Gold n' Stitches

Chatelaines, needlecases and more

Previously I said that I was busily sewing samples for the store for the upcoming CraftExpo being held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on March 25-28 2010.

I just could resist making some of the goodies out of Nancy Halvorsen's latest book Sew Necessary.

I started with the scissor chatelaines - there were so many to choose from!  I decided on the posy - quick and easy and oh so cute. I also made the bumble bee chatelaine but forgot to take a photo.  A fabric charm pack bu Moda was just the thing to use to make up these little treasures.

Next, I tackled the sewing basket - It was much larger than I envisioned (15"x8"x8"). It is stiffened with Peltex by Pellon and stands up beautifully.

There are lots of pockets inside to store your scissors threads, rotary cutter and much more. 

The matching needle case is also under way.

And now for something completely different - I couldn't resist playing with this hand printed embroidery panel by Prints Charming. 

 There are a number of designs to choose from including a vine, medallion and Kaleidoscope in a variety of colours.  I chose the orange as it is not a colour I usually work with and I was up for a challenge.

The panel comes with a stitch guide for very simple stitches - running stitch, chain stitch, back stitch and french knots. It would be ideal for beginners or young embroiderers as it is the colours that do the work for you.  and just ion case that scare you they have included some stitched examples to guide you.

So here it is so far.

What do you think?  I just couldn't resist adding some bling - flower sequins from Colourstreams.  I'm sure there will be a bit more added before I am finished.

 

 

Floral Glove - your questions answered!

Thank you all for your comments.  I will attempt to answer your questions.

Firstly - Hints for Satin Stitch

When stitching satin stitch on the leaves the first stitch is made along the centre vein of the leaf.  It is stitched from the base to the tip and the tip should be 'hyper-extended' - ie made one needle width longer than the traced outline on the tip.  This adds to the illusion of length and gives a pleasing shape to the leaf.  The following stitches are stitched following the traced outlined.

 In the stitch guide, the principal "less is more"is recommended.  This means that when stitching leaves and petals you should avoid the temptation to create shorter and shorter stitches as you move from the centre to the outside curve of the leaf.  Too many short stitches on the outside edges tends to make the leaf look short and squat rather than long and slender.

Another tip I like to use, which is not contained in the notes for the floral glove, is the technique of polishingthe threads once the area has been stitched.  Although this technique is usually applied to padded satin stitch, I found it  worked quite well with the Soie Paris silk threads.

Susan O'Çonnor provides a very good description of this technique in her book Monograms The Art of Embroidered Letterspublished by Country Bumpkin.

Polishing consists of rubbing the threads with a large tapestry needle in the direction that the stitches lie. The stitches are flattened and packed together to create a smooth lustrous finish.

Secondly - How long is a piece of string???

I'm not sure how to answer the question  relating to how long it has taken to stitch the glove.

I am not a fast stitcher.  I tend to get lost in the moment and relish the time spent stitching.  I also tend to be a bit of a perfectionist - so "reverse stitching" (unpicking) often takes up precious stitching time. I am still struggling with the pre-traced design - I am finding the inconsistency in the tracing of the design elements hard to overlook.  While some of it can be fixed by reshaping the elements when the backstitch is applied around the outside edge before filling with long and short or satin stitch, in some areas this has not been possible.

Also I am easily distracted when it comes to embroidery and am prone to working on multiple projects at any given time, and while I am working on them I am thinking about the other half dozen I would like to do! 

Having said that I haven't found the project a burden as far as time is concerned.  (Even though Lesson 2 has arrived and I haven't completed Lesson 1).  The foundation work always seems to take a fair amount of time and I like to complete all of the backstitch around the outlines of my deign first so that I can get into a rhythm with the long and short stitch and satin stitch.

I am still keen to go ahead with the Masterclass even though there will be an overlap with the projects.