Stitching Idyllic

Stitching by Ann Bernard

Archives for March 2018

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Happy Easter wishes to our friends in the southern hemisphere.

Summer must be fading for you with the late summer flowers and harvesting in progress.  To be seasonal for you, I am sending you the instructions for Purple Coneflowers from Hand Stitch Recognizable Summer Flowers.  The book contains many different flowers and plants as well as different ideas for backgrounds.  When you ‘take a peek’ inside the book (to be included on this site very soon), you will see how many and what a variety there are.  Dandelions are included in both Spring and Summer Flowers as they are universal.

I think they are fun but not everyone agrees.

Purple Coneflower

The Purple Coneflower grows in clumps and reaches a height between 2′ and 4′. It blooms from mid summer into the autumn. Each flower opens with pink/purple petals and a flat centre similar to a Shasta Daisy. As the flower ages and the seeds in the centre ripen, the petals droop down to become vertical and the centre becomes larger and domed, eventually becoming cone shaped. One plant can have flowers in different stages of development. The birds and bees love this plant.

It is important to use the correct DMC thread colours to achieve a plant and flowers that are obviously Purple Coneflowers. Clarks or Finca threads can be substituted.  Refer to a Thread Conversion Chart to identify the correct thread numbers. Remember to strand your threads; it makes a huge and improved difference to the appearance of your stitching.

Stalks: Green 987(6).

Leaves: Green 702 (2) + 988 (1) + 987 (1) = 4.

Petals: Pink 3609 (2), 3608 (3), 3607 (1). Explained in Petal directions.

Centres: Brown 433 (1) + 938 (1) = 2. Orange 721 (1 doubled in the needle) = 2.

Stalks: Using long Straight stitch for some stalks.  Indicate the  centres of each of the flowers with a small Cross stitch in either of the two brown threads.

Petals: Stitch a few Straight stitch petals in each bloom using 3609 (2). Add more petals using 3608 (3).

Note that the petals are uneven in length and that they are darker towards the centre of the flower. Overstitch the base of the petals with one thread of 3607.

Enjoy a post from the past

Centres: 433 (1) + 938 (1) + 721 (1) = 3. Overstitch a few horizontal Straight stitches across the central brown Cross stitch. Using 721 (1) doubled in the needle = 2, overstitch a few French Knots on the centres using a fine needle for this such as a Crewel 9 or 10.

Stitched size is 2″ wide x 2 1/4″ high.

Leaves: 702 (2) + 987 (1) + 988 (1) = 4. Detached Chain stitch with the catch stitch towards the stalks of the plant. The upper leaves are stitched with 702 (2) + 988 (1) = 3. The foliage on this plant is fairly dense with the leaves being an oval with a point at the tip of the leaf. The angles of the leaves vary considerably.

Briarwood Garden, stitched by Janet Sunderani

(original is 6 1/2″ x 5 1/2)

Wishing you happy stitching and a very Happy Easter.

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These daffodils bring you good wishes for Easter

It is almost Easter weekend when I, and many other people in our northern climate, think that Spring really should be here or, appear very soon.  The Spring Equinox has happened and we hope that Mother Nature will cooperate.

To help you feel ‘springlike’, here are the instructions for stitching daffodils.  They are easy to stitch and make a good card insert.   It is important to have the colours exactly right so that the eye identifies them as daffodils. The DMC thread numbers are included with the instructions.  You can use Clarks or Finca instead but go to a Thread Conversion Chart to get the equivalent colour numbers. The Charts are available online.

You will also notice that ‘Take a Peek Inside’ is now available, or will be in a few days, for the ebooks – Hand Stitch Recognizable Spring Flowers    and   Hand Stitch Recognizable Summer Flowers.  I always like to leaf through a book I am interested in before adding it to my library.

Daffodils

The bright yellow of King Alfred Daffodils makes them the most familiar variety of the daffodils.

As our goal is to create plants and flowers that are instantly recognizable, we will stitch bright yellow daffodils. Note that a daffodil has long straight leaves and stalks, and that the flowers have six petals and a trumpet. We will stitch them frontal view for now. Later, we will return to daffodils and add curved and bent leaves and the flowers in side view. See Basic stitches for stitching techniques.

Green: 320, 987, 989, 895. Yellow: 444, or 307, or 973.

Gold: 972.

