Canvaswork Needlecase Sampler with Carol Mullan

This was a two-day class at the Guild. Carol is a great teacher, totally focused on students, always working to enable them to create for themselves. We were asked to bring blending threads and a contrast, and to try plain and variegated.

I began with blending, but then grabbed a set of variegated I had bought and forgotten about years ago. What a good idea!

At the class, all the sensible students are busy making colour harmony, while I am being carried away with my newly recovered colour possibilities.  

The design is Carol’s and I shalln’t discuss it. Obviously, it consists of squares in a grid. Mine is not accurate.  By the end of Day One I had stitched myself into a kind of colour gridlock (above) with only a vague idea of how I was going to escape.

Very few of the Guild chairs are comfortable for a full day class, but I didn’t do too badly. However, at the end of the second day, as I was trying to finish the first side, my eyes would not cooperate and I stopped half an hour early.

I had a few other higher priority projects on the go, and had  intended to finish the last corrner then put this aside until after Christmas. However, my mind kept playing. It occurred to me that I did not have to work the grid again. As the ideas kept coming, I decided to keep going. 

I worked a central set of squares to colour-match the spine, then the date and my initials. From there I worked designs all the way around the edges, choosing the colours to blend and merge.

 

I focused on colour and overall pattern rather than variety of stitches. By now I was so focused on finishing that I forget to edge it before cutting it out - forcing me to work the edge with very little leeway.

The back is certainly not pretty, but it does provide strength! I've tidied the initials so they are readable but not dominant.

I found an appropriate scrap of poplin to line it before adding doctor's flannel, a button and a loop. It came out surprisingly well.

  I hadn't expected to end up so quickly with a useful and attractive needlecase. Thanks Carol.

Embroidered trousers

Kasia Jacquot advertised a workshop on embroidering jeans. I really liked the idea and the pattern. I even liked the cinnamon colour of the jeans but couldn't find them in my size. When Nancy Bird advertised her Sol pants in a cinnamon colour and my size, I grabbed the opportunity and ordered a pair (the colour is now sold out). They arrived last Friday, along with some more printed linens from Kasia. As I reported last week, I turned some of the linens into ornaments for the Guild Christmas sale. I got working on the pants straight after.

I thought they might be too long, but they fitted really well, including the length. I transferred one of Kasia’s designs by hand using a washable ink, then went over it with a fine archival pen. You can see both lines are rough - fine as a guide for the bottom of my pants!

I worked it in a hoop -  necessary to get the tension and to preserve my hands. This meant the embroidery was some 6" up from m the cuff but I think that's better than working without a hands-free hoop. Although it looks messy, the hanging fabric was easy to manage and I could work some of it with one hand inside through the waist, some with my hand through the leg opening.

The stitches are simple - satin stitch, stem stitch and leaf stitch. I kept the colours close to the ten shades Kasia uses. The flower heads are DMC22, the leaves in three close shades of olive green and the centres DMC420.

The most difficult part was stitching over the seam that runs down the centre of the leg.  In a couple of places it was easier to do this out of the hoop 

For the most part, each of the three flowers fitted within a 6" hoop with a final move or two to connect up the stem.

I had originally intended to embroider both legs, but decided that was overkill. My granddaughters agreed - asymetrical is best.

I think it would, perhaps, be better located lower on the leg, but it is fine as is.

It's not my usual palette, and I haven't worn them yet, but I tried a few tops against them and think I have at least three that will work

Summer will tell.

Ornaments for the Guild Christmas Sale

The Embroiderers’ Guild holds an annual Christmas fundraising sale, sometimes as a Market, sometimes a Stash Sale. This year organisers appealed for bookmarks and ornaments. When I enquired about my printed paper bookmarks, the idea was readily embraced, so I have 40 of those ready to go. 

Recently Kasia Jacquot had a sale which included a print of her small Folk Motifs on Linen. One I have in mind as a Christmas gift. I thought the lower three could be backed and stuffed to make ornaments for the Guild. The linen arrived on Thursday and I set to work.

I began with the bird (mainly because it was the easiest one to cut out!), working it in my hand, then cutting it out leaving about half a centimetre margin, which I folded under.

I had  thought of beading the edges togrther, but decided that would be overkill, so buttonholed the edges together. It was a very fat bird when finished, but I wasn't going to undo.  

None of the regular wool felt I had was a suitable colour, so I used part of a piece of hand-dyed felt in my stash. It was a bit thinner than ideal, but worked well enough.

I added a message after It was stitched together. Awkward, but possible.

I tackled the next two together, embroidering both before cutting out. This time I didn't stuff them as full. 

I still decided to button-hole the back to the front. I was tempted to bead, but decided it wasn't secure. In the end I machined the edges together, then buttonholed over the machine stitches. That's secure and looks OK.

The backs use more hand-dyed felt, and have a word - stitched before cutting! 

I do hope somebody likes them.

The embroidery on the house motif was slightly more challenging - partly in deciding on stitches and also because the message is longer.

I decided not to embroider every component. The windows seemed best left as printed.

I finally got the chance to add sequins and beads. While I machined the sides and base, the roof line is secure and stable with sequins and beads.  Interestingly, the straight lines make it much easier to ensure the sides are secure. 

This is intended as a Christmas gift and I'm hoping the person I have in mind will like and use it.

I’ve had some little cross-stitched stockings ready to make for several years and was thinking of finishing these for the Christmas sale,  but other things have taken priority. It looks unlikely I will manage these this year.

So, in addition to the bookmarks, I now have a small collection of decorations for the Guild Christmas sale.  I also dug out a couple of hardanger snow flakes I’ve made but not yet gifted, and similarly a beaded Santa. 

I don't know if these will be of interest to people, but I'm very pleased to have brought the idea to fruition, rather than adding to my considerable pile of unstarted or unfinished projects! 

The two remaining motifs can wait. Given their shapes, I plan to back these with template plastic to make either pinwheels or flat decorations - maybe next year. This is enough for one weekend.