Last night was the first meeting of the Oxford Branch of the Embroiderer’s Guild following the summer break. Our guest speaker, Lauren Shanley gave a talk entitled Celebrations of Colour. Lauren was perhaps not the best 'speaker' that we have had, but when your work speaks for itself, who needs words.
To begin with, Lauren read to us an overview of her background, and the people, places and things that have inspired her. Growing up with an accomplished tailor for a grandmother and a talented seamstress for a mother, certainly triggered her love of fabric, stitching and colour, and her extensive travels have given her plenty of inspiration. Lauren transforms vintage fabrics, especially those from the 1950’s, into collages that she then embroiders by hand and machine, appliqués and beads into layers of colour and texture. From these she makes very individual clothing, bags and home furnishings.
We were treated to a slide show, chronicling her development as a textile artist and finally, to a fashion show of some of her work and best of all, we were invited to model the garments and to view them close up. (I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of some of our speaker, sharing their knowledge and allowing us to handle their work.) I modelled a couple of very colourful coats, not really the type of thing I have the personality to wear, but I still admired them greatly. (Actually, I am a little envious of women who are not afraid to wear exactly what they feel like wearing.)
One member asked Lauren if she only cut up vintage garments that were already damaged. Lauren replied, enthusiastically, ‘Oh no, I cut up every thing. I used to feel guilty about it, but not any more.’ She went on to tell us how she had purchased an expensive silk scarf in Italy, only to cut it up and use in a coat, when she returned home. Lauren relaxed and was far more comfortable talking her work than she was reading her prepared text.
Beautiful work, great to see it up close, you can’t really appreciate from the pictures on the web site just how much work and detail goes into each piece but you can see how much Lauren celebrates colour.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Comfort Doll - some progress
I have made a little progress with my comfort doll. After completing the satin stitch in gold Art Silk, I outlined the leaf and stitched the tendril in stem stitch using #1 imitation gold. The Art Silk looks lovely but it is so difficult to stitch with. I guess that is why it lay unused in my sewing box for so long!
Monday, 10 September 2007
Real Gold
This next butterfly represents my Dad. I am really excited about this butterfly; I think that I have made a bold design choice and that is unusual for me.
The starting point for the whole colour scheme was this embroidery, Happy Family and especially the 'Father'. The Father is embroidered entirely in black and white silk and gold metallic. The Mother is worked in pink and white silk with silver metallic. My idea is to embroider my Mother and Father butterflies in these colours and that each of the butterflies representing my brothers and myself will include something in a colour from each of the parent butterflies. I have had more ideas for the design of the Father than any other butterfly, but what I now intend to embroider is unlike any of my original concepts. The inspiration for what I have planned comes from a book called The Fine Art of Kimono Embroidery. The author, Shizuka Kusano, is an incredibly talented artist, her medium is embroidery and her canvases are (mostly) kimonos. A google search revealed lots of links to reviews of the book but I could only find two sites with examples of her work, here and here (you need to scroll down in both cases). I don’t have a sketch of my design, but I have a clear picture in my head - I hope that it works out the way I see it.
Although the colour scheme came from 'Happy Family', black and white is so appropriate for my Dad; he has very strong views on things. There are no shades of grey where Dad is concerned; a thing is one way or another, right or wrong, good or bad. Gold is also appropriate because he has a heart of gold (he just tries to keep it hidden). Growing up with my Dad was difficult and he and I often fell out, especially during my teens/twenties when I formed some strong opinions of my own. Even when relations between us were strained, I still knew that he was my champion in life - he is fiercely loyal. Once I made a rather silly mistake and got myself in a fix. I was really scared to tell him about my predicament; I thought that he would be extremely angry and disappointed in me. In fact I should have know that he would react exactly the way he did. He told me that although my situation was bad, it was not the end of the world and that we would be able to sort it out. He stood by me and supported me through the difficult months that followed, and eventually he told me to stop being angry and disappointed in myself and to put the past behind me. More than anyone, my Dad has made me the person I am today.
Over twenty years ago, Dad was suddenly taken ill and within days had a triple heart by-pass. At that time, his surgeon said that might live another 5-10 years. Since then, there have been times when we didn’t think he would make the next Wedding Anniversary let alone his Golden Wedding Anniversary. I am really grateful for the extra years we have had, it has given me an opportunity to get to know him and for us to develop a friendship and a more loving bond that I could have imagined possible. I still have hang ups about some aspects of my childhood and we still strongly debate some issues. I’m not sure if it is because he has mellowed or if it is because I have matured, or perhaps it is because we have each realised that other loves us, but we no longer fall out whenever we disagree.
All the gold on this design will be stitched in real gold; after all it is a Golden Wedding Anniversary gift. I have been told that real gold is much nice to stitch with than imitation metallic threads. I have padded the head with two layers of flat silk before stitching a final layer in #1 real gold.
