Becalmed

I seem to have hit the stitching doldrums! I have several things that I would like to get started on but can’t make up my mind which to do first, so I find myself becalmed.

I am still working on my JEB Phase II. Kind of ironic that it is called Calm Flow! Some time ago, I set myself a goal of doing a little stitching before leaving for work. There are some mornings when I simply do not have time and a few times I have lapsed but by and large I have maintained this regime. Most days I only manage about 10 minutes but by doing this I am making slow but steady progress.

A couple of weeks ago I reached a turning point. Literally! The design lies roughly on the diagonal and I began working from the center of the design towards the bottom left hand corner. When I had completed all the couching in this segment, I need to rotate the frame so that I could comfortably work on the remaining segment, again from the center out.


The gaps in the design will be filled using a different technique. For now I am just enjoying the calm flow or couching strung beads on gently curving lines while I wait for a fair wind to fill my sails so I can set sail on a new stitching adventure.


Happy Stitching

Travelling Book - Networks to Enrich

I always enjoy the workshops offered by the Oxford branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild. For me they are a day when I can totally immerse myself in stitching without thinking I should just peg out the washing or prepare lunch; a day in the company of talented and enthusiastic needle women and an opportunity to learn something new. Whatever the main focus of the workshop, I always learn something new, a technique, a stitch, a product or simply a handy little tip. For this reason I try to do as many of the workshops as possible, even if I think it is a technique that have done before.

I was not at all certain what we would be doing at the April workshop entitled Networks to Enrich but it was the first course that I book when I saw the schedule for this year. Why? Because it was taught by Jan Beaney and I had heard so many good things about her classes. Following her Branch talk in March I was even more keen to spend a day in her company.

Jan was every bit as energetic, enthusiastic and encouraging as I had imagined. She did not stop delivering information and inspiration from before the class was scheduled to begin to long after it was due to finish and if we had not had to vacate the hall, I swear she would have gone on and on. The technique we learnt was simple enough - sandwiching a network of threads water-soluble products before hand stitching (or machine stitching if preferred) through all the layers to tie the grid together and then embellish with decorative stitches and beads or anything you liked before dissolving away the film.


The real lesson was in thinking about a source and translating that into a concept, then developing the design and really working it through. All things that I find quite intimidating but Jan’s is so enthusiastic, so encouraging that you can’t help but get caught up in it. The entire day, Jan went around the group, looking at were you were doing, talking through what else you might do or try, and demonstrating stitches. Jan really made me feel my little piece of work was wonderful and worth taking further. Listening to how she spoke to the rest of the class, I think everyone must have felt the same way about her own work. I have never felt so encouraged by a tutor as I did that day.

I used a variety of threads including knitting threads. I tied the intersections with French knots and sorbello stitch and enhanced them with an assortment of beads. I strengthen the border with a blanket stitch.


Happpy Stitching

Guest Speaker, Maggie Grey

The excellent Maggie Grey rounded off a wonderful year of speakers. I have been following MagStitch since day one and was really looking forward to hearing her talk. I was not disappointed. The talk was entitled 'Old Walls and Painted Halls' but honestly I think Maggie could have inspired and entertained us just talking about dust bunnies!

The talk was well illustrated by a slide and video show delivered by Maggie's husband, Clive. In fact the talk and pictures were so well coordinated that you could have forgotten Clive was even there but for the occasional banter between husband and wife. The slide show began in Port Merion and took us on a tour of holiday destinations and the buildings, art and architecture that has inspired Maggie's work. Intermingled with these were pictures of the sketches, preliminary samples, intermediate and finished pieces. What impressed me most was that this was not a 'this is what I have made' talk but a 'this is how I made this' talk. Throughout Maggie explained at length the materials and techniques used. I came away with a head full of InkAid, transfer paints, soluble paper and embellishing machines.

Throughout this year we have had a program of interesting, inspiring and entertaining speakers. Maggie ticked all the boxes with an enthusiasm that cannot fail to inspire you.

Happy Stitching

More is less

I always look forward to the longer days, thinking that more hours of daylight will afford me more stitching time. In fact, the opposite is more often the case, the main reasons being my garden and a partner who cannot bear to be indoors while the sun is shining. Phase II of the Japanese bead embroidery is claiming the lion's share what stitching time I do have - I seem to be suffering from a bad dose of bead lust! Bead embroidery is sloooooooow and at the moment, one photograph is not very different from the last.




A discussion on the Embroiderer’s Guild forum about making stumpwork into a book reminded me of this little book that I made at a workshop with Heath Power in 2004.


The fan-folds on the bound edge allow expansion room between the pages. Great for embroidery with a raised surface.


