Heliotrope 'Cherry Pie' Pincushion

Earlier in June I started a piece of purple Bargello, or Florentine, that I wrote about in previous posts here and here.

As I worked I noticed a straggly shrub out in the garden with flowers of the same deep purple colour.

See how closely the colours match?

The delight of moving into a house with a nice little garden is discovering through the seasons what the previous gardener has planted. The shrub I found is heliotrope and it has the most heavenly perfume. It reminds me strongly of vanilla. Apparently it is also like the aroma of a freshly baked cherry pie! Hence the shrub known as heliotrope 'Cherry Pie'.

The Bargello pattern for the Heliotrope 'Cherry Pie' pincushion is now in my Etsy shop Lynlubell. Click here to see it. As a customer very kindly remarked, this is much more than just a pattern. It's a step by step tutorial with lots of canvas work tips, and many photographs to illustrate the techniques.

There is also a larger version of the pincushion pattern that could be mounted or framed. It could be made into an oblong pincushion or even applied to a cushion cover to update the colour scheme of a living room.

Heliotrope, fashionable in Victorian gardens of the 19th century, has seemingly made a comeback here in Brisbane. I can see why. It has a long flowering season, tolerates hot dry conditions and some varieties have a remarkable fragrance. The one in my garden is planted next to the carport and every time I get out of the car I am surrounded by a soft cloud of its lovely scent. I wish I could send you a little breath of its gentle perfume.

In the meantime, enjoy the gardens around you, and happy stitching!

Smyrna Cross Stitch

The progress on the canvas work spectacle case, that I wrote about in this post here, has been spectacularly slow. There's been more unpicking than anything else.

A gremlin in a stitch diagram had me puzzled. Eventually I drew up my own diagram based on the photo in the kit. Smyrna cross, also called Leviathan stitch or double cross, is a good textured stitch for canvas work. This is how I stitched it in a vertical row. The next diagram shows how the rows were spaced.

Smyrna cross stitch

Once I'd got the spacing between the rows right, I filled in the straight stitches to form the trellis. The number 5 perle that came with the kit was a very pretty pale green but I found it thick and hard to pull through the holes of the 18 count canvas. So more unpicking. Instead, I used a number 8 perle in almost the same shade. Some of the impact of the thicker thread was lost, but it was much easier to pass the four thinner threads through the same hole. 

Smyrna cross with a trellis

The third step of the spectacle case is a row of cushion stitch around the central trellis. And yes, that I have unpicked - three times. All down to my miscounting. As they say, a bad workman always blames the tools, or in this case, a temporary lack thereof. My new sewing room has poor light, even during the day. So, I have since had my dear husband re-assemble my magnifier light. And it makes a big difference now when I stitch. 

The spectacle case? It's back in the UFO box. 

Till next time, much success with your stitching!

Canvas Work Spectacle Case

I've started to stitch a little kit that I've had for years. It's a spectacle case designed by Kathryn Cilliers-Louw. The needle was pinned into the canvas for so long it's completely rusted. It's definitely time to do that stitching!

First stitch is Smyrna cross. It's a double cross stitch also known Leviathan stitch. I'm using three strands of rayon floss which gives little bumpy squares. I like the feel of them when I run my finger over them.

The rayon is proving just what a mind of it's own it has. Thank goodness for my thread conditioner and a drop of water. They do help to tame the thread. I have often marveled at how the embroiderers of Brazilian embroidery manage those slippery threads and produce such perfect stitches.

My pattern calls for five different threads and somehow I have only four with my kit. I'll have to add in something from the threads in my cupboard. All in all it hasn't been the best start to this little project. It is relaxing though to be stitching from a kit. Someone else has worked it all out and ironed out all the tricky bits. I can just stitch.

'Till next time, happy stitching!

Canvas work portraits

A little stitching inspiration for the weekend from the needle of Marie E. Pieres.

Marie E. Pieres

This portrait is the work of artist Marie E. Pieres. I am captivated by not only the figure of the girl but also the texture, colour and variety of the canvas work stitches used in the background. 

There is some detail about Marie's creative process on the My Modern Met website here. And more of her work on her website here. Have a look at the portraits gallery and also the rogues gallery where you will find a portrait of Hugh Grant!

Till next time, happy stitching!

