Showing posts with label Embroidery Document of the Day. Show all posts

Are you after a copy of Erica Wilson? Mary Brown? Theresa Dillmonte? the older crewel books? Lace? Whitework?

I was just having a trawl through the vintage embroidery books on Etsy. I think the Dillmonte (hardback) was $12, and the Erica Wilson (several copies) $8. There's 822 books in the search today. One book on Assisi embroidery selling for over $80, so that one must be special. I don't think a lot of the sellers have a clue what they are selling as their descriptions are sometimes a bit vague.....

http://www.etsy.com/search/vintage?search_submit&q=embroidery+book&order=most_relevant&ship_to=US&view_type=gallery&noautofacet=1&page=1

 

Of course there are modern books as well - but I'd recommend searching by a particular embroidery subject in that case if you search under "All Items", rather than under the "Vintage" catagory where the link above will put you....or you'll be buried in results :-)

Searching on "embroidery book" in the category "All Items", just to survey the variety of books brought up (way too many pages to look through) I saw a couple of particularly good ones :

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70317327/the-needlework-of-mary-queen-of-scots?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_search_submit&ga_search_query=historical+embroidery+book&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet

1971 Edition of The Needlework of Mary Queen of Scotts - $US12.

I also saw 2 Helen Stevens (needlepainting) books selling for $8 each.

 

 

I happened to pick image showing details, though most show the full garments (it's actually a search on "copes") (as IF I was not going to pick the rose!)

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=cope+embroidery&z=e

Two pages of images from various people.

If you search on "Vestments" http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=vestment 7 pages come up although many of contemporary made vestments.

Any other good words to search on?

"......The frog was just begging to be done in goldwork.
This picture is a closeup of the Or nue and patterned goldwork embroidery.

See the frog hanging out at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rezansky/430805806/

Rezansky also has a wonderful detailed description of a pair of very heavily pearled cuffs he made, using the traditional Russian pearling method, for an Orthodox Priest's outfit, based on a Russian piece from the 1600s :

http://sites.google.com/site/rezansky/project-gallery/embroidery-projects-1

Kelley Aldridge's work is shown here : http://www.kelleyaldridge.com/photo_501525.html#photos_id=501523

Grab a cuppa, and enjoy!

Fibers To Dye for shows a few pages from each of these books in a 'page-turn animation'

Feller : http://www.amymitten.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=24_42

Goodhart : http://www.amymitten.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=24_43

I've decided that I want the Feller book, from those lovely enlarged images of insects (I'm a sucker for insects)

Enjoy a look through the rest of the site if you haven't been there before. The animations were mentioned in a newsletter I just received from the company, and I was on the site last week and didn't see them, so I'm pretty sure they are new. I looked because someone was recommending their silks - I can't remember who.

I've just met Kimberly Servello through Stitchin Fingers. I've met lots of wonderful historical embroiders through the Elizabethan/Jacobean and Stumpwork groups on S.F. :-) as well as received wonderful, specialised, technical embroidery advice in some great discussions we've had. There are some very knowledgeable people in those groups that are most happy to chat.

Kimberly's blog seems outstanding to me, because she is very talented at design, has a wide knowledge of Elizabethan stitches, and makes beautiful pieces. Her blog entires show photos of various motifs, close up, with comments on their stitching.

She also includes quotes from literature of the period, as relevant to, or being inspiration for her work. She has few or no comments on her entries, and I personally think that is a great great pity, which is why I'm "advertising" her blog now. It's well worth the trip!

For some reason, both a general link to Kimberly's blog is having trouble (thankyou Lakshmi for pointing it out) and a specific link to her latest entry. You can still get to the blog from the "page not found" page Blogger brings up, but I don't know if this will work for everyone.

Links to try :
http://baroqueembellishments.blogspot.com/

http://baroqueembellishments.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-im-doing-today.html 

or Google "BaroqueEmbellishments embroidery blog" (http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=baroqueembellishments+embroidery+blog ) and will show you various entries to get you in.

(I wonder what's wrong with my linking ?!?)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76534826/vintage-silk-black-sheer-bodice-open?ref=sr_gallery_7&ga_includes[0]=materials&ga_search_query=Pure&ga_filter[0]=handmade&ga_filter[1]=needlecraft&ga_filter[2]=supplies&ga_noautofacet=1&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_facet=vintage

From Voilavintagelingerie

Perfect for any formal glamorous occasion is this floor length pure silk black beaded evening gown by d’ore. The sheer silk bodice, full sleeves and open back make this evening gown red carpet worthy!

