Another veggie bag

I know I complained last November about the difficulty of stitching the vegetable bag from the RSN. It was tough stitching through the canvas.

I kept the bag for myself and it has proved to be great. I use it everytime I shop, especially, but not only, for vegetables. It is sturdy, capacious, and the outside pockets come in very handy for bottles and items that might get lost. 

So (you've guessed it!) I ordered a couple more, one the same as mine, with vegetables and one with flowers. I thought they would make great presents for family - all of whom are dedicated fruit and vegetable shoppers.

I've worked on one for an August birthday. I chose the flowers as a change from the vegetables.  The bag fitted a little awkwardly, but firmly, into a 12" hoop. I mostly kept my right hand inside the bag, below the hoop, and my left hand above. There are 12 flowers on the bag, and this arrangement allows three whole flowers and part of at least one more to be worked before moving the hoop. All in all, I think I moved it 5 times.

In general terms, I found it easier stitching this time. It was still a bit tough getting through the coating that marks the design but I didn't need a thimble this time. It is hardest where the lines are close together and the coating appears to be thicker, as where these stamen meet in the centre of the lily. Either there are fewer of these instances on the flower bag than the vegetable  bag, or I have improved my technique.I will find out when I tackle the second vegetable bag I bought along with this!

There is a nice range of flowers, none of them complicated to stitch. There are few stitch instructions, but illustrations suggest mostly stem or back stitch. I used a bit of feather stitch and open or detached chain.

Instructions, as before, are minimal, but that's not a problem. The thread provision is mostly generous. While I was missing a lighter shade of purple referred to, I had some in my stash, and I have ended up with a lot of spare thread in other colours.

I'm glad I relented and purchased another of these bags. Perhaps because I knew what to expect, this one was much easier to work and very satisfying.

One big advantage is that once the embroidery is done, there is no construction.  The bag is immediately usable

In this case, I did a bit of spot cleaning - the result of a small coffee spill while working on it.  The stain came out very easily.

I finished it a month ahead of the birthday for which it was intended. I hope it gets as much use as mine continues to do.

Stumpwork Violet RSN

I've been finishing off projects from my UK visit: I want to be ready to go to work on Nicola Jarvis's Dove Cottage sampler when it arrives back from the Wordsworth Museum Exhibition!

In the last week of my trip to England I attended a two day course at the Royal School of Needlework. As you can see, it was Easter!

It was a Stumpwork Violet and Silk Shading class  taught by Helen Jones. I chose it purely on the dates I had available and not for its content. Both Jenny Adin-Christie and Nicola Jarvis however, told me it would be a good class - and they were right.

We were located in the classroom with the square windows - the first time I have been in this room with its view over the courtyard, rather than over the grounds.





















     Wherever you look at Hampton Court it is interesting and visually attractive - even if a bit shabby.

We began couching wires and embroidering leaves using stranded cotton.

Towards the end of the first day we learned the silk shading technique.I got used to the idea that 'silk shading' is being used to describe a thread painting technique in any thread, rather than shading in silk thread.




I did quite a bit of work overnight to finish the leaves of the violet so I could cut it out, plunge and assemble it the next morning. We had a bit of time on this in the morning of the second day.

Most of my fellow students sensibly chose to do the green leaf, rather than the five petals in order to have something to plunge!

I wasn't regretful, as I wanted to be as close to finishing as I could be, to avoid taking home another UFO. I managed to have the violet finished and attached by the end of the day, along with an attached stem in silk-covered purl




and the best part of a leaf. I had started, but not finished, the thread-painted violet.




















Back at the hotel that night I worked to finish the piece. I finished it all, except for the beaded centre of the flower.




There was nothing I had not done before, but I learned a lot of techniques and tips. My stem to the silk flower is misplaced. I adapted to accommodate, but should probably have moved it. It remains as a reminder that
(1) violets are scraggly things and grow at odd angles
(2) I need to double check placement of purl.



Helen was a thorough, pleasant, relaxed and highly professional teacher. I benefitted - in technique, but also in enjoyment and relaxation.





It is interesting to be at the RSN classrooms, which are shabby, rambling and a bit ramshackle. You keep coming across wonderful pieces of embroidery sitting behind a makeshift display of current student work or items of interest.

It is a calm and pleasant environment in which to learn.



Once home, I found some gold pieces with which to fill the centre of the stumpwork violet. I then went searching for something on which to use it. This was not easy to find but I came up with a satin-covered box on Alison Coles' website and ordered one in green. I was very pleased with it and will, I'm sure, order more.


Mounting was pretty easy. The padded lid lifts off. I pinned the violet silk, cut it, gathered and lashed it,
















It fitted quite snuggly, but I used double-sided tape to ensure it didn't dislodge

It caught Veronica's eye - so might end up with some birthday jewellery in it for her.



I'm really pleased with this result. I learned quite a lot in a really relaxed atmosphere with people who share some of my interests and finished up with an elegant, useful object to remind me of it.

What more could I ask for?

RSN Stumpwork Sheep and Daisies

On 31 May I attended a one-day course at the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court. An account of the day can be found in my travel blog.

There were many interesting needlework elements in the day, not the least of which were those little tips and habits that individual teachers impart. Heather Lewis was no exception. The thing I loved most was her repeated " Be brave!" - continued encouragement to take risks and have a go with a stitch or a technique. I might find a way to embroider it, I found it so compelling.

Of interest to me also was her insistence on always starting with a knot in the thread, planted from the top, secured by two small stitches that are stitched over before the knot is cut. It is a form of waste knot within the work itself. Heather attributes this habit to the amount of work she did as a student at the RSN working on  huge frames that could only with difficulty be accessed from underneath.

We learned to construct filled wire petals, a free-standing wired needlelace leaf, wired horns and a stuffed sheep.

I got into strife with the needlelace leaf because I assumed the corded needle-lace would be worked around and around instead, as it is, worked back and forth. Always dangerous to make assumptions. I did read the instructions - but my assumptions got in the way of understanding. I managed, after the class, to adapt what I had done - a lot easier than undoing it, and I didn't have enough wire at hand to start again from scratch.

Another useful technique was placing strong tracing paper under the needlelace leaf so that it can be stitched without danger of attaching it to the underlying fabric by mistake.
Perhaps most useful of all was Heather's insistence that French knots only ever have one wrap. If you want to make a fatter knot, use more thread. So our sheep are made with 6 strand French knots. The six strands are a mixture of two colours - giving that lovely mottled sheep effect. So simple - but I would never have thought of it.

I spent a few hours the day after the class working on my piece. This was partly because I am an obsessive finisher, but also because I wanted to reinforce the learning. I thought I'd forget if I left it until I was home.

The background fabric was green quilting fabric backed with white cotton.

So I constructed the daisy - pushing the wires through and stitching them down - and added the leaf.

I then cut out and attached the sheep, in the marked position, adding the tiny face in felt and constructing the horns from wrapped wire and adding bullion knot legs.

A back stitched hill and lazy daisies complete the piece.

I'm thinking it might be another box lid - but will wait until I'm home to decide.

It's been good learning- and heaps of fun.