More turquoise: peacocks and teals

I’ve never been able to decide if my favourite colour is green or blue. If I decide on blue, I always regret sidelining the hues of fresh leaves, deep forests and oceans, jade, emerald and Connemara marble. Similarly, if I plump for green, that excludes all the shades of sky and sea, sapphire and lapis lazuli. What a good job there are endless variants of turquoise, which mixes them both! Among my stitching friends we all seem to have our go to colours for stitching and left to my own devices I will almost invariably gravitate to the green-turquoise-blue spectrum.

I really enjoy making what I call my ‘mandala’ brooches and pendants and before Easter we had a couple of sessions making some at In The Stitch Zone. I’d sold all the ones I’d already made so it was the perfect excuse to make another with a base of the most delicious piece of teal-turquoise silk dupion. I had to get both the front and back out of the silk, and it literally was just a scrap, so this is the biggest I could make it. I didn’t want to obscure the fabric too much, so the simple design was led by the five-fold symmetry of the brass cog I stitched in the middle. I added bead caps, French knots, seed beads, and unusual twisted links from a broken chain to make a dainty star and then echoed the points with a beaded picot edging featuring gorgeous iridescent peacock turquoise delicas.

I finished it off with a large odd chain link for a bail and a reclaimed vintage gold tone chain and you can find it here in my Etsy shop.

I enjoyed making this mandala pendant so much, I literally went straight into a second, this time working with an even smaller scrap of peacock-blue velvet. I bought a load of random metal detecting finds several years ago with the intention of making them into upcycled jewellery and I was running my hands through the bowl in which they live when two rings caught my eye – one old and hand forged and almost the shape of the ‘eye’ of a peacock feather and the other smaller and machine made. One offset inside another with an odd coin-shaped mother of pearl bead…

Once I’d stitched them down with a variegated thread that combined greens and turquoises with some of the patina of the metal (treated with micro-crystalline wax so it stays stable) I didn’t want to add much more: the border of roughly faceted marcasite beads was enough of a finishing touch.

Looking through the bowl of metal oddments again, I found what I think is probably a metal button with a similar patina which works perfectly as a bail.

This one hangs from a new thong with sterling silver mounts and can be found here in my Etsy shop.

I’m toying with the idea of creating kits for people to create their own Mandala brooches or pendants. As well as the usual bits: instructions, fabric, pelmet vilene, hoop, threads, needles, beads etc, I’d also include one of my ‘Magpie Packs’ to give people a selection of random odd, broken and unusual bits they can stitch into patterns. What do you think?

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Encrusted Seascapes

Last Saturday I was delighted to be asked to run a workshop for members at the Spring Meeting of Yorkshire and Humber Embroiderers’ Group (YHEG). This overarching group emerged from our active and thriving Yorkshire and Humber Embroiderers’ Guild Regional Group in the days before the Embroiderers’ Guild imploded, abandoning all its branches across the country and emptying their bank accounts on the grounds (perfectly legal but very distressing for the branches) that as a charity the monies of all branches were actually the Guild’s. In the wake of this destruction and devastation the Guild did offer £250 to each former branch who wanted to restart as an independent stitch group and many, including SEATA, to which I belong, did so.

Our EG Regional Group had always been a fantastic support and resource for all the branches and we are lucky that the people involved in the old Regional group are passionate champions of embroidery and textile art and decided to create an independent regional group (YHEG) to fill the gap. Anyone can join (for the princely sum of £10 a year) whether they belong to a Stitch Group or not. At the moment this gives access to three meetings a year. AGM in Autumn, Spring Meeting (workshops) and the Summer Gathering (speakers and trading stands) at the Regen Centre in Riccall, near York, as well as resurrecting the two-day Summer School. Costs are kept as reasonable as possible. For the Spring Meeting the cost was £15 for two x two-hour workshops, unlimited help yourself to hot drinks and a buffet lunch for members and £30 for non-members, which added to the tables each group had to sell unwanted stitchy stuff and to raise funds (heaven!) is a bargain.

