Stitching Colleagues

July 1, 2017 by Ann Bernard

Summer in Canada

This is the third in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and on this special day it is all about summer. Happy Birthday Canada!!!

North Shore

The north shore of Georgian Bay is very rugged and it is one of the most beautiful places in Canada. To me, the wind swept pine on a small rocky islet is a symbol of true Canadian grit and determination to survive.

PS. Georgian Bay is in the eastern part of Lake Huron.

Georgian Bay

This year, my husband and I are celebrating twenty five years of boating in the beautiful waters of Georgian Bay. As seasoned Canadian boaters we are so very, very fortunate to have clean and well marked waterways. But the most stunning sunsets that we have experienced while on the water cannot be described. They literally take your breath away and make you appreciate all that life has to offer. They are truly a unique and amazing experience that makes us proud to be Canadian.

Summer

Our northern Ontario lakes are surrounded by rocks and colourful trees. At sunset the orange glow through the pine boughs is one of my favourite summer scenes.

Summer

Aurora Borealis

As a northern country, Canada revels in rare beauties such as the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. I’ve seen them only twice, but will never forget their ethereal dance.

Mother Nature

In my garden or travelling in spring, summer, fall and winter, Mother Nature provides a glorious panorama of colour and texture that is so inspirational. As a gardener and an embroiderer, I am totally in awe. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful country.

The Four Seasons

All my life, I have loved trees, have picked my favourites wherever I’ve lived. Each tree has a different look in each season. Trees ground me and have been my “friends” when people couldn’t. My painting and fabric work are and, have been inspired by trees in all their seasons.

My Canada

My Canada is sitting beside one of our many beautiful lakes or rivers and enjoying the sounds of nature.

Harvest Time

I grew up in Saskatchewan where the harvest time was spectacular with wide open spaces, big sky, and vast fields of golden grain stretching to the distant horizon.

June 30, 2017 by Ann Bernard

Canadian winter sports, necessities and fun memories

This is the second in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and is all about the winters here in Canada.

Winter in Canada

What is more Canadian than hockey? Canadians love their hockey. Hockey is played most of the year – and some centres – all year. I have seven grandsons – six of the seven play hockey – so I could almost always be at a hockey game.

Hockey skates

When I was young in the 1950’s, hockey was an exclusively male game. Even years later, when my daughters were grown, I remember stopping at a local arena and marveling that there were girls on the ice, not figure skating but playing hockey! Now, my grand daughters take hockey for granted, and will be given equal ice time, equal teaching and equal encouragement. My Canada is a country where girls’ hockey is commonplace and thriving.

Our hockey lives

Our family grew up with hockey. Gord (Dad) played hockey as a teen then coached for 30 years. Our two boys played from ages 7 to 16. One son refereed through teens and University. Now in retirement we are season ticket holders for the Guelph “Storm” team.

Tuques and baseball hats

I made a piece with a tuque and a baseball hat. It represents winter and summer. Being a mother of 3 boys, it is what I see all the time. They either wear a tuque or a hat. Both are a Canadian necessity.

Mittens

During the 1970’s, I spent most of the decade in the Northwest Territories. I was teaching in Inuit communities. One of the first pieces of clothing I made was a pair of moosehide, beaded, blanket lined and fur trimmed mitts. I learned the 4 string braiding to make my “idiot” strings. Hung around my neck, the mitts could then be twisted behind me when not needed. Mittens were an absolute necessity!

Mittens

Snowmen

Growing up in Sudbury in the 1950s, kids played outside all year round. I have many happy memories of outdoor skating rinks, tobogganing, broomball,
building snowmen, snow forts, snow ball fights – girls against boys, walking home from school at lunch time for a hot meal. I remember all this with great fondness.

