Sandbags, Cyclones and Sewing - Part 2

Yesterday we returned our sandbags to my son-in law. He had bought and filled them with earth when after two days - early in the week before Tropical Cyclone Alfred arrived - we were unable to get sandbags from the council or state emergency services. More arrived every day at the depot but we were taking no chances. By Friday a million sandbags had been filled and distributed in southeast Queensland. These ones protected my sewing room.

Much to our surprise the cyclone hit us with a lot more force on Saturday night when it crossed the mainland 50 km north of us. Then we lost power, and internet connection for 3 days. Although Tropical Cyclone Albert had been downgraded from a category 2 to a category 1, and then to a tropical low, we were battered by gale force winds and heavy rain until Monday. We borrowed camping equipment, and were treated to dinner each night by my daughter and son-in-law who live nearby, so we were fine. (My PC monitor decided to go 'pop' and stopped working when the power was reconnected on Tuesday!)

Thankfully we had very little storm damage - just a few small trees had broken branches. It was sad though to see two big mature trees come down in the park behind us. We really felt for all those who bore the brunt of the storm and the catastrophic flooding.

With the upheaval over the last two weeks, not much sewing happened on my Easter egg embroidery.

There are still lots of ends to finish off and perhaps a short row or two to stitch at either end. That will be quick to do.

An especially big thank you to all my lovely blog readers for your good wishes and very kind messages after my last blog post. It was a scary time and I appreciate them all! 

'Till next time, happy stitching!

Easter Card & Tropical Cyclone Alfred

This little Easter egg is a fun, quick project to stitch and it looks perfect on an Easter card. I started with a pattern I drew up and posted about on my blog here. Feel free to use it with the lists of colours and stitches. This version looks a bit different to the original. I seldom follow a pattern completely - even one I created myself! Its much more interesting to choose colours and stitches randomly as I go along. 

On the weather front, Tropical Cyclone Alfred sat ominous and threatening off the east coast of Australia for five long days. That provided plenty of time for preparations at home and by the state and authorities. The wait though was difficult. 

Last night the eye of the storm passed within 40 km of us. I am very relieved that we have escaped safely so far. We were spared the really stormy weather. The barrier islands off Brisbane's coast provided us some protection.

Sadly not so for thousands of others who are now dealing with the effects of wind damage, severe flooding and power outages. Over 250,00 were without power this morning, some without water and some without  telecommunications. Before the storm, huge manpower was put on standby and they are working to help those worst affected and restore services as soon as possible. 

Although the wind is still very blustery and there is significant rain forecast in the wake of the storm I hope the worst is over where I am. With the grey and damp hovering outside I'm thinking of all those who have already suffered damage and loss. I hope the remaining weather clears up soon for all of us.

'Till next time, keep safe and happy stitching.

Sample finished off

It's been a slow and happy start to the year after lovely few weeks when the whole family gathered here for Christmas and the New Year. I hope its going to be a very happy 2025 for all my blog readers.

My little sample of Ukrainian whitework that I wrote about here and here in previous posts has been stitched up and made into a little pouch. 

 I hemstitched the two short ends of the sample so I could leave an opening at the back. 

The opening would make it easy to eventually fill with sweet smelling herbs or lavender.

I like using lines of backstitch, and then whipping the two sides together for finishing off. It leaves a nice clean line of stitching.

Finally I slipped a little blue satin pillow inside the pouch. It contrasts well with the white drawn thread work for photographing. 

'Till next time, from a very hot and humid Brisbane, happy stitching!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas 2024 has come and gone and I hope it was a happy one for you!

We were busy with house maintenance and home improvements that stretched out and finished only just before our daughter and son-in-law arrived with their two boys for the holidays. 

The four grandchildren were delighted to see each other again. They got together to decorate the tree and make sure it was up a couple of days before Christmas. It was marvelous to be able to leave that task to them this year!

Christmas Eve saw me doing a little last minute sewing. I originally made a couple of these Christmas stockings for my daughters when they were quite young. As our family grew, I added new ones so that there is now a stocking for each family member.  