Designed with a high collar two hook and eye closure it is embellished with chandelier beading and sequins throughout the evening gown.

~~ Go to the link at the top to see the thumbnails as full pictures - particularly the last one!

I'm nosing around for a new project at the moment, (yes, I know, weeks ahead) and having picked one possible extant item as a prospect, I went to work extracting the colours from the image. This was just for fun, and to have a bit of a play.

Of course, working out the colours by eye isn't impossible, but it's maddening when there are lots of colours close together. Plus, being close together, the appearance of a particular hue (did I get that right?) is affected by the hues that surround it.

I discovered an awfully useful link -
http://www.templatelite.com/color-scheme-palette-generators-pickers/   

It lists 30 plus scheme generators and other color tools. So far, they've all been free, except one that had a 15 day trial period.

So far, I like the Colors_Pallete_Generator (free) the best. It generated  49 colours. (The most I got from the others I tried was up to 10).


Of course, I'll print out all the schemes, and compare them to the image before actually picking the colours. But I find having automatically generated colour schemes a great way to start off picking out the correct colours on an extant embroidery :-)

Embroideries worth millions found in London flat clearance.....check it out ....http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/jun/07/embroideries-worth-millions-found-london

If anyone finds some follow up details, I'd love to find out more....
~~~~~~~~~

On the Textiles blog today, http://thetextileblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/stained-glass-design-in-1820s.html they feature a book by Nathaniel Wittock about stained glass, written in 1828.

There are a few samples of Tudor Rose and Ecclesiastical designs shown  - enough to get me very interested.

From the blog :

I found the FULL book at http://books.google.com.au/books?id=NCoBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=nathaniel+whittock&hl=en&ei=hArwTfCfKIXCvgO3zdiPCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

It is about *how* to make stained glass, so there's a lot of clicking needed to find the images. There's only a few suitable for embroidery, but hey - I have a big weakness for Tudor Roses/Rosettes.

This paragraph from the Textile Blog, caused me great amusement

"It must be remembered that the book was published in 1828 and the date does set a certain amount of definition to the parameters of the decorative work featured in the book, particularly that of the glass work. The 1820s was the period of the reign of George IV, rather than his regency, and was therefore part of the dying days of the Georgian period. Many during this period were well aware that the best days of the House of Hanover were long gone. It was considered by the later Victorians in particular as a tasteless episode where every whim and eccentricity was indulged. They were particularly scathing as far as the architectural and decorative arts were concerned. The irony that later generations would feel the same about the Victorian world was probably beyond their understanding, as it no doubt is when concerning our own contemporary world."

Firstly, Trish Burr did a magnificent comparison of DMC vs Anchor stranded cotton (behaviour, colour ranges available, colour fastness and more) at http://trishburr.com/2011/05/11/threads-for-needle-painting-embroidery/

She also talks about why DMC/Anchor thread is the best thread for needlepainting.

I could imagine a few people will be looking for an Anchor stranded thread colour card, after her review of them. I am! I have almost entirely DMC in my collection, but if Anchor has more muted colours, suited to historical embroidery......

I've just read on ThreadNeedleStreet at http://www.threadneedlestreet.com/prodbody.htm that the card is being re-formatted and not currently available. So anyone buying one now (I've seen one on-line for $40) will be buying an *old* card. I don't know if they have new colours to include, or if it's just a re-design or what, but I thought I'd let you know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Textile Blog has a fascinating and thorough review of Church Embroidery, Ancient and Modern by Anastasia Marice Dolby, published in 1867 at http://thetextileblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/embroidered-altar-cloths-of-1860s.html

Here's the first two paragraphs of the review.....

"In 1867, Anastasia Marice Dolby published Church Embroidery, Ancient and Modern. The book was produced as a practical and technical guide for the use of embroidery for ecclesiastical furnishings. Although certainly pitched at an amateur audience, she did have professional help and reference guides from a number of individuals including Daniel Rock the English antiquarian and ecclesiologist who had a specific interest in church history and a practical approach to church functions such as the Mass. She is known to have used his Hierurgia or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which he originally published in 1833.

Dolby also considered herself to be a professional, rather than an embroiderer of leisure, a section of society to which the book was largely aimed. She had been a court embroiderer and termed herself 'late embroideress to the Queen.' In this respect, she felt that she had the connections, professionalism and the skills base to produce a confident book concerned with the correct approach to ecclesiastical embroidery.

The book itself while not giving detailed plans and pattern work as such, is largely a practical guide to church embroidery…….."

There is also a long list of fascinating live links (to Amazon books, tho I haven't checked them all) at the end of the review.

I’ve been wandering on Etsy, and found an interesting thread :

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70844548/6-yards-of-lovely-antique-thick-white

Description :- Fantastic French cotton and metal thread wound around a vintage spool. Spool is made of wood. Thread is made of thick white (cotton?) thread with gold metal thread spun into it. 6 yards (5.49 meters )

$7.50US, $2 shipping to the US, $4.80 everywhere else.

To my eye, the gold looks like a flat gilt.

I sent the link to Yvette Stanton of http://vettycreations.com.au/white-threads/ and she suggested that the gilt *may* bunch up on being put through the ground.

IMHO, it would best used couched down.

It’s cotton, note, not silk. I think it would make for an interesting highlight in a piece or used entirely in fully couched piece.

The “combination of the cotton and gold is probably about as thick as cotton for crochet although I think it might be a bit stiffer than that...... I have absolutely no idea of the provenance of this thread and honestly don't even know where I would start getting any information. I really wish I knew more about these things. What I can tell you is that I bought it from a source who I believe to be reputable (I am no expert) who described it exactly as I did. ”

(quote from seller)

– tho I think there are different thicknesses of crochet thread? I don’t know, I don’t crochet.

Anyway, I’m picking up a reel to add to my stash – I’ve never seen a gilt-wound thread, other than the reproduced Elizabethan ones from Thistle Thread.

If anyone knows of any others, I’d be interested, but surprised that they exist.

There are only 3 reels available, so if you are interested – go for it!

And, I’ll add the standard disclaimer – the shop has nothing to do with me, and I gain no profit by advertising it or this thread. I just saw it, and saw some possibilities…..