Happy Stitching
The starting point for the whole colour scheme was this embroidery, Happy Family and especially the 'Father'. The Father is embroidered entirely in black and white silk and gold metallic. The Mother is worked in pink and white silk with silver metallic. My idea is to embroider my Mother and Father butterflies in these colours and that each of the butterflies representing my brothers and myself will include something in a colour from each of the parent butterflies. I have had more ideas for the design of the Father than any other butterfly, but what I now intend to embroider is unlike any of my original concepts. The inspiration for what I have planned comes from a book called The Fine Art of Kimono Embroidery. The author, Shizuka Kusano, is an incredibly talented artist, her medium is embroidery and her canvases are (mostly) kimonos. A google search revealed lots of links to reviews of the book but I could only find two sites with examples of her work, here and here (you need to scroll down in both cases). I don’t have a sketch of my design, but I have a clear picture in my head - I hope that it works out the way I see it.
Although the colour scheme came from 'Happy Family', black and white is so appropriate for my Dad; he has very strong views on things. There are no shades of grey where Dad is concerned; a thing is one way or another, right or wrong, good or bad. Gold is also appropriate because he has a heart of gold (he just tries to keep it hidden). Growing up with my Dad was difficult and he and I often fell out, especially during my teens/twenties when I formed some strong opinions of my own. Even when relations between us were strained, I still knew that he was my champion in life - he is fiercely loyal. Once I made a rather silly mistake and got myself in a fix. I was really scared to tell him about my predicament; I thought that he would be extremely angry and disappointed in me. In fact I should have know that he would react exactly the way he did. He told me that although my situation was bad, it was not the end of the world and that we would be able to sort it out. He stood by me and supported me through the difficult months that followed, and eventually he told me to stop being angry and disappointed in myself and to put the past behind me. More than anyone, my Dad has made me the person I am today.
Over twenty years ago, Dad was suddenly taken ill and within days had a triple heart by-pass. At that time, his surgeon said that might live another 5-10 years. Since then, there have been times when we didn’t think he would make the next Wedding Anniversary let alone his Golden Wedding Anniversary. I am really grateful for the extra years we have had, it has given me an opportunity to get to know him and for us to develop a friendship and a more loving bond that I could have imagined possible. I still have hang ups about some aspects of my childhood and we still strongly debate some issues. I’m not sure if it is because he has mellowed or if it is because I have matured, or perhaps it is because we have each realised that other loves us, but we no longer fall out whenever we disagree.
© Jennifer Ashley Taylor/Carol-Anne Conway
All the gold on this design will be stitched in real gold; after all it is a Golden Wedding Anniversary gift. I have been told that real gold is much nice to stitch with than imitation metallic threads. I have padded the head with two layers of flat silk before stitching a final layer in #1 real gold.
Happy Stitching
Saturday, 8 September 2007
The Pink Lady is Done
© Jennifer Ashley Taylor/Carol-Anne Conway
I think you can just about see, in this photograph, the difference that the pearlescent thread makes to the flat silk; it just adds a subtle hint of shimmering mother-of-pearl.
I am feeling more confident about the second wing now that I have completed the left-hand hind wing. The two wings appear more balanced than before. I still think the stitching on the right is better than on the left but I do not think that I will be removing it.
© Jennifer Ashley Taylor/Carol-Anne Conway
This butterfly really does look the way I imagined it when I was transferring the design. I love the way the two forewings sweep upwards and I have couched two pairs of #4 silver in the space between the segments of the wings to reinforce that effect. While the overall look of this butterfly is dainty and feminine, I think these two lines convey a sense of strength and stability. These are characteristics that I associate with my Mum and she has been a rock for me throughout my life.
© Jennifer Ashley Taylor/Carol-Anne Conway
So, I am half way there and this is how the three completed butterflies look together.
© Jennifer Ashley Taylor/Carol-Anne Conway
During the stitching, I was a little concerned that The Pink Lady is going to be too bright and dominate the entire picture. Seeing the three together, I am less concerned and keeping in mind what I have planned for the remaining butterflies, I think that the whole design will be balanced when done. It is common practice to stitch tissue paper over completed elements to protect them while stitching the remaining elements. Because I want to keep an eye on how the separate butterflies interact with each other and affect the overall dynamic of the design I have not done that. Instead I cover the completed stitching with a sheet of tissue paper and take a lot of care.
Happy Stitching
Thursday, 6 September 2007
Comfort Doll
Way back in January, Melissa blogged about this Paisley Heart designed by Robin Kingsley and offered as a freebie on Bird Brain Designs. I’ve seen several lovely versions embroidered in different ways including Melissa’s. Her husband, Gerard, layered fabrics and learnt several embroidery stitches for his; Grandma Ziki used it in a CQ block; Charlene stitched hers on sheer silk and Leslie stitched hers in Brazilian Embroidery Stitches. I have long since wanted to do this heart with some Rajmahal Art Silk that I had left over from a project I stitched about 10 years ago. The 9 colours I have are jewel bright and the threads are very lustrous but I remember I found them rather challenging to work with.
A couple of months ago, Pat Winter made an open request for comfort dolls for abused women. This is a project that I really want to contribute to but back in June I was a little over loaded with things to do. Although as much of my stitching time as possible is going into Flutterbys, I like to have another project for the evenings when the light is not good enough and my eyes are tired from working on a computer all day. When I finally completed my TAST french knot sampler, I decided to make a start on a doll. Robin Kingsley kindly gave me permission to adapt the Paisley Heart design for the doll.
