Hello everyone

As you have probably heard in the media our beloved Nelson Mandela fondly known as Madiba (a title of respect derived from his Xhosa clan name) passed on last night.  His part on earth as had a major influence on all our lives, not only in South Africa but universally and I feel it a fitting tribute to end this year by remembering some of his extraordinary qualities, and reflecting on his life before we all move onto the busy, Christmas period and a new year.

Nelson Mandela

To quote my daughter Tessa:  “For me, Mandela’s passing is a reminder to take stock of ourselves by looking at the man for what he represented. His qualities and how they affected so many people for good. What an amazing man whose legacy and qualities will live on.  We can all be a little more kind, more accepting of others, more forgiving, more humble in our small daily acts. “

Madiba reading to children

  “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion.  People must learnt to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Nelson Mandela

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”  Nelson Mandela

Rugby world cup 1995

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.  We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?”  Actually who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you.  We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is withn us.  It’s not just in some of us;  it’s in all of us, and when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberted from out own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  Quote by Marianne Williamson – used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech.

Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk

Freedom

Wherever you are in the world lets celebrate the life of Madiba,  and give thanks for his wonderful example and qualities of love, unselfishness and kindness the way to true freedom.  Trish

Hello everyone

This will be my last blog post this year – the shop will be closing  tomorrow till first week of January 2014 the last posting day is thursday 12th December.  However, all digital items will be available for sale and instant download throughout the Christmas season – it is a straightforward process, once you have gone through the payment process you will be re-directed to an Etsy page where you will see a link to download the file.  Click on this link and lo and behold it will open in a pdf which you can save to your computer or print out!  If you have a problem you can also access your digital files from Etsy -visit your purchases page and look for the order.  If all else fails you can email me first week of January for help.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for all your support and encouragement in 2013.  Your enthusiasm is what keeps me going and inspires me to keep creating and striving for new ideas in needle painting – speaking of which I have some exciting new ideas for the New Year and can’t wait to share them with you.

Till then, may Christmas bring you everything that you are wishing for, Happy Christmas to you and your family and all the very best for 2014.  Trish

Hello everyone

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that the new year brings everything you hope for and deserve.  School holidays have come to an end and it is back to work – although I hesitate to call what I do “Work”.  Work is not work if you love it!  I had a lovely time over the Christmas period stitching and sewing and thinking up new ideas (between all the other normal things one does in ones life………….).

So what are my new years resolutions, besides the usual, eat less, do more exercise,  and all those other things that we generally dont stick too I have some much more exciting resolutions to share with you – you can shout at me at the end of the year if I fail to fulfill any of them!

1.  Progress.  A New Year calls for progress and that means new ideas or expanding on a theme, as Eisenhower once said “Unless we progress, we regress”.  So this year I will be i ntroducing a new range of kits and patterns – ideas on what to do with your finished embroidery.  I have spent months fiddling with different ideas and polishing up my rusty sewing skills and think I have come up with a range of accessories that are practical, useful and pretty.  Combining embroidery with a sewed item required much thought and research on different types of fabric, interfacings etc, it has opened a whole new world for me – but I will tell you more about the process in a later blog post.  These items are still in the designer stage, but am currently putting together instructions and sourcing materials so hopefully will have the first ones ready to launch by next month.

Miniature vintage Bluebirds and daisies

2.  Instruction.  Knowledge and instruction are vital if we are to develop our embroidery skills and with this in mind I plan to introduce a series of mini lectures on needle painting throughout the year.

3.  New Book.  The book I was working on in 2013, Miniature Needle Painting Embroidery (working title) is safely in the hands of the publishers in Australia and work starts on the edits next week.  It is due for release about June 2014 and I promise to tell you more about it soon.

The Etsy shop has re-opened  for business as usual, meantime, wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful week and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Hello everyone

Hope the first weeks of 2014 are going well for you and that you are coping with the hot or cold weather depending on where you are!  As promised this week I am going to share with you some sneak previews into the new book which I worked on last year and is due for release middle of this year.

The title has not been confirmed but the working title is Miniature Needle Painting Embroidery:  Vintage Illustrations.  It is being published by Sally Milner Publishing Pty Ltd, as always, and will be a paperback approx +/- 195 pages.  This is my seventh publication to date – you can see my previous books here on my Amazon page.

The book begins by providing the reader with information on needle painting embroidery – materials, preparation and detailed stitch guides.  It explains how to adapt long & short stitch to fit smaller shapes and gives numerous hints and tips on the technique.  You might think that the instructions tend to become repetitive with each succeeding book but actually they aren’t because I am imparting any new knowledge that I have learnt (or discovered) along the way – we never stop learning – thank goodness!

The book caters for all levels of embroiderers from beginner to advanced. The projects are detailed without being over taxing – most of them can be completed within a week or less.  It includes approx 20 projects grouped into portraits, birds & flowers – each one accompanied by step by step photos plus a thread diagram providing the reader with easy to follow visual instructions. I know this because I had to re-stitch one of the projects using my own instructions ( I cannot tell you what a challenge this was! ) so was able to put myself in your shoes and become my own worst critic!