I decided to offer the encrusted seascapes workshop I’d created for In The Stitch Zone back in 2022.

It works well as a workshop on a number of levels as it allows people to choose their level of stitching both in terms of variety and complexity of the stitches used and also in how much they add to the basics of a shell (or shells) and the organza strips. I only had the one sample (above) so it was an excellent excuse to stitch a couple more.

I particularly like using neutrals for this sort of encrusted work as it takes away the worries of colour choices for people who aren’t confident about using colour and it really brings the structure of the stitches to the fore. However, I also like indigo with neutrals so the second sample I stitched was on a scrap of indigo dyed sheet. I actually started it it the disastrous market I mentioned in my last post, hence the slightly washed out look of the photo under indoor spotlights.

I always start with scraps of organza and a shell. With a freeform embroidery like this, staring at the blank hooped up fabric can be as daunting as a blank page or canvas, but scattering the organza and stitching down the shell helps to break that deadlock and while you are using simple stitches to attach the shell, your creative subconscious is already working away, deciding what will be next.

Doodling with stitch, in effect. I also like to use any left over thread in my needle after I’ve stitched the frondy bits, to add to the French knot/bullion knot/bead bit at the bottom. It gives a more random feel than using a single strand and ending up with lots the same colour and also helps to build it up as you go along. I love French knots, but doing loads all in one go can be a bit tedious.

I returned to the neutrals for my third sample, stitched on lovely slubby silk noil.

And decided to try out some new stitches like the back to back rows of up and down buttonhole stitch on the left and the threaded zig zag chain in the middle.

I never refer back to the previous sample and although the basic premise of organza scraps and shell is the same and there are some stitches I use which are recurring favourites, like feather stitch, Palestrina stitch and French knots, each one is unique.

I’m adding this officially to my Workshops bar at the top of the page so if you’re interested, get in touch.

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Mother Medals

Among the many bits and pieces in my collection of broken and unloved jewellery are some vintage sentimental ‘Mother’ brooches. Although there is a market for vintage brooches in general, these are still seen as old fashioned; partly, I suspect, due to the wording. However, we still use the term Mothers’ Day rather than Mums’ Day, so I wondered last year if I could make them into something a little more up to date and wearable. I’d seen some faux medal brooches made from ribbons and oddments of vintage jewellery on Pinterest and being awarded a medal for being a Mother seemed appropriate. So last year I made these:

The blue one sold almost straight away, and this year, having obtained a couple more ‘Mother’ brooches I decided to make two more. The first was pretty straightforward. The original brooch pin was still in good condition so I could use it as the top of the medal. Grosgrain ribbon is sturdier and less likely to ‘walk’ than satin ribbon, so I used another piece of the orange floral ribbon I’d used before and simply blanket stitched it over a pelmet vilene core to give it more body. I added a needlelace edging in variegated thread to bring out the greens in the pattern and the brown agate heart pendant was just the right size to be the ‘medal’.

The second was a little trickier. The ‘Mother’ brooch in this case was a carved mother of pearl heart in a sad and sorry state with a damaged brooch back and a chunk broken off the edging. It was still so pretty I was determined to use it, but as the ‘medal’ rather than the top. I managed to remove the remains of the back without further damage and added a carved bone rose from a broken vintage clip on earring to cover the broken area.

Then I needed a base ribbon which was about as wide as the heart. After turning out all of my ribbons, I found this gorgeous dark gold 1940s hat ribbon which set the note for the colour palette. I layered it up with vintage black satin ribbon, gold organza ribbon and a heavy cotton striped ribbon, carefully applying tiny strips of bondaweb to the back of each piece and ironing them in place. Then, to add some subtle sparkle and keep the edges down I added feather stitch and blanket stitch.

On this scale the multiple layers would have been too thick to sew through and turn inside out, so I folded over a piece of satin ribbon and blanket stitched it over the top to finish off the raw edges.

