Missing Harikuyo

I was very busy at the beginning of February and I did not get a chance to hold my annual needle cleaning ceremony in celebration of Harikuyo, the Festival of Broken Needles. I did however offer a little prayer of thanks to my needles but nothing as beautiful as the poem written by Lane Jennings and reproduced on Plays with Needles.

I have come to enjoy this annual ritual and was sad to miss it this year. To compensate myself and my needles I enrolled on Susan’s Elliot's Needlebook Ecourse.

© Susan Elliot/Carol-Anne Conway

I might have known that Susan would put the same level of care and energy into her first e-course as she puts into every other venture. The course was presented in a variety of medium, all delivered via a blog set up especially for the course. Even before the course began Susan welcomed use with a post to let us know that our kits had been posted and to give a supply list to those who had opted not to purchase the kit. The supplies in the kit were of the highest quality and arrived beautifully packaged.

© Susan Elliot/Carol-Anne Conway

When Lesson 1 was posted, I had a lovely surprise – videos! I have known Susan for several years now, through her blog and communicating via email but what a treat to see and hear her. I think that the videos where probably my favourite part of the course. It was like having Susan in the room with you. There were video demonstrations of every step and there were also pdf files that gave further information that I found very useful.

As well as the actual lessons, Susan posted extra blogs with related information about Hari-kuyo and needles.

© Susan Elliot/Carol-Anne Conway

The entire course was fun, beautifully presented and best of all, I was able to produce a needle book that I am very pleased with.

Happy Stitching

Purple Pansy

In my last post I mentioned that I have done three online courses that covered long and short stitch during the last year. I began the final course after I had finished Camellias and have just completed it. Soon after I finished the Chinese Flower by Trish Burr, I learned that Tanja Berlin was offering a course. Well, why stop at learning with one world renowned thread painting expert when you can learn with two!

© Tanja Berlin/Carol-Anne Conway

I am not going to do a comparison of the two courses other than to say that both are excellent and I have no hesitation in recommending either.

© Tanja Berlin/Carol-Anne Conway

The design (outline and contour lines) came drawn onto the fabric. The kit included an ample supply of the threads pre cut into stitching lengths and stored on thread cards. Also included was a booklet with well written instructions and excellent diagrams and further instructions were posted to the website each week. Students were encouraged to use the course forum to ask questions and post pictures of their progress. Tanja marked any observations onto the photographs and/or add any tips and suggestions in a comment below the photograph. I don’t think that everyone in the class used this facility; they may have preferred to email Tanja for a private review. Personally, I was happy to up load pictures of the bits I was not satisfied with and discover how to improve my stitching. I hope that others found the advice offered to me useful. I certainly benefitted from the observations made other photographs.

© Tanja Berlin/Carol-Anne Conway

Initially, I thought that the Pansy was a rather simplistic design but I now realise that it was a very good teaching device and getting the angles right, especially on the petals, was more difficult than I anticipated.

© Tanja Berlin/Carol-Anne Conway

I’ve written an awful lot about long and short stitch this year, perhaps too much, but his will be my last post on the subject for some time. I think that I have overcome my fear of the technique and will be more inclined to use it in future but for now I have lots of projects planned, none of which include LSS.

Happy Stitching

Camellias - finished

The last flower was not the final last thing on Camellias. Three leaves remained. These were outlined with a couched line of gold thread.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway 

When I look back on my journey with Camellias it has been the most difficult since I began Japanese embroidery but also probably the most rewarding because I have climbed a mountain.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway 

At the outset, it is no exaggeration to say that I was terrified on long and short stitch and even more scared of random long and short stitch. It seems ridiculous to talk about being afraid of a technique but that is exactly how I felt.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway 

The best way to tackle your fears is to face them head on and over the past year I have done 3 online courses that covered long and short stitch as well as stitching Camellias. I don’t feel that I mastered this technique but I have overcome my fear of it.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway 

Indeed, I have come to relish the challenge!

