Celtic dog 4 and next item to be upcycled

 Apologies ppl, but no time to speak….

Celtic dog 3

 Ok so here is the progress I made re all.

I decided to spread wildflower seeds around this wasteland that I’ve cultivated, to which I will add wild bird seed.  I’ve done this before at my mother’s and it works.  Basically in the bird seed is a lot of wheat and as wheat is a nitrogen fixer, you find everything benefits that is growing nearby.

I decided with the door to strip the lacquer off the furniture and polish it.  Although this means in the winter it will tarnish much more frequently, I just prefer the brass to look like gold and not like it did with the yellowed lacquer.  Removing the lacquer to get back to the bare metal was easier than opening a bag of crisps - you basically paint it with neat nail varnish remover aka 100% acetone.  

Then the stumps were so heavy, they broke the handle of my garden refuse bag, so there’s another job added to the list.

Not over the moon with the Celtic dog progress.  Looking too predictable.  Will be pulling some out and adding more blue.

Oh well have to dash off to hold down the day job.  I will be visiting an archaeology museum soon, that should be good…

Celtic dog update 2

 Here is the next instalment and the original design that I flipped. 

The colours I decided on were inspired by The Book of Kells.

I’d like to draw your attention to the two areas of solid filling worked in opposing directions, where you can clearly see how densely the stitches stack up and create a very flat surface that reflects a sheen, or light, even with the very cheap cotton I’m using.  Also, I’m noticing that if you work in one direction the stitches look more like mini chain stitch, but if you work in both directions, as they did back in the day, the stitches look more like split stitch and stack up even more densely.

The work takes a long time because each stitch covers 3 strands of ground fabric.  Sharp points, curves and straight lines can all be worked easily.  For the dog’s paws I had to go into the previous stitch, instead of the end of it, to create even tighter curves, which is also something I picked up from staring at Opus Anglicanum work in close up for a long time.

The black outline is a guide only, I’m still working out if I want that to be more apparent in the end?  

I seriously underestimated how long this piece would take and had hoped to finish it for the Diamond Jubilee, as the first kings of England were Welsh.

Remember ppl, it took three women 25 years to complete a set of vestments for the Pope back in the day….

I’m working in sections now, instead of long lines, as a way of seeing faster progress but it’s not as hypnotic to work as the previous way of working.  What I will say though, is that even though it takes a long time, it’s very very addictive - so be warned!

My personal view is this stitch most likely came to England via Byzantium religious textiles and not from secular French purses.  

Apologies if the photo’s aren’t clearer, my hands are a little unsteady due to painting my front door and sledge hammering about 12 tree stumps the last two weeks.  I’m so pleased both those arduous tasks are finito.

Celtic interlaced dog

 WIP using Opus Anglicanum Stitch 

4 new pdf patterns in the pipeline…

 Hi friends!

What a Summer….

Ok, so further to my last post where I mentioned working on some stitch mechanics etc, I have managed to take those discoveries into design mode and have had a really great time bringing things together into a file of untidy, but logical conclusions.  

So as a taster, here is one of the patterns I have designed.

And here is the WIP…

Ok, so it’s a needle book with an purpose-built space for your thimble.  

However, while working on this pattern I was reminded of a design element that had intrigued me about four years ago…you can guess the rest….I went off on a trajectory for a few months….this always happens when I trace my thought processes back and realise something needs to be clarified, especially if there are confusing instructions ‘out there’.  Then the other thing that happens is that once the scale of the work is set, then other ideas that were ‘free radicals’ before, suddenly become very useable and concrete.  Namely miniature 3-d roses.  

I have to go now because I have to complete a course that will enable me to gain promotion in the day job.  I don’t completely detest my day job, but I am a bit grumpy at the present time with sloppy co-workers and their destructive social lives.  Of course I am the one that has to pick up the proverbial slack and work even longer hours to keep the ship on an even keel.  Enough about reality, which is not something I tend to discuss much on here because art, creativity, inventions and intellectual progress are far grander ideas….

Wish me luck ppl, I need it!

To be or not to be…

Dear stitchers and artists,

I managed to spend three hours, on and off in single-minded pursuit of stitch mechanics on about 5 stitches I had been working on for the last two summers.  I had my notes to hand and, my by now, very cramped doodle cloth, and away I went.

