Embroidery consequences

At our Embroiderers’ Guild AGM in September I think most members were a bit nonplussed when asked to put our chairs into a circle to play the paper and pencil game ‘Consequences’. But it was Consequences with a twist: Embroidery Consequences!

We were asked to write down a dimension, then fold it over and pass it so many places on, then write the name of a shape on the new piece of paper before passing it on again and then in succession, a colour, a type of thread, an embroidery stitch, a theme and lastly a notion.

At the end they were all mixed up and we each drew one out with the challenge to stitch something containing all the elements on the sheet we’d drawn for the December meeting. My elements were as follows:

Dimension: 8cm

Shape: square

Colour: red

Thread: fine perle (this was actually one of the things I’d written down so I got my own back there!)

Stitch: chain stitch

Theme: buildings

Notion: button

It wasn’t long before I knew exactly what I was going to stitch.

At the same meeting we had some lucky dip bags on sale for £1 each, each containing a selection of embroidery items kindly donated by the family of one of our members who sadly died during the summer. I decided to use the yellow canvas and sparkly red lame fabric I found in one of mine as part of the design.

Norwich stitch, one of my favourites, in a mixture of fine perle and mercerised cotton.

Trying out two vintage mother of pearl buttons for the moon.

Hopefully now you can see the bones of the idea – the Norwich stitches as lighted windows in blocks of sky scrapers against a sunset sky with a rising moon.

Next the covering of black felt to make the silhouette. I carefully cut holes in it and stab stitched around the openings in black cotton…

…before my opportunity came in the shape of another LTC committee meeting and I was able to get the rest of the stitching completed. The black felt skyscrapers were stitched down onto the red lame background.

Lines of red chain stitch in fine perle became low back-lit sunset clouds with the bigger of the two buttons becoming the moon.

And my embroidery consequence is finished.

Dimension: 8cm (8cm wide)

Shape: square (windows)

Colour : red (sky and clouds)

Thread: fine perle (some of the windows and the clouds)

Stitch: chain stitch (the clouds)

Theme: Buildings (skyscrapers)

Notion: button (the moon)

 

Well, apart from the final finishing into something. I have ideas, but not sure whether I also have the time to carry them out before Saturday’s meeting.  Lovely idea and I loved doing it!!