Lacing Done

As practice, I started lacing and mitring fabric onto a foam board that you can read about in a previous post here. It was the first time I used the foam board recommended by the framing shop. 

As the lacing and the mitres would be at the back of a piece of embroidery, the mitres don't have to look perfect. What bothered me, though, were the two little ears of bulk at the corners when I started to draw the mitred join together. 

I found there is no easy way to fold that little bit of extra fabric out of the way because of the thickness of the board. So in the end, I put in a few extra stitches to pull it together tightly around the point at the corner. 

I'd love to hear from you if you have any comments or suggestions about this.

'Till next time, happy stitching!

A Closing Down Sale

It's very sad to learn of an embroidery shop that is having a closing down sale. 

Di van Niekerk of Dicraft, South Africa has had a small embroidery shop for many years. Di designs and produces embroidery kits, ribbons and printed panels, but this popular little business now has been much affected by the US import tariffs instituted last year. You can read more about it in Di's own words here.

Preparing to Frame

I have some embroideries that I eventually want framed. With that in mind, on a trip past the nearest framing shop I stopped in. I was advised to use a foam board for backing the embroidery rather than usual mount board that I use. The assistant assured me that foam board is acid free so I'm going to try it out. 

On my practice run, the first thing I really liked is that although the board is quite thick, it's very easy to cut to size with a craft knife. Also, you can place pins along the edges to hold the fabric in place before lacing it. This makes it easier to get the fabric straight on the grain and hold it securely just where you want it.

It's been a while since I prepared an embroidery for framing and I gaily set off lacing the back of my practice piece. Being able to insert the pins into the edges of the board and keep everything where it should be, is a real joy.

Then came the corners. I found the mitre tricky because of the thickness of the foam board. The first corner has a slight overlap on the join that caused a ridge that you can see in the next photo.

I found that with the thick foam board, the corners have more fabric bulk that needs to be tucked in to get a neat mitre join. I usually keep the lacing loose so I can open out the corner before I trim it and fold it for the mitre. I might pull out some of the lacing before I do the next corner and just keep the pins along the very edge. More practice is needed!

Coincidentally, I came across an informative discussion about framing on Gary Parr's Fibre Talk. Gary recently spoke to master framer, David Lantrip who covered the whole question of framing in some depth. You can see Gary and David's chat here on You Tube. 

I was particularly interested in David's comments on framing embroidery. Interestingly, the suitability of foam board, a fairly new option, is still quietly being monitored by serious conservators. It is however widely used, and for small embroideries that are not expected to survive for 100's of years, foam board is fine. One other important point that was made is that it seems that lacing is still the best way to prepare an embroidery for framing. 

'Till next time, happy stitching!

A Snippet of Embroidery and a Rock Concert

Much has been happening here in the last couple of months - Christmas, New Year and a fun happy visit from my daughter and family. I have not been stitching but I have been working on an embroidery related project. I roped my grandson into taking some photographs for me with his new camera too.  This is just a snippet that I can show you in the meantime. I'll tell you more about it when I can.

The other happening that was definitely not embroidery, is that I attended an indie rock concert last night and it was fabulous! The musicians, songs, choreography, lights, smooth set transitions, and engaging audience participation were all outstanding. 

The show was at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, a ten minute drive from our house. Not being familiar with the venue and the parking options, Rod and I went along to check it out the day before the concert.

The anticipation before the show when the stage was set up for The Lumineers became palpable. 

We were absolutely delighted to meet the charming and talented violinist and musician, Lauren Jacobson, just before the show. 

Two hours of non-stop captivating musicianship, thought provoking songs, and sheer entertainment followed. 

The show was one of the first on The Lumineers packed schedule for their Automatic World Tour. They left straight after the show to travel on to Sydney and then the rest of Australia. The tour goes on to Asia, South Africa, North America and Europe. 

In the spirit of transparency, we had complimentary tickets, but this has in no way influenced my opinion. It was a wonderful concert and I hope many of you get to see it too. 

Thanks to Liam and Rod for some of the photos.

Christmas Gift Bags

Every year I plan to make Christmas gift bags for the gifts. This year I made a start by using up the  Christmas patchwork fabric in my stash.