Leaves and Stalks (fig. 1 below): Use 2 threads each of 320 and 987 and 1 thread each of 989 and 895. These 6 threads of green are now stranded and mixed and make a blend of greens more like daffodil leaves and stalks than any one of them would be if used on its own. (to strand threads, separate them into single threads and then put them together again).  Stitch a few Straight stitches to indicate some stalks. The stalks need to be in proportion to the flowers and are about 1″ long in the sample pictured below. Start in the center and stitch stalks first towards one side and then stitch the other side. Take the short cut between the stalks on the reverse of the fabric as in the diagram (this is the procedure for all the stalks for every plant). Store that thread by bringing it to the front of the fabric a short distance away.

Flowers : Four threads of any of the yellow threads, stranded but unmixed, to stitch the flowers.

Triangle Stitch: Stitch the inside triangle first with stitches about ¼” long (Fig. 2). Add the second and third triangles outside the first one (Fig. 3). Overstitch a Reverse Triangle the same size as the last triangle (Fig. 4). Note that the points of the reverse triangles are midway along the sides of the first triangles. Increase or decrease the number of the triangles to alter the size of the flower.

Enjoy a post from the past

(Overstitch – stitch on top of previous stitching). Stitch a few flowers at the top of the stalks (Fig. 6). Store that thread and retrieve the green one. Add some more stalks to your plant or group of plants. Then, retrieve the yellow thread and add more flowers. Continue until you have enough flowers to please you. Using the same green thread, add more Straight stitches to fill out the plant with leaves. The leaves of daffodils grow taller than the flowers. Add a few short Straight stitches above the flowers to indicate this. The plant does not look correct unless you do this.  Add more Straight stitches to fill out the plant with leaves.

These diagrams make stitching Daffodils look difficult. It is not. Just place Straight stitches as indicated and you will have no problem. It does take a little practice to make the flower the size and shape you wish, but that is why you have tried them first on your sampler.

Centres: Gold 972 using 1 or 2 threads.

Overstitch a small reverse triangle in gold thread for the trumpet of the daffodil (Fig. 5). You can stitch them as diagrammed here or look at the flowers on the cover photo for an alternative.

Your sampler does not have to be a completed work of art.

Stitch enough of each plant and flower so that you know how the stitches work, the length of stalks and leaves, how the flowers are created, and how their size can be altered.

Once you know this flower, move on to the next plant, Narcissi.

Specially for our friends in Australia, the next posting will be Purple Cone flowers.  I hope that they grow in your area and that they are in bloom right now.

Wishing all readers, a very Happy Easter.

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Embroideries that Record History
Queen Mary’s Carpet

This interesting embroidery does not record history; It is history

The photo shows you the content and the size of the embroidery.

The Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth are looking at it. You will see a colour photo later.

Queen Mary’s Carpet is included here because, timewise, it is the next embroidery of note to be stitched after the Bayeux Tapestry. Before you tell me that there are other large embroideries created in the intervening centuries please note that these are ecclesiastical embroideries such as the Syon Cope, other copes and Altar Frontals. This was the glorious age of Opus Anglicanan and that is another subject. Also not included here are the Elizabethan tablecloths and bed hangings. Though all are amazing, we will never reach our destination if I sidetrack to everything larger than a pillowcase. I will admit to being category selective but I have found no large domestic or historical embroideries until World War II and subsequent years.

Queen Mary was the mother of King George VI and grandmother to our present Queen Elizabeth. She lived through two world wars supporting her husband and the nation through the first war and her son, his family and the nation through the second.

Queen Mary moved out of London to the western part of England for the duration of the second war. She stayed at the home of relatives and stitched the war away. At the end of the war, Britain had an enormous monetary debt to the USA. To raise money to help pay off the debt, Queen Mary donated her completed embroidery to be auctioned.

I believe that the 12 panels in the carpet were all designed to be firescreens. Their size would seem to be appropriate for this. They are stitched in gros point (large petit point) on canvas. Queen Mary purchased her embroidery supplies at the Royal School of Needlework. My guess would be that the staff prepared the canvases and supplied the wool. Another guess would be that on completion, the staff blocked the pieces and joined them together to make the carpet. It would appear from photos, that Queen Mary stitched with the canvas loose in her hands and not on a frame. This would make blocking essential. Can you imagine wearing a formal hat to sit in the garden and stitch.

