blown like a leaf in the wind

 
I have been wanting to attempt the fine work that I see on 17th C. caskets for a while now . I usually use needlelace for my raised 'bits' but I have a new piece of work which requires stumpwork.

First the cordonnet itself. No crochet thread ( needlelace) as it is too bulky. I have used fine brass jewellery wire . This can be shaped around tight corners with the needle as you go.

Then the edges....no buttonhole edging after filling in . Here it is a single brussels stitch and tightly packed stitches (at a rather scary 900 stitches per square inch). As I go I have made sure that the final stitch in each row is wrapped twice around the wire cordonnet. This is to make the final edge to be as accurate to my drawing as possible with no detraction from the look of the leaf.
The result is a very firm little leaf not too much heavier than the original it was copied from. I was going to try and put veins in but that idea rapidly went out the window ! There will be two more each with a different problem to solve.

The Museum for Objects of Vertu

richard gray 'rosa'

You may have read older posts relating to the museum but now you can see the whole thing on my new blog !(see the link on the right) There will be a new show soon and submissions for this are now being considered.

Embroidery course

 If you are interested in my work and would like to try stumpwork I will be teaching at West Dean college in May. The course is for any ability and will cover the basics of stumpwork including both hand and machine techniques. It is ideal for anyone who has a project in mind but doesn't know how to tackle 3-d elements or would just like to add to their knowledge. I like to encourage design skills and the students own artistry so that they can directly relate what they are learning to their own work.
Some examples of me planning out projects.......

Moths , bees and nests

Three brooches available from loot

The designs are taken from a corset I did a couple of years ago called 'In my garden I am Queene'

They are done in raised embroidery and needlelace on silk , the base measures 29mm across

A small universe

Many thanks to all of you who came to the show and entered the little world I make.

Some shape of beauty

For the past two months I have been embroidering this corset (see previous entry) ! After some considerable research I finally found what I needed which were some references in the history of the Celtic sidhe ( say 'shee') to the fact that the old ones ( or faeryfolk) woud take the form of birds , sometimes a flock of coloured birds. My previous piece was about life after death and so this one is to be about transformation and the world beyond. So , here is what I have at the moment........


a bit of a change for me with machine embroidered feathers. They are made from layers of coloured silks and organza which are then stitched and cut away .



Then , after positioning on the fabric I have satin stitched more feathers ( x72 , half an hour each )



and then added some antique sequins.

The final design is of outstretched wings with the big eye between and two more hidden in the feathers. The colours are pretty intense which has made me very nervous. It is a very anxious process to spend so much time on something and not be sure of the outcome......and to be showing it in about six weeks time!

I will be at the Knit and Stitch show again this year from 6th-9th October.

Small worlds

My second stumpwork jewellery project this year is this decayed poppy seed head.


One of my favourite organic 'found objects' I was inspired by the structure as it breaks down. Sometimes you find insects inside or even a seed germinating. I have added one of my tiny toadstools embroidered in a hand dyed floss.

Corset heaven

Two weeks ago I taught a corset making course at West Dean college in Chichester (see earlier blog). My students worked very hard to produce their own made- to -measure corset and I'm very proud !!!!!

Circinate vernation

I just love some circinate vernation !! So I had to do some of my own.......




....that all took about thirteen hours ! Here is my little uncurling fern as a lapel pin.

Lilith

I am making some fortune teller dolls at the moment and Lilith is the first , literally. As Adam's first wife she gets a bad press. She had long hair and didn't want to be submissive (apparently this makes her very bad). I don't blame her for going off with an archangel.

All the dolls will be made from old kid leather gloves but she has a beaded body in a snakey kind of way. I've given her cherry red hair with snake extensions .

The fortune telling section is a concertina frill sewn onto the front which will hold the fortunes. Hers is beaded and has lines from my favourite poem 'The Stolen Child' by Yeats written on the silk.

She now has a bias cut silk dress and a dark red velvet cape lined in the same silk. Inside the cape is an embroidery of a silver apple tree with golden apples.