On the Fourth Day of Christmas, Embroidery Gave to me ...

Two Spring Blossoms

Spring is the second in the series of Amy Mitten’s Casket Keepsakes but the first that I stitched. Like Winter, this kit consists of two casket toys, each a needle work accessory cunningly disguised as a flower. A carnation and a cornflower.

Each flower has a Calyx, a front and back to each, which is worked in tent stitch on Laurel green linen. Details and an outline are worked in backstitch; the outline will be used when assembling the pieces later. One of the flowers holds a tape measure wound around a spindle. The spindle emerges from the front of the calyx through an eyelet outlined in buttonhole stitch.

The next step is to make the petals, lots of petals, which are needlelace, lots and lots, of needlelace. The needlelace is worked on paper templates. There are lots of them, one for each petal. There are dots on the templates, lots and lots of dots, that indicate where to place couching stitches. It is best to pierce holes at this point prior to stitching. I fashioned myself a tool to do this step by pushing the eye end of a needle into a champagne cork.

© Amy Mitten/Carol-Anne Conway

The carnation has four large petals. The needlelace is worked over rows of vintage metal thread that is first couched into place with a contrasting thread. The thread is couching in one continuous length worked up and down along the length of the petal. The working thread is then couched along the outline of the petal, over the previously couched down lines of vintage metal thread. Then, with the same thread, you begin the first row of detached buttonhole stitches working over both the outline and the first row of vintage metal thread. Subsequent rows of button hole stitch are worked through the loop of the buttonhole stitch in the previous row and under the next row of vintage metal thread. And you keep working back and forth along the rows making detached button hole stitches until you have complete the entire petal - on all four petals.

© Amy Mitten/Carol-Anne Conway

The cornflower petals are worked in a similar manner but the metallic thread is first laid in a zigzag pattern across the petals and the detached buttonhole is worked back and forth across the petals rather than up and down. The cornflower petals are smaller than those of the carnation but there are more of them, twenty in total.

© Amy Mitten/Carol-Anne Conway

I will admit it, the detached buttonhole stitching was a bit monotonous but after a while I got into a rhythm and my tension and consistency improved greatly by the time I had finished all of the petals.

As with the Winter Keepsakes, the assembly is as much fun as the embroidery. The carnation is a thread winder keeper with a silk pouch contained within the gathered petals. The cornflower is a small tape measure with the end of the tape forming the stem.

Happy stitching