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway 

Camellias: 110 hours

Happy Stitching

Camellias - the last flower

Finally, it was time to revisit the last flower. I had started this in October as well at the branch and I decided that this also should be removed and started over. However, not because I didn’t like what I had already done but because I thought that my stitching might not match what I had done previously. And, if I am honest, I was looking forward to stitching this partially open flower; all of it, not just the small petals remaining.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

In Japanese embroidery the foremost elements are normally stitched first, in this case that meant the small turnover section of a petal. This was done in diagonal foundation rather than LSS. The remaining petals are done in random long and short stitch starting with the large petal on the right.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The last row of stitches on this petal is done with #1 gold 'WOC'. Japanese gold threads are made of paper with gold leaf applied to one side. The paper is cut into narrow strips that are then wrapped around a silk core. The thickness of the silk core determines the weight of the thread. 'WOC' stands for 'without core'. The gold leafed paper strip is very carefully removed from the silk core and threaded into the needle. It is very, very fragile!

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

On the three back petals there is barely room to add a second row of LSS. A few stitches here and there, some silk, some gold 'WOC' are all that is needed. It only took a few hours to stitch this little flower – it was over too quickly!

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Camellias - Branches

I had made a start on the main branch in October but did not like what I had done so I removed it. All of the branches are done in twisted silk so my next task was to twist some threads. They are done almost entirely in one shade of brown, but I twisted two threads that combined a little bit of green with the brown; slightly more in one that the other. I used these two threads at the end of the branches nearest the calyxes to give a hint of green in the newest growth.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The branches are worked in Long and Short Stitch, more over they are done in RANDOM Long and Short Stitch. You know, that double headed monster that reduces me to a jibbering wreck! Well, the monster decided to play nicely and we had some fun together! Yes! I really did enjoy doing these branches. It’s like I finally accepted that you can’t put the stitches in the wrong place because it is RANDOM – there is no right or wrong place. How liberating is that?

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Apart from the satisfaction I got from stitching the branches, I like how they bring everything together. At first you have a few flowers scattered about. The leaves then start to fill out the spaces and finally the branches bring balance and unity. I am beginning to really like this design.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Camellias - Flower Centers

Next I turned my attention to flower centres. I had previously stitched the flat silk foundations on two of the flowers.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The ribbed appearance of the centre is created by couched lines of thread. Actually, they are too short to qualify as lines; they are more like dashes! On the first flower, I couched all of the lines before plunging the ends. When I plunged the ends I pulled a few of the shortest pieces right through and had to redo them. On the second flower I couched and plunged each line in turn. I didn’t pull any of these lines out but they were marginally longer than the first set.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The pollen is represented by Japanese round knots. I have always found knots of any kind a challenge but gradually I have improved and now rather enjoy adding a few knots here and there.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Japanese round knots most closely resemble colonial knots but the method of working them is different. For a long time I could not get it and would frequently get in a tangle. Then last May, we went to Edinburgh to see the Shizuka Kusano exhibition. I watched the young woman who was demonstrating Japanese embroidery and was amazed at the speed and ease with which she stitched the round knots. At my request, she did them in slow motion and allowed me to make truly awful sketches of what she was doing. As bad as they were, those little diagrams were enough for me to try her technique when I got home.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I had not done any knots since then so I needed to refresh my memory before I started but I soon found myself stitching knots with ease. Not though with the skill and dexterity of the demonstrator.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Camellias - Leaves

It turned out that stitching flat silk foundations was the tonic that I needed.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

After a few sessions working solely on leaves I was beginning to look forward to working long and short stitch on the white flower; so much so that I decided to leave it to last. I know that sounds a little bizarre but I always like to keep something special for the end of a project. I find having something to look forward to helps me to get me through the more mundane techniques – not that I am finding anything about Camellias mundane.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

All of the silk leaves are done in one of two shades of green.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Some of them have a line of held thread along the central vein; some of them have a little short stitch holding.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

There is so little variation in the colour or techniques used, yet there is so much variety in the appearance of the leaves.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

This is just one of the many reasons Japanese embroidery delights me.

Happy Stitching