Japanese Embroidery World Exhibition

I am going to Cambridge for a few days. I shall be meeting up with friends from my Bournemouth classes and attending the Japanese Embroidery World Exhibition.

Members of Kurenai-Kai in Japan have reproduced thirty-one Kombuin Fukusa, these and other embroideries will be on display at the Kaetsu Centre until 18 November.

From Sunday to Tuesday I will be working on improving my embroidery skills at a class. Embroidery Bridge Between East and West is a special design created for the World Exhibition.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The design is work on white/gold kimono silk; the weft threads are alternately white silk and gold metallic. This will be the first time I have stitched on metallic fabric and I am more that a little apprehensive about it. Phase III was the minimum requirement for enrolling and I am currently on Phase III but to be truthful, I am not sure that my stitching skills are good enough yet. This is not me being modest, I know how many times I have to redo some bits and I am told that metallic backgrounds will not stand much reworking. However, it is a wonderful opportunity to meet new stitchers and to learn from the masters, and you have to push yourself sometimes.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I took particular care framing up, I did not want to damage the fabric before I began the class, nor could I put aside the thought of how much this small piece of fabric cost. When I told a colleague that these 15 inches of silk cost 81 pounds, she asked how I could justify spending that on material. I told her that I no longer justify spending money on my hobby – I work hard for my money; I pay my bills in full and on time; and I save something every month for embroidery so I can spend it without guilt. None-the-less, I am still terrified that I will damage it before the class!

Happy Stitching

Plimoth Sampler - Finished

So, here is the completed sampler. I was able to stitch each motif in an evening and thoroughly enjoyed all the stitches, especially those that I had never tried before. The sampler is now in the post on it’s way back to Plimoth Plantation.

If you haven’t already paid a visit to The Embroiderer’s Story, I recommend that you do and, if you are so inclined, order a sampler kit and support this amazing project. Half the cost of the kit goes directly to the project and all the completed samplers will be used as part of the Exhibition due to open next year.


On a completely different note, I received an email at the weekend to let me know that my first Comfort Doll has finally found her way to Pat Winter. I am so happy as I thought she had got lost.

While I am urging people to take part, this is another really worthy cause. I love making things and often don’t know what to do with them once they are finished, what better than to send it to someone who could do with a little comfort in their life. If you don’t have time to make a doll, visit the blog anyway and see some of the amazing dolls that have been donated.

Happy Stitching

Plimoth Sampler - Knot Stitch

I found this the most challenging of the stitches on the sampler. Again, the instructions are very clear and I was able to follow how to do the stitch. The difficult part, for me, was getting the correct tension and maintaining an even twist in the thread. However, I enjoyed the stitched and really like the braided look of the line of stitches - Braid Stitch is an alternative name for Knot Stitch.


I would like to try this stitch in a firmer thread or even a metallic thread as I think they would make a nicely defined looping stitch.

Happy Stitching

Plimoth Sampler - Ceylon Stitch

I am having so much fun with this sampler. All the filling stitches, are fairly new to me, but the instructions that come with the kit could not be more clear. Not only are they well written they also have both line drawings and photographs of each step.

This worm is first outlined with backstitch and then filled with Ceylon Stitch. It took me a while to sort out the tension but otherwise I found this stitch simple and very pleasing.


Happy Stitching

Plimoth Sampler - Detached Buttonhole Needlelace

I have done detached buttonhole before but never as needlelace.

Part of the outline is worked as back stitch, and part of the outline is a couched thread. After the detached buttonhole with reverse is completed, the couching stitches are removed so that part of the buttonhole 'fabric' is released from the background fabric.



Happy Stitching

Plimoth Sampler- Spiral Trellis

I thought that trellis stitch was fun, spiral trellis is even more fun! I have tried this stitch once before - on my first comfort doll. Then I had a few problems with tension because I did not 'drop' stitches. This time I paid a lot more attention to tension and I think the results are much better.

Happy Stitching

Plimoth Sampler

A blog that I am following with particular interest at the moment is The Embroiderer’s Story. The Plimoth Plantation is recreating a 17th-century Embroidered Jacket and the blog is chronicling their progress. The jacket is exquisite and the team are sharing incredible information regarding their research, the materials used, the history of the design and stitches, not to mention frequent bulletins on the actual embroidery. I can’t tell you how much I would like to go to one of their stitching sessions and work on this jacket.

As that seems unlikely to happen, I am doing the next best thing. Before you can join a stitching session you are required to stitch a sampler. These samplers are also available to those who cannot attend. Half the cost of the sampler goes towards the project and the sampler itself is returned to the Plantation to be used in the exhibition. The Jacket will be in a glass cabinet to protect it, but visitors will be allowed to handle the samplers so they can see the stitches up close.

I received my sampler about a month ago but only now have time to start it. So far I have worked two of the motifs.


The sample is worked on the same linen as the actual jacket except it is white where as the jacket is cream, and uses the same silks - soie perlee. I've never used this thread before. I like it a lot; it has a tight twist and lovely sheen. Not in the kit, unfortunately, is a sample of the 'sparkly' thread also used on the jacket. The best photo I can find of it is the photo of the fox gloves under 'nitty gritty', here. If I have understood this correctly, this thread has been specially commissioned for this project and is not currently available to the general public. I for one would like some of this thread in my stash, I hope that the manufacturers decide to release it for general sale.

The top motif has a reverse chain outline and the filling stitch is detached buttonhole with return. The ‘return’ is the straight stitch from the right to the left so that you always work the buttonhole stitched from left to right. I really enjoyed working the motif but found the small points at the top of the calyx difficult and don’t think that I joined them into the chain outline correctly.

The second motif has a back stitched outline and the filling stitch is trellis stitch. I have never worked this stitch before but found it relatively simple to do (although I am not certain that I worked the stitch at the end of each row correctly. I like the look of this stitch a little more than the detached buttonhole stitch.

Happy stitching