There is emphasis on adding details to provide a realistic effect and this includes the use of sewing cottons for outlining.  There are two simple, starter projects a bird & flower, designed to introduce the beginner and allow you to practice on before beginning work on the other projects.

starter project

At the back of the book is an additional section on mini pansies – we can never have enough pansies!  These are designed to be used on completed items such as embroidery accessories, cushions, personal accessories etc , with examples to demonstrate, and was what instigated me to become pre-occupied with designing sewing patterns suitable for finishing our embroidery pieces, the first of which I hope to introduce this month.

I enjoyed creating this book – the overall look is pleasing and pretty, evoking familiar images of postcards and book illustrations from our childhood. I hope that it will give you as much pleasure as it did me -  I will keep you posted in the next few months as to the release date.

A few last things before I sign off is that the Introduction To Miniature Needle Painting booklet in the Etsy shop has been discontinued due to the release of the new book.  The Iris Spartan flower project is back in kit form by popular demand and is available from the Etsy shop.

Iris spartan kit

In the meantime wherever you are, be it winter, spring, summer or autumn keep smiling and many many happy and peaceful stitching hours!  Trish

Hello everyone

This week heralds the first of a series of mini lectures throughout this year that I hope will be helpful and informative.  We will talk about anything to do with needle painting embroidery so if you have any special requests let me know.

I have numerous emails from readers who have problems with puckering in their embroidery.  As  mentioned before these are the most common causes of puckering:

1. Using a fabric that is not 100% cotton/linen.
2. The fabric is too light weight to support the embroidery
3. The fabric has a slight stretch in it so when it is taken out of the hoop it distorts.
4. The fabric is not cut on the straight grain before being mounted into the hoop/frame.
5. Pulling too tight on your embroidery Stitches (this is very uncommon but can be a cause).

Having experienced similar problems in my early years of embroidery I have mulled over this many times and came to the conclusion that we were limited to using certain types of fabric for our embroidery to achieve success.  HOWEVER…………..  Quite often the very solution we need is right in front of our noses, as I soon found out.

In the last few months I have been brushing up on my rusty sewing skills – trying out prototypes for various types of patterns that would be suitable for making up our finished embroidery.  When I say brushing up I used to sew a lot when I was first married – things for craft fairs, clothing for my children and even my poor husband was subjected to some of my elasticated shorts!

In researching fabrics and materials for these patterns I came across several helpful internet sites in particular Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness who was kind enough to give advice.   I also got advice from my cousin Gill who is a professional in this field – she makes machine embroidered items and sews like an angel.  Things have certainly changed since I last did sewing – there are so many innovative products on the market that make life much easier and allow us to achieve a more professional finish.  In so doing I was lead to find the most wonderful product that will solve all our puckering problems and allow us to use so many more fabrics for our embroidery.

shape flex compliments Colonial Quilts USA

The product is Pellon shape flex SF101, it is an all-purpose woven fusible interfacing that provides support and adds body and permanent stability when used as a backing for needlework and embroidery.  Who even knew this existed?  Well apparently it has been used for years by dressmakers but anyway  I tried it out and it is amazing – all those fabrics that I had previously found impossible to embroider on suddenly, like magic, were transformed into the perfect fabric for needle painting embroidery.  Actually if you think about it, it makes sense that machine embroidery needs to be stabilized in the hoop and so does our hand embroidery – so why not use the same products.

Here are some examples of Kona cotton and linen fabric with and without the shape flex interfacing ironed onto the back.  The fabric on its own has a slightly loose weave which is not suitable for stitching needle painting embroidery – we need a very close weave to provide lots of placement for our needle.  This is the effect when the stabiliser is ironed onto the back – click on each image to get a closer view:

Kona cotton weave

Kona cotton

Kona cotton with fusible backing

Natural Irish linen with fusible backing

Natural Irish linen

1.  The fabric has more body – i.e. a quilt weight cotton is transformed into a medium weight fabric.
2. The fabric has more stability – it will not stretch in the hoop and the weave is denser providing a solid foundation for our needle painting and additional placement of the needle.
3. The shape flex does not give that fused look that other interfacings sometimes do.  The right side of the fabric is smooth and crisp.
4. When removed from the hoop not a pucker in sight – a nice smooth finish to the embroidery.
5. The shape flex does not stiffen the original embroidery fabric but is still pliable and easy to work with.

The natural linen pictured above is a lovely linen but a nightmare to stitch on because the weave was just too loose – it is virtually impossible to source good Irish linen that has a high enough count for needle painting.  But with the inclusion of the shape flex on the back of the linen it became a joy to stitch on.

So how does this discovery affect our embroidery?

Embroidery on Kona cotton with fusible backing

1. No more puckers – when you remove your fabric from the hoop it is smooth and irons up beautifully.
2. It allows us so much more flexibility with our choice of fabrics.  As long as it is a good quality, high count cotton or linen that is pre-shrunk and washable, just about any fabric can be used.  I refer here to quilt weight cotton not dressmaking cotton and definitely not Polycotton.  You will have to do some mini testers to see what works best.
3. We are no longer limited to white or off white background fabric but have complete freedom with background colours.  For instance Robert Kaufman Kona cottons  which I had tried in the past, has approx. 270 shades of colour and we can use every single one of them!  The only thing I would suggest is that the colour used provides a suitable backdrop for the embroidery, i.e. if stitching on a dark blue background the embroidery needs to be light enough to show up well.  We will talk more about using different background colours in the future.

