It is never too young to start a creative career:

In the Northern Hemisphere, summer vacation time will shortly be here.  If you have the opportunity, this is a great time to stitch (thus starting the “itch to stitch”) with the younger members of your family.

Grandma Marlene definitely had a great time introducing her grandchildren to stitching. The children had fun too and Meghan and Chloe have continued to stitch.

Meghan and Georgina both aged 3

The boys enjoyed it as much as the girls.

Marlene suggests that you prepare for each child a piece of suitable fabric and a 6″ – 8″ hoop.  Cut 30″ lengths (3 pulls from the skein) of several to many colours of Floss.  Thread each of them into a Chenille needle and knot both ends together so that the needle will not come un-threaded during stitching.  Place all the needles in a pincushion and let the children choose the colour they wish to work with.

This is how I caught the “Itch to Stitch”  About the age of 6 years, my grandmother was caring for me.  She provided fabric and threads and I made an eggcosy.  This is like a teacosy but is sized for a soft boiled egg.  When I was old enough to not lose it, she gave it to me.  The embroidery stitching and design were just like those of Marlene’s grandchildren.  At the age of 10 years, an aunt gave me a cushion cover kit.  It was a Jacobean design, good quality fabric, thick Penelope wool thread and instructions.  I stitched it; it turned out OK and won First Prize at the Adult Embroidery Section at Cartmel Fair.  I was hooked!  My father used that cushion for years until it was totally worn out.  Unfortunately, the eggcosy got lost in house moves or you would see a picture of it here.

Meghan produced the following piece during her Kindergarten year.

Both she and her teacher were delighted with it.

Mary Corbett of Needlenthread.com is writing a series on embroidery classes for children.  There are three levels, ages 9 – 11,  12 – 13 and 13 – 15 years.  She is teaching the participants specific embroidery stitches.

The next post will show you Chloe’s  stitching career to date.

When available, I always like to “Take a Peek Inside” a stitching book that I am contemplating purchasing.  Then I know if the information duplicates what I already know or if it new for me.  This book is technically relevant for new stitchers in that it includes basic information that I have not seen in other books.  It is also good for experienced stitchers in that there are unique adaptations and uses of stitches and a method of planing your very own garden.  An ebook is also inexpensive. and you can print your own personal copy

Carry on reading this blog entry and the next one to know why this book is a good investment for you.

A Summary On Hand Stitching Recognizable Spring Flowers Using Creative Surface Stitchery 2nd ED

An English Country Garden, as sung by Nana Mouskouri, was in my brain. Just to show you the mood I was in and how creativity came acalling, you can hear Nana Mouskouri sing this song.

To create any piece of stitching, it is necessary to first gather the materials and tools.

Fabric: The sample flowers are all stitched on a light green Batik cotton fabric.

Threads: DMC floss was used throughout for the stitching.  There are floss conversion charts on line.

Tools: Needles, scissors and other essentials are explained later in the text.

Stitch Directions: There are only four stitches plus some adaptations used in this book. Unbelievable! The stitches are –

Straight, Detached Chain, Buttonhole and French Knots.

This makes this an ideal book for a learner.  The flowers are stitched so as to be recognizable and identifiable. They are not as elegant as those created by Mother Nature but it is obvious what they are.

Stitching Frames: Ring or Hoop frames seem to be a favourite choice. Although the fabric is held at a tension, this tension is not always well maintained. Some functionally improved alternatives are

Q-Snap Frames and Grip-n-Stitch Frames. Stretcher Bars are available in Art and Craft stores and are very satisfactory. A Slate Frame is ideal if you should be so fortunate as to own one.

Grip-n-Stitch/Clip-n-Stitch frames can be found via www.fabricflair.com

Stitching on really taut fabric is a huge plus for all stitchers. It is an essential that one does not recognize until you experience it yourself. There are no issues of puckering and having to stretch the finished piece for framing. Also, the stitches lie on top of the fabric surface giving an embossed effect which is achieved by nothing more complex than the fabric being drum tight. If you can bounce a coin on it, it is tight enough. There are nothing but pluses to be gained by adhering to this principle.

Placing a backing fabric behind the front fabric has many benefits. It stabilizes and gives body to your stitching surface. It makes starting, ending, reverse stitching, plus long threads on the reverse side much simpler. It allows you to stitch on fabrics that are not always deemed suitable for embroidery.

Each Spring Flower has a photo of the real flower. There is the thread recipe for that plant’s foliage and flower, a stitching diagram and a photo of the stitched flower included. There are no patterns to follow in this book. Instead, a way of planning a garden layout and then stitching it are shown. This establishes original creativity immediately. Chloe, for example, has already bypassed cross stitch and other kits in her first venture into textile creativity.

