Tudor Rose - Part 2

The second lesson of Tudor Rose concentrated on the flower. Each of the two flowers, the outer red one and the inner white one were outlined with backstitch using Soie Perlee. I’ve hadn’t used Perlee threads much before this project and had only worked with cotton Perlee before. It is not a thread that I liked very much but that is probably because it is not suited to the type of embroidery I usually do. However, I really enjoyed working with it on this project. That may be because the thread used is 100% silk and I am a total silk addict but I also liked the weight and the degree of twist in the Soie Perlee.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

The petals are filled with alternating up and down buttonhole stitch with return. I had done this stitch on the gold work sampler but using a metallic thread. I practised the stitch using the Soie Perlee on my doodle cloth before attempting it on the Tudor Rose.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

The first few rows of each petal the detached buttonhole stitch is worked in metallic thread on a silk return. The remainder of the petal is work entirely in silk.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

The inner flower is worked in exactly the same way, combining white and silver instead of red and gold.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

In the picture of the stitched sample supplied with the course notes the stitches are much more compact than mine. I think this may be because the back stitch outline was done with smaller stitches. I think the open lacy effect of fewer stitches, as on mine, has a certain charm, but on balance I think I prefer the smaller, denser version.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

The centre of the flower was also covered in lesson two but it is quite textured and uses delicate gold perlees so I decided to leave that part until after I had completed the leaves in lesson three.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Tudor Rose - Part 1

Life continues to be busy but I still (determinedly) make time for some stitching most days. Now that the finer weather is here stitching time competes with gardening time and lately the garden has been winning. The pond has been planted and we now have some fish. The borders around the pond and patio are mostly planted; the plants soften the hard edges and make the pond/patio/lawn look more integrated. The evenings have been sufficiently pleasant to allow us to eat our dinner on the patio and linger with a glass of wine until bed time!

Earlier in the year I did another online gold work class with Thistle Threads. This was a short course (3 months) that complimented the much longer (18 months) Tudor and Stuart Gold Master Class but each class is stand along and they could be taken in any order. The Tudor Rose class focuses on composite stitches that combine silk and metallic threads.

In lesson one we worked on the stems and two of the leaves from each spray of five leaves. The stem is worked in two passes; first a foundation is stitched in Soie Perlee, this is then laced with a gold wire.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

My first attempt at the stitch (which I forgot to take a picture of) was not very successful. I made the foundation stitches too small and was not able to lace the gold wire through them. On my second attempt I made the foundation stitches twice as big, this made the lacing much easier. In hindsight I think these foundation stitches are a little too large and that 1.5 times the original size would have been sufficient.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

The first two leaves on each stem where all worked in the same way. Each leaf was outlined with reverse chain stitch using Soie Perlee and then filled with rows of reverse chain stitches alternating between Soie Perlee and gold wire. Again, I think that I could have made the stitches a bit smaller.

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Exhibition Extended

I have just heard that the exhibition of Japanese Embroidery at The Coach House Gallery has been extended. Attendance has been very good and the exhibition so well received that the Gallery want to run it for a second month.

If you happen to be on the island of Guernsey during June, do take the opportunity to go and see it.

The exhibition runs until 27 June 2014 and is at The Coach House Gallery, Les Islets, St Peter's, Guernsey. The gallery is open daily, including Sundays, from 11.00 am – 5.00pm.

Happy Viewing

Exhibition - The Coach House Gallery, Guernsey

Some of my Japanese embroidery friends are currently exhibiting on the island of Guernsey. They are all beautiful stitchers so I know that this will be a stunning collection of work.

By coincidence, J was also on the island of Guernsey last weekend taking part in a bar billiards tournament. Had I known that his trip would coincide with the preview and opening of their exhibition, I would have arranged to go with him. Unfortunately, I didn’t know until too late and I will not now get another chance to see it.

Denise has sent me some pictures of the exhibition. The Coach House Gallery looks like a lovely setting for their exquisite embroidery. If you happen to be on the island of Guernsey during May, do take the opportunity to go and see it.

The exhibition runs until 30 May 2014 and is at The Coach House Gallery, Les Islets, St Peter's, Guernsey. The gallery is open daily, including Sundays, from 11.00 am – 5.00pm.

Happy Viewing