Then I added beaded blanket stitch edging featuring some lovely pale gold seed beads. It’s so easy to do and makes such a satisfyingly neat finish.

Lastly I stitched part of another broken brooch with a working catch onto the top.

Combining vintage hat ribbon, broken brooches and and odd earring, I really like that this medal is made up from things that women would have worn in the past. It may not be as in your face floral and brightly coloured as the others but I rather prefer its understated elegance.

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Silk Cocoons part two.

I mentioned last week that I was thinking of adding needle lace to another of the cocoons. I’d already given it a blanket stitched edging and so it was easy enough to add a second layer of larger blanket stitches in every other one of the base stitches and then turn them into simple scallops by packing more blanket stitches into each large loop.

Having successfully used steam to ease one of the previous cocoons back into shape, I wanted to know whether I could steam the cocoons flat to make a flatter flower. I cut another cocoon into strips, like basic petals, leaving a small area at the top of the cocoon uncut, grabbed it between a pair of barbecue tongs to hold it flat and keep my hands away from the heat, and boiled the kettle. I literally only used the amount of steam that comes out of the spout at the end of a normal boil which was perfect. It was hot and wet enough to soften the cocoon and allow it to relax into a different shape, but not enough to actually wet the cocoon. I was able to handle it as soon as I took it away from the kettle and it held its shape perfectly.

Then I cut the petals to shape and stitched the top of another cocoon that I already had cut on top to form the centre of the flower. A scattering of seed beads gives a bit of sparkle to the centre and I held down the petals with whipped back stitch.

You might possibly recognise the background fabric…

You should never throw offcuts away and the scraps I’d kept from that project worked really well as a contrast background to the orange of the cocoon. I’m happy that I’ve explored plenty of different things to do with silk cocoons so they can be packed away while I move onto other stitching.

I’ve also managed to finish my encrusted initial, which was another of the projects we stitched at In The Stitch Zone this Winter/Spring session. I did one a few years ago as a sample for a workshop I was going to teach at a local sewing shop which never came to pass and have always liked the way the tightly packed flowers and leaves create the outline of the letter.

This time I went for a different vibe, with a background of my own rust dyed cotton and a variegated rusty red-brown thread for the flowers.

I let the variegations in the thread change the colour of the flowers and French knots this time rather than using different coloured threads.

Finished off with lots of lazy daisy stitch leaves and French knot centres for the flowers.

Lots of new things to prepare for the Spring/Summer Session at In The Stitch Zone – all will be revealed soon!

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Geode Progress

This is proving a lovely steady relaxing stitch and working up quite quickly now I’m heading for the centre. Last time I posted I had just added the eighth stitch: feather stitch with an added a sprinkling of beads and it looked like this:

Following the open nature of the feather stitch I wanted a more solid stitch for the next round, so I chose Portuguese Knotted Stem Stitch and a wonderful soft variegated silk thread. Great thread, but completely wrong for this stitch. Something this project has reiterated is how much the look of a stitch is dependent on the texture of the thread, especially the more sculptural knotted stitches.

The softness of the silk thread meant that the caterpillar-like wraps of Portuguese Knotted Stem Stitch were completely lost and it looked a lumpy mess. So out with the silk and back to a perle cotton, which showed up the wraps as I wanted.

The next stitch was heavy chain, which had been successfully used by a couple of other members of the Stitch Zone group. Mindful of the issues I’d already had with the previous stitch, I went for a tightly twisted mercerised cotton so I could slide the needle easily behind the stitch loops. It’s a nicely weighty stitch and it gave me another good solid line. I worked the chain stitches very short, so it ended up looking like a braid, which I really like.

Next, a more open stitch and a completely new one for me, courtesy of my Mary Thomas book. This one is called Knotted Cable Chain Stitch and is a bit of a cheat, as the chain loops aren’t full loops – the bottom part of the loop comes out from under the knot, which you can see in the photo below. But once I got into the rhythm, which is always the initial hurdle with stitches that have multiple stages, I enjoyed working it and it certainly stitched up a lot faster than either of the two previous rows.

