I don't know if this is the "best" way to go about this kind of work. I was thinking it might be a better idea, stitch-wise, to have several working threads going at one time, and simply stitching in rows. If we did this, I think the stitches would end up much more precise.

However...........

It just seems more fun to work the design in the square first, then fill in around it with the background. Any avid counted cross-stitchers out there? Is there a "right" or "wrong" way to approach stitching completely filled areas? Let me know!



You can see in the first square at the top that the background has been filled in. In the subsequent squares, the design is being worked first, and then we're filling in the backgrounds.



So far, I haven't made any changes in the sampler, except on this square. On the original design, the date is 2007, but I thought it appropriate to change the 7 to a 9!

Last night, I did start stitching in the background on this purple bird fellow. The background is a pale yellow. It's amazing how the color of the background really changes the look of the motif, and I'm eager to finish the background so I can compare a before and after, with the yellow background stitched in.

On the third block down in this strip, the background is black. I think that will drastically change the look of that square.

Anyway, so far so good. That's pretty much where we are right now, though my niece may be a bit further ahead than I am at the moment! I need to meet up with her some time this week so we can compare results!

Other than that project going right now, I've been doing some studio cleaning and book organization, and planning another project which I will share with you soon. After a very rainy weekend, I was hoping for a sunny week to film two videos I want to make for you. Unfortunately, the rain lingers! But all the green things are growing - so when the sun does show itself next time, I'm sure it's going to be a brilliant spring world out there!

I'm still debating about this needlework shop hop for the coming weekend. Six hours of driving?! I'm not sure! Now, if I had a chauffeur and I could embroider the whole time, that would be decidedly different!

Enjoy your Wednesday!!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures, pictures, sampler

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, April 29, 2009
PermaLink  |  9 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Oh, that title is SO misleading! I should clarify! "Rather Rare Needlework Pursuits.... for ME." There are types of needlework that I really get into (and I'm always game to try anything), there are types of embroidery that I love. You've probably noticed that most everything I do falls in the realm of surface embroidery of some sort - and often into what's called "free style" surface embroidery. But, lately, I've taken up a project that doesn't.

This project belongs to a category of needlework that is not so rare - in fact, I'd venture to say it is the most commonly worked type of needlework, as far as volume goes! Yes, it's true. I've taken up a counted cross stitch project.

I'll admit - and I mean no offense to any needleworker out there - that I'm a bit of an embroidery "snob." I am not a huge fan of counted cross stitch. In fact, if I were to nail down my feelings about counted cross stitch, I'd go so far to say this about it: I do not like counted cross stitch. Period. It is simply not my "thing."

My first ventures into any needlework as a kid in the 1980's began with counted cross stitch, and because of that, I do owe a certain debt to this type of needlework. Still, it wasn't long before I branched out into regular surface embroidery and got away from The Grid. I prefer - vastly - the variety offered by other surface embroidery techniques, and I find counted cross stitch rather boring!

Still, admittedly, counted cross stitch has changed quite a bit since the '80's - styles, types, looks, materials, etc., for counted cross stitch have become much more varied since those earlier years of Aida Cloth and DMC. And the resurgence of interest in "antique" needlework sampler styles adapted for counted cross stitch has a certain amount of appeal for me. Still... I'm not a counted cross stitch fan.

Oh, boy. Then why, you might ask, have I taken up a counted cross stitch project - and not just any counted cross stitch project, but a rather large and time-consuming one? Well, it's like this:

My niece is taking a home economics-type course in high school (9th grade) that has a needlework component. In the first semester, they focused on surface embroidery, and in the second they are focusing on counted cross stitch. And she was disliking the experience greatly! The 14-ct Aida cloth, the rather mundane '80's style pattern and colors were just not her. Also, it seems they were not instructed well on gridding up the design, centering things, and forming their cross stitches in consistently the same direction. She was frustrated! At first, I was inclined to smuggly think, "That's ok - I don't like counted cross stitch either!" but then I thought this was not a fair approach! Besides, knowing the ins and outs of working a charted design is helpful, so the knowledge would be good for her.

