Making up Kits

Long time, no blog post! Winter's unwelcome bugs made themselves felt here and things rather ground to a halt for a while. I have done no stitching for weeks but I did do something embroidery related.

Dresden Lily by Lyn Warner

Unfortunately I had to cancel my Dresden Lily pulled thread class that I was scheduled to teach at Ighali*. Talk about disappointing! I was so looking forward to it. Apologies again to everyone who had booked and who at the last minute had to transfer to other classes. It seems I missed a most wonderful embroidery convention this year. You can see some photos here on the Cape Embroiderers' Guild Facebook page.

Even though I would not be going to Knysna to teach at Ighali, I was very pleasantly surprised when I was asked to send along my kits. I had done some preparation and thought it would be quick to finish assembling them, but somehow kits always take longer to prepare than I expect.

Not feeling my best, I did a little each day and I even had my very sweet cleaning lady to help measure out the thread on the day when she came in to work.

In the end the kits were completed. Linen cut and edged, printing done, envelopes ready, threads labelled and notes tweaked.

Carefully checking the contents for each kit, almost there...

I intended to try and avoid any plastic packaging but in the end I decided that it would keep the materials clean and safe. Better safe than sorry - echoes of my mom and my gran there. The ziplock bags can also be used to store the work in progress.

Happiness is ... finally slipping the printed instructions and the materials into their prepared and labelled envelopes. I was so pleased to have this step completed that I forgot to take a photo of the kits all packed and ready to go. 

The other photo that I missed taking was putting the envelopes into a large Corn Flakes box for the car trip to Knysna!!! Well, maybe not elegant, but everything did arrive safely. I had lots of help, and offers of help along the way, and I thank everyone for the part they played in getting the kits to their recipients! 

By next time, I hope to have tracked down the little project I worked on some time ago but couldn't reveal at the time.

Till then, happy stitching!

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*Ighali means 'threads' in one of the 11 official languages in South Africa and is the name of a national embroidery convention held every two years.

Acknowledgement: The Lily was adapted from a photo with permission of owner and author Heather Toomer.

World Embroidery Day

World Embroidery Day is celebrated around the world on the 30th July. Here is a little of what will be happening this year in our neighbourhood to spread the word about embroidery and share our love of embroidery.

From Broderiakademin, the Swedish Embroidery Guild.

One of the Cape Embroiderers' Guild members has been encouraging local schools to participate by scheduling a little time for pupils to spend with needle and thread and explore the creative joy of stitching. It is quite sad that needlework is no longer a part of the curriculum in South Africa. I so enjoyed my needlework classes at school.

A local embroidery shop is hosting a stitch-in and others are gathering groups of friends to bring along a project and enjoy the camaraderie of our passion. There may even be a group stitching at a local shopping centre and letting the public peek over their shoulders and have a look at what treasures can be made with the simple means of fabric, needle and thread.

The CEG are also spreading the word about WED via their Facebook page and hoping that embroiderers everywhere will get together in groups and celebrate the sheer enjoyment of embroidery. Visit the CEG Facebook Page here.

The idea for a World Embroidery Day was born in Sweden and took place on 30th July 2011. You can read more about the intention in the one page manifesto here. It did make me think more broadly about this age-old activity that so many of us enjoy as a relaxing hobby and a creative outlet.

I would love to hear about what you are doing on Saturday 30th July on World Embroidery Day. Do leave a comment in the comment box below.

In the words of the manifesto, may your day on 30th July be filled with creativity for the sake of Peace, Freedom and Equality.

Happy Stitching!

Truro Cathedral Church Embroidery

There are two blogs posts on Hands Across the Sea Samplers that anyone interested in Church embroidery should not miss seeing. You will find the first one by clicking here and the second one here.

These are just a few of the wonderful images captured on a visit to Truro cathedral that appear on the Hands Across the Sea Samplers blog.

Truro Cathedral with altar cloth (Source Hands Across the Sea Samplers)

Burse (Source: Hands across the Sea Samplers)

Stole (Source: Hands Across the Sea Samplers)

Angel wing (Source: Hands Across the Sea Samplers)

There are a number of vestments decorated with silk embroidery and goldwork that were photographed and that are included on the blog.

I love the photo of the needleworkers of the Cathedral Sewing Guild that meet every week and stitch in the cathedral.

Danielle Clough - embroidery, rackets and shoes

Some of you may remember those old wooden tennis rackets. The Cape Town textile artist and photographer Danielle Clough has put them to another use. She embroiders on rackets...

Aloe on a racket by Danielle Clough

Face on a racket by Danielle Clough

and shoes.

Rat on pair of shoes by Danielle Clough

The embroidery is all done with a variety of wool and thread. If, like me, you are interested in what the back of the work looks like, take a peek at the back of the Rat on a racket, by clicking here.

Rat on racket by Danielle Clough

Danielle learned to embroider only three years ago and has embroidered a large number of pieces in that short time. You can see more of her work on both her website and on Instagram. 

Humming bird by Danielle Clough

'Till next time, happy stitching!

Variegated threads

Variegated threads are fun to work with, especially if choosing colours is not your strong point. Years ago I found Anchor multi-coloured threads on a trip to Bangkok and I happily added some to my stash to try out.

A crazy patch pincushion,

 a mini stitch sampler needlebook,

and a herringbone stitch sampler all enlivened by variegated threads.

On the Create and Stitch website I found this today.

DMC have brought out a new range of variegated threads. I can't wait to see them.

Now to pack for a family get together in Sedgefield, along the Garden Route, a beautiful part of the country.

Till next time, happy stitching!

