Quaker Gardener Pouch

 

After the bicycle panel I moved straight on to the Gardener, which comes from panel D11 of the Quaker Tapestry, entitled Industrial Welfare.There it is associated with the Cadbury Company.

It is a more complex design than the earlier two so the tracing and reverse stitching took a bit more time.

I worked the roof first, then the gardener. His clothing reminded me of my grandfather, who was a nurseryman.

I don't recall him tying his trouser legs with string, but he well might have. His waistcoat and jumper certainly looked like this.

It took me a while to be satisfied with the tree. It probably still isn't the best, but I'm satisfied. In the original tapestry panel the blossom on the tree is white, but I stayed with the kit.

I originally intended to back this with similar cloth and make a tote bag, however the cloth proved elusive. I thought I had bought a pack along with the kit, but I must be mistaken about that. I tried the Hand Spinners and Weavers Guild to no avail, so opted to make a pouch.

I fortunately had a strip I had trimmed from the fabric supplied with the bicycle kit which matched this fabric and was the same length.

With that addition the fabric could be folded so that the embroidery fitted nicely on one side, with a zip insertion on the back. Most of the zips I had were too short, but one proved to be about right.

My go-to green ikat once again proved useful as lining. It was slightly tricky to line, but I managed most of it on the machine. I did have the iron going though the construction which certainly helped.

I enjoyed seeing the Quaker Tapestry, both in Adelaide and in Kendal. I also enjoyed visiting the Museum and Shop, both now closed.  

Finishing the three associated kits gives me great satisfaction and pleasure.

Quaker More Freedom Bicycle Bag

 

The second of my Quaker embroideries is entitled More Freedom  and features a woman riding a bicycle. It comes from the Quaker Tapestry panel A8, depicting the 1895 Manchester Conference. 

After finishing it, I realised there is some guidance in the published Quaker Gallery Stitch Guide, which I'm pretty sure I own! Somewhere. Having now looked at the Guide online, I notice Bridget Guest, the author, suggests adding a street scene to personalise it. I'm rather glad I didn't see that beforehand! 

As you can tell, my cyclist would be in trouble before she started with those wheels!  Perhaps, instead of tracing using the included iron-on transfer pencil, I should have used a compass.

The iron-on transfer gives, of course, a reverse image. Since, by this method, you are creating a pattern on the back of the fabric, it is what you want.

When you mount it right-side up in your hoop, voila! The wheels, however, are wonky.

It is an exercise in the basics - transferring the pattern, Quaker stitch and Bayeux stitch.

I managed those OK, but not perfect circles!

This time the fabric was enough to fold into a simple bag.

I added a zip, since I had one the right size- or almost. It dips slightly at one end.

I lined it in an appropriately coloured batik

and made a twisted cord. The zip means the cord can't be fully retracted for storage in the bag, so I added a bead and loop, so the length can be adjusted.

It can, if so desired, be stored inside except for a short loop serving as a handle. That should  cover most contingencies.

Again, I have no specific recipient in mind - and I certainly have more useful little bags than I will ever use, but hopefully someone  will take a fancy to it! It's too small to act as a bicycle bag, but it would do to carry a phone and purse safely while riding a bike if you didn't have safe pockets, giving you, yes, more freedom!

Quaker Kingfisher Bag.

I bought this kit when the Quaker Museum in Kendel, Cumbria, closed in December last year. I already had two other untouched kits I had bought there while visiting in 2019 or 2018. When I finished the Balvraid Hap I decided it was time I tackled all three. I began with the Kingfisher.

All three kits feature a figure from one of the embroidered panels of Quaker History on display at the Museum. These can still be viewed once a week.

The fabric provided in the kit is the woollen cloth specially woven for the Quaker Tapestry project. It comes with a cotton backing fabric, and the method of transferring the pattern is the same in all three kits: you use an iron-on transfer pencil to trace the design on to the cotton backing, place the wool behind the cotton and stem stitch around the outline through both layers, using the Appleton's wool provided and keeping to the colours on the illustration.

It's a relatively cumbersome  technique, in a world where we are accustomed to designs printed on to fabric, but the wool would certainly not take print, and this works.

The design requires thread painting, and I found myself with quite a few hanging threads in order to achieve the effect. As long as I left the threads on the right side of the work this presented no problem and it progressed quite quickly.

The final touch is scattering drops of water around the bird as it rises from the water with its catch.

I thought I had bought a pack of the fabric, but can't find it. I had hoped to use it as backing to turn this into a bag. I visited the Hand Spinners and Weavers' Guild Shop to see if they had anything similar, but was out of luck. 

While the design did not allow me to simply fold the edges in to make a small bag, I was able to cut a strip from the bottom and insert it to achieve the same. I could then fold over the top edge and line it with green watery batik.

After discussion with Veronica, I decided to add a cord so it can be worn as a cross-body bag. After testing the cords I had, I made a twisted cord from lengths of 6 of the colours in the embroidery.

Also in consultation with Veronica, I made a loop and added a button. The cord can be stored inside the bag if not required.

I'm somewhat surprised how well this has turned out. I'm not sure who will use it, but it does, I think, justice to the Quaker designers. It isn't large, but will accommodate a phone and purse, or a small project.

A really satisfying finish.