And so, the whole situation put me in mind to instruct her correctly on counted cross stitch techniques, and to show her the vast world of patterns and materials available so that she would not be left with a bad taste in her mouth over the experience. We started looking at samplers and so forth, and she got more and more interested in historical samplers and recreations. Eventually, we fell across a Long Dog sampler that she tought would be "really fun" to work. It is called "Angel Pavement," and it looks like this:



She liked all the little squares with different designs in them, the variety of motifs, and the colors.

Having piqued her interest in this type of design, even though it is a bit of a daunting undertaking for a beginner, I asked her if she wanted to work it. She was darned eager. I suggested that we both work through the sampler at the same time, to keep each other on track. She agreed enthusiastically, so I ordered the sampler charts, linen (28 count Cashel from Zweigart), and the threads (regular DMC - silk would be too expensive for something this large, and, to tell you the truth, I can't bring myself to use silk on counted cross stitch...)



We began by gridding out our fabric. With any counted cross stitch design, it is always desirable to at least mark the center of your fabric so that the design lines up properly in relation to the center point. In more complex designs, it is a good idea - and saves a lot of time and frustration later on - to mark off even intervals on the fabric as well. So we worked lines of running stitches over every ten threads on the fabric, to give us a graph on the fabric that would make referencing the chart a lot easier.



Often, 28-count linen is worked over two threads, but we're working over one, which will make the design small, but which also reduces a bit the "pixelized" look of counted cross stitch. The little individual squares are less than an inch square, which is small. However, their size doesn't really reduce the time it takes to work each square. The stitching is small and... well.... monotonous. Cross stitch. What can I say?



This is about as far as we've both gotten. But don't think this was only a few minutes of stitching! There are 729 of those tiny X's in each of those squares. It does take time!

We mounted our fabric on Evertite frames, and are using magnets to hold the part of the chart onto the fabric next to our stitching. To make the stitching go as quickly as possible, I use two hands - one above the work and one below.

Unfortunately, to be able to mount both samplers on frames, I had to dismantle my whitework project! Ugh! I gave up whitework for counted cross stitch? It almost seems sacrilegious! (Kidding, kidding!) But, I have another project I must start (a commissioned ecclesiastical piece), so I wouldn't be able to devote time to the whitework right now, anyway.

So that's what I'm up to! Don't worry - Needle 'n Thread is not changing into a counted cross stitch website! Aaaaack! But to be fair, counted thread techniques are certainly legitimate forms of needlework, and there are some aspects about this project that I really do like. I like working with colors, for example, and this project has plenty of color in it! And I like to see things develop. And I like the fact that it's giving my niece something to work on with enthusiasm.

There you have it, then! Any comments? Do you think I'm totally nuts?

I'm beginning to wonder, personally....

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures, pictures, sampler

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, April 20, 2009
PermaLink  |  33 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

I know I've been on an embroidery-kit-writing trend lately! I hope you don't find it a "turn-off," but I do like to see what's available in the needlework world, and I'm very interested in what designers are marketing these days.

I call it trend-mapping. The trend I'm currently mapping is interest in the traditional, or classic, surface embroidery kit. There aren't a lot of them available, you know. Classic surface embroidery kits are not the most popular of needlework-related kits. Compare the number of surface embroidery kits you see available on the market with the number of cross stitch kits, and you'll understand what I mean!

But I have noticed in the past few years an increase in interest in regular surface embroidery kits, and, answering that increase in interest, suppliers are beginning to include surface embroidery more frequently among their selections.

So, I like it when I find another place that offers what look to be nice surface embroidery kits!

Do you know about The French Needle? Mostly, they specialize in cross stitch kits and charts, but Lisa of The French Needle is "on a mission" to push surface hand embroidery, and is now offering some interesting hand embroidery kits.

If you go to her Boutique page, you'll see she has a page of surface embroidery kits that feature, predominantly, monograms - and they are really beautiful monograms! I'd love to work all of these 7x7 monograms - I love the A, the V, the W, and the Y, especially! These would make terrific gifts for weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays (already worked and framed, or as kits for your needle-working friends). Note that they don't come with thread - they come with the design stamped on linen, instructions, and suggested color lists for different thread manufacturers.



But besides the monograms, it's the Bayeaux Tapestry kit that caught my eye! Now, I think this would be fun! If you like historical embroidery, you might be especially interested in this kit, and if you don't like historical embroidery, I think it would be a neat framed piece for a home - a conversation piece! It'd also make a great gift, finished and framed, for a lover of history, art history, literature, and so forth.