This is what I have done so far.
The leaves and petals are satin stitched with two strands of Art Silk. I still find this thread challenging but some of the things I have learnt from Japanese Embroidery have helped, like half hitching the slipper viscous threads in the needle so they don't keep coming unthreaded.
The center of the flower is done in Spiral Trellis Stitch which I learnt about from The Emboiderer's Story, a blog about another great project, recreating a 17th century embroidered jacket, if this were in Plymouth UK instead of Plymouth USA, I'd definitely want to be involved in this. Anyway, I think the stitching should lay flat on the fabric but mine rises in a cone shape, probably because I did not decrease the number of stitches enough. I used the Art Silk but this time I twisted six strands (3+3) together.
I used the same twist for the dark green that I used for the stem, which I did in stem stitch (or outline stitch - I still never remember which is which).
I don't actually find this much better to stitch in artificial light but I am determined to make some progress with it, so I persevere.
Happy Stitching
A couple of months ago, Pat Winter made an open request for comfort dolls for abused women. This is a project that I really want to contribute to but back in June I was a little over loaded with things to do. Although as much of my stitching time as possible is going into Flutterbys, I like to have another project for the evenings when the light is not good enough and my eyes are tired from working on a computer all day. When I finally completed my TAST french knot sampler, I decided to make a start on a doll. Robin Kingsley kindly gave me permission to adapt the Paisley Heart design for the doll.
This is what I have done so far.
The leaves and petals are satin stitched with two strands of Art Silk. I still find this thread challenging but some of the things I have learnt from Japanese Embroidery have helped, like half hitching the slipper viscous threads in the needle so they don't keep coming unthreaded.
The center of the flower is done in Spiral Trellis Stitch which I learnt about from The Emboiderer's Story, a blog about another great project, recreating a 17th century embroidered jacket, if this were in Plymouth UK instead of Plymouth USA, I'd definitely want to be involved in this. Anyway, I think the stitching should lay flat on the fabric but mine rises in a cone shape, probably because I did not decrease the number of stitches enough. I used the Art Silk but this time I twisted six strands (3+3) together.
I used the same twist for the dark green that I used for the stem, which I did in stem stitch (or outline stitch - I still never remember which is which).
I don't actually find this much better to stitch in artificial light but I am determined to make some progress with it, so I persevere.
Happy Stitching
Monday, 3 September 2007
A Difficult Wing
The second wing has been giving me a few problems and I am not sure why. I am really pleased with the stitching on the first wing, but the second one does not look as good, despite unpicking and re-stitching several times.
I think the problem may be that I am stitching the 'wrong' way. On the first wing, I stitched from top/left to bottom/right so that I am stitching towards myself. A tool called a Tekobari is used to stroke the thread to help to make is smooth and shiny. On the second wing I stitched from bottom/left to top/right because I wanted the stitches to mirror those on the first wing. In this case I was stitching away from myself; this is the 'wrong' way. I could have stitched top/right to bottom/left, but with the angle of the stitches this felt cack-handed.
Now I have a dilemma. I want to remove the stitches and try again, but I am beginning to feel the pressure of time. It has taken me three months to get to this stage and my deadline is just two months away with three butterflies remaining. I think I will leave this for now and review it when I have stitched the remaining butterflies.
Happy Stitching
I think the problem may be that I am stitching the 'wrong' way. On the first wing, I stitched from top/left to bottom/right so that I am stitching towards myself. A tool called a Tekobari is used to stroke the thread to help to make is smooth and shiny. On the second wing I stitched from bottom/left to top/right because I wanted the stitches to mirror those on the first wing. In this case I was stitching away from myself; this is the 'wrong' way. I could have stitched top/right to bottom/left, but with the angle of the stitches this felt cack-handed.
© Jennifer Ashley Taylor/Carol-Anne Conway
Now I have a dilemma. I want to remove the stitches and try again, but I am beginning to feel the pressure of time. It has taken me three months to get to this stage and my deadline is just two months away with three butterflies remaining. I think I will leave this for now and review it when I have stitched the remaining butterflies.
Happy Stitching
Saturday, 1 September 2007
Pearlescent Pink
I bought this beautiful pearlescent pink thread while Flutterbys was still in the early planning stage. I thought that it would be perfect for imitating the shimmering, colour shifting qualities of a butterfly's wings.
Here I have combined it with pale pink flat silk to stitch diagonal foundation on the Pink Ladies fore wing.
You probably already know this but if you click on any of the pictures, you get an enlarged view which not only shows the details more clearly, but all of the mistakes as well.
Happy Stitching
Here I have combined it with pale pink flat silk to stitch diagonal foundation on the Pink Ladies fore wing.
© Jennifer Ashley Taylor/Carol-Anne Conway
You probably already know this but if you click on any of the pictures, you get an enlarged view which not only shows the details more clearly, but all of the mistakes as well.
Happy Stitching
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