Lastly in this week’s stitching, threaded running stitch, which I chose for the opportunity to use some stranded cotton, even if it was only for threading.

So, about two thirds done and all down hill from here!

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Geode

The class I teach weekly, In The Stitch Zone, is intended to be accessible to people at all levels of stitching ability and as such I am always trying to create projects that can work at all levels, from a complete beginner to an expert. I spotted a piece of embroidery on Instagram recently which I think was supposed to look like the layers of a geode. What occurred to me was that it could become an interesting twist on a sampler of line stitches, stitched in concentric circles with some beading thrown in for extra sparkle and textural interest. We are starting the project on Monday so I can finally reveal my sample so far, which I started stitching during panto week.

I kept to my favourite shades of turquoise – mainly because I have a box filled with different types of turquoise threads and it was easy to grab and take with me – and a background of rusty gold in a 6″ hoop. I wanted to use quite bold stitches and also to try and utilise some of the fancy threads we all accumulate that you can’t actually stitch through fabric. The first row was Pekinese Stitch which I managed to thread with a very lovely but very slubby pure silk. I think the slub makes it look a bit untidy/unevenly stitched but I love the colour and it is supposed to be based on a natural form after all, so I’m trying to squash my tendency to neatness!

I followed this with a deliberately uneven row of wool roving, couched down with a shiny rayon thread: again something I wouldn’t usually use but I wanted a hint of shine against the wool. It wasn’t too bad for tangling but it was very springy and difficult to get it to pull the wool into place and hold it.

I followed the couching with a straightforward row of chain stitch in a heavy perle…

…and after that, whipped a row of running stitch with a length of hand dyed tubular ribbon. By having a thin thread for the running stitch and using a very thick one to whip it with, I really like the wave effect it’s given to the twisted ribbon.

Next, a knotted stitch and I chose Palestrina Stitch which I worked in two strands of a single strand silk to try and give it enough weight to compete with the chunky row next to it.

Next, time for some sparkle and the opportunity to use up a lovely string of quartz beads I’d had for ages but only just discovered that the holes through the middle are tiny – too small for anything but the thinnest wire and my thinnest beading needle. I couched them down in a circle and then went back and worked French knots over the couching stitches. I love that these cube shaped beads have been drilled corner to corner so they sit up like little crystals on the fabric.

Inside the layer of beads I felt it needed another chunkier stitch, so I used whipped chain stitch, whipped with some sparkly dark turquoise chainette thread – not the greatest photo under artificial light.

And my final row so far is feather stitch in heavy perle. I worked it quite small so the ‘arms’ were quite short but I felt it was a bit too open so I went round again and stitched an iridescent seed bead into the base of each open chain. Much better photos in daylight this morning!

I think I’ve got far enough to give an idea of the concept and I like the fact that the circle now has a bit of a wobble to it, which should develop as I continue into the middle, like a natural geode.

More fun, I think, than just a linear line stitch sampler.

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Felt and Found Objects

I’ve made a couple of pieces of upcycled jewellery recently that both have felt as a basis. The first is using the second of the two offcuts of hand made felt I was given by my lovely neighbour Lisa at the Artisan Market at The Collection back in June. I’ve already made the top one into a round found object mandala brooch which sold at Arttopia back in the summer.

I decided to make a barrette with the bottom one and cut it into a random curvy shape.

Next, auditioning found objects to decorate it…

…before I settled on a border of chunky vintage chain with a pressed brass motif, a larger clockwork cog and some unusual spiral wire wrapped chain links. I stitched everything down using simple straight stitches in a variegated mercerised cotton which echoes the pinks and purples in the felt.

I attached a barrette fixing to a piece of commercial felt for the backing and stitched the two layers together with a simple beaded blanket stitch and iridescent pinky-red/gold seed beads.

