White Threads » The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion

Embroidery stitch dictionary app

yvette — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:19:10 +0000

Yesterday I introduced the idea of a smartphone app based on my two books The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion and The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion. I also put it on my personal Facebook page (to which anyone can subscribe to my public updates), and my Vetty Creations Facebook page. Because of this, I’ve had feedback streaming in from everywhere.

Thank you to everyone who has commented, offered suggestions, and just generally encouraged me with this idea. You’ve convinced me that now is the time to do this, and because of that I will now put this app into development!

However I realise that there is a good chunk of my readership who are not interested in any smartphone app – its a whole other world for you?! – so I don’t want to keep banging on about it and boring you to tears. Therefore I’d like to return to “regular programming” as soon as possible.

So that I can do this, I’d like to ask if any of those who ARE interested in my app would like to join an email focus group for the app? I’d like the opportunity to bounce ideas off you, and you’d get the opportunity to have input into the app (though I can’t guarantee that your particular ideas will be adopted) to make it what you want it to be.

If you’re interested in joining this email focus group list, please drop me a line at yvette at vettycreations dot com dot au (changing the words to symbols where appropriate). Thanks!

I won’t be bombarding the email list with messages. Just occasionally there might be something I’d like to ask others about. And if it all becomes too much you can simply let me know at any point that you’d like to be removed from the list. I won’t be offended at all!

I’d also like to assure everyone that Vetty Creations will not be going all brave new worldish. I will STILL be writing and publishing real hard copy books, and not moving completely into the digital world. I love books, and I will keep publishing books with real paper!

a little something I’m working on

yvette — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:56:42 +0000

One afternoon a couple of months ago, I was sitting in traffic in the car, listening to the radio. For some reason I suddenly had a flash of brilliance: why not make my stitch dictionaries into apps for smartphones?

I don’t even know that they were talking about apps on the radio. I don’t think they were, but for some reason whatever they were saying sparked something in my mind.

When I was at Maitland Embroiderers Group and at Beating Around the Bush, I did some market research, asking my classes whether those who had smartphones would be interested in such a thing. The answer was a resounding “YES!” I figured that when people go out, they have their phones with them. If they’re at stitching group, or in a class, they’ll have their phone with them. They may not want to carry a book with them, but they could certainly carry a phone with a stitch dictionary app on it, giving them ready access to all that lovely information.

And so, ever since, I’ve been doing little bits of research on this idea. Part of the reason for buying my own mobile (cell) phone was because I’d never even seen an app before, let alone knew what they could do. I figured that if I was going to have my own app, then I probably needed to try out some myself!

Yesterday I spent some time thinking through how it could work, and working on how it *might* look. You have to understand, this idea is only in its very infancy, so things could change a lot before it comes to fruition! And just because I can make it look like this in a mock up doesn’t mean I can make it look like this in the real thing! I have no idea how to create an app, and it will be a bit of a learning journey in consultation with my app developer!
(If you click on the picture it should take you to a larger version.)

So, what do you think? If you were to purchase such an app, what would you want it to do? If you could have a wish list for such an app, what would be on it? Thanks! I really look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible!

incidental book reviews

yvette — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:47:48 +0000

In the comments sections of Mary Corbet’s last two posts, one a review of my Portuguese Whitework book, and the other about left-handed Schwalm embroidery, there have been lots of lovely things said about my books.

