11.29.09
Posted in Blogroll at 9:34 pm by deRomilly
Every so often I still get a chance to wander around the net and read. (Read: I had a long weekend because of Thanksgiving!) My favorite finds:
- Mary Corbet at NeedleandThread.com has been doing a series on stitching letters (this link is to #9, and she’s doing other things between, so be warned, you may get sidetracked). Very nice series of tutorials – especially if you ever want to stitch a poem or such. She’s also got a new “fan flowers” alphabet for monograms (this is to the index of all of them) going. Very nice.
- QUITE a while back, Sharon Boggon posted a wonderful video of her daughter Eve, performing stilt and trapeze. I loved the lyrical quality of the movements – and all done on stilts. Sharon, you have a wonderfully talented daughter. But then again, I suspect you KNOW that! (It’s worth watching again if you haven’t seen them yet.)
- Lakshmi has recently (within the last month or two – it’s been a while!) completed the embroidery on a very pretty Indian garment. I love how the silk shines! And the stitches look perfect. Fly and lazy daisy (detatched chain). In a more recent post, she created a dress for her daughter in less than 15 days. I am amazed by this woman!
- Plays with needles, whom a commenter referred me to in my post about favorite blogs, is on vacation until Monday. But her last post before getting on her cruise ship was on her needle’s garden. More amazing eye candy!
- I recently found the Hand Embroidery Network online. Interviews and eye candy from many embroiderers. I think this one’s going to take more than one cup of tea for me to explore in detail. Also tips, tricks, how tos, and classes!
- LMDesigns has been embroidering a desk clock. Very pretty. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product!
- Back in October, MeggieCat posted a link to paper lantern instructions from an old School Arts Magazine found on Google books. Cool project idea!
And now, I’m out of time. Much fun surfing the web and sharing some of my finds with you. But now, off to bed, because I have to go back to the day job tomorrow, much as I’d like to spend even more time stitching, surfing, and sharing!
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11.18.09
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit recently. Not only because I’ve been taking part in and watching more dance shows recently, but also because an acquaintance (who makes shorts for poledancing for fun & fitness or whatever) also brought it up.
There are performers in every performance art who are either “on” or “off.” Like Jennifer (warning – link to pole dancing blog, with a discussion of stage presence, blamed on… wait for it… strippers and gymnasts!), I always wonder why a dancer who doesn’t smile or interact with the audience is dancing at all — (before you email me to say “but so and so…”, there are some performers who have a transcendent, meditative quality — Sting in the early years of the Police always seemed to go into his own little trance-world when performing. The bellydancer who truly hooked me into this dance form did the same: in both cases it was like being included in a private religious ritual. These are NOT the people I’m referring to.
No, it’s the performers who seem to be concentrating so much on technique that there isn’t room for fun or audience, or spiritual experience that confuse me. (And I’m not really including first time performers in this — but really, professionals should be beyond the terrified stage!)
And here’s the comparison — needlework can also suffer from a lack of stage presence! There are some designs that just sparkle, and others that can make you go… er? and then there are some designs that you can spruce up a bit on your own to make them uniquely yours. If you love everything but the color — Or think two bands in a sampler should be reversed — or want to use a different kind of thread — Do it!
Stage Presence. No matter your art form, you need some.
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11.13.09
Posted in Stitching Genres at 7:00 am by deRomilly
- Use the best materials you can afford.
- If you can, use a hoop or frame that’s big enough for the entire design.
- If this is not feasible, try to use a slate frame or other framing method that rolls the embroidery rather than crushing it. Or remove your hoop when you stop stitching for the day.
- Use SHORT lengths of wool. I can’t stress this one enough, though I often forget it myself. Wool stretches as you stitch with it, no matter how careful you are with your tension. Just the friction of drawing it through the fabric will stretch it. If your wool thread gets thinner this way, it just doesn’t look good when it’s stitched.
- If you are transferring a design to your fabric, try to use either a removable ink, or a transfer method that can create a line thin enough to completely cover with your stitching.
- Did I mention use the best materials you can afford?
- Make sure your needle is the correct size — it should be large enough that the wool doesn’t “drag” when you pull it through the fabric, and small enough that the hole in the fabric will close back around the yarn when you are done.
- Use a needle that isn’t discolored or worn out! Discoloration can sometimes rub off on your fabric, and burrs on a worn needle can wear the fabric or the thread, or both, depending on their location!
- Clean hands = clean and not grungy final project. Washing and blocking will still do amazingly wonderful things for your project, but a black grimy fingerprint is a LOT harder to remove than just doing a cursory wash. Especially since wool can felt if you rub it too much! ask me how I know this one. I may not admit to it, but I’ve done it.
- Always use the best materials you can afford!!!
Yes, I know I listed this three times, but it really is that important, especially if you are just learning. The inexpensive kits often have yarn that is inappropriate for the fabric or the size of the design, and sometimes just poor quality materials in general. This all adds up to a really frustrating experience. And stitching shouldn’t be frustrating over the long term (we all have our moments!), it should be relaxing!
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11.09.09
Posted in Stitching Genres at 7:00 am by deRomilly
“Heirloom” may mean different things in different contexts.
When I look at my y embroidery collection, pieces I have that were made by my great-grandmother classify as heirloom in my mind – I never knew her, and they are all I have left. But most of them were intended to be used – and much to the horror of some of my friends, I have used them!
My mother was a graphic design major in school. Among my things I have several “kitschy” cocktail napkins that she stenciled, and a few that she hand-stitched. These are heirlooms to me, but probably wouldn’t be to others. They actually haven’t been used since i was a child – cocktail parties aren’t a thing in my group of friends, and I haven’t had a use for them. I’d post photos, but they are living in a storage unit with my piano. Soon I hope to have them home safe. 
When we think of stitching an heirloom today, we often think of an elegant, framed piece for the wall. This is very well and good, but most of us only have so much wall space. I find, personally, that most of the heirlooms I cherish most are the things that weren’t made to be heirlooms – the things that were made to be used.
I cherish the black velvet dress my grandmother made me for Christmas in the 1st grade. I cherish (even as I use them) my great-grandmother’s table toppers, my mother’s napkins. The fisherman knit sweater Mom made herself that disappeared in college. (I took it with me to college after she died. Someone stole it soon after. I hope they were cold and it helped, but I doubt it.)
This has colored my view on heirloom gifts I give. I try to use materials appropriate for the item to be used – washables for tableware, high quality threads for wall art, things children can use and enjoy, knowing they will wear out but still be loved and remembered. I still have that little velvet dress – unfortunately, the rainbow dress from earlier the same year was worn into oblivion, but it still lives in my memory!
MY definition of heirloom?
“A tangible reminder of wonderful memories.”
Use the best and most appropriate materials you can — then send your work off to be loved and used. The pieces that survive truly are the heirlooms.
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11.04.09
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I think these are my own designs! But you know, it’s been so long since I stitched them I can’t promise or prove it, and the original pattern is long gone. So you won’t ever find them offered for sale or for free from me. If they are mine and you want copies, I apologize. One of the reasons I’m pretty sure they are mine is that I vaguely remember specifically designing them to face in opposite directions.
I do remember that the thread I used was the Sheep’s Silk (Or was it Silk ‘n Ivory? I did say it was a long time ago…) in colors I fell in love with at the local needlework store.
As usual, click for full photo and details. These are larger than usual so you can more clearly see them.
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Crewel 1
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Crewel 1 Detail
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Crewel 2
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Crewel 2 Detail
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