Because reality was close on my heels, I had to really go into ‘the zone’ with regard to working out, noting down, photographing and testing hypotheses.  I was so desperate to get to the bottom of certain areas of ambiguity I was almost in a parallel universe of concentration and one-ness.  It felt really good!

It worked!  I mean it paid off, I got my answers.  Feeling encouraged to battle on, I tackled all 5 and wrote up my notes.  

The notes are not tidy, yet, but at least they are all there and have been improved, tested and ticked.  

Ok, so Danish Stitch is actually the basis of a stitch that I think I’ve invented? That sounds weird but it’s true.

I was desperately looking for a knot stitch that would end with 4 spokes, I thought I found it with Danish stitch, but I now see in the second ‘flipped’ stage of the stitch, I had actually introduced something quite different that changes the symmetry and weight of the stitch.  The end result is a stitch that has a circular centre with 4 anchor points.  These anchors offer up huge range of possibilities for spokes into which you can weave, or stitch extra design elements to mimic natural forms more convincingly.

How I got there is another story altogether and one that involves a video on YouTube that I cannot for the life of me find, that was produced in another language.   I often watch videos that are not in English because I don’t actually need to hear them but to watch them.  In fact for most of my technical learning, I will turn off the sound and play music instead, as I find the speech in videos os often very distracting and even frustrating..

Result is, I found a stitch that provides a basis for many, many possibilities with regard to miniature flowers, especially.  Oh what fun lies ahead ppl…..

Here is a photo of Barbados that is my favourite.  Just look at that jade water just calling you to dive in and float without any effort with a Daiquiri in your hand resting on your tummy…..hahah!

New pdf patterns in the pipeline!

Hey ppl, it is good to be back!

Ok, so I had been digging and digging and planting and generally transforming that patch of land, then to my complete amazement the grass started growing back!  So that has reduced my workload by about 40%.

For the rest I’m planting shrubs, perennials and wildflowers.

So while I was resting from my labours, it occurred to me that I needed to locate some notes and diagrams I had set aside about a year ago…..oh no, you can guess the rest…..yes, in my tired state I basically turned everything upside down trying to find this pattern….

After 3 days of mayhem, I found it!  You can imagine the relief….it’s like euphoria really?

I had been working on this pattern for about 6 years, on and off.  It brings together tips and tricks from a wide variety of old and often international sources.  But most of all, it’s about me making connections with stuff that could provide longed-for solutions to embroidery creations.

Remember, for most of my childhood I lived like a nomad out of a tiny suitcase that contained all my often miniature precious items.  So ‘miniature’ and ‘cute’ have been two hugely important concepts for me.

So this pattern is of a rose, with a bud and some leaves.  The thing is tiny and most of it is completed with one thread, but the 3-d parts are in two threads.

Then, while I was looking for all these notes, which were placed so safely away I could not find them for three days, as explained above, I found notes for two other patterns that I plan to sort out and offer for sale as instant downloads on my Etsy shop.

Now one of these sets of notes is about Danish Knotted Stitch.  I came across this stitch in a very old book at my local reference library.  You see the knot in a lot of places but you don’t see it done……um, correctly.

Sorry folks, but facts are facts.  The Danish Knotted Stitch is square shaped, yet in most places, you see it as a triangle.

In my view, that is because the central ‘flip’ in that knot, it often not understood,  and dare I say then fudged and hence it remains a triangle.  The knot is square in its proper form and in so doing provides a huge potential as the centre of a flower.

I am actually fascinated with how to produce a Corolla in embroidery, as there are many ways to do it, and so many stitches can be adopted.  However, because I adore botanical drawing and water colours, I have always wanted in embroidery to get as close to the truth about plant anatomy as I could, so I invented a new way of doing a Corolla, well two actually but I’m happy to stick with one.  

So future pdf pattterns I hope will be:

Mini rose & bud

Corolla 1

Tendrils 1

More about that later…

So where am  I with the table…..well the scrolls are just that and I have to practice how to do them, first coiling to the left then to the right.  I thought I could simply italicise the two circular sections, but just lately I’ve decided the whole lower section of those shells have to be reminders of the sea, rather than reminders of plants.  I could try black brown and gold, or light brown and gold or very pale pastel shades with gold highlights.  Not sure yet because I need to be more relaxed to cope with all the choices.

Have a great weekend xx