Besides the monograms and the Bayeux kit, you'll find a couple really nice floral pieces - a very bright one on a dark background, a pillow sham with flowers and bugs and garden creatures on it, and a couple more natural-looking flower pieces, like these Graminees. There are also a couple fun alphabet samplers, too, for surface embroidery, which is nice. Normally you see alphabet samplers in cross stitch, so it's fun to see a few in surface embroidery for a change! The ABC Fruits looks fun!



Besides surface embroidery offerings, The French Needle has a long list of popular cross stitch designers' charts, such as Long Dog Samplers, Rouge du Rhin, and others - lots of Quaker-look samplers, many European designs, some sampler reconstructions, and other pretty offerings. I especially like the sampler kit, Dutch Beauty. If I were going to work a cross stitch sampler, that would interest me.

I like the Long Dog Samplers a lot, too. In fact, I'm getting ready to work Angel Pavement with my 13-year-old niece on 28 count linen (over 1). Sound strange? You bet! (I'm not a cross stitcher!) Well, she wants to learn on something "fun," so that's what she picked out! Charts at the French Needle are reasonably priced, too - at least $1 below other places, from what I can tell. And I paid $3 more elsewhere for Angel Pavement!

Discount for Needle 'n Thread Readers! (For April!)

Lisa is generously offering a discount to Needle 'n Thread readers! For the month of April, you can get a 10% discount on all kits and charts, by typing "Mary sent me" in the special instructions box at checkout. Lisa will adjust your order on her end at the time of processing, taking off 10% from your purchase! Isn't that great? The discount's only available for this month (April, 2009), though - so if you're in the market for a new project and any of her kits, charts, etc., appeal to you, now's a good time!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery resources, needlework websites

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, April 02, 2009
PermaLink  |  5 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

My miniature embroidery trial project is finished! Overall, I liked working on it - a lot!! As with most projects, now that it's finished, I can take a retrospective view on the experience and conclude that, sure, there are a few things I'd change if doing it again... but overall, I'm pretty happy with the wee thing.

For this little piece, I used 48 count Alabaster Angel from Legacy Linen. The design comes from a Sweetheart Tree kit I picked up while on vacation a couple years ago. In the original kit, the fabric was a 28 count pink checkered linen, which was to be stitched over 2 threads. If the piece were stitched by the kit directions, the final project would be between five and six inches square.

I used one thread of DMC in the colors recommended for the kit. Unfortunately, the beads included with the kit (Mill Hill Petites) were too large to include!



The finished size of the embroidery is just barely shy of 1.5" x 1.5". I used the tent stitch (half cross stitch) for the whole piece.



In needlepoint, which generally makes regular use of tent stitch, the stitches are generally always worked in one direction. However, I found that, when adapting a cross stitch design - especially one with different parts pointing in four different directions in the corners - it is acceptable, wise, a good idea, necessary even, to change the direction of the tent stitch... I figured that out a bit late with some parts of the design.



In the original kit, the inside of the parallel lines that make up the central diamond is filled with Algerian Eye stitch worked in white. I suppose I could have been a bit adventurous and filled in the diamond thus, but I liked it better as it is. I though the filling stitches would crowd the piece too much.

Now, for another treat, here's a photo Ginger sent of a miniature coverlet, stitched in surface embroidery stitches. She took the photo at a museum, where the curator allowed her to. The silver stitching and the silver lace on the edge are really nice, and I love the fact that it is all regular surface embroidery! What fun! Imagine the time that went into this tiny thing...



Thanks, Ginger, for sending the photo. I've replied in the usual place...! Sorry! I'm looking into getting that problem fixed!

I suppose most miniature embroidery is done for doll houses. I, on the other hand, intend to frame and hang this little piece, along with Christiana's sampler!

Speaking of framing miniature embroidery, here's an excellent tutorial by Larry at Wood'n Bits on making miniature frames for embroidery. He takes you step-by-step through making tiny frames which you can then mount silk gauze onto, and stitch, and, when you're finished stitching, you have a framed piece. It's a great tutorial. He continued it with another post on more miniature frames, which he sells - take a look!

