White Threads

Being creative

Before I finished school I considered a number of career ideas. One was as a graphic designer, specifically as a book designer, which is what I did end up doing. Another was in medical research. I thought that this would be interesting and rather noble. At some point it got crossed off my list, because I never applied for anything like that with my end of school results.

Thinking about it since, I wonder whether I would have found it fulfilling. Of course, finding cures for things and making medical breakthroughs would be pretty exciting, but I imagine that actually making those sorts of breakthroughs happens very rarely.

I also wonder whether I could have been happy in what is likely to be a fairly uncreative profession. You see, I am driven to create. If I’m not creating, I get this hankering that cannot be satisfied any way other than by making something and trying out a new idea.

I’m feeling a bit that way at the moment, though that’s not through lack of creating. Its more than I am not finding much time to work on what *I* want to work on – I’m mostly doing other people’s work – stuff for magazines, class preparation for next year etc.

What I’d really like is a couple of weeks of no interruptions to get stuck into my next book. I could enjoy getting a whole lot of instructions written and a whole lot of stitching and designing done. Unfortunately, I just can’t see that happening.

So in the mean time I’ll just have to satisfy myself with being creative for other people. And quite frankly, that IS better than not being creative at all. And it generally does mean that you get paid…!

Sorry, I’ll stop moaning pathetically now.

Today is the 15th – the last day to sign up for our Christmas ornament swap.

blackwork admiration

Yesterday I spent the day working on diagrams for a blackwork project for a magazine. Its not one of my designs though – I’m just the technical illustrator.

I found myself full of admiration for people who design blackwork filling patterns. Working out the stitching order of the double running stitch (also known as Holbein stitch), and getting it to work nicely, has to be some sort of feat.

There are quite a few filling patterns that I am required to diagram out. All are very different from each other, and very clever. Not all are the same on the back and the front, but all are neat and orderly.

Full of admiration.

following Trish’s tour

You’ve probably heard of the amazing jacket – Faith – that was made over the last few years as a reproduction in the style of the beautiful Margaret Laton jacket. I really enjoyed following the progress of the project over time.

Trish Nguyen, who was the coordinator for the project is now leading The Jacket Study Tour to the UK, where participants are visiting various museums and exhibits, learning more about period clothing and embroidery. She’s blogging about the tour, so her blog remains very interesting reading. Do check it out if you haven’t already.

And for a slightly different visual aesthetic (!) the other thing that you might find interesting are photos of the knitted garden on display in Griffith. You can find photos on the Facebook event page for the exhibition.

And while we’re at it, just a few more days to join up for our Christmas ornament swap. I’ll be closing the list of participants at the end of October 15th.

Tutorial: how to determine thread count

Sometimes it is necessary to figure out what the thread count of a fabric is, as you may not know what the thread count for the fabric is, or you may not trust the reported thread count. Thread count is the number of threads per inch, and could differ between the warp (down the length of the fabric) and weft (across the fabric, from side to side).

An evenweave fabric is said to have a constant thread count across the fabric. Most fabrics are not made with an evenweave thread count, as there just isn’t any need for it. It doesn’t worry me if my new dress has the same number of threads across and down, over the same distance. However, for embroidery such as counted work, it can be necessary to know that the fabric is evenweave, and what the thread count is.

So how can you work it out?

Insert a pin *anywhere* in the fabric.

Using a ruler or tape measure, measure 1 inch from the pin, in line with the threads of the fabric. At the end of the 1 inch measurement, insert another pin into the fabric. Do this along both the warp and the weft from the original pin.

Count the threads between the original pin and the second pin. If there are 36 threads, then it has a thread count of 36. If there are 25 threads, then the fabric is 25 count.

Count the threads between the original pin and the third pin. You will learn the thread count for that dimension of the fabric.

Hopefully the two numbers are the same! If they are, then you will know exactly what the thread count is. If they are not the same, then probably they are close, and it will give you an idea of the thread count.

Usually thread count is measured across an inch of fabric, even in places like Australia where we don’t make measurements in inches, but sometimes it is measured across a centimetre. If it is, it will be noted. e.g. 10 threads per cm.

