In the entry http://elmsleyrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/historical-sampler-plans.html

I talked about how I was moving house at Christmas and that this would tire me out for a few months, since I have a neurological disease. I then talked about motifs that were easy to stitch, to ease myself back into the Sampler after that. Those motifs included doing the layers for the detached Dusty Pink Rose.

Well, plans change, (my new housemate has continuing work commitments) and the move has been delayed until May/June.

Meanwhile, I had a cold this week, so did some relatively brainless work on the first detached layer of the Dusty Pink Rose.

The Dusty Pink Rose

Here’s the first layer, finished down in the middle as far as the cordonette.

I found that the darkest and mid colours of pink were SO similiar that I just used them interchangeably. The different is visible if you look carefully. I wasn’t getting a shaded effect so I thought I’d go for a random affect (assuming it was even spotted)

While I was working the layer, I thought

“well, if it doesn’t quite come to the centre, I can stretch the detached buttonholing a bit to make it fit”.

Some of the length of the cordonette into the middle of the petals seemed to disappear as I buttonholed. Getting pulled into the petal shape itself I guess, rather than downward.

When I’d finished, I saw that the centre was just too large and I needed to do some punto in aria (buttonholing ‘in the air’).

I went around and around the middle a few times in the lightest pink, in Detached Buttonhole without Return (since there wasn’t anything to attach the returns to) and ended up with this :

That fits the base much more nicely.

I got the corners a bit rounder (the centre was quite rectangular) by skipping stitches at each ‘rectangle edge’ and pulling the next stitch tight to pull the rectangle edges together.

Looking at the middle right petal (the last one done) and the one counterclockwise to it (the first one done) it can be seen how much my detached buttonholing has improved. The tension is far more even and it looks far smoother.

The next step is to outline the edges of the petal (the cordonette) with cake wire, in buttonhole stitch (a’la Jane Nichols) in thread to match. – and then I’ll be finished with this layer and only have two (smaller) ones to do.

Mrs Christie’s Flower

I then finished the laid work circles, using Jap Gold and red oxide DMC thread.

I ‘sewed’ with the Jap, which wasn’t a very good idea. The thread stripped an awful lot but it beyond my patience to plunge at the beginning and end of every thread length!

I then cut a felt circle a bit bigger than the centre. (About 2mm)

I stitched closely in straight stitches about 1 mm wide two thirds of the way around the edges then started stuffing it with wool.

Mrs Margaret Barrett and Ms Paula Hewitt have been kind enough to supply me with wool to use in these cases – thankyou both!

Here, it’s stuffed, with the extra protruding out.

I managed to de-stuff the centre when cutting off the excess. – so you can see the amount of wool necessary to stuff the centre

Having stuffed it back in again, I discovered that there was too much felt. You can see the excess poking up. I needed to cut straight across the remaining unfastened felt to decrease it a bit.

I then closed the gap with stitches.

And a lovely smooth bulgey centre it is!

The issue next was how to do a base cover over the felt without flattening the centre by putting too much tension on it.

I don’t know if there is an accepted way to do this, but what I did was a ridge of straight stitches across the top of the centre first. Then I stitched, picking up from a centre stitch down to the outside of the circle.

The photo shows the ‘top’ side done, and part of the ‘bottom’ side.

I used the red oxide again to help bring out it’s use in couching the Jap.

Next, I’m going to add 2mm plate in a cross over pattern over the top of that base. Finally, I plan to add a circle of Pearl Purl around the base of the centre. Fiddly, what.

I don’t think that the actual flower needs to be outlined. I think the flower would be overpowered by outlining.