And finally, speaking of silk gauze, once upon a time, I thought I had a link to somewhere online that offers 72 gauge silk gauze. Of course, I've lost the link... but to wonder if I imagined it? Does silk gauze come in such a fine mesh? Anyone know? and if so, would you happen to know where I can find some? I think I like this little stuff - not for looooong term, on-going embroidery, trust me! But for fun little projects, I like going micro!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery resources, miniature embroidery, needlework pictures, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, March 04, 2009
PermaLink  |  18 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

In another 15 minute session with my needle and thread, I managed to accomplish a tiny bit of embroidery on a tiny embroidery project. As luck would have it, this 15-minute embroidery experience was nowhere nearly as productive as the last one!

Miniature embroidery has its drawbacks. The most noticeable one, for me, is the fact that it's miniature! Now, don't get me wrong - I like this project. It's fun! But on such a small scale, once the stitches are in, it's actually hard to see which direction the stitches are going. This wouldn't be a big deal, except for the fact that the four corners point in four different directions, and I quickly found that the design looked better if the tent stitches were altered to point in a certain direction, depending on the corner.



You can definitely see the problem with the center of the motif - I should have changed the direction of my stitching on the the right-hand leaf! I may take that out and fix it. (Then again....)

So, once again, here's a 15 minute segment of stitching. I took the above photo after setting the timer for 15 minutes, and when the timer went off, I stopped stitching.



I managed to get in the top of all the flowers in the light pink! I was so happy!

But then I realized that the stitching on the bottom right corner was done in the wrong direction! I didn't take it out at that point - I figured that would make a good job for another 15-minute segment!

Anyway, the little motif is coming along. I'll show you finished photos of it later on - with a ruler to give you a sense of size...

In the meantime, I've got a lot of work to do to catch up on a weekend that was insanely busy! I hope you had a chance to check out the goldwork peacock feather, which I didn't get a chance to post until later Sunday night. It's quite a beautiful piece of work!

Enjoy your Monday! And I do hope you get in a good 15 minutes (or more - lots more!) of stitching today!

Labels: 15 minutes, counted thread embroidery techniques, miniature embroidery, needlework pictures, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, March 02, 2009
PermaLink  |  4 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

I love working on the whitework embroidery sampler! Exploring the different drawn thread techniques has been fun, and I'm itching to start on some other techniques, such as satin stitch over trailing. But, as with every long, slow project, a break is a good thing! So I'm going micro...

A while ago I showed you this unbelievable miniature embroidered sampler, remember?



I've really fallen in love with the little thing - the more I see it, the more I like it. I'm planning on having it framed in a regular frame, with a tiny hole in the mat...

So, here I've been, mulling this idea of miniature embroidery over in my head.

I know it isn't anything new - some people apparently do miniature embroidery for the fun of it, with no distinct purpose. They like it, like I like goldwork. Others create little miniature projects for doll houses. Still others like the notion of petit point on silk gauze (which I'm dying to try - on 72 gauge!). There are plenty of miniature embroidery books on Amazon.... though some are apparently just "small" motifs stitched on regular fabrics. So I know I'm not talking novelty here.

But for my 'break' from the whitework sampler, I decided to go micro, and see about this miniature embroidery thing. This has forced me into an area of needlework that is not necessarily my favorite - I don't particularly care for (sorry!) counted cross stitch! Oh, don't get me wrong - there are some counted cross stitch items these days that I find really attractive and that I think would be great fun to work. I like the historical samplers, and the Quaker look, and I really like some of the Long Dog samplers - they're pretty neat. But my stitching preference isn't counted thread techniques. (I suppose you probably already know this if you've been reading my blog for a while!)

Still, I think it's worth venturing in for a try. First, I'll try counted. Then I wonder what it would be like to go micro with regular surface embroidery. Teeny tiny - super-duper-tiny - surface embroidery stitches on a wee sampler might be something worth trying.

