Catching Up

I know that I've been bad and not blogging a lot lately. Most of my time has been spent juggling clearing out more the of the estate stuff on ebay, craigs list, etc, hearing a few cases, doing the EGA thing at the local and region level, and working on my column. As promised here is the goldwork piece which as been the focus of the last few columns.

The outline is jap which is brick stitched with an added couple lines of twist. The silver circle is jap - brick circular couched - outside to inside. The copper was supposed to have been undersided, but since I backed the 28ct linen... Upper left panel is the OrNue piece - Needlepoint Inc silks over gold passing. Upper right panel is also gold passing with au ver a soie 100/3 silk in a very renaissance pattern. Lower left is the same with a different pattern. Lower right is jap from a different manufacturer with gold 100/3 for the sides and purple regular au ver a soie for the pattern which is also renaissance in origin.

I learned a lot doing each of the areas. 2 major problems occurred. The first is turning 2 threads - with the 28 ct, even backed, doing the plunge the outside thread DID NOT work cleanly. The second problem is the packing of the threads, especially in the Or Nue section, but you can see my prior post on that issue. One unanticipated problem was that the silver section is too big to my eye now that it is in the box top. It looked fine when the piece was surrounded by white linen.

I am currently working on:
beading the front placket on my 12th Night dress
finishing the project for my next column on gobelin (16th C pincushion)
finishing the german brick stitch piece into a pouch (versus the needlecase in the column)
finishing the pattern darning piece into a box top
finishing a handkerchief with lace inserts - the hem stitching is done (handkerchief linen - about 50 count)
finishing a secret project for a friend
putting together a display on period lace for 12th Night

Plus working on arrangements to bring Jane Nicholas (Stumpwork) to the states in 2007 and Sharon Boggins (Encrusted Crazy Quilting) in 2008. Plus designing a needlework piece to be made into kits for people waiting in hospitals for our wounded servicemen. Plus designing a 1 day workshop or freebie for the 2008 Regional.

Off now to finish planning our holiday party, visit to the relatives, and getting ready for tomorrows SCA event.

Awesome textile vacation

Back from a wonderful vacation. It was good to get away and it really felt like I was away - far away. The cruise portion was quite standard. If you want more about the ports, etc. check out the personal portion of our webpage - Panama Canal. I had lots of fun seeing the different arts and crafts where ever we went.

Mexico - Cabo (plateware, silver), Alcapulco (a wasteland), Huatalco (embroidery, silver, clothing, wood carving)
Guatemala - the most incredible weaving and embroidery - ladies working on backstrap looms and doing the most incredible work - mostly brocaded weaving, but I did buy a pattern darned blouse. Cotton primarily with some silk. A little wool from the higher reaches.
Costa Rica - more leather and wood craft than textile
Panama - the molas are incredible - quilting and embroidery art
Aruba - (no crafts)
St. Kitts - batik
San Juan - a little bit of everything

Good food in the ports. Barely tolerable food on the cruise ship. Have decided I don't function without decent coffee - fortunately there was some great coffee in Guatemala and Costa Rica and San Juan had a Starbucks.

Off to go through the 2 buckets of mail from the post office....

Hmmmmmm

You scored as The Vine. In Celtic astrology, you're a Vine (not everything on the zodiac is a tree). The animal symbol that accompanies this plant is the swan. The ancient Druids say Vine people are graceful, discriminating, perceptive, romantic and have good aesthetics. However, Vines may be prone to procrastination and anxiety. They may also appear emotionally detached or even stuck-up. The Vine 90% The Holly 70% The Birch 65% The Willow 60% The Rowan 60% The Hawthorn 60% The Oak 60% The Alder 50% The Ash 45% The Reed 40% The Ivy 40% The Hazel 40% The Elder 40% What Tree Are You? (Celtic astrology) created with QuizFarm.com

Another New Hobby

I am bad...I am so bad. I really should have been concentrating on the sewing I need to do for my column, 12th Night, and promised projects, but I could not resist.

Awhile ago I had seen "silk paper" and thought it was way cool. Then recently I was browsing the Joggles newsletter which finds its way into my inbox on Sundays. They mentioned soy silk fusion materials and a tutorial on how to make soy silk paper. Bought the stuff - soy silk which is made from the fibers of processed soy products into a "roving". It is then dyed. Then you buy a fixative. You spread the roving horizonatally and vertically between netting. Wet the product with a detergent and water and then apply the fixative. The color runs but doesn't seem to affect the piece. You dry the netted piece. Remove the net and heat set the "paper". It was fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Better than finger paints because you can make stuff with the silk paper or even embroider on it. So here is my first attempt.

Things Learned in Stitching Or Nue

In looking at Sharon Boggins blog - In a Minute Ago, she talks about what the "stitching audience" is looking for when blog about our projects. In particular, the focus on the How or Steps in the process of creating the finished product is of interest. So taking that tack here are some of my thoughts on and things that I learned when stitching the Or Nue section of the piece for my column.

I developed a 3 leaf pattern to fill the 1.5" by 2" section of the project. Since my skills in developing such a piece are not advanced, I opted to do the piece as single line couching (versus double). Thus, each color square would be one stitch and only over one line of gold. Drafted a charted pattern using the historic concept of using a dark, medium, and light green and including a small section of uncovered. So far so good. Then came the stitching.

I used gold passing, as it is finer and will pass through the fabric easier. It doesn't have the same glow as jap, but it still presents a nice gold gleam. I plunged each end of the line as I came to them - continuing with one piece of the passing until I came to the end of it; and then starting another.

Each line of the pattern should be stitched as you come to it. This necessitates having 5 needles working at the same time for threads - 2 gold (one at each side to tack the gold in place and to couch down long floats), and then one for each color green. Yes it is a pain as they like to knot into one another (sigh).

The diameter of the silk being used will define the spacing between the lines of gold. As a result looking at the piece close up, I see way to much of the linen behind. Fortunately, if I look at the piece 3' away - the gold and the silk take over and you don't really see the linen behind.

The next "aha" was that since I have trouble following a chart (any chart), it was much easier to work a few lines with only the dark green and then go back and fill in with the other greens. Since there was space between the lines of gold, this was no problem. If I used a finer silk it might have been an issue.

The spacing of the gold also made making the turns tightly a non-issue. With plunging, I can make the turns in less than one thread of the 28 count linen. It was interesting to note that the placement of the gold was different than the placement of the silk - it was a hair higher. This was another "aha" and quite logical when you think that you need to provide a space for the silk. So with #6 gold passing and 1 thread of Needlepoint Inc thread on 28 count linen - it was 1 line of gold with pattern per thread.

As I look at the "finished" section of Or Nue, the neatness bug has me itching. The sides bother me. Even with the linen being lined with a tight muslin and sewing through both, some of the lines on the side pull in a bit. Also, in order to control straightness of the lines, there are stitches on the sides. Although the stitches are in gold silk, I still see them. Historically, the next section just abutted the area and you may see the turns. On some pieces the next section was appliqued on, and the slight overlap would cover the problem. On still some others, a line of gold would cover up the area - this is what I'll do.

Or Nue is lovely to look at (from a few feet away :), challenging to do, and something I will tackle again. Hope you enjoy the final piece which will be in the November/December issue of Needlepoint Now.