For years I had a hard time embroidering and set it aside because it was confusing & frustrating to embroider right handed. I bought Yvette Stantons Left Handed Embroiderers Companion and fell in love again with embroidery. Now I don’t feel frustrated. Joy Smith

I own Yvette’s amazing book on Mountmellick. Her instructions are amazing as are her designs. I am working on adapting her amazing florals to a 16 x 16 inch cushion design right now. Her books really are lovely. Anastasia

Yvette Stanton’s leftie stitch dictionary goes everywhere with me when I’m stitching. Julia Wild

Yvette’s book looks great. As well as being beautifully presented this compilation about Portuguese Whitework: Bullion Embroidery from Guimarães as a traditional needlework style, with information on its origin and instructional details on stitch techniques, is an important preservation of history. As time passes more of the intended original expression and knowledge of early needleworkers, and other information about the art style is lost, then sadly, remaining historical examples are misidentified or just lumped as whitework. Yvette brought us back to Mountmellick embroidery and now another whitework treasure. Lots of work done with love. Well done. I love it too. Thanks! Louisa

Thank you for saying such lovely things about my books!

Books to the Pacific islands

yvette — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:56:20 +0000

Yesterday I met some a couple who work in prisons on a Pacific island, helping to rehabilitate the male and female prisoners (different prisons) so that they can go back to their communities on release, and start afresh. Their work is having great results, which is an encouraging thing to hear.

I learned that the wife runs craft classes in the women’s prison, so I asked her if they do any embroidery, or if they would *like* to do any embroidery. She said that mostly they make paper beads (of which she showed me some, and they were lovely), but some of the women do enjoy embroidery but aren’t very good at it.

And so I offered her some copies of my books “The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion” and “The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion”. She thought that would be fabulous! She said that the prison authorities would like the women to be better at embroidery, but she and her team haven’t really had the skills or tools to help them.

With the step-by-step nature of the books, and with all their diagrams, the instructors and the women should all be able to work together to improve their embroidery. Even the women with low literacy skills should be able to work with just the diagrams for the more simple stitches.

She did also say that they don’t have proper fabrics or threads to use. For example, when someone’s nightie can no longer be worn because it is too old, they cut it up and use that to stitch on.

So today I will be posting off a parcel of stitch dictionaries to the Pacific islands, to meet the couple when they get back there to continue their work. It would be really nice to think that my books might help in rehabilitating women prisoners.

Right-handed dictionary review

yvette — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:37:41 +0000

Yesterday the review we’ve all been waiting for went up on Needle’nThread: Mary Corbet’s review of “The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion”!

Thank you Mary, for such a lovely review!

Both The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion and The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion would make excellent Christmas presents to yourself, that friend who enjoys embroidery, or that young person who you’d like to encourage in embroidery.

But don’t take my word for it, take Mary’s!

multiple wrap French knots

yvette — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:29:26 +0000

When I am teaching French knots, it in variably comes up – either by me or a student – that some people maintain that French knots should only ever have one wrap. The idea is that if you need a bigger knot, you use a thicker thread. I don’t subscribe to this point of view, because the traditional Mountmellick embroidery that has been passed down to me includes French knots with up to eight wraps. (Yes, you read that right!)

If teachers want to insist that French knots should only have one wrap, that is fine with me. That may be the traditionally correct way of doing it – who am I to say it is not?

However, when some of them start saying things like, “a French knot should only ever have one wrap; any more and it is a bullion knot”, that’s where I MUST take exception. This is so patently untrue!

Let’s think about the construction of these stitches.

Top-bottom: French knot (3 wraps), bullion knot (about 10 wraps), bullion loop (about 10 wraps)

French knots: If you work one, and then look at the back, you will see that the thread leads up to the knot, goes through to the front, creates the knot and then comes back through to the back at the completion of the knot. NONE of the workings for the knot are visible from the back of the fabric.

Bullion knots: If you work one, and then look at the back, you will see the thread leading up to the knot. It goes through to the front, does some magic and then comes BACK to the back of the fabric. But we’re not done yet. That thread appears as a straight stitch on the back of the fabric, then returns to the front at the beginning end of the stitch. On the front, it works its magic with the other part of the thread which is already on the front of the fabric, and then returns to the back AGAIN.

The difference? There is a small stitch on the back of a bullion knot, and there is not on a French knot.

Showing the back of the picture above. Top-bottom: French knot, bullion knot, bullion loop.