The second piece is a brooch and started off as a wet felted flower hair ornament which belonged to my little one when she was a lot younger. It doesn’t quite fit with the moody goth look she’s sporting at the moment and the felt itself was quite delicate so it had been pulled out of shape and was wearing very thin in places. I ironed it flat and having just processed some odd beads and a ring that all had a bit of a cogs and gears thing going on, had a bit of a play.

Next I stitched the pieces down with variegated turquoise and rust coloured thread.

And then cut the felt into the shape I wanted for the brooch, echoing the shape formed by the ‘cogs’.

Last step was to attach the felt and brooch back with beaded blanket stitch using some of my favourite iridescent turquoise seed beads. Not only is it a sturdy stitched edging but when you’re joining two pieces of fabric the beads sit nicely in the join and hide the edges.

Lastly, a thread chicken update on the Brantwood wallpaper motif. I made it: that is all I have left of the red!

I knew I had a little bit of wiggle room as I could have unpicked the red bar at the bottom of the leaves that’s supposed to be black, but I’m relieved it didn’t come to that. Next stage is the black (in fact a very dark grey called Night Smoke) stars.

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SpringBoard Project

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, at In The Stitch Zone we’ve been working on what I’ve called the SpringBoard Project. My idea is that we all stitch something which incorporates the prompt for the week. It can be as complex or simple, obvious or tenuous as you like and therefore, hopefully accessible by anyone at any level of ability as I’m keen to encourage new people to join. I have shared some glimpses of my responses to the prompts but as I’ve completed two of them this weekend, I thought it was time for a dedicated catch up.

Week 1: Wrap

My initial idea for this was to wrap some lengths of plastic drinking straw with some scraps of fabric and then add beads and then just see where things led me. A couple of weeks ago this was as far as I’d got.

Sue, one of the ladies in the class, gave me some threads she didn’t want which were the perfect colour and that gave me the idea of wrapping the whole bundle in and out of the straws and couching them down. It would also help keep the straw sections in place.

Once I’d got this far I realised I needed a bit more space so I moved it onto a piece of furnishing fabric and a bigger hoop before I spread out and couched down the ends of the thread bundle, adding some one-wrap French knots for texture and then wrapped more beads over the ends of the loops.

I had one straw section left, so I cut it into three, wrapped each one in the rust and turquoise thread I’d been using for the couching and stitched them down with long straight stitches.

Finally I tore a strip of cloth I rusted in the summer and wrapped it with a length of perle cotton I’d used to tie the bundle up and couched it round the outside of the silk square I’d used for the background. First one finished!

Week 2: Fold

My response for this prompt was the American smocking panel I shared a couple of weeks ago. It had a lovely reception on Instagram with several people thinking it was a pastry lattice pie crust on first glance!

Week 3: Knot

My initial thought for this one was that it was an opportunity to finally get to grips with colonial knots, which I’ve been promising myself for a while but I was also quite taken with an image I found on Pinterest of layers of knotted fabric so I knotted some strips, found a random scrap of background fabric and layered them up with lines of Palestrina stitch.

I’m less happy with this sample – mainly because it’s the closest to my comfort zone. I’ve not used a new technique or given a twist to something I already knew how to do – the seaweedy curving lines are very ‘me’. However, it meets the prompt and I don’t have to love all my samples. I’ve also decided that when I find a suitable piece of fabric to mount it on I’ll have a go at a row of colonial knots or mixed colonial and French perhaps round the edge to attach it.

Week 4: Twist

This was last week’s prompt and as I spent the session struggling with what I though was a chest infection I only got this far with the base grid for Twisted Lattice Stitch from Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches. I’ve stitched it in mercerised cotton on linen so I could use the weave to keep things even but I suspect it’s a bit on the small side. (No surprise there…)  Mary Thomas shows it worked as a diamond so even though it looks rectangular it does have the right number of thread on each side – eventually…

The chest infection? After miraculously avoiding it for nearly three years (not bad given I’m a supply teacher, my husband works in two schools and my little one has been in school and college) I tested positive for Covid the next day. Week 5 of the Springboard project (‘Cut’) is postponed until a week on Monday!