This year I had to refurbish two of the stockings. I kept the original band of Christmas fabric at the top and replaced some stained red fabric. The family tradition is that we put these stockings under the tree on Christmas Eve. There's something quite nostalgic about taking out and using the same Christmas stockings every year.

The days have flown and it is almost time to pack away the decorations and the Christmas stockings.

 Enjoy the rest of the holiday season, and I wish you a Peaceful and Happy 2025!

Beaded wedding veil

Years ago I trimmed my daughter's wedding veil with beads. She had collected some beads on her travels and planned to use them to add a glimmer of light along the edge of her veil.  

The veil has been in storage and needs ironing but I would nevertheless like to keep a record of it so I photographed it as is. 

Unfortunately with time, the silver tube beads have lost their shine. As the bride walked down the aisle they added a little sparkle that twinkled along the edge. 

There was lots of fun and to and fro by email to find the perfect look! The spacing as well as the size of the beads and sequins made a big difference to the delicate effect we were after.  These are a few of the drawings and samples I stitched, together with the eventual pattern. 

To transfer the design for the veil - which is circular - I drew up the pattern for one quarter of the veil. I covered the pattern with plastic and then tacked it under the tulle. The plastic overlay ensured that no black ink markings were transferred from the pattern. It also provided stability to the fine net while I worked on it adding the beads. 

One half of the circle was embroidered on the front of the tulle and one half on the back. This was so that the circle of tulle could eventually be folded in half and all the beading would be on the right side. Finally, I beaded a white hair comb, gathered up the net, and attached it to the comb. 

It simply looked like a continuation of the beaded edge of the veil. 

It dawned a glorious summer's day for the wedding too. In typical Cape Town fashion, it was windy! But not even the howling Cape southeaster could spoil it.

The bride was radiant and beautiful! 

What a wonderful, happy day!

Stitches

In my last post here I showed you an example of how the same stitch appears in different types of embroidery - namely, cable stitch is used in both Ukrainian whitework and in smocking.

The latest news from the Royal School of Needlework is that they have published a new book of 200 embroidery stitches. The book is a companion to the RSN Stitch Bank, which is a free digital stitch dictionary that includes step by step instructions and videos of how to work each stitch. You can read about the book here. Use the hot links to navigate to the Stitch Bank itself.

The Stitch Bank is still growing as new stitches are added and I visit it every now and again to see what's new. I browsed through the categories of stitches in the section Embroidery Techniques, and looked at the Drawn Thread stitches. And there was cable stitch! There is an interesting description of how its used in many types of embroidery. 

The Stitch bank is a good resource for finding new stitches and learning how to do them, but you do have to have a device or phone nearby to access it. Hence the usefulness of having the book.

'Till next time, happy stitching!

Smocking and Ukrainian Whitework

The same stitch often appears in different guises on different types of embroidery. Consider cable stitch. The smocking on a little dress I made a few years ago had borders of cable stitch. 

The red stitch along the top and bottom edges of the smocking is the row of cable stitch. 

Cable stitch is also widely used on surface embroidery as a line stitch. You can see how to work it in the video over on Sarah's Hand Embroidery here. 

I wouldn't however immediately connect smocking and Ukrainian whitework.

My Ukrainian whitework sample

But Gay Eaton makes this interesting link in Border 7 in her book titled Ukrainian whitework.

The stitch that caught my interest there is known as Merezhka Verkhoploot. To work the stitch, several threads are first cut and withdrawn. Then rows of cable stitch, just like the well known smocking stitch, are worked over the cut area. Interestingly because the cable stitch is worked in close rows it gives a solid look that belies the fact that it is a drawn thread stitch. Yet it does bear a resemblance to smocking.  (The border below is finished off with ladder hemstitch.)

So a surface line stitch, a smocking stitch, and a drawn thread stitch used for Ukrainian whitework all have very strong links! Cable stitch is adapted and used on all three different types of embroidery.

Unfortunately stitch names can be confusing. There's another stitch also called cable stitch! It's a pretty variation of chain stitch and looks something like this : O-O-O-O-O. It's a looped stitch and it is a completely different type of stitch to a cable stitch used in smoking and to Merezhka Verkhoploot. 