Kona cotton colours

Products Details.

The product is manufactured by Pellon in the USA and is called SHAPE FLEX SF101.  (Make sure you get the fusible one and not the sew in one) (link).  The equivalent in UK & Europe is Vilene iron on woven interfacing G700.  Both these woven interfacings are available online or from any good fabric outlet.  When ironing the interfacing onto the back of your fabric you need to use a steam iron – there is a great instruction video here.

I am so confident that this interfacing will be an essential in our “embroidery wardrobe” , that I have decided to stock it in my Etsy store – it should be available in about a week, but meantime for the benefit of those who do not have access to online stores overseas I am giving away two packs of half a metre each of the Pellon shape flex.  In the true tradition of Mary Corbet (:)  I am asking that you add a comment:

In one short sentence state:   which is your favourite embroidery design in kit form (not digital item) in my Etsy store   In the next week or two I will publish the results.

Meanwhile wherever you are, be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a lovely week, keep smiling and many, many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Hello everyone

With regards the Pellon shape flex woven cotton interfacing, there have been some concerns as to the laundering aspect and long term effect of the fusible on our embroidery.  I have washed my own pieces and they seem perfectly fine but just to be absolutely sure I would like to do some more research on this, test some samples with rigorous washing and will contact the manufacturers to get more information.  Until then probably best you don’t rush out and buy yards of it!

Also just to clarify that the stabilizer mentioned is for fabrics such as Kona cotton or other quilting type cottons where the weave is slightly loose and therefore difficult to stitch on.  It is not required for the embroidery fabrics that I sell on my website or include in my kits such as:  Cambric Irish linen,  Southern Belle 200 count muslin or Cotton satin.

These DO NOT NEED STABILIZING.  They are ok to use on their own for needle painting embroidery without a stabilizer or backing.  This is because the fabric count is high enough and the weight of the fabric is sturdy enough to support the embroidery on its own

Backing Fabric

If you feel that your embroidery fabric would benefit from some extra stability you can use a fine weight backing fabric such as Swiss muslin.  This should be lined up on the grain of the fabric together with the main fabric and basted on before mounting in the hoop.  If the backing fabric is not lined up it will distort and cause puckering.  When mounting for framing you need to stretch the backing fabric first in addition to the main fabric.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Trish

Hello everyone

Hope you all had a great weekend.  We had a heat wave here in Cape town so am wilting!  The winners of the woven cotton fusible interfacing are:

Avis Withers

LaRaine Winmill

Congratulations, I have tucked a packet of needles into the packet, please email me at needlepainting@gmail.com with your postal address.

I have received feedback from the manufacturers, quilters and machine embroiderers as to the long term effect and laundering of this interfacing.  I refer here to the 100% woven cotton interfacing not the polyester web interfacings which I could not comment on or recommend.  Apparently the reason that the fabric may bubble when washed is due to the fact that the interfacing is not fused properly when applied.  The areas that are not fused will part from the main fabric when washed and cause little bubbles.  To avoid this you need to iron the interfacing with a hot steam iron and hold the iron in place for at least 10 seconds on each area to make sure it is completely fused.  Leave the fabric to cool completely for at least 15 minutes before use and it will be fine.  I have tested this many times and it is absolutely perfect.  The European vilene is a better quality product than the pellon and would be my preference but if you are unable to source  vilene the pellon shape flex is fine.

I have used it with Kona cotton and Irish linen that has a slightly loose weave and it is a joy to stitch on, however I must specify that there is no need to use it on any of the fabrics that I sell in my shop such as the Irish cambric linen, Southern belle 200 count cotton or cotton satin as these do not require a backing fabric.  They are sturdy enough and have a close enough weave to use alone.  I love this product it works well for me, but I will leave you to make up your own mind about it?

Next week we will discuss the pros and cons of colour print on fabric, meantime wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful week and many, many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Hello everyone

Hope your week is going well.  One of my readers, Gail Jones asked if I could talk more on the fact that some people do needle painting over a photo on photo fabric.  Printing colour pictures onto fabric is something that I have attempted numerous times in the past without success – however nothing is impossible so lets take a look at the various ways this could be done:

Photocopy Print

You can take a photo to your local Photocopy shop and they will print it on fabric for you.  The downside is that it leaves a plastic film on the fabric which is difficult if not almost impossible to stitch through!