Snowmen

What Canada means to me

Canada has always meant the true north strong and free. Montreal born in the 30’s, I grew up on lots of snow, ice and sunny skies typical of Montreal winters. A common sight was Montreal girls in Red River coats (navy) with red tuques, sashes, mitts and leggings crusted with snow balls. Would they dry by morning? We wore black overshoes with four buckles and the leggings had feet to cover our shoes and keep us warm. Snow forts and snow ball fights kept us outside. My father flooded the backyard for a rink – brave man. I still have his wooden shovel. In the spring, we had matchstick races to the sewers with the riverways chopped by big brother in icy streets. Oh My! We had lots of carefree fun.

My world expanded from sea to shiny sea by reading everything from Sgt Preston of the the Yukon to the Anne of Green Gables books. My background was Maritime and a natural segue to World War 11 and shipping overseas without the responsibility of adulthood. We were safe, and, yes, I did toboggan down “Cow Hill”. We are truly blessed to live in this country. We stand on guard for thee.

Snowshoes and skis

This piece reflects the childhood memories of snowshoeing with my family and now as an adult, cross country skiing. Enjoying the Canadian winter and seeing the wonderful changes in our beautiful landscape is what being Canadian means to me.

June 30, 2017 by Ann Bernard

Canada’s 150th Birthday

On July 1, 2017 Canada will be celebrating its 150th birthday. Or, you can call it a Sesquicentennial celebration. In 1864 the Fathers of Confederation met in Charlottetown to begin the process leading to the enactment of the British North America Act which, on July 1, 1867, united the four provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario into one country, Canada. The other six provinces and three territories joined at varying later dates culminating with the creation of Nunavut in 1999.

Canada has been populated for thousands of years. The original settlers may well have migrated over the massive land bridge between Siberia and Alaska which eventually became submerged with the end of the last ice age about 13,000 years ago. As the climate warmed the descendants of the earlier migrants moved south and east. The many tribes of indigenous people have spread to all parts of Canada. The name of our country is thought to come from Huron-Iroquois word “kanata” meaning “village” or “settlement”. Many of our place names come from the languages spoken by the aboriginal settlers.

In reality, what we are celebrating is the European exploration and settlement of this country which occurred over a span of several hundred years. Today, our indigenous people have been joined by others from all over the world who have chosen to live here, creating a multicultural and multinational nation.

The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild, Guelph, proposed a project for its members.

Create a 6” square in any fabric, your choice of design and stitching. Add an explanation on

What Canada Means to Me

Our Guild of 80 members produced 110 pieces and we are proud to share some of them with you. All the stitchers expressed individual and varied experiences.

Canada 150 Logo

I loved the colour and the symbolic maple leaf. It speaks to the diversity and inclusiveness.

Go CANADA!

Parliament Hill in Ottawa

Parliament Hill symbolizes Canada. It is a public space, historic buildings and is open
to citizens and visitors. I remember summer visits to Ottawa and seeing the fireworks framing the Canadian flag flying at the top of the Peace Tower.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride

When I was in my 30’s I went to a swearing in ceremony for new Canadian citizens.
The stands were full of of many different nationalities all waiting to become Canadian.
The R.C.M.P. performed their musical ride with the interweaving of horse and man
into various formations. This was spectacular but the passion I saw for Canada as the new citizens pledged allegiance to Canada was spectacular and inspiring. We should not take Canada for granted.

Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket

These blankets were traded to First Nations in exchange for beaver and buffalo pelts in the 18th and 19th centuries by the Hudson Bay Company. The lines or points denote the size of the blanket.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

As an immigrant to Canada, I had a lot to learn. CBC has proven to my best teacher of Canadian values and, along the way I also learned so much about Canadian writers, musicians, politicians, everyday people and all that we hold dear. When I worked to adapt to life with small kids after a busy career, Peter Gzowski kept me sane. When I felt smug in my comfortable corner of Canada, my eyes were opened to the challenge others face throughout the land, when I needed hope it was there.

Thank you CBC – the best of Canada!

Dove of Peace

As a first–generation Canadian, with Latvian roots, this country was a safe-haven for my parents, who sought a life of peace an stability. Imagine the trauma of leaving family members behind an “iron curtain”. Canada welcomed us, healed us, and made life whole again.

