Samurai Treasure Box

While I was putting the last finishing touches (gold metallic thread is not my favourite!) on the embroidery of the Samurai, I took breaks to work out how to make the box.

I worked out the measurements on paper.

 I then cut the cardboard for the sides and lid. I used mounting card from our local framer, but should have chosen a piece without a paper covering on it. The paper made cutting a bit harder and edges rougher.


I had intended to use some dark red silk I bought at a sale last week, but discovered the last of the Japanese  temple brocades I bought some time ago, and thought it would be really appropriate. It was exactly the right size for the bottom of the box and I had some matching gold silk that would work for the lid.

When I made the box for my hardanger square, I forgot to line the fabric with tissue. This time I remembered. I found the tissue superfluous on the brocade, which is quite heavy, and not thick enough on the silk, which wrinkled a lot.



I was, of course, doing this under pressure of time - not to be recommended when glue is involved - so may get better results with more care.

The box and embroidery were finished in time to lace, position and glue the embroidery before I went to bed the night before the gift was needed, leaving the Shorter Oxford to do it's job overnight.

In the morning I mounted a few shells to cover a couple of places where the craft glue did NOT dry clear.

We added a few warrior treasures to the box - an arrow brooch, a sword brooch, a robot on a chain.

A happy ending!

Made It!

The Samurai piece is finished and mounted on the box! This is a quick post on the embroidery finish - I will post the box-making component tomorrow.

Although the birthday was yesterday, we have a family dinner tonight when we will celebrate, so the extra day got me over the line.

It has been a bit of a marathon.

I finished cross-stitching the bottom of the kimono, then took the piece out of the hoop to do the backstitch - quite a lot of it - around the edges, the face, then the gold highlights and additions. It was easier to move around the whole piece out of the hoop.

This is the finished piece. I will post the box-making and finish over the weekend.

Samurai progress

Here's how the samurai is shaping up.  I have finished his right shoulder and face. I haven't as yet done any of the facial features or backstitch outlines.

From there I moved to the trees behind him - I wanted to finish as much of the top part of the work before shifting the fabric down in the hoop.

I found the trees really hard on my eyes - counting from the chart back to the aida was giving me serious focusing problem.

I resolved this by putting in the backstitch outline of the tree branches. Then I could see where I needed to go and just work the three brown threads where needed to give the required shading effect. Much better on my eyes and much faster.











I have added some of the background texturing - and noticed that a bit I did on the lower part will need to come out as I made an error with colour.

Still, it is shaping up - and even though I have the bottom of his kimono, the backstitch outline and some lower foliage  to go, I am hopeful of finishing in time for the birthday.

Cross stitched Samurai

I have been working on a cross stitched Samurai that I bought a few months ago, thinking my grandson would like it and I could use it for a box lid for his birthday. I bought it as a kit - with threads, diagram and 18 count aida.

I began work on it a couple of weeks ago. The finished piece is 7ins x 5ins, and I thought I was timing it quite well with Fionn's birthday a few days after Easter.

It's a while since I've worked something with so many colours (28) so I dug out my thread holder, separated and stripped all the threads and set up the colour card.

I also set up a new lap frame that I bought in January this year. It is called Eziframe, patented and manufactured in Australia by a company called Stitch Ezi. It caught my eye while looking for some thread online and I ordered the 6" version (it also comes in 10"). While I really like my sit-on frame, there are times, especially with smaller projects, when having the frame on my lap is more comfortable.

Although the Samurai is larger than the 6" frame, the piece of fabric supplied is too small for an 8" frame, so it is a good chance to try the Eziframe.

The setting up took me the best part of a day and then I was right into it.


I began in the centre and the belt, working down, putting in the skirt shading to give me guidelines.The shading in the red/pink area is quite hard on the eyes.







I sketched in the edge of the skirt border, but left the filling in until I move the frame down. I then filled in his left shoulder and jacket and some of the detail of his hand and sword.
I find that part of the interest in cross stitch projects is in deciding where to go next - how to vary the concentration required and give myself a boost by seeing something emerge, or doing a section that allows me to move around freely.



A really concerted effort yesterday saw the sleeves go in. I now have a lot of incentive to keep going. It has taken me longer than I had anticipated to get this far and the birthday is fast approaching. Will I finish it in time (not to mention the box to put it on!)? At the moment I don't think so - but I haven't given up yet!

Warrior shorts

I found a book of Scottish stories of the feats of Finn MacCoull for my grandson Fionn for Christmas. It has wonderful pen sketch illustrations, including one of the warrior Fionn MacCoull standing on the sea-shore defying a monster. As soon as I saw it I thought it would make a great embroidery on a pair of jeans or shorts.

I photocopied, enlarged, traced and simplified the illustration, then transferred the result to a water soluble stabiliser. As much as I prefer to work directly on the fabric, the dark, heavy denim makes that very difficult.

 I worked the basic outline using the stabiliser, then removed it and improvised the rest.

The illustration has a great sense of storm, wind, defiance and power that I wanted to capture in the stitching.

The hard thing was knowing when to stop - to leave it as a sketch, rather than fill in every part and risk losing the sense of movement.

Fionn recognised it immediately as a warrior (phew!).

I like embroidering denim in this way and it makes a good boy present.