Iron On Transfer Paper

You can print your picture then iron onto fabric.  The result again is a bit stiff and will leave a residue on your fabric.  However there are different transfer papers available – there is an interesting article by Kristen of Sophia’s decor blogspot on the use of transfer paper.  So how do we achieve a print that transfers the dye only onto the fabric without any unwanted residue?  There are a few ways:

Inkjet Print

Apparently you can iron freezer paper to the back of your fabric and feed it through your inkjet printer.  There is a great article on how to do this here.  I have tried this many many times – it works fine on small prints that will fit into your printer but anything larger than the standard paper size will not feed through.  The fabric for my smallest miniature pieces measures approx. 28 x 28cm which is too large for a regular printer.  I am also not sure if your piece could be laundered afterwards?

inkjet print

Sublimation

This is the most accurate way to print onto fabric, used by professionals and screen printers.  This is a process that uses heat to transfer dye onto fabric or other materials.  There is a good article here on the process.  I have had many trips to the screen printer trying to print onto linen and cotton without success, at best we got a very faded, wishy washy print on the fabric.  This is because you can only sublimate on Polyester fabrics.  This is due to the temperatures needed to achieve a high quality print and depth of colour.  However, the Chinese Su embroideries are often worked from a printed picture on silk fabric, so perhaps it works on silk?

chinese su embroidery

I have been unable to find any information on the process of colour printing on silk but  Mary Corbet gives some information on Su embroidery kits and shows an example of the print on silk fabric here.  You can also purchase Chinese silk embroidery kits at Oriental Cultures.   Di Van Niekirk has a beautiful selection of embroidery/silk ribbon  kits with full colour screen printed panels on her website.   Perhaps you could try and use these for needle painting?

Di Van Niekirk fabric panel

Commercial Fabric Printing

There is also a company called Spoonflower who will print your photo onto fabric/design for you.  Depending on the fabric they use the prints are good.  I have had some prints done by them, but unfortunately you are limited to the fabric selection they have available and cannot provide your own linen or cotton.

Hand Painting

I have seen examples of hand painting using watercolour/acrylic paint and tried it out in small pieces and it works well.  There is a great article by Ingrid Lee on her website here.  I must say this little exercise has led to so many interesting websites and blogs!

Hand painting

Conclusion

I have promised myself that I will stay clear of venturing any opinions, however my personal preference is to use a nice clear, dark grey outline and refer to a colour print/photo for filling in the detail.  It is the way I have always worked and I feel comfortable with it.  This does not mean we are limited to stitching on white/off white fabrics only – I am in the process of experimenting with different coloured background fabrics and will report back soon.   If you would like more information on the screen printing process I use for my embroidery kits you can see a previous blog post here.  (An update to this story is that the Screen Printer went bankrupt a few years ago and I have since found another, more suitable printer).

I am sure there are lots of other ways to print colour pictures onto fabric, if anyone is able to contribute more information on the process we would love to hear from you.  Meantime, wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn, have a wonderful week, keep smiling and many happy hours of stitching.  Trish

Hello world!

Hope your week is going well.  This week I am pleased to announce the arrival of the first Complete Needle Painting Lesson, now available for sale in the Etsy shop.

Complete Lesson

As promised last year I would be replacing the online classes with a comprehensive lesson that can be done in your own time, in the comfort of your home.  One of the main problems students have experienced in the past with the online classes was the ability to complete the lesson in the allotted time – sometimes, personal matters got in the way – well here you have it, no more lesson deadlines, you can work this at your own pace, have plenty of time to practice the individual elements and develop your skills.   You are welcome to email me if you need help, and subject to my being in the office I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Little bird & Flower project

 I have spent many months designing and working on the perfect project that would include all the essentials of needle painting embroidery.  The instruction booklet starts with the technique, materials and preparation and also provides a full list of all the materials and threads.  The project instructions are detailed including over 30 step by step photographs of each stage and little hints to help along the way.  This involved hundreds of journeys up and down the stairs to my office but know you will all appreciate the effort?

The lesson is available in three different formats:

1. Digital download
2. Embroidery Pattern kit
3. Thread pack (coming soon)
   

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

The digital download can be instantly downloaded from the Etsy shop and you can be up and running as soon as you have got your materials together.  There is a tracing outline, instructions and full material list included.

EMBROIDERY PATTERN KIT

The pattern kit includes a 28 page instruction booklet printed in full colour, plus the fabric with pre-printed outline, backing fabric and needles.

THREAD PACK

An optional thread pack with 18 full skeins of DMC stranded cotton and one Gutermann sewing thread is available to complete the kit, or you can provide your own.  Unfortunately, I have had a problem sourcing the DMC threads locally so I had to source them from an overseas supplier and thus the thread packs will not be available till next week.  This is something I have experienced many times in the past.  Due to the numerous colours needed for each project it is not always possible to obtain bulk amounts of each colour and this is the main reason I do not provide thread packs with my kits.  But I do understand that if you are a beginner and have not accumulated stock of thread it is nice to have the option of purchasing them together with the pattern.

LEVEL

This lesson is for LEVEL ALL – which means it is suitable for beginners but could also be done by embroiderers who have some previous experience with the technique and like to brush up on their skills.