See more photos in the blog entry on Hands Across the Sea Samplers.

One afternoon, while I was a student at RSN, we were called to come quickly and be totally quiet. Queen Mary had been visiting the store on the ground floor. We hung over the balcony railing overlooking the front entrance hall. Queen Mary walked slowly across the hall to the front door. She was wearing her trademark maroon coat and formal hat and was using a cane, or perhaps it was a long umbrella. The staff were standing around the hall with their backs pressed firmly to the wall thus leaving her lots of space. Her accompanying ‘lady’ was several paces behind her. She said something that I could not hear or do not remember. It struck me forcefully how lonely it was to be in her situation. Had it been any one of us, we would have been chatting about what we had seen, our purchase, our plans and would be looking forward to a cup of tea. None of that was available to her except, perhaps, the tea.

It is said that Queen Mary stitched the designs, and that her ladies stitched the backgrounds. I have also heard that she stitched both herself. Either way, one panel would have been a lot of work; twelve panels overwhelms my mind. The fact that she donated all her work for auction to help pay the National Debt was wonderful. The debt was not paid off until the 1990s.

Bravo for Queen Mary.

What is a firescreen you ask? Before the days of central heating, houses were warmed by coal burning fireplaces. When not in use during the morning hours, or warmer weather, the fireplaces were not a pretty sight. An ornamental piece was placed in front of the empty fireplace and the lady of the house made sure that it enhanced her living room. The size of each of the twelve panels in the carpet would have been approximately 26” x 20” which would be an appropriate size for a firescreen. The completed embroidery was mounted onto a piece of sturdy wood and framed. Feet, set at right angles to the frame, were mounted on the lower edge.

Not even a palace needs twelve firescreens. Combining them into a carpet was a great solution and helped pay off a piece of that monstrous debt.

Enjoy a post from the past

  • More Students’ Gold Work
    The Gold Work class held in Guelph, Ontario last spring produced some varied pieces of work. This was an Intermediate …

There is a website that gives excellent information about Queen Mary and the carpet at the following: Hands Across the Sea Samplers. The information here is incomplete but adds to their record.

Are you wondering who purchased it and where it is right now? Nicole and Sandra’s website will answer those questions. It also includes good photos.

This is a brief video of Queen Mary.

If you would like read more on what it was like to be a student at RSN I have a few older blog posts.

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“No favourite colour, just make it bright please!”

Daytimers or Appointment books seem to be made in one colour – black. Like early Ford motor cars – shiny black. Those covers are not only black and shiny, they are also slippery with a homing instinct for the floor of the car and the cavities of upholstery.

A few years ago, I made an outer cover for my Daytimer. It proved to be so effective that the following year, I made another. Used alternating years, neither show signs of wearing out. My friend, Mark, admired the practicality of mine and asked me to make him one for his book for lecture notes. As he is young and computer literate he does not need a Daytimer. I am neither young nor computer literate and that Daytimer helps my memory and gets me where I need to be – most of the time anyway.

This was not a difficult job and was a pleasant change from more formal stitching. The fabric is Batik Cotton backed with old sheeting plus an extra piece of sheeting reinforcing the spine. Mark’s notebook has a spiral binding as do my Daytimers. Stitching through the layers was difficult at times though doable. I marked all four edges of the book including the spine on the backing using a ruler and pencil and basted the lines through on a sewing machine. You can just see the white lines in the next photo. Extra width for deep pockets was provided for the inside of the covers. The backing makes finishing threads easy. Pass the thread  between the fabric layers for one inch or a bit longer and then leave a half inch tail before cutting the thread.

Rat’s-tail was zig-zagged down randomly but in a vertical layout. It works better if these casual dividing lines all go in the same direction. My stash provided an assortment of bright coloured Perle No 5 and 8 thread. Perle is more durable than Floss and is nice to stitch with. You can do any plan/design you want – this is just what I did.  After that, I stitched as the inclination took me. Most are variations of Chain stitch while others are well known stitches. The yellow Cretan stitch is placed along the spine so that the book will be easily visible in the depths of a briefcase. The lettering is Whipped back stitch. It was easier to stitch loose in the hand though I did use a small hoop for the French knots.  Below, partly stitched.

