Aquile finished with tassels

I've been slowly working on tassels for the Aquile mat, using an adapted version of one by Rita Maria Faleri in Inspirations 103.

The body of the tassel consists of 20 strands knotted at each end with 3 bundles of 4 knots, so 12 knots per strand and 240 knots per tassel.

I decided to make the head of the knot from a bundle of left-over linen covered in needlelace. I considered a bead, but decided to stay with the softness of the linen and cotton.

These are not difficult to make, but require fine motor skills.

The initial one was good enough for me to keep going.

After two I had to stop for a while, due to an operation on my right index finger to remove a myxoid cyst. For about ten days, while I could manage some tasks, and some stitching, using my thumb and middle finger, knots proved too difficult. I have recovered enough in the last two days to tie the requisite 480 knots,  216 while on desk duty at the Guild, and 264 at home. Not that I was counting!

I’m not sorry to have finished, and I won’t be making any more for a while!

I also made the two extra needle lace heads, and attached them 

so the cushion front is now fully converted.

It joins the earlier two mats, or, more likely, throw-overs to cover food.

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I have fabric left for another two, but won't be working them any time soon. These three will now go into the upcoming Guild 60th Anniversary Exhibition. 

While I like them, their use is limited, and I'm into useful!

3rd Evil Eye kit

Yes, I’m addicted - or, if you prefer, on a roll. I bought these as a bundle of three kits on Etsy. There were 5 designs to choose from, the three I chose were the default. I have since ordered the other two, but they are coming from the UK and seem to be printed on demand, so this will be the last for at least a few weeks. 

I was wary of this one because of the number of close lines in stem stitch, but got into the swing with the central circle in black satin stitch. As before, I worked this in a revolving arch, continuing until all areas were covered. This creates a raised texture, more effective, I think, than side to side satin stitch.

As with the last one, I used Madeira metallic rather than the metallic supplied.

I began the blue rays with 2 rather than 3 strands of cotton. The lines are very close together and two worked well. After a few rows, however, I switched to split stitch. This gave me greater control over the line and a straighter look.

I love the way this works, intensifying the colour as the density of stitches get closer together. A design technique I would not have thought of for myself

Stem stitch is better on the border, where you want a solid block rather than a fine line. The additional black border makes it pop.

I had a bit of trouble with the beads.  The bead border on one side was slightly wider at one end although the photo of the finished work showed only 2 beads all the way. The gap at some places required 3 beads to fill the space. I filled the space rather than following the picture, using up all the beads provided, but it looked uneven.

I went ahead with the next section, but when that was done, raided the earlier kits for spare beads and brought all rows on that side to 3 beads. Much better.

Finally, the outer ring.

This time I found a piece of Japanese fabric in colours that worked for the backing, pinned and stitched it tight.

I was unsure of this one when it arrived, but I really like the finished product.

The three hang well together. The Guild Exhibition is coming up and I plan to join these three together and display them.

2nd Evil Eye Kit

I moved straight from the first into the second of my three kits of Evil Eye protection mandalas, beginning again in the centre of the eye, this time with black thread.  

The cotton thread brand isn't marked, but whatever it is, it is mostly good. It separates easily and lays flat with a lovely sheen. The black, however, I’m less sure about, as I will discuss below.

As I mentioned last time, the metallic thread is less than satisfactory. I did try it again, just to be sure. In the photo on the right, the two solid lengths are as it went into my needle. The length on the left of the photo is what it looked like after three stitches. It simply unravels and shreds as it goes through fabric.

I swapped to Madiera and had no problem as can be seen on the left.

The next problem was of a different nature. I had an operation 8 days ago to remove a myxoid cyst on my right index finger. The bandage, as you can see, was enormous. It stayed on for 3 days after the operation. As the embroidery was in a hoop, I could stitch with my left hand, but it was slow. 

 All was good until I came to the long straight black rows at the bottom in the photo. By now the dressing on my right index finger was reduced. While I couldn’t use it, I could hold a needle between my thumb and middle finger.and stitch with reasonable accuracy. Stem stitch requires accuracy.

In addition, the thread colour appeared uneven. I tried couching the thread but couldn’t achieve a smooth effect, so undid it and persevered with stem stitch. It’s far from perfect, but a bit better than I had feared.