Stitching In The Garden

The last few days have been glorious typical autumn weather in Cape Town. Perfect for sitting under the tree and stitching. That's where I was this morning.
 

The shady corner of the garden is full of purple plectranthus, a sure sign that it's autumn. 

The pink hibiscus has put on a splendid show for weeks.

A peek at the mountain from the other end of the garden. It's seldom that it is without it's tablecloth of cloud.

It didn't take long for the sun to creep over and then it was too hot to sit out and stitch.

Enjoy the last of the weekend and happy stitching!

WWII Sampler

Every now and then I come across a blog that makes for good reading. The blog posts on Hands Across The Sea Samplers is my latest find. The daily posts include the history behind the samplers and there are sometimes video links to the topic of the day that one would normally not come across.

Yesterday's post focuses on a sampler stitched by Major Alexis Casdagli, a WWII prisoner of war. The daring of the man is not immediately apparent in the sampler. Read more about this sampler on Hands Across The Sea Samplers here and more about the Major in the Telegraph here.

Major Casdagli's sampler (Hands Across The Sea Samplers)

And Jane Austen fans will enjoy this post here.

Space Embroidery

Do you remember the photographs the first astronauts took of earth from space? It was the rich blues of our planet that remain imprinted on my mind's eye.

Earth by Navid Baraty

If you would like to capture images of space with needle and thread you will find a small selection of cross stitch patterns by Navid Baraty in the Etsy shop SpaceNavid. I love how the colours pop out against the black background of space.

Mars by Navid Baraty

As a child I had visions of becoming an astronaut and travelling through space, all fueled by the space missions of the great space race between the USA and Russia. We can but dream.

Ighali 2016 - Dresden Lace Pulled Thread Lily

This year the Ighali Embroidery Convention is in August. It promises to be a lovely event, set in beautiful Knysna, and with some noteworthy teachers and classes. You can find out more about it on the Embroidery Network South Africa website here.

At Ighali I hope to be teaching a pulled thread course, "A Glimpse of Dresden Lace - Pulled Thread Lily", using traditional Dresden Lace stitches and techniques - that is if there are enough embroiderers who would like to join us to learn about 18th century embroidery methods and some challenging stitches. All the details of the class are in the class brochure which you can download from the ENSA website.

Dresden Lily on linen - Lyn Warner

Originally, I experimented with using a very fine cotton muslin for teaching these techniques and although the results were good, I found that in a class situation, working on such fine fabric presented extra challenges for students.

Dresden Lily on cotton muslin - Lyn Warner

As a result, the class kits for the Dresden Lily at Ighali will contain linen which is both easier to work on and more forgiving of any hasty unpicking. I will also have a small quantity of muslin available for anyone that wants to try it out on their own at a later date.

Bookings for all classes are via ENSA but if you have any questions about my course email me directly at lynette[dot]warner[at]gmail[dot]com. Apologies for the cryptic address. It's to avoid spammers picking it up with their webcrawlers.

In the meantime, happy stitching!

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Design adapted with permission of Heather Toomer, Embroidered in White: 18th century

Needles, Hands and Embroidering in the heat

Cape Town has had an unusually hot summer with temperatures frequently over 30 degrees C. I would rather have hot weather any day but it does pose some challenges for embroidery where the average home does not have air conditioning.

At our February Guild meeting this week we had a ceremony like the Japanese Hari Kuyo, broken needle festival, to say goodbye to our spent embroidery needles. Each member thanked her trusty needle for its friendship and work and then placed the needle in the traditional block of tofu.  We agreed that the old needles would then be gently wrapped up and finally safely buried.

This little ceremony got me thinking about my needles. I had noticed that a number of needles in my needlecase were looking dull or even a little black. I am quite happy to throw out pins that are blunt or beginning to corrode and leave a nasty black mark on fabric, but my embroidery needles, even those that are past their best, seem to go back into the needlecase and stay put, especially my favourite ones.  Somehow no two needles are exactly the same. There are those that thread smoothly and easily and those have just the perfectly shaped tip for the task at hand. They are the ones that stay.

Stitching in hot weather usually leaves you with hot, damp hands. Not only can the naturals oils from your skin be deposited onto your embroidery and attract dirt, but the natural acids on your fingers interact with the metal needle and begin to wear away its shiny, smooth surface. A dulled needle causes unwanted resistance to your fingers when you slide it through the fabric and it can also leave a tiny deposit of corroded metal on the fabric that may only become obvious over time. So, today was the day.

I went through my needles and sorted out those that have done their job and bid them farewell. Those that remain are nice and smooth and shiny.

I keep my old pins and needles in a little container hoping to find the best way to recycle them. Throwing them out with the rubbish conjures up awful images of the waste pickers who mine the refuse dumps accidentally picking up or standing on a wad of old needles. I have still to work out how I should safely dispose of them. What do you do with your old needles?

Another question is how do you keep your hands dry in the heat so that the natural moisture and oils are not deposited on your fabric or needles? Frequent washing is the usual answer. It doesn't however prevent your hands from quickly become hot and damp again.

I seem to remember that the embroiderers who worked on Kate Middleton's wedding dress washed their hands every half hour and used chalk dust to keep their hands dry. The other interesting thing I remember reading was that their spent needles were retired every three hours.  No-one was taking any chances there. Mary Corbet and the mother-daughter team, Bronwyn and Sanch, at Red Brolly also recommend the use of wet wipes to keep hands clean for embroidery.

I have yet to try French chalk and wet wipes, but I do have nice shiny needles to use. I might just try some baby powder too in place of French chalk. Damp hands aside, may our gorgeous summer weather long continue and happy stitching wherever you are.