Building a castle...still.

Four months are gone since my last post, everyday life doesn't let me have all the free time I would like to have for embroidery so I made a promise to myself that I would not post  untill the castle was finished, this to push me to do as much as possible but I realized that going ahead so slow, people will probably forget this Blog :)

So the castle is not finished, the left tower is not completed, the roof is waiting for tiles and some final touches are still to be made but here it goes ! And I can say I'm pretty happy with the result.

The ground under it maybe was the most difficult part, the colour arrangement of the drizzle stitch and keeping a sense of continuity in the whole thing is something that needs a good attention. It's easy to focus on the element one is working on and "forgetting" what's near or under it so the risk of loosing that sense of "going all together" is always around the corner specially if one doesn't stitch everyday or has long pauses in between.

I'm determinate to complete it soon so...watch this space ! and let me know your thinkings too !

It also has mica windows !

And the pear tree is growing too.

All the embroidery was made upsidedown, so here you can see my stitching view  ...not the best but I can't reach the
top from the correct side as the frame is too big...longer arms pleeaseee !

Back to first love.

I can say I have grown holding a pencil or a brush, since I was just a little child about fourty years ago; mother could "forget" me at my little desk drawing, colouring, cutting and pasting paper for hours and hours.

Then when I was about ten aged, I was used to help to reorder the kitchen and sometimes wash the dishes after lunch to get some very little money that I saved to buy coloured felt pen o coloured pencil sets...so I learned very early that one has to work and save if wants to have something, good lesson !

And at fourteen old, I got my first wooden easel, oil colour, brushes and canvas, it was a like a dream but that wasn't my way.

My real love was born any years later when my husband gifted me my first watercolour paintbox and since then this has been my favourite tecnique. 

Getting older, I have also studied many years the art of painting on porcelain but when I was finally good enough, Fibromyalgia stopped my run as pain was too much because that kind of painting  requires an incredible concentration and it is a real fatigue.

So I dedicated my attentions to embroidery "thinking" it was something relaxing and you all know eveything about the last years.

But embroidery is not relaxing for me, I love the planning, the start and the finish of a project but not what's in between ! I easily get anxious when something is not like I would or bored when a work takes ages to be completed and that's probably why have so much works on the way but just sporadic finishes.

Recently really felt the need to do something truly relaxing, something handy that doesn't require much materials to be made so what best that painting again using my old watercolours and just a brush and a glass of water ? but as always I'm not so easy, I love botanical subjects and reading Blogs here and there about Botanical painting I discovered an incredible and old material: CALFSKIN VELLUM ! yes, the one used in old manuscripts. So I ordered some samples from William Cowley in UK which is a very old manufacturer of parchment and vellum and here you can see my first adventure...there is a world behind this tecnique, YAY ! I have a new play ...and IT'S relaxing too !

So now you know where my crazy brain has been in the last five months...

Adapted from Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta Folio 52 -
10 x 10 cm

 still don't feel ready to paint live subjects but by now  it's ok too.

I could not resist to sew a  wallet for my brushes using William Morris fabric tied with a fingerloop 

braid !...this means that I won't stop being an embroiderer too :)

Elizabethan inspirations.

Well, it was time. I have been studying Elizabethan embroidery for long and finally I had the feeling to do something real not only theory.

So decided to take a fragment from the panel owned by the Embroiderers'Guild UK and shown on Carey's book Elizabethan Stitches; my version has some motifs in different position respect to the original as I liked to add a personal touch.

Size is 15X15 cm and I still don't know what will be, maybe a little cushion surrounded by a gold period bobbin lace, or a sweetbag or a framed panel...who knows? 

It's made in Pipers silks, 4 strands for the detached buttonhole and AVAS Perlè for the trellis stitch; flower and fruits are in Gilt Silke Twist a bit padded to make them gently raised.
Gold scrolls are in plaited braid stitch (Carey's version)  using  n°4 gilt passing thread on silk core by Golden Threads.

Now back to stitch, I wish to have it all done soon !

Watercolour paint box

 I've not been painting  with watercolours for years taken by the the porcelain art first and by embroidery after. But this was my "first love" and one can never forget it so...I decide to re organize all my supplies in a nice way so brush, colours and palette stays all together.
What better than a fabric covered cardboard box ?
Now I only need to find the time and a bit of inspiration.

Soon my new embroidery project  start in "Elizabethan style".....

  

                             

Bobbin Lace

Why bobbin lace ? Everything started because I'm in search of an appropriated metal trim/ribbon to use for covering the edges of the stumpwork mirror when it will be finished...well still there is a looot of time but I like to do things "in time" :)
I think that the original trim is made using a weaving loom tecnique but when I saw the edgings of the 17th C. English  coifs and jackets that are made in bobbin lace, I thought that maybe was possible to achieve something that could work for my purpose too.
One of the main stitches used in bobbin lace can give a nice trim that I will probably use once I have mastered a bit more the tecnique and found the correct size of metal thread.
Have to say that I'm not interested in bobbin lace in general, just on how to make 17th C edgings because I think it would be  nice to be able to make my own finishes,  just in case ...
Here is my first try for the braid, not perfect at all but I'm starting understanding the method.

Then I tried this motif, which is from  the Nottingham cap in the Middleton Collection. 

The thread used here is not a real metal one, I have used Anchor gold Ophir that was indicated in the book but to be historically correct, it should have been made in 9DRM gilt Tambour which is much more  similar to the old one ...still waiting for it in the mail. 

Starting. I needed to use mini hair clip to avoid the thread unravelling from the bobbins.
And the pillow is self made, velvet very stuffed with vegetal fibres !

Working...

Finished sample, again not perfect as bobbin lace really needs practice.