Right now, I would like you to meet Edna Mumford and to see the garden she stitched.

I can thoroughly recommend Ann Bernard’s Stitching Idyllic for Spring Flowers.  Ann brings her training at the Royal School of Needlework to the fore by devising a whole new way of embroidering spring flowers with ordinary cotton floss.

Her method of combining different hues of 4 or 6 strands at a time for flower stems and flower heads results in lovely raised effects which make the effort of stranding (which I originally thought tedious) very worthwhile, and gives the impression of many stitches whereas your one bold and stranded stitch is fully expressive by itself.  This technique for the flowers and stems – which aims for true colours in nature – at once gives a wonderful shaded and depth effect.

I’ve been an embroiderer for many decades and I was delighted with the results I achieved just doing a practice piece. Using only her techniques, I then embarked on an embroidery, of my own composition of spring flowers. Her directions ‘take you by the hand’ and lead you through flower sizes, growing habit, and colour to make them quite realistic. I completed my own piece of work without my usual agonies as a result, and I was very pleased to produce recognizable flowers.  The directions are thorough and the diagrams very descriptive.

I would recommend this book for any stitcher whether novice or experienced, as there is much to learn for very pleasing results.

Sincerely, Edna Mumford

There are many examples of stitched gardens. They all use the same stitches and thread colours but each garden is totally different.

A way to plan your own garden is included. It is a well known method using a triangular positioning of colour. The viewers’ eye is comfortable with this. I was  looking at a painting by Monet and although the triangulation of colour was not obvious as I looked at it carefully, I found it. It is been a method of design for a long time and will be helpful to you in laying out your garden. This is how each garden becomes individual and unique.

Some smaller projects have been developed including name tags, artist trading cards, greeting cards, phone and eye glass cases. Every stitcher who belongs to a Guild needs a name tag and it is nice to have a new one occasionally. Try wearing your stitched name tag to another event and see what the reaction is. You can even wear the official tag and your spring flowers one too. Two are better than none and you will be flattered at how many people remember you the next time you meet. They are great conversation starters too.

Finishing and mounting are included. This process is quick and easy when you follow the directions in the latter part of the book.

You will have created a unique item that is specifically original to you. If you really are a beginner, your stitching career is off to a flying start. If you are already experienced, you will still find techniques and ideas in this book that you can blend into your repertoire and give you another mode of expression to add to your stitching portfolio.

Stitching freehand, but with guidance, is a wonderful experience. You can express your own ideas and there are no black lines or charts to follow. Your creation will be unique and totally your own. It is of continuous amazement to me that, using the same stitches, the same threads and the same information, that the results can be so infinitely varied.

The creative use of these four basic stitches to express the spring flowers and plants in this book are entirely my own. I have not borrowed or been inspired by any influence other than the bounty and glory of nature. It has been a challenging process with endless trial and error.  I am happy with the final results.  They are different and have proved to be infinitely adaptable.

Welcome, and Enjoy.

Ann Bernard.

Reviews
Once in a lifetime, a keen student obtains an authoritative text which becomes a firm foundation for everything that follows. In the world of botanical embroidery – this is that text. It is not the fanciful embroidery of the Jacobean’s, nor the drooping coils of Art Nouveaux. This is the rendering of botanically correct images using embroidery thread with due attention to hue and colour. It uses the techniques artists use to create the infinite complexity of natural patterns. Follow the detailed instructions and the numerous illustrations and you will be exploring all the different yellows to contrast the daffodil with the crocus. Perhaps you will be making your first detailed observations of the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Others will then recognize the plants in the embroidery garden you have created.

With profuse illustrations of stitched gardens, real flowers, embroidered flowers as well as line drawings and how-to diagrams, Ann brings you a lifetime of dedication to embroidery and botany. Anyone who is new to embroidery (as I was) will be successful if they follow her detailed instructions on preparation, colour choice and methods for stitching flowers. Your garden will bloom!

Bridget O’Brien, Guelph ON

This book had me itching to start stitching. The level of detail is wonderful for new stitchers and great for experienced stitchers to help maintain good stitching habits.  She tells us how to do a certain operation and what not to do from her experience. I thought that was great for those of us who do not follow directions very well. Looking forward to your next book.

Marsha Fontes, Cambridge ON

Ann Bernard has written a wonderful instruction book on how to stitch miniature garden flowers. Ann’s instructions are so clear and precise I would have no difficulty in achieving excellent results.

It is plain this work is dear to her heart. The numerous illustrations of her exquisite flowers demonstrate her dedication to achieving extremely lifelike results. They almost look like garden photos that have been altered with special effects, not pictures painted with thread! The book is also very readable and it’s like having the charming, affable Ann in the room; I could almost hear her voice as I read it! Every embroiderer who loves flowers should have a copy of this book in their personal library!