London Pencil Case

A London themed quilting fabric jumped out at me from the shelf when I saw it in the cute quilt shop Pretty Quilts. Incidentally it was not in London, but in Bangkok! And sadly Pretty Quilts is no more. My younger daughter spent a few years working in London so I thought I'd make something as a memento of her time spent there, and the couple of very happy family trips we made to see her. The question was what to do with the fabric?

A zip pouch is always useful and would fit the piece of fabric. A strip of batting and simple machine quilting gave the quilt fabric body.

I had to cut the small piece of fabric that I bought quite carefully. I realized only later that the way it was printed it was impossible to get all the well known landmarks fully included. The little angel charm I attached to the zip pull reminded me of Eros at Piccadilly Circus.

I have a zip bag that I use for small sewing and embroidery supplies. It's rather worn so I won't show you that one. It is faded and very well travelled, but it comfortably carries threads, a needlecase, scissors, tape measure, a thimble and other odds and ends that I think I may need while I'm away.

A zip bag works well as a pencil case too. I made a few recently for a school carnival and I'll show you those soon. I'm still working on transferring photos from my phone to my PC so that I can edit them before posting them up on my blog.

In the meantime, enjoy the weekend and happy stitching.

Thread Colour Converter

Sometimes the occasion arises when you are looking for an embroidery thread in the same colour but a different  type of thread. Thanks to a free colour converter on the Cross Stitch Guild website, you can look up threads of a similar colour in a number of different brands and thread types.

DMC stranded cotton and Paterna wools in similar colours

Being able to do so online beforehand and compiling a possible list of alternatives will save you time later when you reach the embroidery shop. It's also useful if you don't have an embroidery store nearby and must order by phone or online.

Below is a screenshot taken when I looked up the DMC stranded cotton equivalent of colour number 932. This screen shot gives you an idea of the thread manufacturers included in the list. I was looking for the Paterna equivalent of DMC 932. It's the 11th down the list on the left. The Paterna colour closest to my thread is number 505.

Screenshot of colour converter from The Cross Stitch Guild 

To use the thread colour converter, choose your thread type from the "Choose" box on the left, enter the colour number in the little box opposite and the converter lists the most closely matched colour for each manufacturer on the list.

Don't expect to find an exact match. In this example the corresponding threads to my blue DMC 932 vary from quite a similar blue to darker, greyer blues and even some quite green. The Paterna wool colour 505 turned out a little different to what I had in mind for a small project I wanted to try. I eventually used the DMC threads that I had on hand, but I was glad that I had found this useful little tool.

The colour converter is a useful guide to similar colours in other ranges. It's a good starting point. However you may wish to see the actual threads before you make the final choice for your embroidery. Click here to visit the page on the Cross Stitch Guild website. Enter you thread type and colour number and see what comes out.

Till next time, happy stitching.

No email notifications about blog posts

Today I came across a number of comments that had been left on some of my previous blog posts. Usually I receive an email that draws my attention to these comments so that I can read them and reply. No such emails have arrived recently, Blogger!

A few weeks ago I read a blog post on D1D2 about this problem but I didn't think I had been affected. D1D2 is a lovely embroidery blog.

If you go to your blog dashboard, click on comments and find recent comments that you didn't know about then visit D1D2 here. There is a detailed explanation of how to fix the problem. It's a quick fix of deleting your email address, saving it, then retyping and resaving it in your blog settings.

Till next time, happy blogging and happy stitching.

Embroidery Classes at Ighali 2018

There are still some excellent embroidery classes available at the Cape Embroiderers' Guild Ighali embroidery convention. You will find the full brochure on the Embroidery Network South Africa website here.

Ighali, which means 'threads' in a local language, is taking place in Cape Town from 19 to 24 September 2018. It's an opportunity for embroiderers to attend classes presented by the leading embroiderers in South Africa. It's also a time when embroiderers get together, make friends and share their love of stitching.

You can still find a spot in these classes:

• Margie Prestedge's Smocked dress. You just do the smocking. Wow!
• Alice Wilson's Modern sampler - ideal for beginners and looks like great fun! 
• Creative Canvas Work Knot Garden by Vyvyan Muller
• Lorraine Weers' gorgeous Heritage Box 
• Lesley Turpin Delport's imaginative classes

I wish I could attend a couple of those. You are certainly are in for a treat if you are one of the lucky ones who do attend. Here are contact details if you are interested in attending.

