This is an experiment.  The background fabric is a fine and lightweight white silk backed with white cotton and all the threads are silk.  I do not usually have the luxury of stitching with silk, but being on the elderly side of life, I wondered what I was saving them for.  Also, my ambitions are greater than energy and this took a very long time. Being experimental, there was also a lot of trial, error and reverse stitching.

Without any lines on the fabric, it was necessary to mark the grain directions with basting threads to give me some sense of space and direction.  The design is made to fit an oval frame with a 1/2″ space between the stitching and the frame.  I became desperate for some stable markings and used a blue ink pen on the right-hand side to mark the frame position.  This was a big mistake.  The marks would have been visible if I had used the original frame.  To cover this ‘ink error’, the framing had to be rethought.  More about mounting and framing later.

The sky is laid work technique using flat silk. The long threads in the sky are vertical and for the frozen pond, they are horizontal.  Both are grain perfect.  The flat silk threads were a gift and I had a limited range of colour as well as a very limited length, ie, barely enough.

The long threads are characteristic of laid work and must be secured with crossing threads.  The direction of these security threads show that the wind is blowing which is normal in the north.  There is some frozen water, the start of the trees and the Inukshuk is laid out on masking tape.  He proved to be too tall and out of proportion for the landscape.

The trees are all stitched with a twisted silk thread which is much easier to work with.  Casual use of fishbone stitch achieved the effect of northern evergreens.  Note the blue in marks!

The Inukshuk is made of jade fragments that were in a bracelet I purchased in Victoria, British Columbia.  The holes through the stones are in any direction making it difficult to attach them to the background as intended.   This one was at least the fourth attempt.  There is a limit on reverse stitching before the fabric is damaged and this damage becomes visible.  The trees generally are stitched unevenly and this was intentional.  The northern forests withstand harsh weather and growth is erratic and the trees are wind sculptured.

The caribou tracks are running stitch which has been whipped in some places.

The next entry will be on the framing of this piece.  It has much to tell us all.

These are exciting times for Faith and her family.  This embroidery, by Adeline, was inherited by her cousin, Bill. Suddenly, the embroideries are in the spotlight and other people, besides the family, are seeing them.  Such is the pleasure of inheriting.  I do not know the title of this one – The Bridge maybe – or the Caravan.  It certainly is not an R.V!

Now for some close-ups.

Adeline used Straight stitch to great effect.  The sky is all horizontal stitching changing from pale blue, cream to the lightest of pinks for a soft sunset. Note the texture in the sky. The distant trees are vertical straight stitching and the tree in the foreground is stitched on top of the sky.  Straight stitch is also my favourite stitch and I use it extensively as it is so adaptable.

The bridge and the water have a peaceful aura about them.  But the whole piece is restful to the eye even though it is full of detail.  Again, Adeline has used stitch direction very effectively.

The caravan is a home possibly for the lady standing on the steps.  I remember caravans such as this roaming the countryside of the Lake District in England during the war years when I was a child.  They would stay in the corner of a farmers field for a few days and then disappear as suddenly as they had appeared. They were definitely gipsies.  They caused no problems that I can remember, except for disappearing chickens.  They lived off the land!   They were not welcome to stay indefinitely.

Notice the barred wooden gate and the footpath beside it.  Interesting!   I am unable to see what the background fabric is but it is possibly tapestry canvas like her other scenic embroideries.  The detail and the subtle colours make me wonder if the threads are cotton floss.  I think that they were available in prewar years.

It is a glimpse into our past history as well as being a clever piece of embroidery and art.

Thank you Adeline, for your art, your stitching and your glimpse into history.  Thank you also to Faith and her cousins for sharing.

Stewart, a cousin of Faith, has sent me a photo of the piece of embroidery he inherited that was stitched by Adeline Atkins.  It is totally different from the pieces that are treasured by Faith.  Adeline was a very talented stitcher and could turn her hand to different types of embroidery expression as you can see.

Maybe this one was a commercial design.  The layout and colours are all well balanced and the result is a really interesting piece of wall arts. If she designed it herself, I am totally impressed.

This bird has an unusual mix of colours but they work well together.  They blend as well as being vivid.  I cannot see, even in an enlargement, if the threads are wool, cotton floss or silk.  Most likely cotton floss as some of the stitching is so fine and generally, wool produces more of an ‘effect’ rather than detail.

The detail and colours in this bird are fascinating.  Note the three white lines on the blue, white french knots on the pink and the inclusion of turquoise.  Wow!

This is the upper right quadrant.  The detail in the tail feathers is amazing and includes whipped running stitch and white french knots. Considering that the background is white, they could sort of ‘disappear’, but they don’t do that.

I am unable to see what the background fabric is but it could be a closely woven cotton such as is used for drapery lining.  But that is only a guess on my part. Linen fabric would be more normal but with linen, the texture and weave would be more apparent.  What you can see here is little black specks in the fabric that are probably age spots.  After all, this embroidery is probably about 90 years old. There are no black pattern lines visible anywhere.

Thank you Stewart, for sending me this.  Would you believe but another stitching by Adeline has surfaced and will be the subject of my next blog.

My fellow stitchers, your work, your creativity is important.  Future generations will treasure your embroideries in the way that Faith and Stewart do.  Know this and make it easy for your heirs and heiresses.  Date and PRINT your name somewhere in the framing of your work and add as much information as you can.  It will be appreciated.  Guessing is fun but it can be terribly wrong.