From different lands
By different ways
They come to make
Our Canada

We The North… is the slogan which depicts the stoic toughness of some of the Canada’s people. It is admirable but more so is the endurance of all the creatures great and small who have been blessed with bodies able to withstand unbelievable cold and deprivation to survive and grace Christmas stamps. Bravo!

I have always loved animals of all kinds especially those indigenous to Canada. Can Spring be far behind?

June 29, 2017 by Ann Bernard

Welcome to my new web site.

Dear Readers,

After a long rest from blogging, Stitching Idyllic is now alive again and has a new home at Stitching Idyllic by Ann Bernard. The website has been updated so all of my loyal readers will continue to receive updates from the new site by email. Please update your bookmarks with the new web site address.

The first entry, ‘All’s Well that Ends Well‘ will explain why this happened. Please note a change has been made and an alternative topic, The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild Guelph will be featured. The Guild gave its members a project this last year – stitch a 6 inch square in any fabric, any style, any colour, any stitch – on What Canada means to Me – in honour of Canada’s 150th Birthday Celebration on July 1st

The results are very interesting and I have the Guild’s permission to share them with you. The series is seven days long, starting Thursday June 29 and finishing on, Thursday July 6 with no publication on July 4.

The site is still a work in progress so please be patient and know that all good things take time.

Ann Bernard

October 27, 2014 by Ann Bernard

Silk, Stockings and Clogs, by Janet Sunderani

1980s Britain was a difficult time to graduate from university. With a degree in English and no discernible job skills apart from a willing heart and an urgent need to earn my keep I felt very lucky to land a job with a textile company in the Midlands. Filigree Textiles made knitted voile, Jacquard lace, lace insertions and trimmings from Diolen. This polyester thread was used to make the sheer and lace curtains so popular at that time in the UK. They also owned E. A. Richards, a manufacturer of traditional Nottingham lace tablecloths, bedspreads and trimmings using machines that were already over 100 years old.

To take a tour of Leavers lace mill and see a working lace making machine watch the video below. Yes, I noted that it is in Rhode Island.

It is still possible to purchase Nottingham Lace. This tablecloth (Aintree design)can be found at the site below. Lace Story, also on this site, contains more information. The Lucilla pattern is 100% cotton and hand made. From cruising the web and reading the advertising, my impression is that there is an increased interest in using lace thanks to Downton Abbey.

http://www.quintessentialenglishlace.co.uk

I had a grand title, Marketing Executive, but in reality my job was a gofer. Officially I assisted in all aspects of our participation in national and international trade fairs. Included were purchasing of sales materials, display stands, packaging and print. Other duties could find me doing anything from cleaning the showroom, ironing samples to fetching and delivering urgently needed goods and trimmings. I felt lucky to have a job and was rarely bored.
I loved living in the Midlands near to Nottingham. We settled in Belper in a tiny cottage on Mill Lane. Our neighbour, Dina, had lived on that street all her life and worked for the local stocking factory, Brettles, where she was a ‘leg straightener’. She pulled the knitted stockings over a leg form prior to them being steam finished and becoming fully fashioned. That is, acquiring a leg shape. We moved and our new next door neighbour was ‘Dina’s other leg’. This means that she worked the other shift but worked on the same leg forms. I don’t think stockings are made like that any more.

If you would like to see a leg straightener at work, watch the following video:

www.britishpathe.com/video/stocking-factory

No. 17, was our neighbour on the right. This was an interesting cottage as it had been squeezed into the triangle shape between our house and the house further up the lane. At the front is a brick structure which was a nail makers workshop. As most of the mill workers were women and children, the men needed employment too. Belper was a centre for nail making and there are several nail makers cottages in the town. No. 17 was about twelve feet wide at the front but only three or four at the rear. All the cottages were tiny. I do not know how they brought up families in such small houses.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34348430.html

Take a tour of 17 which has been renovated to a desirable residence. The bathroom has a heated towel rack which is an attraction living with the general dampness outside the home. Dina and her husband continue to live in the same house on Mill Lane.