NEEDLE CASE PATTERN

In addition to this I have a little surprise for you -   I have made the little bird and flower project up into a  needle case which you can show off to all your friends or when attending classes or guild meetings! The PDF pattern is available here as a free download with my compliments.   Pattern for needlecase

needle case pattern

inside of needle case

I don’t normally end with a joke but my Mum told me this on Sunday and  thought you could do with a laugh:

Four brothers left home for University, and they became successful doctors and lawyers. One evening, they chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the 95th birthday gifts they were able to give their elderly mother who moved to the Gold Coast . The first said, “You know I had a big house built for Mum.” The second said, “And I had a large theatre built in the house.” The third said, “And I had my Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her.” The fourth said, “You know how Mum loved reading the Bible and you know she can’t read anymore because she can’t see very well. I met this Minister who told me about a parrot who could recite the entire Bible. It took ten Ministers almost 8 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $50,000 a year for five years to the church, but it was worth it. Mum only has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it.”

The other brothers were impressed. After the celebration Mum sent out her “Thank You” notes. She wrote: Michael , the house you built is so huge that I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway.” “Mervin, I am too old to travel. I stay home; I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks.” ” Mark , you gave me an expensive theatre with Dolby sound and it can hold 50 people, but all of my friends are dead, I’ve lost my hearing, and I’m nearly blind. I’ll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same.” “Dearest Mitchell, you were the only son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken was delicious. Thank you so much.”

On that note, wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful week, keep smiling and many happy stitching hours.

Hello everyone

Little bird & Flower project

Thread Pack

Just to let you know that the thread packs for the Complete Lesson In Needle Painting Embroidery Kit are in stock here.

As you know I dont normally include thread with my kits due to the difficulty of sourcing all the colours  but have made an exception for this lesson kit, so you have the option of purchasing the kit with/wihout thread.  The thread pack includes one skein of each colour DMC stranded cotton that you will need for the project plus a spool of Gutermann sewing thread for outlining.  You will need to choose the thread pack option from the drop down list if required.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Trish

Hello World

My apologies for not having been in touch for a while I have had a lot of stitching to do for the Beating Around The Bush Convention in Australia – Sep/Oct this year.  Next week I will show you some of the workshops I will be offering but meantime you can take a look here at all the workshops available: BATB.  There are some gorgeous projects on offer this year, with world renowned teachers, and it is a great event, not to be missed.  The sweet solitude workshop has been replaced with Sweet Peas From My Garden as shown below.

Sweet Peas From My Garden

Spring is here in Cape town as I guess it is in other parts of the world also – we have some maple trees on the estate that I live on and they are all turning gorgeous shades of orange and red – so pretty!  Spring heralds newness and flowers in bloom, so we are celebrating with the return of the Pansies & Anemones designs.  They are available as pattern booklets this means that you get a full colour printed booklet with step by step instructions, a material list and tracing outline but none of the fabric etc, as in the kits.  It is more cost effective and you can use your own fabric, threads etc which I am sure you have a good stash of at home:).  The Redoute’s Sweet Peas kit is also back in stock and both the Sweet Peas & Briar Roses are also available as pattern booklets.  I hope to make many of the kit projects available as pattern booklets when time allows.  There is a new section in the Etsy shop here for PATTERN BOOKLETS.

Pansies

Pansies booklet

Redoute’s Anemones

Anemones booklet

Redoute’s Sweet Peas

Briar Rose

CREASES IN FABRIC

A little note here about removing the creases in your fabric.  When you receive a kit with the pre-printed fabric folded up it will have a crease line in it.  If this does not come out with ironing, you can safely wash and iron the fabric to remove the crease without fear of removing the printed outline – this is professionally screen printed and will not wash out.  Another little tip for removing hoop marks and creases, is to roll your fabric up in a plastic bag, put in the deep freeze for about an hour and iron.  This seems to have the effect of relaxing the fibres and the marks iron out beautifully.  Untill next time wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful weekend and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Hello world

Hope you are well and happy and getting in some stitching time.  Firstly my apologies I inadvertently said we were experiencing Spring last week when in fact it is Autumn………….. dear oh dear one of those blonde moments!

Beating Around The Bush 2014.  This week as promised I wanted to share with you the designs I will be teaching at Beating Around The Bush convention in Australia this year.  I know most of you attending will be from Australia but I do remember last time we had students from New Zealand, Singapore and United States and I would love to see you there.  It is one of those events that you have to go to at least once in a lifetime – not only do you get to learn a new style of embroidery or brush up on an existing skill, but also meet teachers from all over the world, shop for embroidery products and spend a few idyllic days with like-minded people in a purely stitching, heavenly environment without any of the stresses of our normal routine!

I am offering three classes the one day beginner Blue Tit & Apple Blossoms and 2 x two-day classes, Blue Tit & Wild Rose and Sweet Peas From My Garden.  Details of the convention and booking for the classes can be found here BATB.  I believe that if the teacher’s name is not on the list then the class has been filled but you can still contact them to make sure.

Blue tit and apple blossom

Blue tit & WIld Rose

Blue tit & WIld Rose landscape

Sweet Peas From My Garden

Magic Pens.  This is something that I am very excited about and would like to share with you.  In the last issue of Inspirations magazine Susan O’Connor talked about Pilot Frixion pens and how you could use them for embroidery and I decided to try them out.  These are erasable pens that my daughter uses for school – they are wonderful because although they are ballpoint pens you can erase them so no messy work for the teacher to mark!   But I did not know that they can also be used on fabric and erased – YES THEY CAN!!  There are different types of pens in the range including ballpoint, gel ink and marker pens in a variety of colours and sizes.

