Hanayama - The Flower Mountain

Last month I wrote about learning Japanese Embroidery. The various techniques are taught in Phases.

For Phase I, I stitched Hanayama - The Flower Mountain. This design introduces some of the basic techniques of Japanese embroidery, including laying weft and horizontal foundations, lattice holding, Japanese knots, and couching.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Japanese Art is full of symbolism and meaning. As I learn the embroidery techniques, I am trying to learn as much as I can about the motifs that I am stitching.

Each of the five mountains contain one design element: cherry and plum blossoms; chrysanthemums; maple leaves; pine trees; and kikko (tortoise shell). These motifs symbolise the seasons; spring, summer, autumn, winter and the cosmos (eternity). I don't fully understand why the cosmos is often depticted together with the four seasons. I think that it is related to the never ending sequence of one season following another.

Happy Stitching

Old Samplers and New Embroideries

I first met Sue on a Japanese Embroidery course and since then we have kept in touch by email/text as well as meeting up each year on the course. This weekend Sue came to visit and we went to see an exhibition. Every year by Witney Antiques and host a themed exhibition of their extensive collection of Samplers and Historic Embroideries. According to their catalogue they hold the largest stock of high quality antique needlework samplers in the UK along with an important collection of 17th and 18th century raised and silk work embroideries. Certainly the examples in the exhibition are extremely high quality and I could only marvel at the workmanship, especially when you consider that the embroiderers had none of today's advantages like prescription glasses or daylight bulbs. Many of these samplers were worked by very young girls and their workmanship is to be marvelled at. Sadly I cannot share any pictures with you, as they are copyright of Witney Antiques but you can get a taste of what they have on show here.

I've done hardly any stitching this week, my evenings have been spent spring cleaning the guest bedroom in preparation for Sue's visit. The room used to a be guest room but for the past year it was re-occupied by number one step-son and his girlfriend. Naturally, they wanted their own pictures on the walls but now that they have moved elsewhere and the room is cleaned, my embroidery can come out of storage and go back on the wall. For the first time my Phase I and Phase II Japanese Embroidery hang side by side on view.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

On a side wall is a small embroidery called Tempus Fugit, my attempt at design. It was inspired by a sampler shown in the Embroiderer's Guild magazine, Stitch, Issue 5. Their sampler was stitched by Aethelwynn, a young girl in one of the Wessex convents in AD1000. I began mine as a millennium project but put it aside for a couple of years before before finally getting around to completing it.

Happy Stitching

Kikko

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The final flower mountain represents the Cosmos and does not contain flowers but a design called Kikko. Kikko is a stylised representation of the tortoise. The tortoise is associated with longevity because it lives for so long. The tortoise can be embroidered in a realistic way, sometimes with streaming moss growing from its shell to depict its great age but it is also represented as individual or grouped hexagons or, as here, by an overall pattern.

For me, this was the most challenging design to stitch. I found it difficult to keep the short stitches parallel and to keep a crisp straight outline. It is all stitched in twisted silk. I very much like the design and will probably try it again, when my stitching has improved.

Each mountain is outlined with a pair of gold threads couched with red couching thread.

Happy Stitching

Maple leaves

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Maple leaves (momiji), of course, represent autumn. This is the time of year when leaves take center stage and become the belle of the ball. Before the arrival of winter the Maple puts on one last display the glorious colours.

The leaves are stitched in separated foundation with twisted silk. Notice how the angle of the stitches alters to follow the shape of the leaf.

Chrysanthemums

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

A sacred flower of Japan, the chrysanthemum (kiku) is the symbol of Royalty. The multi-petalled yellow chrysanthemums are valued because they represent gold. Many petals equals lots of gold.

Each petal is embroidered with a diagonal foundation, that is diagonal to the area being stitched, not the foundation fabric. Again this stitch is very much like satin stitch. The yellow blooms are stitched with flat silk and have Japanese Knots of pale yellow silk twisted with a single strand of gold. Twisted silk is used for the orange blooms. I found it quite difficult to get the correct angle on the petals and made several attempts before I was satisfied with my stitching.

The leaves are worked with a horizontal foundation in flat silk, again horizontal to the area being stitched. Some of the stitches are very long but the veins of couched gold serve to hold them in place.

Happy Stitching

Cherry and Plum Blossoms

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Cherry blossoms (sakura) are synonymous with Spring. They symbolise new beginnings. The cherry, which falls at the height of its beauty without withering, is one of the symbols of the samurai warrior, who had to be ready to give his life instantly.

Each petal has a vertical foundation, stitched with softly twisted silk. The vertical foundation is similar to satin stitch. Each stitch is the whole length of the area to be filled, lying parallel to the vertical axis of the petal. The stamens are a pair of fine gold treads couched with red couching thread. The pollen is two short straight stitches in pale yellow silk.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The plum (ume) blooms while snow is still on the branches and symbolises new hope. The old bent tree, still producing a profusion of blossoms, stands for longevity. Plum seems to be associated with both winter and spring. As I mentioned yesterday, plum is one of the three friends of winter, together with pine and bamboo.

Plum petals have a vertical foundation of flat silk and its stamens are also couched gold thread. The pollen are Japanese knots of yellow silk twisted with a single strand of gold thread.

Happy Stitching

Pine Trees

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Remaining green throughout the winter, pine (matsu) symbolises endurance. It's unchanging appearance, despite the passing of the seasons, brings a feeling of good luck and happiness. Pine is also considered a symbol of longevity because of the long life it endures. Pine, plum and bamboo (take) are often depicted together and are know as the three friends of winter (shochikubai).

Pine is sometimes embroidered in a realistic way as Hideko has done on this beautiful butterfly. Here it is depicted in a stylised manner. The shapes that I originally thought were clouds are the clusters of pine needles and the gold lines below them are the branches.

The shape is first embroidered with a weft foundation in either flat or twisted silk. As it’s name suggests, a weft foundation is worked parallel to the weft on the background silk. The stitches are similar to satin stitch and should be just touching but not overlapping. Unlike satin stitch, the stitches can be long. The entire width of the shape is covered in a single stitch, so they need some kind of holding stitch to secure them in place. The flat silk foundations are held with a grid of fine silk, which is couched where two threads cross. I love this simple design, which gives the silk a quilted effect.

The twisted threads are held with a fine twisted thread in the same silk as the foundation. The thread is positioned at an angle to the foundation to make it vanish into the twists and is couched at regular intervals. The objective is to make the holding thread as invisible as possible.

Happy Stitching