But, for now, I'm counting. I selected a design that I have from a Sweetheart Tree kit I bought a few years ago when I was on vacation. Then, I picked out some linen. The choice was between two linens: Legacy's shadow work or Legacy's alabaster angel. Alabaster angel is 48 threads per inch. Shadow work runs around 56 threads per inch (I counted approximately 7 threads per 1/8 inch). I stuck with the alabaster angel for this first project. The shadow work linen doesn't have much "body" in the individual tiny threads - it's a relatively sheer linen with space between the weave. This is nice, but I wanted to make sure the stitches were duly supported. Plus... well, truth is, on the very sheer fabrics, you really have to be concerned with the back as well as the front, and I will admit it - I didn't want to bother so much about the back! (Tsk, tsk! Shameful, I know!)

With this miniature embroidery stuff, especially on fabric that's 48 threads per inch, a full cross stitch is too much when working with one strand of regular cotton floss. So the half cross stitch is what I'm using - tent stitch.

I've run into a couple little problems:

1. My needle is very small. Tiny needles have a tendancy to sink into the side of my thumb and cause the skin to split. *sigh* And it hurts like the dickens. Perhaps I should consider a "thumble" of sorts.

2. Tent stitch normally works pretty well when translating from a cross stitch desigh, but it doesn't always work. Because of the one-way direction of the stitches, certain parts of the pattern become a bit disjointed, when they shouldn't be. In some areas of the design, this is easily resolved with stitching in the opposite direction, though I realize this just "isn't" done in petit point, from what I understand! In fact, the design has quite a few half cross stitches indicated, as well as the direction in which they should be worked. So it does help to change the direction of the stitching to fit more with the design.

3. The design relies heavily on beads for accents. I don't think they make beads small enough! The Mill Hill petite glass beads loom over the stitching like giant doughnuts!

4. I made the funniest (most ridiculous) stitching mistake ever. Well, I think it's funny! Perhaps most people won't notice it, though, so I'm not going to mention it now. I'll wait for the photos. Even then, I might leave you to guess!

The design itself is normally over 5" square, when stitched according to directions on the little kit it came in. With the fabric I'm using, it's just barely 1.5" square.

Now, the nice thing at this point would be a photo.... but not yet! Look for it later this week. I'd like to finish the whole piece first.

Other than this, I'm DEFINITELY setting up a little (little, but not this little) goldwork project this week. Christiana sent me some photos of a beautiful little piece of goldwork (Or Nué) that she's been working on, involving a peacock feather, and I just can't stand it anymore! I must set up a project! And so I shall. I might even do a feather of sorts, too. Maines des Merveilles has a beautiful issue full of feathers, and I've never had a chance to do anything with them. Christiana's is really beautiful, and as soon as she gives me the okeedokee (she made it as a gift...), I'll post the pictures.

All that being said, I'm still enjoying the whitework sampler.

Don't forget to sign up for this month's embroidery stash give-away if you haven't already - 12 different types of embroidery threads to try out! I'll announce the winner tomorrow.

Enjoy the day - hope you have time to get some stitching in!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, Embroidery Projects, miniature embroidery, sampler

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
PermaLink  |  13 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

I've been dabbling around with ideas for my whitework embroidery sampler. Bouncing around in my head for a few days was this rather oxymoronic idea of doing some blackwork whitework.

I just couldn't chase away this idea, and it probably isn't all that original. But this is it: I like the look of blackwork. I love whitework. I was thinking that a band of blackwork (the counted kind) done in white would actually be pretty. You'd think you wouldn't be able to see it, but on the contrary, if it were worked on a very fine linen with a somewhat heavy white thread, the white on white would probably look subtly lace-ish, in a way.

In the long-run, the whole question of whether or not it would work on white became rather moot. I'm working the sampler on natural colored linen, which means I won't be doing whatever type of whitework pops into my head. I'll be limiting it those appropriate to natural colored, even-weave linen. Well - who knows what else may develop?

In the meantime, this is the blackwork whitework pattern I drummed up:



That's it without the graph behind it....



Here it is, with the grid, if you want to print it as a .gif. I don't know how it will turn out, actually - I don't have a printer to test it on right now!

You can take the design and move the individual motifs around, or eliminate the top row, or whatever you want. I'll be duplicating the motifs into a longer row on my sampler.



You can even take each motif and move them closer together.