Finishing it into a book cover was the hardest part. I have previously tried binding and seaming so, this time, decided to zig-zag the top and bottom edges but it did not work and, in fact, looked terrible.  So I bound it with a straight of the grain strip of the Batik cotton. The centre section had to be stitched separately to the pocket sections. A mixture of seaming and binding seems to work the best.

Enjoy a post from the past

The elastic got in the way of the photo but is there to keep the book closed.

Bright, durable, findable and personalized but, not fine art.

“Thanks,” said Mark. “This is exactly what I wanted.”

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The Latest News on the Hastings Embroideries

In response to one of my articles posted in early February, I received a phone call from David Sanderson, Arts Correspondent of The Times in London. He was writing an article about the Hastings Embroideries which is being published today, March 8, 2018.

The Times – Free to a good home… the Hastings Embroidery, rival to Bayeux Tapestry, will be given away – By David Sanderson

The Borough of Hastings are offering the Hastings Embroideries FREE to a good home.  That is, to a home that has space and can preserve them properly for the nation.  Yes, I would love to have them but our apartment is already full of us.  This is a great and exciting offer and I hope that these glorious and historic embroideries will find  a permanent home somewhere in Britain.

It was a pleasure to have a conversation with David and to know that the search is now official.  The article as published is very brief.  The articulate voice of public opinion is needed to locate a new home for these magnificent embroideries that tell the history of Britain.

To add my voice, I am reprinting my original article. Please spread this around.  Permission is given for reprinting this article. Please include an attribute to this author.

Go for it – stitchers and historians.

The Hastings Embroideries were commissioned by Group Captain Ralph Ward, or, the County Borough of Hastings. It was made by the Royal School of Needlework in 1965 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1966. It consists of 27 panels, each 9′ – 3′ and shows 81 great events in British history that occurred during the 900 years between 1066 and 1966. It took 22 embroiderers 10 months to complete.

Apologies for the quality of these photos.  Screen shots do not give the best reproduction.

This is the first panel and shows King William being crowned at Westminster Abbey. Crowd control was necessary as the Saxon inhabitants were not happy with his take over of England. He built a lot of castles/fortresses including the Tower of London.

The Hastings Embroidery was stitched before the Overlord Embroidery  (1968-69 -70 approx), and is also worked in applique. It uses antique fabrics, modern fabrics, cord, thread, leather and some feathers contributed by the parrots at the London Zoo. I have no information on the designer. It is bright/vivid/colourful and vibrant.

It was given to the town/city of Hastings who currently have two panels on display in the Town Hall. The first picture above is one of these.

Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales

This enormous historical embroidery needs to be displayed in a building that is climate controlled such as the one in which the Bayeux Tapestry is displayed. The Overlord will also be displayed in a climate controlled environment when the Portsmouth Museum reopens the gallery later in 2018.

Hastings says that it is unable to afford a suitable building for this and has been saying so for the last 52 years.

In reality, this is a National Treasure and should be hung in an environment that is part of the British National Heritage. I am thinking of London Museums such as the Victoria and Albert or the British Museum. Maybe there is a suitable venue for it in Windsor? Is there space in Hampton Court Palace which is also the location of the Royal School of Needlework.

Or, could a new building be located in the area of Hastings or Battle become its permanent home.

It is a dramatic and a graphic lesson on British history.

The Hundred Years War.

It would make a wonderful history teaching book both in the Coffee Table size and for School Libraries. For a publishing company, it would be a great marketing tool and some profits could go to helping establish a permanent home for the panels.  With young people already aware of the existence of these panels, it would be on the worthwhile outings list for every school.

Think about it world.

This is a national responsibility.  It is a shame that it remains in storage (apparently in London) rather that being available for the public to see  and enjoy. Maybe the upside of this is that it is stored in a climate controlled space and is not suffering deterioration.

King Henry VIII welcoming the King of France.

One of the final panels is of Sir Winston Churchill on the White Cliffs of Dover.  This makes it a continuous narrative with the Overlord Embroidery. His right hand is making his famous salute and his left hand  holds a cigar.

Enjoy a post from the past

You will be delighted when you see the real embroideries after being introduced to them via these photos.

A 45 minute film of the complete Hastings embroidery can be viewed at The Hastings Embroidery.

It is worth the time to view it.

Feel free to forward the link to this series to friends and other interested persons. That is, including publishing companies.