If you don’t believe me, get yourself a good stitch dictionary (I’d suggest either The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion or The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion!) to make sure you are doing both knots correctly, and do some of each.

If you want to make your point even more blatantly, work bullion loops instead of bullion knots. (Bullion loops are worked as an overwrapped bullion which has a short stitch length and many more wraps than are necessary for that distance, causing the knot to “explode” out as a long loop.) Bullion loops cover less distance across the fabric, making them notionally closer in style to a French knot.

However, if you turn them over to the back, you will still see that French knots have no stitch on the back, and bullion knots do.

THEY ARE DIFFERENT.

Can we put to bed the idea that a French knot with multiple wraps is a bullion knot now please? And of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

back to work

yvette — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:27:29 +0000

I arrived home from Hobart late on Friday night, very pleased to be home with my family again. On Saturday we had a day together as a family, and it was so very nice to be with them. Yesterday I made a dress for my elder daughter for her end of school year farewell. I was pleased that it only took a day, and she loves the dress.

Yesterday was a public holiday here, giving me a long weekend. Today is back to normal. I’ll be spending the day catching up on retail and wholesale orders, and ordering a new print run on The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion, which is selling amazingly well.

Last week I heard from a shop owner that it (and The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion) outsells the A-Z books, and customers love that my books are so very clear in their step-by-step instructions. How very lovely!

BATB: stitchers village fair

yvette — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:45:50 +0000

As you’ve read through my class details for Beating Around the Bush over the last few days, if you were paying close attention to the dates, you may have noticed I will not be teaching on Wednesday 18th April. This is because there will be a Stitchers Village Fair on that day.

I will have a stall at the fair selling my books, and will of course be available to autograph copies of them. I will also have examples of embroideries from my books on display for you to see in person.

At the last BATB, it was a fun day, where I met many lovely stitchers, and was reacquainted with some after meeting them at classes from earlier times. There was an Inspirations magazine launch that day, and I spoke about an article that I had written for the magazine.

Apparently this time there will be book launches and exhibitions as well as needlework vendors like me being there to sell our wares.

The day is free for conference registrants, and there will be a nominal cover charge for the general public.

I look forward to meeting you there!

BATB: Beyond the basics – mastering challenging and unusual stitches

yvette — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:47:41 +0000

Today I continue with my explanations of the classes I will be teaching for Country Bumpkin’s Beating Around the Bush conference next year in April.

Class 51: Beyond the basics – mastering challenging and unusual stitches
Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th April 2012
Expand your stitch vocabulary! We will work a colourful sampler to master twelve challenging and unusual stitches, starting from the top left:

Cable plait stitch
Crested chain stitch
Hungarian braided chain stitch
Breton stitch
Spanish knotted feather stitch
Spiral trellis stitch
Cretan catch stitch
Plaited braid stitch
Diamond stitch
Interlaced chain stitch
Half chevron stitch
Sorbello stitch

This class is an advanced class, for experienced embroiderers. Part of the kit provided is a copy of either The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion or The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion, which will be our text book. If you already have a copy, bring it with you, and that part of the kit cost will be deducted.

This class will be lots of fun – playing with stitches and seeing how far we can push them. If you want a new embroidery challenge, this is the class for you!

Make me smile

yvette — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:14:33 +0000

I heard from the wonderful Barb Suess yesterday that she’d recently been teaching at an EGA seminar and my stitch dictionaries The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion and The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion were disappearing very quickly from Ruth Kern Books. (I don’t think she meant that they were being shoplifted, either…)

This is music to my ears.

If you like my books, the nicest thing you can do to encourage me is let other people know how much you like them and why. Putting a review on Amazon, the Nordic Needle website, or submitting one to your favourite needlework shop’s website is something that would make me forever grateful. Putting one on your blog would make me smile all day. If you’re a member of a guild, submitting a review for your newsletter would make me very happy too.

See how easy it is to make me happy? Thanks in anticipation!