• Enquiries: penny.cornell@gmail.com 
• Registration: blackburng@telkomsa.net 
• Website: www.embroiderynetwork.co.za

This year the venue for Ighali is in the heart of beautiful Constantia. Below are photos taken in the area at an open garden a couple of years ago.

Constantia mountain view

Constantia is an historic wine growing area of the Cape, with sweeping mountain views and noteworthy historic Cape Dutch houses.

Historic house Constantia, Cape Town

Find out more about Ighali by visiting the ENSA website or the  CEG Facebook page here.

Happy stitching!

Laying Tool

The little piece of ultraviolet Florentine, or Bargello, that I am stitching, turned up a connection to both beading and medicine. I'm using 6 strands of DMC stranded cotton for the embroidery. You can read about my colour choice in a previous post here.

When you use multiple strands of thread, stroking the threads with a laying tool as you form each stitch gives a nice smooth appearance to the embroidery. Mostly my pieces are quite small and I make do with a large tapestry needle in place of a proper embroiderer's laying tool.

This time I kept dropping the tapestry needle and had to search around on the floor to find it. To make the needle easier to find and keep track of, I attached a few beads. A bonus was that the weight of the glass beads settled quite comfortably in my hand and it made holding the needle a little easier. A few more beads would make it even more comfortable to hold but, if I were to stitch a large project and spend many hours working on it, I'd rather use a laying tool with a solid handle.

Basically, you hold a laying tool in the left hand and stroke the threads to keep them smooth and untangled. At the same time you use your right hand to insert the working needle into the canvas and take the next stitch. Sounds complicated but it's not. Once you get going, it becomes straightforward.

Serendipity! This week the Chilly Hollow blog published a link to a Tulip beading awl, at a reasonable price, that could also act as a laying tool. That jogged my memory.

Some years ago my daughter and I did a beaded jewelry making course in Hawaii. A quick look at my beading tools, and there was a tool with a long metal spike attached to a plastic handle - a perfect laying tool. I wish I could remember whether it came from the big, comprehensive Ben Franklin craft store in Kailua. The label on the little instrument doesn't say but it does say it's a teasing needle.

Apparently a teasing needle is used for medical dissections when a scalpel would be too large. Oh!

Who would have thought that this type of simple tool would be used for embroidery, beading and surgery. It seems rather gruesome to use it for embroidery and beading too, but it's practical and it certainly does the trick. It's also inexpensive compared to a well crafted embroiderer's laying tool.  My daughter pointed out that this teasing needle with its blue plastic handle is unlikely to be suitable for surgery. It was my beading awl. Now I think I'll call it my laying tool.

Enjoy your weekend and happy stitching!

Cape Embroiderers' Guild Mini Market and Embroidery Exhibition

Cape Embroiderers' Guild Leaf Banner in progress

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THE CAPE EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD

will hold a

MINI MARKET & EXHIBITION OF EMBROIDERY

14^th JULY 2018

St. Thomas’s Church Hall, Rondebosch, 

Cape Town

10h.00 – 16h.00

Entry R20 – Refreshments available

Enquiries ph. 021 761 5052

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Click on the link below to visit the CEG Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/capeembroiderersguild

Beginner Embroidery Classes

The internet has a vast depth of resources and they are becoming easier and easier to find. Google 'beginner embroidery' and you are bound to come up with a long list of possible places to begin browsing.

Credit: Swoodonsays

Occasionally someone researches and collects good links and shares their list. Today I came across a list of beginner embroidery classes put together by Stephanie over on Swoodsonsays. There are a number of beginner embroidery courses there that look very interesting, and that I would like to try. Click here to take a look.

Weekend

I love the evening light on the trees in the park at the end of garden, especially on Fridays at the end of the week.

Someone very kindly mowed the grass over there while we were out yesterday. Someone from the Council arrives every couple of weeks with a tractor and whips around in half an hour.  The way he swings the mower about in merry fashion I'd say that tractor driver loves his job.

Where was I yesterday? At the Embroidery Guild Exhibition in the City. We changed our minds at the last minute and thought we'd go by car instead of by train. Now I know why everyone says take the bus or the train. The one-ways, the river and the intersections with no right turn make navigating very tricky. But, we made it to the exhibition in the old Masonic Hall in Fortitude Valley. On the way we learned a lot about Brisbane too.