Happy Stitching

Japanese Bead Embroidery, Phase II

Two weeks ago I attended a Japanese Beading class to learn the techniques used in Phase II. The Phase II design is a folio entirely covered with just two shades of bead, jet-black and pewter. The beads are tri-cuts that reflect the light beautifully and they are arranged either in flowing lines or as random seeding to maximise the effect. The design is called ‘Calm Flow’.

The guidelines are printed onto the background fabric, black polyester satin that I laced onto a Japanese embroidery frame in the usual manner. The design of Japanese frames allows you to make the fabric drum tight which gives a lovely surface for stitching. After tensioning the fabric, the printed design can distort slightly so I stitched around a template cut from the master design to create a true outline.



I first outlined the folio with a double row of black beads. Most, but not all of the guidelines indicate the position of a line of pewter beads.


The beads are threaded onto a double strand of polycotton and wound onto a pair of koma.


The beads are attached by couching over the thread every other bead. This method gives a smooth line of beads.


I apologize for the poor quality of the photographs. I have heard others say that it is difficult to get a good photograph of beads, especially black ones. I experienced the same difficult!

Happy stitching.

Travelling Book - Crocus

As winter draws to a close, I can hardly wait for the spring bulbs to bring colour back to the gtarden. While I eagerly anticipate the snowdrops, daffodiles and tulips, there is one delight that I ofter forget. Even before the snowdrops have completed the opening act, in the first breath of warm sunshine, small hummocks of species crocus burst open and turn their saffron centres to face the sun.



For this page, I adapted the technique learnt at the Kathleen Laurel Sage workshop. I used tiny pieces of organza, sandwiched between two pieces of organza. The pieces where arranged to create the shading. I stitched over the entire design with a decorative stitch on my sewing machine to secure the pieces. I then outlined my design with free machine embroidery using a metalic thread and cut away the void areas.


The sepals are needle woven picots made from hand twisted silk and the orange centres are a single turkey stitch using several strands of flat silk.



I had great fun creating these pages but they were suprisingly time consuming.

Happy stitching

Rainbow Squares

The Rainbow Squares Project was devised in 1997 to promote the Embroiderers' Guild. Each branch in the South East Region was allocated a colour and members of the branch were asked to stitch a 4-inch square using predominately the allocated colour. Squares of the same colours were then joined into strips and hung together to produce a wonderful display. When the South East Region was split into two, the South East Region and South East West Region, the squares were divided between the two new regions according to branch. Each region ended up with an abundance of some colours and none of others. Branches in both regions are now making more squares to redress that balance. As news of the Rainbow Squares spread, other regions have joined in and are making their own Rainbows.

The real beauty of this project is that is every member can take part. Participants can use any design so absolute beginners and more experienced embroiderers can choose or design something suited to their own ability. Any technique can be used so it is appeals to those who enjoy traditional techniques as well as those who enjoy experimenting with contemporary ideas.

My local branch, Oxford, was originally allocated indigo. We all used the same indigo background fabric and stitched our own designs. At the time I researched indigo and discovered that it was the colour of the sixth Chakra, Anya - the Third Eye. I did a design based on the symbol for Anja but sadly I don’t have a picture of it. The branch members are now making red squares again everyone taking part has been given a square of the same red fabric as a base. I have not started mine yet.

The members of the Embroiderers’ Guild forum got to hear about the Rainbow Squares and decided to make a set of their own. Those taking part were each allocated a different colour. By coincidence I have been allocated red for this square as well. We want the squares to make a cohesive set so we are using unbleached calico (muslim) for the background and basing our individual designs on a three inch circle.

I decided to do mine in bead embroidery. First I outlined the design in petite silver lined clear beads. The beads are threaded onto a double strand of sewing thread which I then couch in place between every second bead. This gives a nice smooth line.


I used petite silver lined red beads to outline the circle, then filled the rest of the outer circle with petite red beads.


I used two shades of matte red beads to fill the large triangles but the difference in shade is not obvious now they are attached. These beads are also couched but over a row of beads that serve as padding. I think that a second shorter row of padding and possibly even a third would have given a better shape.


In the next row of triangles I couched the beads round and round. These are silver lined red beads. I can see that I have made my usual error of packing in too many beads. I always try to cover the background fabric but I should realise by now that beads, like stitches, need room to breath.


For the small, inner triangles I used petite red beads. I made stitches in random directions with three beads on each stitch. The stitches are short so the beads do not lie flat on the surface, this and the changes of direction give a very textured finish. I don't know the name of this technique.

In the center, I attached a shisha mirror with a bezle of beads. I did not have any instructions for this so I kind of made it up. I would have liked the bezle to sit flatter against the shisha. I filled the remaining space with red matte beads attached with a petite silver bead.


My aim was to choose beads of a similar colour in a variety of finishes, shiney, matte and silver lined, then to use a variety of techniques to create texture and reflect the light in different ways. This was a fun project but I was surprised by how time consuming bead embroidery is.

Happy Stitching