On a local note we are having a heatwave and it's still officially winter. The temperatures have been like those we usually experience in mid summer. Although I'm enjoying the break from the cold, I wonder what summer will be like.

 'Till next time, happy stitching!

 

World Embroidery Day

July the 30th was declared as a day for celebrating embroidery by a group of Swedish embroiderers in 2011. It is now recognized and celebrated around the world. I attended a delightful high tea held on Sunday at the Queensland Embroiderers' Guild in Brisbane to mark the occasion. 

It was good to see familiar faces in the crowded hall and also meet some of the members visiting from groups all around Queensland. The tables were beautifully set out with understated flower arrangements, pretty pink napkins, plates of sandwiches, and tiered stands of small delectable eats. We were asked to bring our own favourite cup and saucer which added a fun personal note to the occasion too. 

After tea we listened to three speakers. Keeping to the theme of our connection to embroidery around the world, they shared their experiences of visiting Mountmellick, the home of Mountmellick embroidery in Ireland; seeing the sixty eight metre long Bayeux tapestry on display in France; and finding some rare heirloom lace treasures in Italy. It was a most enjoyable and interesting morning.

Today, wherever you are, I hope you are either meeting up with stitching friends or contentedly working on your embroidery with a nice cup of tea. May you have a happy and peaceful World Embroidery Day!

If you are looking for a small project to do, please visit my Etsy shop here for pulled thread and canvas work pincushion patterns.

Now for my cup of tea...

'Till next time, happy stitching!

Hardanger Pincushion

This is a small sample that I finished off into a pincushion and donated to the Guild for sale at the exhibition. I wrote previously about the pretty Hardanger stitch here.

Once the centre motif was complete, I tried out several ideas around the edge to finish it off. The four-sided stitch over four didn't work at all.

In the end I tried four corner eyelets which I rather like with the open look of the Hardanger filling stitch. Then came the Kloster blocks to define the edge and tie in with the satin stitch surrounding the cut area. A few surface stitches gave the final touch to the eyelets.

Instead of ironing, I damp stretched the embroidery overnight. That always gives a nice, smooth finish.

I chose pink satin to line the embroidery and a pink and white butterfly print for the back of the pincushion. The filling is a polyester cushion stuffing. 

Next time I'll show you the other little sample that I completed and made up as a pincushion too.

Interestingly, pincushions and needlebooks on sale at this years exhibition were not as popular as previously. I'll have to give some thought as to what I can do with my little samples for next time.

The sun is shining beautifully today, but it's definitely winter here with a very chilly and windy cold snap. I hope its warmer wherever you are.

Happy stitching!

Participation and Enjoyment at the Exhibition

My granddaughter was delighted at the Queensland Embroiderers' Guild Exhibition when she recognized my cushion displayed in one of glass cabinets. The cushion was stitched during a Stitch Along organized by the guild at the time of the COVID lockdowns. 

It usually sits in our entrance hall on a chair that originally belonged to my grandmother. 

There is more about the embroidery, the SAL, and the chair in previous blog posts that can be accessed by clicking the link to the post My Cushion is on My Grandmother's Chair.

On display at the exhibition there were almost a hundred embroideries! With the wide range of embroidery techniques exhibited there was plenty of inspiration for everyone who was able to visit. Unfortunately photography was not allowed so there are no photos that I can share. For those interested in older embroideries, upstairs there was an 'embroidery museum' - a collection of exemplary work embroidered by Guild teachers, as well as carefully curated items that have been donated to the guild archives, including wedding dresses.

The other aspects of visiting the exhibition that my eleven year old granddaughter enjoyed were choosing and casting her vote for her favourite embroidery, shopping at the second hand 'shop' for small kits, and having permission to scan the embroidered QR code that she immediately spotted. She was curious to see whether or not it would work. To her surprise and amusement it did. Besides searching for my cushion that she knows so well, being able to actively participate in the various activities at the exhibition made it a more memorable and fun morning. 

In my next blog post I'll show you a couple of small embroideries that I completed recently. They were finished in time for the exhibition but we didn't see them. More about that next time. 'Till then happy stitching!