The 189 embroideries on display were exquisite. They were inspiring. Everything from canvas work and counted thread work, to needle painting, stump work and Japanese embroidery was there. Everything meticulously embroidered and carefully displayed. No photographs were allowed so unfortunately I have no embroidery to show you.

Looking around the hall I recognized designs by many of the popular embroidery designers and many from Inspirations magazine. I was impressed by the number of substantial works designed by the embroiderers themselves. I so enjoyed seeing such different work.

One thing that did strike me was the fabric. Many of the pieces of pulled work, drawn thread, Schwalm and Punto Antico were embroidered on a close weave linen, a 38 count Italian Graziano. The linen itself looked beautiful and the close weave really showed up the openwork to great effect. Much of this was work was done with 12 and 8 Pearl threads and quite a few pieces were stitched with colour.

Upstairs was a display of work from the guild's archives. It included quite a bit of clothing. Among the items I was thrilled to see 3 Ayrshire christening robes. That was a treat. It's the first time I've seen this form of whitework up close.

I have a few things to do now before the grandchildren arrive. They are coming for a sleepover tonight.

Till next time, happy stitching.

Lynlubell Sale - Digital Embroidery Patterns

Etsy turns 13 next week. The annual Etsy birthday sale runs from 18 to 22 June. It's the first time I've taken the plunge for my shop Lynlubell to take part.

I'm discounting all digital embroidery patterns by 10% for purchases over $10 USD. It's all set up to go on Monday 18th June and I hope it will run smoothly. In the meantime, click here to visit my shop Lynlubell on Etsy and browse through the patterns.

These are the 5 most popular patterns:

5. Australian Cross Stitch Embroidery, Egg Cosy and Table Mat Pattern

4. Blue Eyelet Pincushion Pattern, in canvas work or needlepoint

3. Rosebud Bookmark & Scissor Fob, canvas work pattern

2. This is the most popular canvas work or needlepoint pattern - the Flower and Cushion Stitch pincushion pattern.

1. Australian Cross Stitch Pincushion embroidery Patterns, the most popular of all the patterns.

Just to let my customers know that payments are now easier for you to make. Since moving to Australia I am able to offer payment through the Etsy payment system and that includes all major credit cards. Previously, being based in South Africa, I was able to accept payment only through PayPal and I know that was not convenient for everyone. Now you can choose to pay by credit card or still use PayPal if you so prefer.

Do visit my shop. If you have any questions you can contact me via my shop Lynlubell on Etsy. Or email me directly at the address lynette dot warner at gmail dot com.

Till next time, enjoy the weekend and happy stitching.

.....

Added later: Thank you to everyone who visited and supported my Etsy shop during the annual Etsy sale!

.....

Embroiderers' Guild Exhibition in Brisbane

I haven't seen much of Brisbane city yet. We live some way out. It seems like a trip to Fortitude Valley is on the cards for me.

After all, the 50th Anniversary Exhibition of the Embroiderers' Guild, Queensland is just too good to miss. Isn't it?  Click this link for more information.

Now to make arrangements to get there.

Till next time, happy stitching.

Florentine

I wanted a little piece of stitching to keep my fingers busy when I have a few spare minutes. Florentine, or Bargello, is just the thing.

It's easy to work.  It uses straight stitches, usually over 4 threads and steps up or down by two canvas threads according to the pattern you choose. It's easy to count on a 14 count canvas and it's rewarding too because it works up quickly.

Some of the special appeal of Florentine is the use of colours graded from light to dark within a colour family. To help decide on a colour I looked up the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2018. I don't know what I expected but I was surprised to find that the chosen colour is ultraviolet, a colour of 'exploration' and 'possibilities'. Interesting. See more about the concepts behind the choice of ultraviolet here.

Then I matched up some DMC threads that had been passed on to me some time ago to the colour displayed on my PC screen. Usually I would use wool on a 14 count canvas, especially for straight stitches like those used for Florentine embroidery, but my supplies are low. It's a good opportunity to see how the stranded cotton works.

Till next time happy stitching!

The Excellent Chinese Embroidery Exhibition

If you are going to be in Bangkok between now and 16 May,  The Excellent Chinese Embroidery Exhibition looks like it's well worth a visit. Both ancient and modern embroideries are on show and there are opportunities to learn about Chinese embroidery techniques.