Frixion pens

I used the Frixion point in light blue which has a thin nib approx 0.5mm so you get nice, fine outlines and because it is gel ink it glides on beautifully.  Basically you draw your design onto fabric and then either use the rubber at the end to erase any unwanted lines or iron it /put into the deep freeze and the lines will vanish.  Just like that gone.  It works with friction, heat or cold.   To prove that this works I drew a design outline onto a piece of cotton fabric and then ironed half of it so you can see how it erases the design in the examples below.

Outline traced with light blue frixion point

Half the design outline ironed and erased.

You only have to hold the iron over the design for a few seconds and it is gone.  If you look very carefully you will see a slight white mark left but this is not visible when viewed with the naked eye and also you can use it on any type of fabric or paper. It is fantastic for needle painting or any other form of embroidery but works especially well for whitework as you can use the pale blue, it does not bleed while stitching and if the lines are not well covered erase them afterwards.

Whitework.  Thinking of whitework I have been dabbling……………….  As you know in the past I used to teach both needlepainting and whitework but decided to concentrate my efforts on needle painting.  However,  I  have always loved the French style of whitework, particularly monograms and the Portuguese Madeira work.  Occassionally I do a little sideline project as a gift for someone and it has remained a passion.  Seeing all the examples on Pinterest as shown below revived the urge, so I dug out my old whitework threads, (you know those secret drawers of stash that we all have) and have been in my element, fiddling with different types of whitework.

whitework monogram

whitework with colour

I wanted to use the whitework theme but include a bit of colour to enhance it and make it more practical for use in todays world.   This is ongoing work in progress, and I hope to share some of these designs with you soon but in the meantime I would love to hear your views on surface whitework embroidery – is this something you would like to see revived?  Would you be interested in learning this style of embroidery and have kits made available? Your opinion is helpful so let me know what you think.

Meantime wherever you are be it Spring, Autumn, winter or summer have a wonderful week and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Hello everyone

just to follow up on yesterday’s post where we discussed Pilot Frixion erasable pens.  Jenny from Chester in UK mentioned that although heat removed the lines if it was put into the deep freeze the lines re-appeared!  I followed up on this and did some research – it seems that the quilting community use these pens a lot and that yes this is the case, that if it is put into the freezer it will appear.  I tried out my outline and sure enough there it was.

However if you iron it again it disappears.  Apparently if you put it in the fridge it does not re-appear only the deep freeze so obviously it is only extreme cold temperatures that it reacts to.  Of course the decision is yours, if you live in a very cold climate like Alaska perhaps it is not a good idea!  But I still plan to use them as really like the way the gel ink glides onto the fabric and provides a nice thin outline.  Of course if you purchase any of my kits with pre-printed outlines these are professionaly screen printed and will not wash out or react to heat or cold, so no worries there, but if you draw your own outline using a frixion pen it is best to be aware that extreme cold temperature will make your lines re-appear once you have erased them.

Trish

Hello everyone

We have had a lot of holidays over and between the Easter period in South Africa which has given me time to do some “guilty pleasure stitching” – guilty because this stitching is not necessary or planned for any particular purpose, just for enjoyment (although it is always a pleasure to stitch).  I find these projects broaden my horizons and help me to expand on a theme, giving me the opportunity to try out different techniques and colour themes without having to trek upstairs to my office and scan instructions every five minutes!
I read somewhere about a quilter who thought loving thoughts of the recipient whilst she made her quilt.   I like to do this whilst I am embroidering thinking of you as the recipients! Try it and you will see it becomes a much more harmonious experience and your work will flow rather than be impeded by frustration and effort
One of the things that came to me recently while stitching was that of outlines. Some of my students find split stitch outlines challenging and perhaps you don’t always know the reason why some aspects of a design are outlined and others not, so today lets talk more about it.

Outline Stitches
Split stitch. This is my favourite outline stitch, why? Because it is simple to do, provides a nice, fine outline and suits all shapes. If you can do backstitch you can do split stitch. It is a variation of backstitch, but instead of coming up in the previous hole you come up in the middle of the stitch (or rather about two thirds into it). I like to go down into the stitches from the top because I can control it better – this means there is as much thread on the back as the front but then who looks at the back anyway?

back stitch

split stitch. Each stitch should be about 3mm long you can shorten on a curve if necessary.

split stitch on curve

split stitch outline

back side of split stitch

Split stitch can also be used to fill a shape – in fact if you lengthen your split stitches slightly it looks very much like long and short stitch. Work the split stitch lines side by side, adjacent to each other to fill a shape. It is particularly effective when used for filling smaller items or stems. You can vary the shading in a stem by changing to a different shade each time in a split stitch line.

split stitch filling

Double Running Stitch.