And, finally, I saved it as a PDF as well, so that you can print a much cleaner copy than the one provided with the .gif file, if you want. When you print the PDF version, you can rotate the piece, shrink it to fit, or print the present view (if you've enlarged it on your screen)... Again, I haven't printed it, so I'm not sure quite how it looks in print, but still... here's the PDF file:

Blackwork Embroidery Design #1 (PDF file - you'll need Adobe Acrobat to read it.)

I'm going to be working this in Holbein stitch, which looks like backstitch from the front, but is actually running stitch worked back on itself. I'll be using a #40 white coton a broder, I think, on an even-weave, natural colored linen (it's either 32 or 36 count linen - I'll let you know when I start playing with the fabric). I may decide on a different thread. I'll also be stitching a border of some sort above and below the design.

I'm hoping (I keep saying this) to get this next project set up today! I plan to spend tomorrow filming new stitches for the Video Library of Hand Embroidery Stitches (if you have a request, leave a comment...)

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the pattern and can find some use for it!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, free embroidery patterns, whitework

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, January 22, 2009
PermaLink  |  5 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Yesterday, I showed you how I finished my goldwork and silk embroidered Christmas ornament for the swap that I joined a month or so ago. I've never actually joined an oline swap. Being a newbie, one of my readers was very nice to mention that there's a list somewhere online that gives a bit of information on how to go about preparing items for a swap, but I can't find the link! (If anyone knows where that article is, I'd love to see it again!)

There are apparently two exciting elements to a swap: 1. doing the embroidery and planning the "package" to send (I love planning packages!), and 2. anticipating, like a kid at Christmas, what the post will bring. I enjoyed the creating process best - I'm looking forward to wrapping up the ornament in pretty paper, preparing a few little embroidery trinkets to send along with it, picking out one of my embroidered cards and adding in a few blank ones for use - you know, just making up a Fun Package to Open! I love doing that! I'm going to use a plethora of curling ribbon!

I actually never found myself thinking about the other end of the swap or anticipating anything in the mail. But on Saturday, the mail arrived, and in it, there was a letter addressed to me from someone I didn't know. I thought it a bit strange - the envelope was hand-written, from Australia, and had something kind of flat and bumpy in it. Weird. I wasn't expecting anything from Australia...

So I opened it, not even remotely considering the ornament swap, because I had forgotten the "other end." (I felt rather stupid, actually...) I fingered the little ziplock bag, trying to think what I had ordered that was feathery... who did I know?... what could this be??.... (I wasn't alone at lunch, either, so I had an audience of witnesses to my air-headed reaction!)

I unzipped the ziplock carefully, trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid catching a bit of fluffy feather in it. Finally, I got it open, and ...



And this is what I received: a little cross stitch and beaded angel, worked on perforated paper, with white feathers for the wings. The skirt is made out of clear bugle and seed beads, and gold beads, which are carefully hung to create a pattern. I hung her on the light there, to take the photo, to give it a kind of angelic effect. Actually, I thought the beads might sparkle a bit more!

The ornament is stitched on two pieces of perforated paper, so that the back of the angel is also the finished back of the head, halo, and top of the angel. Then the wrong sides of the finished pieces are stitched together, with the feathers for the wings secured between the two pieces of perforated paper.



Isn't she cute? I have the perfect tree to hang her on, and I know the little kids will love looking at her.

Once my swap stuff is in the mail (I think I have to send it global priority at this point!), I'll be finished with this year's ornament swap. Though overall this was a positive experience for me, I'm still not quite sure of the whole swap thing. I suppose it's a good way to reach out to others across the globe. Have you ever joined an online swap of any kind? If so, what kind? What did you like about it? Were there any drawbacks? If you've never done one, what makes you hesitate to join one? I'd love to hear about your swap experiences! Anyone??

And, finally, another reminder about this month's embroidery stash give-away - two full spools of Gilt Sylke Twist, plus some other fun needlework stuff, are just waiting for you to win them! If you haven't joined yet for this month and are interested, do take a look at the original post for details on joining!

Labels: Christmas, counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, December 08, 2008
PermaLink  |  6 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

The Needlework Show is a twice-yearly online event where needlework designers and vendors set up a "booth" (web page) featuring their products, so that retailers and their customers can "shop" online. The customer (that would be you and me, if you don't own a retail shop) can see what's offered by different designers or vendors and request the products at their local needlework shop. The retailers can see what's new without having to visit a trade show. So all in all, it's a good deal. The fun part, though, are the door prizes... and one in particular caught my eye, so i thought I'd tell the rest of you about it.