Belper was also home to other manufacturers. Thorntons made wonderful toffee and chocolate and the smell was amazing. Strutts cotton mill and Silkolene had closed by then. Silkolene had developed a conditioner for silk weaving that became Swarfega – a hand cleanser used by mechanics.

I was often sent to Congleton to Berisfords where they made silk ribbon and trimmings. The route took me through the beautiful Derbyshire Peak District by way of Ashbourne and Leek. The countryside bore the evidence of its industrial past. This was mining country. Most of the girls who sewed the sheer and lace curtains were the wives and daughters of miners. The Victorian industrialists had taken full advantage of the confluence of coal, water, steel and a labour force to build substantial factories. This moved knitting and weaving out of the cottages and into large purpose built mills.

Wardles Silk Mill dominated the town of Leek though It was closed even then. The Victorians built those buildings to last. The Wardles had been a prominent family and several of them had been mayors of the town. Many of the mill owners of that time built schools for the children of their workers. This had a radical effect on the social mobility of that class as their children received an education for the first time.

For more pictures of the Wardle and Davenport Mill in Leek, go to:

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php/79297-Wardle-amp-Davenport-Ltd-(The-Big-mill)-silk-manufacturer-Leek-march-2013

Refer also to Dyeing and the Silk Industry during the Late 1800s. Posted on this blog Monday, November 25, 2013.

In a way I felt completely at home in that industry. My grandmother had been a mill girl before her marriage and worked as a child (1905-1915 approximately) in a cotton mill as a halftime piecer. Under the looms, she joined together the threads as they were woven into fabric. She worked mornings and went to school in the afternoons. School included a nutritious hot lunch cooked on site. I wish I had paid more attention to her stories. All the local girls worked in the mill. It was much better money than being in service in a large home. Her husband was a chauffeur. Even married girls worked in the mill; their babies were brought to the mill for nursing at lunchtime. My Aunt Edna always credited her scholarship to Grammar School to the excellent education she received at the JP Coates school which used the strict Scottish education system. JP Coates made embroidery supplies. My great aunt Alice stitched the sample tapestries used in stores publicize their wares.

I often thought of the family connection as I drove through these Midlands industrial towns. The UK was in the midst of a hard recession. Company profits were down 20% and manufacturing output was down 15%. Inflation was 17% and unemployment had reached 1.5 million. Evidence of this was everywhere in the closed shops though the area was better off than some. Race riots occurred in the major cities triggered by arson attacks on the homes of racial minorities. The prisons were in uproar too with riots and hunger strikes. Peace camps were set up at Greenham Common to protest the siting of nuclear missiles as the USA slid towards war with Iran.

However Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was deeply unpopular, declared her intention to continue her policies announcing “the Lady’s not for turning”, and her Minister of Employment advised people to “get on your bike and look for work!”

One bright spot in all this was that Prince Charles and Lady Di were married and we were all invited to watch on the telly. As she swept down the aisle of St. Paul’s Cathedral, her magnificent silk dress had become a little crumpled from the confines of the glass coach. Perhaps this was a foreshadowing of things to come. The silk for the dress was woven in Suffolk, not Macclesfield. Filigree Textiles designed and produced an official souvenir lace panel to commemorate the occasion which sold very well in Japan.

The Lace on the bodice of Lady Diana’s wedding gown.

Like Wardles Mill, the factory I worked at is now derelict. Unlike Wardles the modern building did not last a hundred years. Filigree Textiles swallowed up its competitors and centralized its manufacturing into a new factory. I am not sure how much of its lace and voile is still manufactured in the Midlands. Cheap imports of excellent quality textiles from Eastern Europe were already threatening the market even in the 80s. Filigree had begun to buy lace rather than make it.

Information regarding lace keeps arriving:

“Do you know how to tell good lace from cheap lace? It’s the variation of the size of the holes. The more variations, the better the quality. This variation also causes the woven fabric to feel fairly stiff. Manufacturers would starch cheap lace so that it felt like good quality lace”. (Sheila McCoy)

Most of the old mills are derelict or transformed into flats or historic museums for the tourists. Which amounts to a glimpse at Britain’s manufacturing past and a trip to the tearoom.