This is a stitch that is used a lot when outlining motifs in whitework embroidery – it is used to add a firm outline and also as a padding stitch for lines before overcasting on top. It is just like running or tacking stitch that you were taught at school however you only leave a small space between stitches, just picking up a few threads of the fabric, so there is very little thread on the back.  Whilst dabbling with whitework it occurred to me that double running stitch could be used very successfully as an outline stitch for needle painting, why? Because most of the thread in this stitch is on the front and very little on the back, this means that when you stitch over the outline stitch with long and short stitch you get a nice, neat edge.
Does this make sense? Let me try to explain further – when you use a split stitch outline there is a line of thread on the front and the back, so when you go down or up against this line your needle will hit a wall or bulk of thread, but with running stitch there is only thread in the front so your needle will be free to slip down over this onto the back of your fabric. It is easier to work than split stitch, so try it and see.

running stitch

double running stitch

front side of double running stitch

back side of double running stitch

Why do we use outlines?
The main reason is to define the edges of a shape that is going to be filled with long and short/satin stitch. It will provide a firm, raised edge for a particular aspect of our stitching such as a leaf or flower petal. If we fill a shape with long and short stitch without a split stitch outline it will probably result in a very wobbly edge and get lost in the background, but if we outline it before filling with long and short it defines the edge. The long and short stitch is always worked over the outline stitch so it will be covered.
Another reason is to distinguish each shape in a groups of shapes such as flower petals that overlap – we need to define each petal so that each one looks like it is sitting on top of the previous one and not just a mush of embroidery.  The examples below demonstrate this.

Defining petals with split stitch outline

It is not always necessary to work an outline before filling with long and short – as in the case of bird feathers, we want these to naturally extend from the outline of the bird. I generally steer clear from outlining long narrow shapes as it is more difficult to work long and short stitches over a parallel line, as shown in the example below.  In this case if possible I dont add a split stitch outline.

working long & short stitches over parallel split stitch outline

Sometime you may want to use an outline stitch to enhance a certain shape, or add a little shadow after the stitching is complete. I use these a lot in my miniature embroidery by outlining parts of the embroidery with a dark neutral colour such as dark brown or gray.   In this case it is best to use a very fine line because bulky lines will not look good. Think of it as colouring in a picture with crayon and then outlining it with a very fine pen, it makes it pop!

outlines added in miniature embroidery

detail of outlines

It can be very useful in whitework especially where you have filled something with satin stitch. If your satin stitch is not absolutely pristine with smooth edges the split stitch outline can hide wobbly edges. You can also use a different colour outline which adds a third dimension to the design.  We are going to be talking a lot more about whitework “Trish Style” in the upcoming weeks.

outlines in whitework

Meantime wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful weekend and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Hello everyone

Just to let you know that the following kit items below are back in stock.  Click on the title to go to the Etsy shop.  Unfortunately my printer is on leave so am unable to re-stock the Sacred Kingfisher kit at present but it should be back in the next few weeks.  Dont forget that the Sacred Kingfisher is one of the projects in the book Colour Confidence In Embroidery together with many other bird & flower projects that are not available as kits, available here.

Meanwhile wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful week and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Colour Confidence In Embroidery

Little Bee Eater

Redoute’s Sweet Peas

Miniature bluebirds & Daisies

Orange Breasted Sunbird

Hello everyone

I hope your week is going well.  I have had to put embroidery business aside this week as have been busy helping my young daughter study for her first exams – this is rather like going back to school but much much harder as I have to google everything!  I knew I was no good at maths back at school but feel I have regressed further or has it got harder?

After our previous discussion and your subsequent, enthusiastic response to the idea of whitework embroidery kits I have  managed to complete one or two projects and hope to be able to release the first kit next month.    I refer to this style (or rather my own style of whitework) as Whitework Impressions because it is not pure whitework in the sense that I have added some colour.  There is one in particular that I want to share with you, mainly because it is so radical and far removed from our safe pastel and antique shades that we normally use in our embroidery,  and that is the Moonlit Owl.  I was discussing black and white illustration with my youngest daughter and saying how much I liked it and she said “why dont you do some embroidery in black and white Mum?”  The seed was sown and so I approached the idea (a bit nervously) with needle and thread in hand.  At first I mainly used shades of grey but then decided to “go for it” and added some pure black in the background.

The project is stitched on a white, fine quality Swiss batiste fabric – as I like the way the sheer background contrasts with the stark white.  I have used DMC Floche, Broder and some stranded cotton. Here it is:

Moonlit Owl

Unfortunately I am unable to make contact with the copyright owner of this design.  It was originally put up on Pinterest as a free pattern – which of course it is, if not used for commercial purposes, but since then I have traced it back to one of the vintage Vogart transfers.  The  original company has been taken over by another company and apparently all the Vogart transfers are still under copyright, so it seems that I will not be able to use it, however I plan to design something similar which can be used in kit form.

I would love to hear what you think of the black and white theme, or if anyone is able to shed more light on the copyright for Vogart Vintage Transfers.   Meantime wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful weekend and happy stitching.  Trish

Hello Everyone

Firstly thank you all for the fantastic response to my Moonlit Owl in the last post.