 

I had small fabric pieces left over from making the family Christmas stockings and adding to the number with each new addition to the family. The fabric dates back at least 15 years. 

I made a few bags and also taught my granddaughter how to make a bag and how to sew. The black bag on the right was made by her. Perhaps we can sit together again next year and make another batch of  bags.

Merry Christmas!

 

Today the Knot Won

With a few spare minutes to stitch this morning, I wanted to work on my fishy tea towel, a Mary Corbet design. I find it relaxing to choose different colours and stitches as I go along.

When the thread seemed to snag, I turned it over to find a nasty big knot! 

The question is, how long do you try to untangle it for? I spent ages carefully trying to prise the knot open and straighten out the thread. But, today the knot won!

I shall have to cut the thread and unpick. Fortunately there's not a lot to undo.

Embroidery and Brisbane's Centenary

The Embroiderers' Guild Queensland challenged its members to create an embroidery to celebrate Brisbane's 100th anniversary this year. The embroideries had to include a Brisbane icon and as well as the Brisbane colours of blue and yellow.

The embroideries were on show for three days at The Nest, a busy shop run by volunteers that collect, sort, and sell recycled craft supplies. Later this year the embroideries will be displayed at the Brisbane City Hall. 

The 28 Challenge entries were displayed together on one long table while old treasures from the Guild's embroidery collection were laid out on the other. The tables were surrounded by items donated to the Nest.

The CityCat ferry and the Story Bridge

The jacarandas in spring

Who knew that Brisbane had its very own spider? 

The noisy rainbow lorikeets are everywhere in the city.

Hailing the bus!

Bluey the much loved Brisbane cartoon character was there too.

Riverfire the city's annual fireworks show

Who could forget the koalas?

The EGQ building in Brunswick Street - embroidery from the Guild's Collection

Thanks to my daughter Bronwyn for use of her photos! We had a lovely morning admiring the beautifully worked embroideries and identifying some of Brisbane's famous features. 

Threads Draw Us Together.

I'm doing a few stitches on my fish today. It is World Embroidery Day which falls each year on 30 July.

The Embroiderers' Guild Queensland invited two speakers to a get-together at a special Guild meeting on Sunday in anticipation of celebrating World Embroidery Day. 

First we heard about a small irregularly shaped piece of embroidery that was spotted in the Guild's collection. It turned out to be part of a stomacher worked in fourteen different types of gold thread! And the thread still gleams beautifully too. It has been dated to the mid 18th Century and must have been much treasured and kept in ideal conditions of humidity and temperature. 

The subject of the other talk was a quilt that made its way to Brisbane with an early settler. The various owners of the quilt can be traced back to the original maker who made it for her wedding trousseau. The quilt, having been well used but lovingly kept for over a hundred years, is now being carefully preserved by a team of dedicated stitchers.

The threads of those old embroideries tied us together in so many ways as we marveled at the techniques, explored their history, and thought about the makers and the people who preserved them.

I hope you find time to stitch today and celebrate being part of the worldwide community of embroiderers.

Happy Embroidery Day!

Samplers with Australian Links

In learning to embroider, young girls learnt to stitch decorative motifs of trees, flowers, images of places and maps as well as numbers and the letters of the alphabet. These elements on their embroidered samplers may not only pique our curiosity, but also supply us with historical information.

Margret Begbie Sampler, Courtesy National Museum of Australia

Mary McGillivray, in this ABC News article, discusses a couple of samplers held in Australian museums. She raises the question, Why would a ten year old Scottish girl, Margret Begbie, embroider a sampler of Botany Bay, Australia? The possible answers are fascinating. 

Choosing Cheerful Colours

One of the fun parts of starting a new embroidery is choosing the colours. There's something beguiling about sorting through the threads in my cupboard and imagining all the possibilities.

It's winter here. The light is less intense and the days are short so I'm going to use bright, cheery threads. I think I'll add more warm colours as I go along.

We are having a very cold snap in Queensland. There was half a metre of snow with blizzard conditions in the Snowy Mountains way down south, and icy winds are making sure we can feel the cold here too.

I'll tell you more about this project as I go along.

'Till next time, happy stitching!