~~~~~~~~~

Tip for the day : search on "Bullion" on Etsy. Yummy!

http://www.etsy.com/search?q=bullion

For only $US3,200, you can buy this! 19thC

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73462064/fabulous-antique-chenille-metallic?ref=sr_gallery_22&ga_search_query=bullion&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=

Do you know the Bibliodyssey blog? It’s a blog of almost entirely 19thC or earlier images, with some information about their sources/history/artist that has been extracted from the source site.

Edit - Doh! I forgot a link! http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/

Peakay puts up all sorts of images – from plants to cephalopods (squids and octopi) to birds to fantastical art. It’s a blog you can get lost in for hours. He’s actually had a coffee table book published of some of the best images, and seems to know museum websites like no other!

Today, he is featuring Hummingbirds. They would make lovely needlepaintings, I think.

These are two of my favourites :

There are many many other images on the site that could be used as sources for embroidery – all copyright free, too.

The blog Trouvais (which features antique country French decor) has an entry today about a subject the Needleprint blog has covered in the past - the scraps of fabric Mothers would leave with their babies when leaving then at Foundling Hospital gates.

http://trouvais.com/2011/05/08/threads-of-feeling/

The entry includes some great pictures of some of the pieces, and has a link to a current exhibition of them being held at the Foundling Hospital Museum.

Firstly, the bonus!

This is a card that I found tucked away. I don’t know where or how I got it – just that it was before I was into embroidery!

It’s advertising an exhibition back in 2005, called “Everlasting – The Flower in Fashion and Textiles”.

Given that flowers are my favourite embroidery motifs, how I would love to go the exhibition now!

It says that the card is an English coverlet, c1700, silk, silk thread, gilt thread.

I haven’t seen anything like it before. All metal flowers, yes. Flowers edged in metal thread, yes. Never satin stitched metal thread mixed in with silk thread as if it were silk.

The stems are satin stitched in gold metal thread.

In the red flower, 2 petals are entirely gilt satin stitched, and the innards of the rest of the petals. It’s centre looks like thick silk, tightly curled then partly unwound, and then couched down.

The blue flower is edged in gold stitches on the edges of each of the two ‘layers’ of the flower. It’s centre looks like stretched gold purl, possibly padded.

The buds and leaves all have satin stitched gold thread at their edges. (It looks black or silver in the scan as well as looking like actual gold in more heavily stitched areas – my camera->computer connection is playing up so I had to scan it, loosing the reflection of the gilt thread).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That would do for a blog post on it’s own, but at 3.30am this morning, I had an idea.

I just wasn’t happy with my approach to split stitching the butterfly wing, dividing it into areas to give it texture, rather than using the longest stitches possible.