I have learned the basics stitches here:

http://laceioli.ning.com/group/bobblinlace-beginners/page/bobbin-lace-basics

and:

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/lace/stitches.htm#cloth

The books that have been fundamental are from Gillian Dye:

 

They have the patterns for all the laces shown inside and some instructions.

This is another very interesting one from Rosemary Shepherd but I still not have it:

The most common metal threads to make this laces are 9 DRM silver or gilt Tambour and No.3 silver or gilt smooth passing, all available from Neil at Benton and Johnson in UK.

And the adventure goes on....

Building a castle.

Stich by stitch, the castle is growing. In the original mirror from Metropolitan Museum it was located on the right side corner but in my version,  I have moved it in the middle of the design under the sun and clouds,  because I didn't like too much the lady that was in that position in the model. So I just have to copy from the old one..."just"...well is not so easy specially for the colour matching. But I think is coming out nicely.

The original castle from Metropolitan

The wall is made in corded detached buttonhole worked separately then couched on the ground with a little stuffing. 

The green ground is made in brick stitch over a 35ct linen then cut and applied, again with only a thin layer of felt under.

The wall of the building is also made like the pink wall in corded detached buttonhole stitched in different shades of brown with a bit more of padding to add dimensionality.

As you can see I'm working together different parts to better understand the colour placement and for not loosing the the "sense" of the whole thing. So only the rabbit on its ground is really finished. 

There's still a lot to do....and the little dog on the right also has a ground to stand on ! It's made like in the original, a multicoloured Trellis stitch that I have learned on Sue Tortoise wonderful Blog:

http://suetortoise.wordpress.com/embroidery-and-crafts/the-trellis-stitch-family/

thanks Sue for your lovely post !

In the daylight.

The whole looking.

Until next time !

Needlelace...it's time to start !

In the last months I have been focused about needlelace topic, the mirror I am re-acting has really a lot of parts made in this tecnique so was imperative to understand more about.
I started from threads... which kind ? thickness ? colour range available ?
In old Stumpwork needlelaces, different thicknesses of silk threads where used and silk size is related to the size of the needlelace one is going to make. From what I have seen in old works, a least two different sizes where used. Flowers, leafs and small elements where made in a very fine silk thread comparable with a modern 100/3, larger parts like dresses and grounds where obtained using a thicker thread comparable with a modern 40/3 or Perlè.
The old silk was less twisted than the modern ones available  but I believe it's nearly impossible to find on the market a kind of silk that matches perfectly with the old one so I will have to accept a compromise.
In the photo you can see different small tests, these are my final tests after having tryed many other silks that where absolutely not working well.

Devere 18 threads: is a 3 ply filament silk, S twist and has  a nice "body". It does not catch on hands also if is a filament kind and is a real pleasure to stitch with.
This size makes this silk a good candidate for small needlelaces, pity that the green gold called Basil is not available since many months so the colour range for historical  greens is not complete; good range of browns available.

Devere 36 threads: same as previous, double the thickness, same colour range of the 18 threads. Ideal for larger needlalce parts.

Au Ver A Soie 100/3: is a 3 ply spun silk, similar in size to Devere 18 threads.
Because is a spun silk and has a lower amount of twist, is a bit less "bodied" compared to the Devere 18 th. so needlelace comes out a bit "softer" but this is not a problem specially if corded buttonhole is used.
Has a great colour range ! This will be my choice for flowers and leafs.

Au Ver a Soie Gobelins: is a 2 ply filament silk, not very "bodied" and less twisted than the previous ones. Personally I don't like so much the look that this thread gives to needlelace as seems me a bit messy but this is just me.

Au Ver A Soie Perlè: is a filament silk, with a nice body similar to size 40/3 so much thicker than the others. Colour range available is pretty good and it's an easy silk to use.  I really like the look that this thread gives to larger pieces of needlelace so this will be my second choice for grounds and dresses.

Not shown but tested, Mulberry Silks 3 ply filament F40/3 is also a very good option to AVAS Perlè as is very similar , maybe a bit stiffer which in some cases is not bad. Good colour range available but is not listed in Mulberry  web site so ordering this silk is always a trouble as one needs to refer to the colour sets listed in the other kind of silk and ask to convert them in F40/3.

Coats Faro is a filament 3 ply 40/3 buttonhole silk, generally used by taylors to hand stitch buttonholes. Gives nice results like Perlè and Mulberry but I don't know if it is easy to get everywhere and I don't think it worths the research ( I found some spools  as bargain for few cents in a stock house that's why I have it).

Hope this helps...
And what about you ? What do you generally use or plan to use? Please share your experience and suggestions with stumpwork needlelace !

17th C. Queen Butterfly Little Cushion

The inspiration for this little cushion came after seeing a wonderful panel embroidered in queen and tent stitch at the Metropolitan Museum you can see here:

http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/es/original/DP157562.jpg

then I decided to reproduce a fragment, the little butterfly located in the lower left part near the deer.

Here is the final result: it's stitched on 35ct Northern Cross linen using Piper's silks in historical colours. The interlaced metal stitches where made using an extra fine gilt passing on silk (7S by Leoni-Felisi ) and the cushion is backed with a dark green silk velvet handyed by me surrounded by a 5 finger loop braid. The little tassels are made covering a 6mm wooden round beads with Turk's head knot then attached to a little piece of braid.

I have learned a lot from this little project, size is only 8,5X8,5 cm,specially about how finish it and the tassels have been a real trouble and needed a lot of patience but I think it worth every minute I spent on it !

Today is an happy day because I was so long without a finish and I hope you will like it too !

In the sun light !

A special thanks goes to my dear friend and great embroiderer Claudia Brilli Cattarini-CBC Needlepoint - for her suggestions and encouragement.