The majority of the needlework featured at The Needlework Show are from designers or vendors who supply counted-thread designs. There are very few free-style surface embroidery techniques featured.

You've probably guessed my forte is not counted thread work, although I do love to look at historical samplers and I am quite enchanted by certain types of counted thread designs. For example, I like this chart from The French Needle:




I also like blackwork, the Quaker style samplers that are popular right now, the European / French-look designs that have a hint of historical and Provencial charm to them, Hardanger embroidery (there are some nice projects featured on the J. Design page), and some of the embellished biscornu designs that implement more than just cross stitch. If you, too, like these styles of counted thread techniques, you'll find plenty of designers' work to browse through at The Needlework Show.

Some of the vendors feature accessories for needlework, such as Kelmscott Designs, which offers mother-of-pearl thread winders and keeps, and those pretty magnets for holding extra needles on your projects while you stitch.

Some thread vendors feature their wares at The Needlework Show as well. For example, you'll find a Needlepoint Inc Silk page promoting their threads.

One thread vendor in particular that caught my eye was Dinky-Dyes. Dinky-Dyes is an Australian company that offers a vast range of dyed cottons and silks. I knew Dinky-Dyes offered cotton threads, but I didn't know they had such a fantastic line of dyed silks. The colors look really stunning, and I love the names! The exciting part about the Dinky-Dyes booth at The Needlework Show is that they are offering a really nice door prize: a full line of their silks to a lucky winner!! WOW! You probably realize I have a thing for thread. I love embroidery floss, I love silk especially, I love beautifully colored silks - and if you do, too, well... here's another source for thread and maybe you should check out their line. I'm going to!

Better yet, perhaps you should register for the door prize. Check out the Dinky-Dyes booth at the Needlework Show to register - by MONDAY, April 21st, at midnight!

Enjoy browsing through The Needlework Show, but get there before midnight, Monday, April 21st, or it'll be gone - until next fall.

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery links, embroidery resources

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, April 19, 2008
PermaLink  |  3 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, April 17, 2008
PermaLink  |  3 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, January 26, 2008
PermaLink  |  8 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

What's a biscornu? or what's biscornu? I'm not exactly sure how to term this little, popular needlework oddity. Is it a noun? or an adjective? Either way, I call it an "oddity" because it does strike me as a little odd in its shape - but more so in its recent "birth" into the embroidery world. I've been embroidering for .... too many years to count! And it was just a lucky happenstance that brought biscornu to my attention.

I have a little knowledge of French, so when I first encountered the word "biscornu" I was confused. On my recent vacation, a fellow stitcher in a needlework shop showed me a little roundish ornament of sorts and said, "Have you ever made a biscornu?" I puzzled over the word, asked how it was spelled, thought about it a bit, and "that's odd." And it is! The word itself means odd or bizarre in French - it's actually an adjective.

But there's nothing really too odd about biscornu, and it's really no wonder that the marvelous little things are suddenly very popular in the needlework world.

Biscornu are small pillows, made from squares by offsetting the corners of the squares, whip-stitching them together, and stuffing them, so that they form a kind of puffy, eight-pointed pillow. In the middle of the resulting pillow, a button or trinket is usually sewn, pulling the two sides of the pillow together.

Each side of the pillow is embroidered (or at least the top side is). The embroidery usually involves counted thread techniques such as cross stitch or blackwork, but other stitches may certainly be employed, and I would imagine to great effect.

I squizzed around the internet, looking for samples - and holy cow! These little gems are really popular! I must've had my head in the sand for the last four or five years! Actually, the earliest date I could find on any pictures of biscornu was 2004! And I figure the things must be relatively recent in the needlework world, because - believe it or not - there's not even a Wikipedia article about them!

So what do they look like? And what are they used for?

If you want to see what they look like, I suggest checking out the heaps of images on Webshots/Type "biscornu" into the search on Webshots, and you'll get a plethora of photos:



There are plenty of blogs out there with photos of completed biscornu, or works in progress. I particularly liked the one I found at the Peacock's Feather, a great blog with lots of book recommendations & photos of works in progress.