Each generation of the industry, each innovation seems to have been shorter than the previous ones. Cloth and thread were home produced for hundreds of years. That is, home grown, home spun and hand woven. Many generations would have worn cloth that was produced, cut and sewn within a very few miles of their homes. When the Victorians built the massive mills my grandmother worked in, wearing her clogs, they must have expected this marvellous new technology to last for many generations. The buildings and the machines were built to last. And yet I probably do not own one item in my closet that was made in North America. That is, made from American cotton, woven, cut and sewn all in North America.

In fact probably almost half of my wardrobe has more to do with the oil patch than the cotton patch, sheep fold or silkworm.

And the clogs? Janet has so much to share with the readers of this blog that it has been divided into two instalments. Stay tuned!

May 7, 2014 by Ann Bernard

Beginners Gold Work Class

First, an apology. I have not forgotten about this blog but have been busy working on my eBook on Summer Flowers. It is progressing well but such a project takes up a huge amount of time. Publication is delayed until the fall as I would like to appreciate the summer weather after our endless winter.

This is an opportunity to catch a breath and to flaunt the achievements of the members of this class. They were true beginners not even knowing the names of the thread let alone how to use them. They listened well and stitched well. We started with learning the techniques on two small designs which between them, introduce most, but not all the techniques. This was not taken at a leisurely pace as I wanted time for them to work on designs of their own choosing. Some members stitched the learning samplers while others continued on a design of their own.

This was one of the designs on which the stitchers learned how to use the materials. The leaves are appliqued organza. The centre of the flower is highly padded and covered with parallel lengths of gilt. The edges of the petals are very fine Pearl Purl which is hard to handle and the main stalk uses the S-ing technique. Notice the smooth curve of the heavier Pearl Purl connecting the leaves. Stitched by Sandra Ackerley.

This small acorn spray was stitched by Renate Georgeff. She placed it between the two learning motifs where I had left space in case someone wanted to add something interesting. Notice the nice smooth curve of the Pearl Purl. The acorns include appliqued leather. The photo is slightly out of focus. I wish that my photography skills were as good as the stitching skills of this class.

Pat Harwood stitched this piece trying out brick stitching Japanese Gold and Or Nué neither of which I had taught as neither was included in the learning pieces. The central stalk is a cord. She used a twisted red and gold thread for continuous couching within the flower petals. This is an effective way to use this twist as it gives a textured effect. The framing enhanced all four of Pat’s pieces perfectly.

Gail Bailey stitched the seed head pictured above. She used appliqued leather, sequins and beads together with appliqued organza for the leaf. I think everyone in the class mastered stitching Pearl Purl in a smooth curve and the leather is well stitched down.

Marsha Fontes designed and stitched this Art Deco motif. The darkness of the organza contrasts well with the beads in the petals and centre of the flower. The star shaped sequins break the curve of the outer circle most effectively. The slant of this piece when on display at our annual show reflected the overhead lights. The fabric is cut from a Pashmina shawl. It is closely woven, soft and needs more back-basting than is normal for stitching security.

Janet Sunderani stitched the fish to practice combing organza and leather in one piece before using it on a depiction of St. Basil’s in Moscow. Then she added the seaweed and pebbles to create this piece. The sequin waste used in the sea weed and the square beads for the sea floor make this an interesting piece. I am looking forward to seeing St. Basil’s when completed.

The class worked hard over six lessons to accomplish all this stitching. We will have an Advanced Class starting in September when the students will stitch their own designs. I am looking forward to the challenge and the results.

Summer in Canada

Enjoy a post from the past

Canadian winter sports, necessities and fun memories

Enjoy a post from the past

Canada’s 150th Birthday

Enjoy a post from the past

Welcome to my new web site.

Enjoy a post from the past

Silk, Stockings and Clogs, by Janet Sunderani

Enjoy a post from the past

Beginners Gold Work Class

Enjoy a post from the past