Adeline, if I may call her that, rather than Mrs Willian Roseborough, lived in Owen Sound which is a small town and farming community on Georgian Bay. This is the eastern part of Lake Huron. She and William were married on Christmas Day in 1877. They had a potato farm and retired from this in 1905. Adeline was killed in a motor car accident in 1940 at the age of 82.

Apparently, Adeline was an artist and a stitcher as well as being a farmers’ wife and mother of nine children. The stitched photo above is entitled Adeline’s House.

Faith, a friend, neighbour and quilter, invited our embroidery group over for tea and to see her great grandmothers embroidered pictures. We were impressed and curious about the two very unusual embroideries that Faith inherited.

Getting photographs was difficult due to them both being glassed for protection and window reflection. Below are close-ups of Adeline’s other embroidery.

The picture above contains a lot of trees which are stitched in different ways.

Trees and sky. Blue trees? But they so effective against the neutral and horizontally stitched sky. Take a close look at the detail.

This is lower in the picture but gives one an idea of how it was stitched.  We think that the fabric used is tapestry canvas. Adeline used casual straight stitching to achieve texture and detail and a dramatic effect.

We also think that the thread is wool which would have been more readily available than silk. The dyes could have been natural. Without taking the framing apart, we have no idea if the threads have faded with time. It was stitched in the 1930s when Adeline would have been in her 70s.

There are two birds standing side by side in the foreground. The stitching of them is quite different from that of the remainder of the picture.  Could they be storks?

I hope that your computer will allow you to enlarge these photos.

Stitching friends! What do you think? These are puzzling and interesting historical treasures.

As an artist, Adeline may have prepainted the canvas herself. If it was a kit from any source, I have never seen anything like this before and I have been around for a very long time.

Your comments and ideas would be most welcome by myself and by Faith.

Hint for posterity.
Write relevant details on the back of your work or include information for future generations. We would have appreciated answers straight from Adeline herself instead of guessing this and supposing that.

Here’s hoping to hear from you!

June 6, 2019 marks the 75 Anniversary of the D – Day landings on the beaches of Normandy.  As we all know, the massive invasion of Allied troops eventually brought a conclusion to the war in Europe.  We owe our lives and our civilization to the sacrifice that so many young men of all nations made during World War ll.  Few of the survivors are still alive.  But we, the following generations, are alive, and we thank all the participants for their courage and the sacrifices they made for us during those years.  We are grateful and honoured to be alive and able to, once again, say thank you to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and all the support staff, both men and women, that made D-Day a success.

The D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, England and has been renovated. It reopened in early 2018.  There you can see artifacts from the war and videos about the war effort and victory.

You will also see the Overlord Embroidery.  Commissioned by Lord Dulverton, designed by Sarah Lawrence, it was stitched by The Royal School of Needlework in the years after they completed the Hastings Embroidery.  It is large and it is graphic in its perspective and detail.  There are articles on the web which include pictures.

There is also the blog I wrote for Remembrance Day November 11 2017 which includes both pictures and information.

The 27 panels that constitute the Hastings Embroideries will be on display this summer in Rye in southern England.

The panels have been in storage for decades. Few people have had the chance to see them. They record significant events in English history that occurred between 1066 and 1966. They were stitched by the Royal School of Needlework.

I am having technical trouble including photos for you and refer you to the entry on this site to read more about these unique and magnificent embroideries.

FEBRUARY 9, 2018 BY ANN BERNARD
The Hastings Embroidery.

For details and to purchase tickets, connect with the site below.

Bridgepoint Rye – Hastings Tapestry

Unfortunately, I live in Canada and am no longer able to travel overseas. I would love to hear about your visit. The comment section of this site would be a good place that would enable me to circulate your feedback.

Enjoy! All good wishes, Ann

During 1942, mainly between March and August, three signature quilts were made by the women interned by the Japanese in Changi Prison in Singapore.  This is the British Quilt.  Apologies for the quality of the picture but this is what is available.

To see better detail, go to Changi Quilts  – Images

It is now in the possession of the British Red Cross.

When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Australian and British troops, along with their families and civilian personal were interned in Changi prison.  The women and children were housed in a separate wing.  As a way of communicating with their men, the women embarked on making these quilts.

They were given a 4″ square of flour bag fabric or sheeting.  Their supply of  threads and needles was limited and treasured. Each woman stitched her name on a square and included an image which would have meaning for her man. For instance, the British quilt shows a mother rabbit with a baby rabbit wearing a blue ribbon collar to indicate that a son had been born in prison.

Supposedly made for the wounded in Changi hospitals, the quilts were actually meant to relieve boredom, to boost morale, and to pass information to other camps.

This is the Australian quilt which was made in the same way and for the same reasons.  It, and the Japanese quilt can both be seen in the Australian War Museum in Canberra.

The Japanese quilt contains no coded messages and there are duplicates of some of the images used in the British and Australian quilts.  The goal was to not offend the Japanese so that quilts would be seen by the husbands and friends of the women.

The squares were assembled with posterity in mind.  On the reverse side is a note advising that the quilts be dry cleaned.

For more information https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/quilt

Olga Henderson is a survivor of the camp and talks about her experience and how a group of girls scrounged the materials and made this quilt.  I hope that you will watch this short video.

We are privileged to be able to see these Embroideries that Record History.  Our thanks to the ladies who were motivated to use needle and thread and to create them.

It seems to me that some time has to lapse between an historical  event and it being recorded by stitchers.  Is anyone stitching a record of the Trump Presidency?  Is there a quilt or tapestry chronicalling the wars in Vietnam or Afghanistan?  If so, I would love to know about them and share them with you.