Sunday 9 June 2019

Sake Boxes - Wisteria, a Learning Curve

As I progress through the phases, I find that I have previously learnt some aspects of each new piece at an earlier phase. I try to stitch these in advance so that, when in class, I can use my time learning the techniques or variations that I have not encountered previously.

Although I was not at the point where I was ready to stitch the wisteria design on the ladle, I wanted to make sure that I learnt the technique during class. I had previously done the stitch transfer and removed the tissue paper.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

On the sake box, I had used different coloured couching threads to demark different elements; red couching thread for the red cords, gold couching thread for the gold work. I repeated this on the ladle. As the whole of the outside of the ladle is superimposed with goldwork, I did the stitch transfer in yellow couching thread.

When I had finished the goldwork on the sake box and came to remove the stitch transfer, the task was made much easier by the simple (and accidental) fact that I had done the stitch transfer with yellow couching thread but had used red couching thread to couch the gold with.

On the ladle I used gold couching thread to couch the gold threads but I had also used the gold couching thread to do the stitch transfer. Distinguishing, and removing, the stitch transfer after doing the superimposed goldwork would prove to be neigh on impossible! But it would be a long time before I discovered this!

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy stitching

2 comments:

Rachel said...

Oh dear. Still, you won't make that mistake again. It is unnerving enough to take out those no-longer-necessary stitches when you can easily distinguish them from the ones that need to stay!

Merlynn said...

Thanks for telling in advance, I would have done the same xD