Once I had added the final borders, I mounted it in the display hoop and chose a piece of a shirt of Jim’s as backing. The colours work, and he would have wanted to continue to be included for as long as possible. I keep the shirt for just such a purpose.

I’m surprised how well this has come up in the end, given the conditions under which it was worked. It goes well with the first one.

I’m still enjoying stitching these, so on to the next one, with even more straight lines!

Evil Eye kit no851

Before Christmas I bought three kits for embroideries designed to ward off the Evil Eye. The purpose is not personal use, but as examples for a talk I am going to give to the World Embroidery Study Group later this year. While I have a lot of information, I figure it will help to have some actual examples.

While I bought these from an Australian Etsy site, they appear to be designed and constructed in the UK, although the package itself does not identify the artist. 

I chose what looked like the most complex to begin. There are 5 different threads and three sets of beads. The stitches are simple - stem, straight, satin and a bead attachment.There is a simple diagram for each of these and a diagram showing where each is used, along with the colour. This all fits on the single instruction sheet. Needles and a needle threader are included. I thought this was clever. Because the stitches have been kept basic, a beginner would be able to work it out.

I began with the inner blue iris, working around in an arc so the stitches eventually overlapped. The next round, the gold metallic, was my only grumble. The gold “thread” was a nightmare to work with. Even short lengths quickly untwisted and broke after a couple of stitches. I persevered, but won’t do so in future kits. I will substitute Madeira metallic with a cotton core. 

The rest went fairly smoothly. I experimented a bit with the number of beads threaded at a time. Securing individual beads would not only be uneconomical of time, but wouldn’t get the flow implied in the photo.

When I came to the outer row of blue, I used blanket stitch rather than straight stitch.

I had purchased hoops with the kit. They are cream plastic, blending nicely with the design. I used my regular seated hoop to stitch it, but mounted the finished piece in the hoop provided.

I found a square of fabric I purchased some time ago from the Aboriginal Fabric Gallery in Alice Springs that seemed appropriate. I pinned it over the back, cut around it and then trimmed the corners off the embroidery, pinned, stretched and stitched.  

I am delighted with the result. I haven’t hung it as yet. I think I’ll wait to finish the three. It has been the most enjoyable embroidery I’ve done for ages.

Aquile kit

I really like the work of Rita Maria Faleri. I have worked two of her mats from Inspirations magazines, and also bought her  Esemplario Book 1 , which I can’t find, no doubt on loan to someone. When Aquile was offered for sale last year through Inspirations, as a cushion, I could resist, and bought the kit. Determined not to add to my stash, I began working on it as soon as my Christmas gift stitching was finished in December.

As usual, it is worked in the hand on a very loose weave linen - about 15 threads per inch using Anchor Baby Knitting cotton (4ply).  This is not so good for my hands and the threads shift as you work on it. In the past this hasn’t bothered me much, but it did this time.

Here is my first section photographed resting on the pattern photograph. 

The instructions began with the usual direction to mark the centre lines with tacking using the machine thread provided (natural). I obeyed, but it was hardly useful as the pattern was not organised centrally (and the thread was near invisible on the linen). It would have been more sensible to mark it into three columns with coloured tacking, but I didn’t figure this out until it was too late.  I figured I needed to work the column lines first to give myself a structure in which to work, and did so. However  my count was slightly out and I adjusted accordingly. Undoing was unthinkable.

  

I found it difficult to keep my count accurate, partly because of movement in the fabric, partly from discontinuity, remembering the direction and count between sessions. It is a flowing, rather than a simply geometric design.

A close look reveals many discrepancies. The small bird figures below the eagles were particularly tricky - a small figure worked with very thick thread, so hard to get clean shapes.

I had no intention of making a cushion. I have enough and I still don’t think the fabric is suitable.It would certainly need to be lined. Like its predecessors, it’s probably not much of a mat either, but will function best as a throw. 

I modified the design, removing the small birds from the top row, adding crosses to the top of the dividing columns and squaring off the shape so it is the same size as my earlier examples.

I kept the cushion border, but it’s fractionally wider than the cushion one.

