Yesterday I did some more work on the Christmas ornament that I am making for The Gift of Stitching‘s Christmas ornament issue. I have used some of Stitches and Spice’s gorgeous single ply silk with counted thread embroidery. When I first saw this silk at the craft show in June, I fell in love with its amazing sheen. And working with it is also lovely.
The silk is so smooth and so lustrous. When we were in Portugal a few years back, I learnt of a type of Portuguese embroidery that uses straw sewn onto net, to create patterns. The straw looks like little bits of gleaming gold – an amazing effect when you consider what the fibre is that is being used! When I was working with the “Golden Wattle” silk, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the straw embroidery. It just seems to have a similar sort sheen, in a similar colour.
Yesterday’s part was the construction of the ornament, using a richly patterned red and gold patchwork fabric, along with the embroidered panel. Then lots of lovely gold and red beads.
Sorry that I can’t show it to you – yes, I know, that’s a bit of a tease, isn’t it? You’ll just have to wait until the magazine comes out!
Today’s job will hopefully be boiling my Mountmellick stitch along embroidery, to whiten the fabric, assuming I find the time. If it does get done, tomorrow I’ll explain why I boiled it.
Tonight I’ll be off to the opening of the “Stitch+Stitch=Magic” exhibition, probably meeting a whole lot of people whose names I know, but have never met before. But then, they might find the same thing about me. (And usually the response, whether voiced or not, is that they are surprised that I am so young! I quite enjoy surprising people in that way!) I’m very much looking forward to the exhibition, seeing all the beautiful embroideries, and being very much inspired!
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
I think I might have a fragment of straw embroidery somewhere, given to me by a lady at Church who knows that I embroider. I’ll try to find it and see if that’s what it really is!
Really?! I’d LOVE to see a photo! Even if I’d seen some in real life in Portugal (other than just a book) I would NEVER have gotten any home into Australia, with our strict quarantine laws. They would have had a coronary. Though we did get woven grass baskets home from Ethiopia – declared, but they never asked to see them, so we didn’t offer to show them either. They were more interested in the lollies the kids got on the plane, because the banana flavoured ones MIGHT have had real banana in them. Yeah right. Banana esters all round…