(Here’s a photo of part of it as a reminder):

If I did it again, I’d use the longest stitches possible, but I’d still be stuck with split stitches between the wing pad channels, because they are so narrow and I have 3 colours to fit into each one)

Anyway, I thought – what if I outlined the edges of the split-stitched areas? To make it look like there are veins all over the wing?

Like this :

It means that I loose the blended effect where two colours meet, but I think that it looks more ‘put together’.

I used the same thin copper metallic thread that I’d used on the wing pad veins. In this case, scanning the piece meant the copper thread really lit up – it’s not quite so obvious in real life. (Please send prayers to my camera!)

There are two types of copper/gold metal thread to go on the wing yet, so hopefully that will pull it together even more.

I did these ‘veins’ in backstitch. Couching down the copper thread would have been far preferable, giving much smoother lines, but the pain in my hands wasn’t up to holding down a light, flighty thread in an exact place then stitching it down with the other through the existing split stitches.

I’ve just been on a spending spree at a fabric shop on Etsy – a selection of 18”x24” for only $3.50USD each – tho they are coming from India, so I do hope they arrive sometime this side of Christmas.

This is for the Main Background, where the entire piece will end up attached to. (Remembering that blue/purple background I’ve got at the moment will all be covered up by split stitching).

Since telling colours on a monitor is so hard, and I use so much dupion anyway, I got a selection.

One of these just has to go with the coral/copper coloured threads in the wing. Or I shall be very annoyed. The intensely emerald green dupion I have stacks of goes with it, but I don’t want an emerald green background. I want something more neutral.

I also picked up a bright orange dupion for the backing of part of the butterfly – but I’ll talk about that when I get to it *grin* (Julie is reading these entries, so I’m not revealing any more that I have to as I go along…..)

NeedlePrint featured an auction site a couple of days ago - Bonham's. at http://needleprint.blogspot.com/2011/02/richmond-collection-of-early-needlework.html

It's the middle of the night here, and I've been looking at the pictures.

Starts 15thC. Lots and lots of yummy use of silk wrapped purl in birds, flowers (quite a lot!) trees, insects. Lots of interestingly coloured hillocks.

But my pick of the set so far is http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/WService=wslive_pub/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=lotdetailsNoFlash&iSaleItemNo=3816503&iSaleNo=18761&iSaleSectionNo=2

Lot No: 28

A wall pocket

English, late 17th Century
The arched top embroidered with peacocks and having four pockets applied to a green silk ground, each pocket front of ivory silk embroidered in satin stitch in mainly green, yellow and blue silks with carnations, scrolling leaves and birds, having applied spangles and gilt metal bobbin lace edge,
70 x 23.5cm (27 1/2 x 9 1/4in), set within an oak glazed frame.

Sorry I couldn't get the full width, but it is symmetrical.

You can zoom down to the pixel level

This is one of the embroidered 'pockets' shown, and the colours and clarity are better on-screen at the auction site.

There was also a great peacock, with a long silver tail (to the left of it's image) in another picture/Lot.
And look at the great tree it's sitting on!

This stuff is like gold - like a small Addendum to Txixt Art and Nature

Julie (SilkLover) sent me this bookmark awhile ago.

Wouldn’t it be a lovely project to embroider?

From the back -

”Detail from a Stole

Designed by A.W.N. Pugin

Worked in satin stitch, couching and raised and laid work.

English c 1840-1850”

I’d do it on the same shot purple silk that I just used for Roses and Pansies.

The outside border looks like stretched out pearl purl in two lines, with an inner line of passing thread.

All of the rest of the metal thread looks like pearl purl too.

The thistle isn’t clear in the scan – it’s actually gold passing couched down with minute stitches in green thread.

The dragon looks more heavily raised than the rest. All the motifs look raised.

Aren’t the little crosses on the border, with purl and spangles just sweet?

I’d love to embroider it, – it’s added to my ‘to-do’ list. Gods only know when. Meanwhile, the bookmark lives on my bedside table, propped against my lamp so the gold shines in the light.

I have ahead of me

• to add trim to Roses and Pansies (finished the backing – post on that when trim arrives and is attached and project is completely finished)
• Julie’s Butterfly. I’ve done the design transfer, and ready to start embroidering. I’ll blog on it soon.
• 2 more ribbon embroideries (Daisies and a Sunflower)
• 2 x 3 linen hankies to monogram to the recipient’s specifications

…..end of Thankyou presents

• 16thC Historical Sampler (half done….about another 9 months work there)
• Gold MasterClass Pincushions
• and this project, which I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. It involves some Long and Short stitch, and I’m just *itching* to do some more needlepainting. It’s been too long……. :

It’s from the British Library of Book Bindings.