Moonlit Owl

It was lovely to receive such encouragement and positive feedback and I have come up with a plan to re-draw the owl and flowers myself in a similar design.

It will be some time before it is available in kit form but in the meantime I am working on two new kits which hope to release in June.  The first will be an introductory level kit – it will have two projects in and a practice sheet.  There will be detailed instruction on the stitches and as the DMC floche and Cotton a broder threads are not always easy to obtain I have decided to include all the threads in the kit.  This will mean that when you receive your kit you are ready to go.

I have managed to source the whitework threads from DMC in France and the fabric from St Gallen in Switzerland but as you will understand these are on special order so will all take some time to collate.  The second kit is for all levels but presumes that you now have gained some experience in the technique – it is these floaty butterflies in shades of white, ecru and antique teal.

I am so glad that you like this fresh and elegant, style of embroidery and look forward to sharing it with you over the months and years to come.  Meanwhile wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autum have a wonderful week and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Detail

floating butterflies

Hello Everyone

This week it is my great pleasure to announce that the first of the Whitework embroidery kits is available , and in the Etsy Shop here.  This is an entry level kit for those who want to learn the technique and also for those who have some previous experience.  In this kit you will find all the materials including threads needed to stitch two abstract floral projects; Floreale & Floreali as shown below.  The fabric is a fine quality Swiss batiste cotton and has the outlines pre-printed for your convenience.  The threads used are DMC FLoche, Cotton a Broder and DMC Stranded cotton – the uses for each type of thread are explained in the booklet.

Floreale Shades Of Whitework

Floreali Shades Of Whitework

Traditionally whitework is done with white thread on a white ground fabric but I have added touches of colour to enrich the design which I call “Shades Of Whitework ” so as to distinguish it from pure whitework embroidery. The instruction booklet includes detailed instructions, stitch diagrams, step by step photos & practice motifs suitable for all levels. This is an entry level kit which will help you to master the basics of this fresh take on a timeless and elegant style of traditional embroidery.  Because the FLoche & Broder threads are imported from France there may be some delay in re-stocking this product so the availability of kits is limited while stocks last.

Instructions

Threads

I have re-drawn the Moonlit owl project, so it is now my own design and am currently stitching it up.  I hope to have it available for you in kit form very soon along with some other prospective ideas in the next few weeks.  I have dug out my old artists pens and have been working on some pen & ink drawings – Zentangle style,  which I plan to use in future black & white embroidery designs.  These unique creations are fun and enthralling to stitch,  and I hope that you will enjoy these designs as much as I have enjoyed creating them.   Meanwhile wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful weekend and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Moonlit Owl

New Owl design

Zentangle Bird design

Hello everyone

I will be away on holiday next week for ten days so the shop will be closed for the period 30th June – 11th July.  Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Meantime wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful weekend and many happy stitching hours.  Trish

Hello Everyone

Hope all is good with you?  I have just got back from a week in Mauritius with my family – it was divine!  When we left Cape town it was freezing cold and we arrived to warm, sultry sunshine, white beaches and clear blue sea – so I tucked my wrinkly white bits into a speedo costume (I am beyond worrying what others think)  and made by way to a the beach, it was bliss and a much needed break to re-charge the batteries!

Le Morne Mauritius

Needless to say I cannot possibly sit still so spent a lot of time doodling on a sketch pad and coming up with some new ideas for the Shades Of Whitework designs, which I am considering re-naming Zendoodle Whitework as believe it is probably a more apt description.  Before I left I had discussions with a leading artist of Zentangle designs Ben Kwok of Bioworkz in Los Angeles.   Ben draws his designs using a combination of pen and graphite pencil, so although it follows the popular zentangle patterns it is slighly more artistic and lifelike.  Among his clients are Disney, Warner Music & MGR Entertainment – below are some examples of his work.  I have been greatly inspired by Ben’s style of “Zendoodle” and although he was unable to grant permission for me to use his artworks for reproduction in embroidery he has allowed me to use some of his templates, which I am working on now.

I am using several shades of grey, black and white to create a similar impression to the graphite and pen with shading, satin stitch and outlines, adding patterns as and where I see fit.  I am CRAZY about this style of art!  I see it as a re-creation of the traditional form of whitework embroidery in a fresh, contemporary way.  It is such fun to stitch, with many surprising aspects and really quite addictive.  I plan to add a range of these designs in addition to the previous needlepainting designs and think you will agree that the use of limited monochrome shades, although vastly different from the numerous shades used in needlepainting is quite pleasing and soothing?  I would love to know what you think.

Floreali Shades Of Whitework

The first Whitework kit has almost sold out and as mentioned previously it takes some time to re-order the threads from France so it could be a while before stocks arrive back in the shop.  In the meantime I have made it available as a digital download.  The download includes some FLoche and Broder thread substitutes as these are not always easy to obtain.  You can find the download here. The good news is that I am working on the Moonlit owl and Zentangle Bird and hope to have these kits available in the next few weeks.  Meanwhile wherever you are be it winter, spring, summer or autumn have a wonderful week and many happy stitching hours.  Trish