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September Update

I’ve had a few meetings over the last week which have borne fruit as far as the Victorian wallpaper motif is concerned. When I blogged about it a couple of weeks ago, I was a little worried about the coverage of the single strand red silk thread and wondering if two strands would work better.

As I’d worked a symmetrical section, I decided to change to two strands for the next one down and see how things went. And they went perfectly. The strands worked well together and I think the coverage is much smoother and neater. However, there is a definite difference in height between the two sections, so I’m wondering whether to restitch the three sections I’ve already done.

Especially as I checked back with the original photo – spot the not deliberate mistake!

I am definitely going to have to restitch the middle section, although I might just see if I can use the existing red stitches as padding, satin stitch over it in black and make it a slightly more raised block. Loving the way the silk shimmers in the sunlight.

At In The Stitch Zone, the class I teach on a Monday afternoon, we have just started the SpringBoard Project. The idea is that we all stitch something which incorporates the prompt for the week. It can be as complex or simple, obvious or tenuous as you like and therefore, hopefully accessible by anyone at any level of ability. We’re a week out of sync due to the Bank Holiday for the Queen’s funeral, so started last week with the first prompt, which was ‘Wrap’.

Even up to the start of the session I had no clear idea of what I was going to do. I had threads, fabric, beads and some other bits and pieces which included a section of plastic drinking straw. So I picked out some fabric in my favourite shades and started to play; literally doodling with the materials in front of me. And I ended up with this:

The bright turquoise is frayed habotai silk and I have caught it down with beads over sections of the straw.

I only had a small piece of the straw so I’m trying to use every scrap!

Loving this doodle and definitely going to carry on with it.

Lastly, as we’re at the end of yet another month (how did that happen?!) the round up for September’s Move It On Project. Not finished, but definitely moved on. I’ve learned some things, made choices and again, ended up with something that is worth continuing and finishing when the time is right.

I’ve bit the bullet with October’s Project because it’s actually something that has not yet been started. It’s not just my project, it’s a three way collaboration that started in lockdown and I’m painfully aware that I’m holding the job up, so I’m using this as a way of holding myself accountable. There will be pictures and a fuller confession to follow.

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Acorns.

I’m leading our S.E.A.T.A. meeting at the end of this month and challenging our members to visit or revisit a stitching book from their shelves and use a technique or project from it to make a small item – a brooch, key fob, scissor keep etc. So I’ve been working some samples, including a pair of acorns based on a project in Beginner’s Guide to Stumpwork by Kay Dennis, published by Search Press.

I decided to follow the instructions to the letter which included stitching down the felt padding with stab stitches that run perpendicular to the edge of the felt shape. I was initially unsure about whether this would be any better than doing a line of stitches parallel to the edge but it works much better, giving a smoother transition from the flat fabric, so I was pleased to have learned something new.

Then I covered the shapes with satin stitch.

Next I ran two long stitches across the middle of the acorn and used them as a foundation line for the needlelace cup. I did say I was going to follow the instructions to the letter but it suggested Ceylon stitch for the cups and due to some recent experience with that stitch, I decided against it. Ceylon stitch looks beautiful but is not very forgiving when you need to increase or decrease, which I would have had to with the cap and also I really struggle with the tension to stop it wandering. So I gave up the idea of sticking to the project and worked the cup in good old Corded Brussels.

Same for the other acorn but in green. The variegated brown was a stranded cotton and although I prefer the satin stitch coverage, I like the needlelace cup better on the green one which was stitched in a random unlabelled thread which feels like a cross between crewel wool and mercerised cotton.

Next I satin stitched a twig over three long padding stitches, trying to vary the thickness so it looked like a naturally knobbly twig and mounted it over a sandwich of thick cardboard and felt.

Last of all, I added a beaded fringe.

A straightforward little project but I enjoyed learning new things from it and it’s good to have one sample completed.

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