20 L linen

Last week when I was sick, I received a rather exciting parcel in the mail. I just wasn’t well enough to get excited about it at the time, though! However, now I am back in the land of the living, I’ve opened it up and enjoyed looking at it (and I’m sure I’ll enjoy stitching with it too, when the chance comes!).

I had ordered a Sotema linen “Trial Pack No.1, 20 L linens, Whites” from Elena Rossi at Italian Needlecrafts. The pack has 4 different shades of white linen, each piece 45 x 50cm. “20L” refers to the linen count, which is 38 threads per inch.

These are linens I want to try in preparation for my next book. I wanted to see colours and how “properly” evenweave it is – whether it really has 38 threads per inch in both directions, as some “evenweaves” don’t, and when its a high count like this, it makes a difference! I haven’t had the chance to count the threads yet, but the linen itself looks lovely. I was so pleased to find that Elena labelled each fabric so that I know which colour is which! I did wonder how I was going to know!

How lovely to receive such special things in the mail. Thanks Elena – great service!

new right-handed stitch dictionary review

A new review of The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion has been published by Karen Platt. An excerpt:

As with all Yvette’s books it has superb attention to detail… This has just become my number one embroidery book.

You can read the full review on Karen’s website, and you can purchase your copy from your favourite needlework store, or from Vetty Creations.

feedback please

Nearly back in the land of the living, and wouldn’t you know it, my mind started up before my body did!

I have been wondering about the features you like in my books. What aspects do you like most? I want to be able to include whichever of these I can in my next book, where they are appropriate.

Are there things you haven’t seen in my books that you wish had been there? What’s missing?

Thanks for the feedback in advance, because I loved making the book that left-handers wanted, and I’d love to put what you want in this book too.

down with the lurgy again

Sorry, I might be absent for a few days, while I get over the lurgy.

A weekend away

We’ve just come back from a weekend away in Canberra, which is Australia’s capital city. We were visiting friends, and had a most wonderful time with them.

On Saturday we went to Floriade, which is a free exhibit of very beautiful cold weather flowers such as tulips galore. Its an annual exhibition that’s been on for years, but we’ve never visited before. I’d highly recommend it.

We had dinner that night at Fekerte’s Ethiopian Restaurant, which was fabulous. Yes, it is expensive food, but it was GOOD! It was much better quality than the odd little Ethiopian restaurant that we went to in Bankstown. And it was nice to again share our Ethiopian experiences with friends.

On Sunday we lazed around nearly all morning, and then made our way to the Old Bus Depot Markets where we enjoyed seeing the mostly high-quality crafts and foods. After that we went next door to the Glassworks. WOW! I could have stayed there all day, watching the artists at work, making a decorative glass vase. It was absolutely fascinating. However, our youngest decided that she’d had enough after about 3/4 hour – actually, I was surprised that she lasted that long!

Yesterday we went for a walk around the middle section of Lake Burley Griffin, which is the man-made lake around which Canberra is built. It was a delightful, easy walk, with very pretty surroundings.

After that we visited the Australian National Gallery. The new section was opened just a few days ago, and features a huge display (permanent collection, not a special exhibition) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. It was magnificent, and highly recommended!

Had a great weekend away. Really enjoyed the company of our friends. Back to the daily grind somewhat (it IS still school holidays, so not quite back to normal yet!).

Flower power knitted garden

Back in April I heard an intriguing story on the radio news about a grant that had been awarded to a community group to knit a garden. I then followed up on the story and introduced us all to the Griffith Natty Knitters.

We found out how they were in the process of knitting a garden, and the first stage of it was going to be on display at the Flower Power exhibition in Griffith this year in October.

Well, we’re now in October, and I have some details for you!

Flower Power exhibition at Griffith Regional Art Gallery

This year the Griffith Natty Knitters will show off the first stages of their knitted garden installation. They meet weekly and have been busily working on this project for over 12 months. Their garden will be life size and take on the character of a cottage garden complete with wishing well, rose arch and flowers galore!

Thursday 7th October – Sunday 31st October
Griffith Regional Art Gallery
167 Banna Ave, Griffith NSW
Phone: (02) 6962 5991
Email: gallery@griffith.nsw.gov.au
Web: www.griffithregionalartgallery.com

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday to Friday 10am – 5pm, Weekends 10am – 3pm

I hope the exhibition is wildly successful, and if anyone is going, please let me know! I would love to hear about it.