I may not do the exact same flower. Or then again, I may. (Oh, sweet decisions!)

Note the heavy, heavy raising, covered with passing thread.

And the outlining of the major petals of the flower in passing thread as well.

But I’m really looking forward to doing this project when I get that far…….

• I also have 3 Thistle Thread mini-projects tucked away.
• I’d also like to finish doing Mary Corbet’s lessons on Long and Short Stitch, and her on-line course on embroidered lettering.
• ….and the Bookmark above

I don’t actually intend to do the Gold Masterclass Sampler in the short-medium term. I’ll learn the 17thC gold stitches necessary for the pincushions, and any others as and when I want to use them on various projects.

This is because of my own 16thC sampler. By the time I’ve finished that, I think I’m going to be a bit Sampler’ed out for awhile. I will have been working on it over a period of some 3 years by the time I’ve finished it (given the break I’m taking now, doing SRE Cards, and Pieces as Thankyou presents for various people that have helped me in various ways in the last year).

I’ll save it up for the future sometime. Or use my favourite motifs on a smaller project. Or something.

So many projects! And I’d like to get back into some illumination (painting with gouache) if the Pain Clinic sorts out some better drugs for me, and I can spend extended time sitting in a chair again. (I embroider on the couch – that was the whole reason why I swopped from Calligraphy/Illumination to Embroidery a few years ago – being unable to sit in a chair for long any more).

And that’s another whole list of projects I’d like to do!

I’d like an extra lifetime, please. Maybe I should add that to my 40th birthday present wishlist!

In my Net wanderings, I found this :

http://www.brookes.ac.uk/library/guides/imagesources.doc

(broken link fixed - thanks Rachel!)

It's a library research guide to finding images, and suggests several image-specific search engines.

I had a play with the first one (pic_search) with key words like "tudor rose", "goldwork", "stumpwork" and ...well, there's lots there! Some familiar, some not.

Have fun!

I know I've seen eyes used as motifs in Elizabethan embroidery. I've just had a bit of a google but couldn't find anything to back up my memories.

Anyway, what inspired me to do this was finding this image :


at http://theglasspingle.blogspot.com/2010/07/ghosts-of-winter.html

If you were to embroider an eye, wouldn't this be a fabulous one to do? I'd use rice pearls rather than those flat ended beads tho on the lid - same as used on the bottom line of the eye. Or leave them off entirely and use 'feathering' - multiple threads of different colours....

Exctly *how* the 3D shaping of the upper lid is another question. A shape edged with strong wire and then twisted? (The brown being a seperate layer underneath = or is that the underside of a layer and it's double sided? It's hard to tell if the brown is flat against the eye, or sloping up).

And I think there might actually be two layers, one pointed, one curved - looking at the left hand extremity of the eye.

Welcome from my new computer! :-)

I’m having lots of fun downloading the latest software and discovering the new things I can do. And a bigger screen and lots faster *grin*

I’ll be writing up the initial design of my new ribbon embroidery project as soon as I’ve gotten the computer all sorted out,but meanwhile, here’s something for entertainment :

http://prickyourfinger.blogspot.com/2009/05/glass-pingle-in-my-garden-i-am-queen.html

shows some just wonderful chimeras, embroidered on a 16thC style corset by a lady called Fleur Oakes.

“This is the Mallardapard has a Mallard coloured head and a leopard coloured body. He has raised satin stitch, turkey stitch and long and short stitch.”

Check out The Eye corset closure, and what the lining of the corset is made from, as well as the rest of the wonderful chimeras and some great cyclamen leaves!

http://theglasspingle.blogspot.com/ is a wonderful blog, showing some gorgeous needlelace. The lady makes bespoke corsets. I've only had a quick explore while Word is installing....

The Bayeux Tapestry Embroiderer's Story by Jan Messant.

From Amazon :

Jan Messent is a member of the Embroiderers' Guild and the author of several books, including Celtic, Viking and Anglo-Saxon Embroidery; Jan Messent's Knit a Fantasy Story; and Jan Messent's Wool 'n' Magic.

Not released yet - $20US pre-order from Amazon link http://www.amazon.com/dp/1844485846/ref=pe_106620_16564750_pe_epc_t8

Some details of pieces from this lady's RSN Gallery : http://www.patextiles.com/

(The Gallery is the last link on the left hand side of the Home page)


She includes some technical details on how the embroidery was done.