Red Robin Panel 3: Wake up, wake up you sleepy head, get up, get up, get out of bed.

I'm working at the moment on a plan to alternate the male and female Scarlet Robins on each panel. This may change as I see how they are fitting together. This one, however, is a female and I worked her in stem stitch again.

To tell the story I began with a series of little hammocks slung from trees across the top of the panel. The hammocks are worked in needle-lace.

Underneath each hammock is the shape of a tiny person. The hammock can be lifted to reveal the sleeper underneath.

The more difficult part was embroidering sleeping people inside buildings. I hesitated between a home and a dormitory - such as a camp or shearers' quarters. In the end I went for a hybrid.I tried for straight and neat - but ended more Grandma Moses! This bit is shapes only - nothing to lift and reveal the sleepers.

The birdsong in this panel is my attempt to capture the song of the Scarlet Robin itself. I am not a musician and do not read music more than knowing one note is higher or lower than another. I found some recordings of Scarlet Robin birdsong  and played them over and over, trying to gain a sense of the way the notes might flow.  This time I worked the notes and sound waves before I added the panel back!

I also stitched over the words on this panel. I'm not happy with the 'take' of the printed words.

Finally I added the back panel and quilted lines around the borders of the panel. It's a bit wonky and crude but I think the story is there.

I'm enjoying this move into what is turning out to be narrative embroidery.

Punto Umbro

I am interrupting my account of my beading adventures to record my experience of last weekend. when I spent a fantastic two days attending Christine Bishop's Punto Umbro class at the Embroiderers' Guild. It was an energetic and friendly group, including quite a few country members who had come down for the class.

Christine had designed a mat - about 30cm square - that requires five stitches for the embroidery, two of which were likely to be familiar, and a couple more for the hem, once again demonstrating her ability to design a project to fit the time and capacity of her class. It was a challenge but possible to learn the stitches and complete much of the work in the two days.                                                                                                                                                                                       My first challenge was to get my Palestrina stitch sitting with the knots in the centre of my line, not to one side like railway tracks.

I eventually got the rhythm. I then had to work to get coverage I wanted on the 'elephant tusk' arms. My spacing needs some work.

I really loved working the needlelace bits - which is where we got to at the end of Saturday. Some of the country members were planning to enjoy a night socialising. I was by now hooked - and couldn't wait to bunker down to complete most of the outline that night. 

On Sundaywe began on the curly bits. I really enjoyed this stitch and the challenge of getting the mirror images right. It was so satisfying to see the pattern take shape.

While it wasn't finished at the end of the two-day class, it was very well advanced. We had also been through the steps for blocking the finished piece and practiced the stitch to finish the mat edge. I was highly motivated to finish it and went home to work on the last curls.

I did just that, finishing over the next 36 hours before I left for a few days in Canberra. 

I was able to block the piece the night before I left so I can finish the edging on my return. I tightened the piece just before I left. It was looking very smooth, promising a nice straight edge without ironing.

It's been a most satisfying and enjoyable little project - achievable, lots of learning, great company and an elegant product to reflect the experience.

Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery

This is a piece I began in a class last year. I came across it while organising my storage cupboard recently. It took me a while to remember any details of the class until I realised it was the class I did the day before I went to the UK last year. I had done a few leaves and stems in class then turned my head to packing and departing. No wonder I couldn't remember much!

The class was for the Embroiderers' Guild Certificate Course and taken by Eleni Dickson. She provided a kit and excellent notes - so I soon refreshed my memory and got stitching. I have been hoping to use Brazilian embroidery to work some Australian native plants. I had, however, never learned to use the Edmar threads.

Eleni's hints and instructions were very helpful and I was able to manage the synthetic thread - something I haven't done before.



The piece, though small, used a good, manageable range of stitches, including needle lace, bullion knots, leaf stitch, stacked stem stitch and colonial knots.

I liked the couched and beaded spray.

I have a number of these small Brazilian designs printed on to trigger cloth. I enjoyed doing this one so much I'm tempted to make up the eight or so that I have and put them together on a bag. This one was not on trigger cloth, so may not fit into such a scheme.

Discovering this unfinished piece led to a very enjoyable day finishing it off. It also gave me confidence  to revive my plan to work some Australian designs using Brazilian techniques.