One of the most striking biscornu I've seen is found at Stitched in Holland. I'm a sucker for red, so the color scheme really appeals to me.



It seems that the primary purpose of biscornu is as a pin cushion. I found a nice biscornu worked in blue in a blackwork-like filling at the little French blog called Craft Corner. Although I was looking for biscornu, what really caught my eye are the gorgeous embroidered pansies you can see on that page! If you scroll down the page, you'll see the blue biscornu. Click on it for a larger image.

The biscornu can also be used for ornamentation - they make interesting Christmas ornaments, for example. I imagine they could also be made into sachets, but I would advise any flower or plant-like filling to be stitched into an enclosure bag instead of putting the filling loose into the biscornu.

How are they made? Well, there are several tutorials online that you can check out if you're interested in stitching up one of these oddities.

Probably the best tutorial I've found so far is the one at Finishing School, a place where you will find "alternative finishes for needlework designs." The biscornu made in that tutorial is a bit bigger than some of the other ones you might see online. It all depends on the fabric you choose.

You'll find another good tutorial at Annette's Acre. The pictures are not as clear, but the tutorial is still very good, and the biscornu she's putting together is very pretty!

And then, finally, what about patterns? You can probably find many good patterns all over the internet, given the popularity of this little item. With just a quick look, I found a pretty good source at Battybat, which is also a French website.

Finally, my favorite all around resource that I found for information on the biscornu is the website Own Two Hands, where you will find a wonderfully clear tutorial for creating a biscornu, as well as a whole list of links for patterns.

So, there you have it - a needlework oddity that I'm glad I came across, and I hope you find it interesting, too! Enjoy!

Labels: biscornu, counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery design, free embroidery patterns, pictures

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 16, 2007
PermaLink  |  3 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this

 

Assisi work is a kind of hand embroidery that originated in Medieval Italy. The technique produces a colored background where the motif in the design is void - that is, left blank. So you get the color background, and the design stands out because it is not colored.

Assisi work was popular as an ecclesiastical embroidery technique, where rich designs would be worked for altar frontals, vestments, and other church uses. The name originates from the town of Assisi, where this technique was often worked in convents responsible for providing church textiles.

In Assisi work today, the design is worked on an even weave fabric, and the motif is usually outlined in Holbein stitch or "running backstitch" - or simply in backstitch, according to some sources. The appeal of Assisi work is the boldness of the designs - no wimpy colors here! Rich colors of reds, blues, greens, browns, etc., will make up the background, while the "picture" is white.

Usually, the background was stitched in long-arm cross stitch or in a variation of Algerian Eye stitch, but modern embroiderers often substitute regular cross stitch, sometimes over two or even three threads of the fabric. They also will employ a variety of colors in their motifs, adapting the "voided" idea of the central picture to a more modern view of utilizing color. In any case, whether old or new, examples of Assisi work are attractive and captivating.

If you want to read about Assisi work, you'll find a good article at La Chatelaine Designs, the website of embroidery designer Lucy Willis. While you're there, check out her samplers! They're beautiful!

There's also a great website out of the Netherlands devoted to Assisi work, where you will find hundreds of free patterns - and they are marvelous patterns! The website is called Embroidery and Embroider, created by Jos Hendriks. You'll not only find wonderful patterns, but you'll also find plenty of photographs of finished work. It's really a fun site to peruse.



I especially like the easily printed patterns all over the site! There are some marvelous examples of truly medieval-style Assisi work, as well as work that can be adapted to a more modern approach. You'll find directions on Assisi work as well.



I like the look of Assisi work, and it's great for "small projects" as well as large. For example, an Assisi work bookmark takes only a little time to create, and yet would make a very thoughtful gift for a reader in your life! This style of embroidery is very suitable for household upholstery items, such as decorative pillows, etc. I can also see Assisi work well used on the cute and sturdy tote-bags that are so popular today. So many possibilities!

I'll be adding Embroidery and Embroider to my list of free embroidery patterns online - if you're looking for more embroidery patterns around the web, check out the list! It keeps growing!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery resources, free embroidery patterns

Click here to read the whole post & comments.

Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, April 13, 2007
PermaLink  |  0 comments  | Click to Comment

Share this