I am in the process of making onion knot tassels for each corner. This will take me a while. My initial calculation is 1000 knots, but I might simplify. I will post an update.

Because I’m not making a cushion, I have another piece of linen - what would have been the back. As much as I like the result, I’m not going to make the same again. For now the spare is put away. If that book ever turns up, I just might get it out and have a go at a different design.

More Be Alice : Fáilte

I enjoyed stitching the Irish harp and decided to buy a couple more kits from Be Alice. One I thought might make a gift for a stitcher, and the other I could make as a gift for an Irish-inclined relative.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos along the way. Worked in a 6" frame, it was again, a pleasure to stitch. The stitches are simple but varied. I made only one change, working the lettering in Quaker stitch, rather than the recommended backstitch. It took a couple of evenings to stitch, probably about 8 hours. The thread provided is organised on a card and in decent quantity. I had enough left to make a twisted cord but not so much I needed to find a storage solution. I appreciate a designer who takes the trouble to work out how much is needed, rather than oversupplying on a guess. 

I wanted to gift this as something that could hang on an office door. For those who are not into the Irish Gaelic, fáilte means welcome.  Failte Ireland is the trade mark of the Irish Tourism Development Authority. Pronunciation varies throughout Ireland, but standard is s something like Fallcha (easy enough to look it up).

While stitching it, I was fortunate enough to find a green 6" display hoop on the Guild's trading table. Perfect. 

I also had plenty of green ikat to use as a backing. The hardest bit of the exercise was stitching the backing on tightly to ensure both a smooth and a secure fit. I stretched and pinned, stretched and pinned and stretched and repinned. 

I then sacrificed a needle to working on a tight angle right on the edge of the frame. It worked,  I doubt a circular needle would have been any better, given the tightness of the angle.

It now sits firm and smooth.

I finished it late in November, but as it was a Christmas present, i have held this post over. 

I hope it does its welcoming job.

                                                       

Experiments in stamping and dyeing

A few weeks ago Create in Stitch  offered for sale a set of William Morris stamps and a book of postcards to colour. I bought both with a view to experimenting with stamping on fabric. At the time of writing, the stamp sets have sold out.

This week I found time to have a go.  I dug out cotton bags I bought from Spotlight a while ago for just such a purpose. I have  several bright colours, but chose the ecru one. To provide a firm surface without impacting both sides of the bag I inserted a blocking tile inside. 

To begin the process, I used my Inktense pencils to sketch a large tree on one side of the bag. One side of the tile has no ridges, so becomes the working side. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the tree. The Inktense pencils are fixed by water, so after drawing the tree I soaked the bag and hung it out to dry. It dried much paler than I had hoped, but as I was going to stamp over it I accepted that.

The stamps come with ink pads in four colours. I began trying to create a scene, but soon gave up and simply stamped wherever I found a space. The result was OK, but not exciting enough for me to do the same on the other side.

The stamps I liked best were the tiny birds. As I was stamping, I recalled songs I knew about birds. That led me to use the pencils to draw a bird on the other side.

Our State emblem is the Piping Shrike, a Magpie, and they are evident at the moment. 

I found a photo and had a go at freehand drawing one on the bag. The challenge was adding the white on the ecru background, but I rather enjoyed the drawing exercise. Of course, I added a bit of advice, prompted partly  by the time of year.

The pencils are fixed on fabric by wetting. I used water to wet the pencils as I drew. The colour gradually spreads. I like it better before it spread, but no matter.

To make sure it was set, I ironed, washed, rinsed it in vinegar, hung it out to dry, then ironed it again. It's a pretty messy spread, but I think this is how the pencils are intended to work.

The stamps survived the process surprisingly well. You can even just see the outline of the tree underneath. The text side would have benefitted from such an underlying layer.

The bag came with a label attached by a self-fabric band, I assume for folding. I will catch it with a couple of stitches to the bottom of the bag, so it can be folded thus to slip in a pocket or bag. 

This an experiment rather than an artistic offering, but maybe someone will be cheered  by it, and use it for everyday shopping. It will,  I think, survive quite a few washes.

I've learnt I can draw a magpie, the stamps work on fabric but are a bit small for a bag, I can't control the bleeding of Inktense pencils and Inktense red is very intense!