Part of an embroidery, 112 centimetres wide and 483cm long, depicting urban lifestyles along a section of the lower Yangtze River a century ago. (Photo by Mongkol Bangprapa)  (Source Bangkok Post)

Click on this link to read the article in the Bangkok Post and find out more about the exhibition. I would love to visit it.

Thai Cross Stitch Panels

Going through my linen cupboard before we moved, I found these two embroidered panels tucked into a back corner waiting for inspiration. 

At the time I bought them, I thought they looked charming and I couldn't walk out of Srisuwan, a wonderful fabric shop in Bangkok, without them. 

With no one nearby to interpret, it was impossible find out the origin of the embroideries. I had just been North to Chang Mai and visited some of the Hill Tribes where I saw some impressively large cross stitch pieces. I would guess they could quite possibly have been stitched there.

The cross stitch must have been done by someone with good eyesight. I can't imagine counting and working those tiny cross stitches on a black background. (The fabric is a 14 count Aida-like material.) Black does however make the colours pop and I find the overall effect rather appealing. I especially like the way the limited palette has been used on the elephants.

I wonder if the panels were designed to decorate the bottom of skirt?

Till next time, happy stitching!

Setting up home

We have moved into our new house and are settling in happily. Last week my elder daughter visited and it was the first time in 5 years that both my daughters and their families were all together with us. Happiness is! And the four grandchildren played together like old best friends.

The grandchildren that live around the corner loved unpacking our boxes. Here they are sliding my sewing boxes into the shelving units left for us in my sewing room. Open shelves are not ideal but they are serving the purpose for the moment.

There is still a way to go before we have the house the way we want it: boxes of photo albums and pictures that don't yet have a place, an extra shelf to make for the grocery cupboard, the new washing line to be cemented in and so on.

A worthwhile tip if you are moving to a country where the electric plugs for your appliances are going to change? Work out beforehand just how many new plugs you will need and have them ready when you move in. You will be surprised just how many you will need. Weeks later we still have lamps, hairdryer, sewing machine and a few other things that we have to shuffle around when we want to use them. In the meantime a multiplug extension cord with an Australian plug that goes into the wall but that fits our existing appliances is working hard.

Today I was able to buy a new foot control for my sewing machine. The plastic on the old one disintegrated during the move. And I have just had notice that the new Fiskars scissors I bought online are waiting for me at the post office. 3 pairs of Fiskars that I have had for many years and used daily disappeared in the move! Very very annoying! (See the note below.) Anyway, I hope to be set up and sewing again soon.

Till next time, happy stitching!

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P.S. Many months later the happy news is that I found all my Fiskars scissors carefully slipped in between layers of fabric deep in a fabric box.

Wild turkeys

 Spot the wild turkeys at the edge of my daughter's garden? It's lovely to see them roaming around nearby. It seems they are protected and quite common around Brisbane.

We're making progress with our move - new bank accounts, medical cards, phone numbers (though mine doesn't seem to be working yet?), house insurance and the keys to our new home.

Our container has unfortunately been delayed and until we have that we can't move into our house. The ship arrived in Brisbane yesterday and the container has been unloaded. The last step is to go through customs and the quarantine inspection. That will be about another 10 days. It will be nice to have my sewing things again.

View from the window

The last of four quilts for my grandchildren is almost done. I want to finish it in time to give it to my granddaughter when we get to Brisbane in about a week's time.
Looking up from the sewing machine where I'm sitting,  I'm reminded that I am in lush tropical Bangkok. It's steamy and hot every day. When there is rain - heavy big raindrops that obscure the buildings across the narrow roadway - I think of dry parched Cape Town and the looming Day Zero, the day the city may run out of water. It's two months since we left and still Rod and I are super conscious of every drop of water we use. I do hope the rains arrive early for the Cape this year.

New Year in Winklespruit

New Year and we're on the move. Our house in Cape Town has been packed up and sold and our container is on its way to Australia. Mixed feelings? Oh yes!Dreadfully sad to leave - so sad neither Rod nor I talk about it much - but very excited about the future.

We are now on the Kwazulu Natal South Coast staying with family in their beautiful flat with a glorious view of the beach, the sea and the coastline for miles and miles in either direction. This is one of my favourite holiday places with many fond memories of childhood holidays. It's been an especially good way to start the New Year.

Next stop on our journey is Bangkok and a visit to my elder daughter and her family. We fly off via Dubai on Monday.

I trust that 2018 will be kind and productive year for all of us.

Happy stitching!