12.16.11
Posted in Stitching Genres at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I’ve been doing a lot of reading and thinking about the Art Nouveau, Art Needlework, and Arts and Crafts movements recently. All of them are related, and William Morris and his daughter May feature predominantly in the fiber arts movements of the times. So what have I been thinking, other than I LOVE this group of related styles?
I’ve been thinking about thoughts. William and May Morris believed that Berlin Woolwork was a scourge on embroidery. Berlin woolwork, for those of you who don’t know the details was worked in very fine wool (often equivalent to 2-3 strands of our cotton floss in thickness), and was counted from a chart onto lightweight canvas in cross stitch. It often reproduced a piece of famous artwork, or just pretty pictures. Uh oh. This sounds familiar. Could it be that this was just Counted Cross Stitch in wool? (Yup, it could. It is. It was.)
William and May Morris wanted to bring back what they considered the higher craft of “real” needlework. Crewel stitches. Design decisions on the part of the embroiderer. Silk threads. Embroidery that looked like stitch work and didn’t “just” reproduce a picture in pixel mosaic.
Now I’m not going to speak or type against counted cross stitch – I design the stuff, after all! However, I was thinking about the book I gave away a couple years ago… “Art of William Morris In Counted Cross Stitch”. And then I got thinking about the cross stitch woolwork “reproductions” of Morris designs that are found as kits in the needlepoint shop (Beth Russell?)… and my thought?
I think William Morris is rolling around in his grave in despair.
And I’m laughing. Because embroidery techniques rise and fall in popularity. And while counted cross stitch has been very popular over the years since the 80s (partially because it really IS easy as these things go…) the freestyle embroidery stitches are coming back. Look on Craftster at some of the finished projects. Look at the popularity of Sublime Stitching. Look at the wonderful embroidery on the Ning groups: Hand Embroidery Network and Stitchin Fingers. These are good things. And we’re richer for the variety.
Try new things. Be a stitching dilettante!
Permalink
12.09.11
Posted in Stitching Genres at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I can’t remember where the drawing for this motif came from. I’m not particularly happy with the results of the color choices. It was stitched in hand dyed wools, and the transitions melded in a way that became less than coherent. I think if I were doing this motif again, I’d use standard colors, so that I could balance the wings better.
I’d also probably do it in silk or metal thread work rather than wools, but that wasn’t the point of this exercise! 
I AM pretty happy with the stitching, however. As usual, click to enlarge.
What I don’t think I’ve mentioned is that this piece of fabric is a piece of IL019 linen from Fabric-Store.com in white. I rather like it. It’s a medium-weight linen that I’d be happy to use for shirts. I also like their heavier-weight linens for skirts and things like the great Shower Curtain project. Which fell off the radar this year, but I intend to transfer to the fabric in January. It’s not high on the priority list, because the bathroom it’s intended for low on the renovation list in the house. I should really be doing the work for the upstairs guest bathroom instead, but it’s not as interesting to me at the moment… maybe I need to rethink the design and technique for that one…
Permalink
12.06.11
Posted in Stitching Genres at 7:00 am by deRomilly
Click for a closer view!
This sampler really IS a sampler in the true sense of the word. It’s a place where I play – I don’t worry too much if my stitching is perfect, though I work to improve it. I don’t worry if the colors end up “going,” even failures have something to tell me, and the fact that they are stitched there for posterity reminds me of why not to do things that way again! This isn’t going to end up on a wall, it’s not going to end up in a gallery (at least not in my lifetime), but hopefully I’ll learn something good in the meantime, and later people can learn something from my fun and games. It *does* go to classes I teach with me.
The first motif on this piece of fabric is an Art Nouveau border from one of the Dover books. I worked it in Vineyard Silks Merino thread. I really like the threads from this company. The merino is soft and nice to work with, and the Vineyard Silk Classics are amazing (more on them later). The merino was designed for needlepoint – I think on 14 count canvas, so it is pretty thick to be working on motifs this small. I might use it again for a larger design that needed to be filled quickly. It’s got a nice hand, and a nice sheen when completed.
And I like my color choices here- the alternating pink/turquoise gives a little variety while still keeping a unified theme. This is a border pattern that I could see stitching around the hem of a skirt for spring or summer… but in a different thread, or in a bigger size. We’ll see if I actually DO something like that with it!
As I recall, the motifs are about 2 1/2 inches tall (I’ve re-framed the work, so I can’t go measure it. I’ll try to remember to do it and edit this when I unlace it to move to a new motif!).
Permalink
07.15.11
Posted in Stitching Genres at 7:00 am by deRomilly
An unblocked floursack towel that is now in use... and never ironed any more!
I was blocked when I started writing this. No clue where to go with it. It probably shows.
Although blocking is an important part of all needlework, it’s rarely talked about. Every lace knitter knows the magic that happens when you take a mess of a knit wool shawl, wet it and pin it out to dry, stretching tightly. You go from something that looks like a tangled mass of string to an amazing piece of art!
Embroidery gains from washing and blocking, too. When you’re stitching, fabric can get wrinkled and maybe a little grimy, even if you do work with clean hands (eating chocolate while stitching is a bad habit. This is not to say I don’t do it, but chocolate isn’t the easiest thing to get out of linen, especially if you’re stitching with thread that will bleed if washed.)
Anyway. Gently washing your embroidery, gently squeezing the extra water out between two towels (PLEASE don’t wring) and then pinning it out to dry, stretching it on a board to the correct size and shape, does wonders for the crispness of the final product, especially if you’ve been stitching with silk thread.
I’ve also been known to iron my work dry from the back, stretching it into shape as I go, but only if it’s cotton or linen on cotton or linen (or maybe a blend with some polyester or rayon in it).
Of course, on that last point, I also use my hand-embroidered tea towels and flour sack towels as dishtowels, and just toss them into the washer and dryer when they get dirty. If this use was good enough for my grandmother (and it was), it’s good enough for me…
and I don’t have enough people in my life who both appreciate my handwork and are willing to use/wear it. If I want to keep stitching, I need to use what I stitch and knit so it wears out and I need more!
Point? Did I have a point today? Oh. Learn to block your work. Know your materials, and don’t be afraid to put your work (using washable threads and fabric!) on things to use and then use them. You DO like stitching more stuff, don’t you?
Permalink
06.20.11
Posted in Artwork, Stitching Genres at 12:14 pm by deRomilly
Trish Burr has a lovely interview today with an artist who paints portraits in crewel wool. And I do mean PAINTS. Go look.
The artist is Cayce Zavaglia, and her work is amazing.
I’m going back to nursing an ear infection now.
New Elmow on Wednesday!
Permalink
« Previous entries Next Page » Next Page »
I’ve been doing a lot of reading and thinking about the Art Nouveau, Art Needlework, and Arts and Crafts movements recently. All of them are related, and William Morris and his daughter May feature predominantly in the fiber arts movements of the times. So what have I been thinking, other than I LOVE this group of related styles?