Lilith Muramasa, Guelph ON

This 2^nd edition of Hand Stitching Recognizable Spring Flowers is a good book to learn how to create and embroider spring flowers in an easy, free style manner. Included are wonderful, full coloured photographs and examples. Only four basic stitches are used. The beginner stitcher will feel a sense of confidence as she works through the very clear step-by-step instructions. This book is a good investment for the beginner but also for intermediate and other stitchers who may appreciate help in creating designs. The informal conversational style of the contents is engaging. It is, as if you are taking a class, one on one, with Ann in your own living room.

Ann Bernard is to be congratulated for the time and effort put into producing this extremely helpful book. Her teaching and stitching experience come through the words.

Alison Jackson, Cambridge ON

Hand Stitching Recognizable Spring Flowers by the talented stitcher, Ann Bernard, is a wonderful book full of inspiration and easy to follow instruction. As a fibre artist who is a novice to the more traditional embroidery techniques, I found this book provided all of the basics that many other books assume the reader will know.  But what really excited me was that Ann teaches you how to create truly unique embroidery! By learning some basic theory of colour and design, which is presented in an easy to read manner, Ann gives the reader, whether an experienced stitcher or a novice, the courage to ‘grow’ their own unique and beautiful Spring Garden without following a prescribed pattern.

Linda Kittmer Rockwood ON

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.

(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.

My thanks to the multitude of you who read the series of 12 blog entries on Embroideries That Record History. Your response has been most gratifying. Doing the research was both interesting and fun though I find the computer technicalities to be extremely challenging. My thanks to Beth and Alexis without whom I would still be adrift in computerland.

Your comments were also appreciated. To reply to one: what are the books you have written and published all about? I am happy to respond. Yes, I will return to Historical Embroideries, but while research wanders and mellows, here is an introduction to the books that you will find on this site.

The Royal School of Needlework taught us how to stitch with precision and speed. The techniques and design were traditional and we followed black lines printed on fabric. This is essential to stitch a design such as the one pictured below.

But my books are different!

They introduce you to freehand, creative stitching. The research is already done and you can enjoy the results.

Many years ago, I had this song on my brain: In an English Country Garden as sung by Nana Mouskouri. I pondered and experimented on how to stitch the flowers in the song using a wider range of stitches than lazy daisy and french knots. I experimented endlessly and from the many attempts to portray recognizable flowers grew the body of knowledge that is contained in my two books,

Hand Stitch Recognizable Spring Flowers and Hand Stitch Recognizable Summer Flowers.

All the stitches used in these books are traditional but are used in non-traditional ways.

Spring Flowers uses only four basic stitches, straight, detached chain, french knots and buttonhole.

Below are Dandelions which were added to our gardens just for fun.

Summer Flowers uses more stitches all of which are well known.

None of this is difficult. The experimenting resulted in simplicity.

What is different is that the stitching is freehand. No black lines to follow and cover so that they do not show up like ring around the collar. Stitching freehand is fun, it is liberating and it is the essence of creativity. Creating something uniquely individual has its own thrill.

But what about a design, you ask? Yes, there is a plan to be made before starting stitching but it does not rely on paper or pencil. Nor is it necessary to be able to draw. It is done with small pieces of coloured fabric or paper that plan the general layout. Photographing and recording this plan is part of the preparation for stitching freehand. I can guarantee that if you put pencil marks on your fabric, you will change your mind and there will be visible lines where you do not want them. With a plan, a concept to start from you can change your mind on specifics later. Changing your mind is all part of the process. Planning the colour layout allows you to start stitching.

This garden was stitched by a student. Look at it closely to note all the different spring flowers included.  Count and identify them.  I come up with between 10 and 12.

My books also contain technical strategies that I learned at R.S.N. or have gleaned over the years. There are tips for experienced stitchers and tips for beginners. Mounting fabric on a frame that is taut is essential. It makes every stitch easier and the results are far more professional than working on slack fabric that behaves like a trampoline.

Summer flowers uses photo printed fabric. I have my photos on file and will forward any of them to you for your own personal use. You may already have some suitable ones of your own. Here are Impatience, which bloom in many colours, and Lupins stitched on photo printed cotton fabric.

These books are published in ebook format so that they are affordable for everyone. You can print your personal copy on your printer or download it onto your Ipad or Kindle and have it close by when you are stitching. EBookIt (Archieboy) is a safe and reliable site.

Here are the results of professional training and a lot of experimentation. You will receive the necessary information to be individually creative. You can then create a stitching that is uniquely yours.

Stitching freehand is relevant for contemporary embroidery.

Bravo, Go for it. Venture and discover what you can do when you follow your own ideas.