Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The Phoenix flies off northward and the next project is in sight

The Phoenix Rising book is now complete and packed ready to take flight northwest.  I attached the needlepoint with a margin of canvas colored, to a book cover I made of mulberry paper over card stock.  It's saddle stitched, with two signatures inside, easily detached if she wants to, and easy to replace if she wants to do that, too. 

And if she decides she wants to frame the cover rather than use it as a book, it's hers and she can do that too!The red yarn stitching you see on the outside cover is part of a yarn gift she made me ages ago, and I thought she'd like to have a souvenir of that lovely present.

So this is a participatory gift in several ways!





Then the next piece, a dyed silk one, which I'm backing with cotton lawn because I want to use metallic thread and the silk is too fine to support it alone. I've hooped it on a ten inch hoop, and I'll probably baste the two materials together to keep them from drifting as I work.  This is one of the series of silk pieces I dyed for my embroidery class to work on.





 

I'm looking at a design from a card embroiderer friend Carol P. showed me after a recent trip to Europe, showing a detail from an old Venetian coronation robe, as a wonderful example of goldwork stitching.

This is where I'm at right now.

4 comments:

  1. your phoenix will be flying high. Love the dyed silk fabric, I take the easy way and sponge on silk paints and then often sprinkle with sea salt to get a nice effect, do the same on cotton too as the paints work equally as well and it is not as messy as dyeing

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  2. Ah, your friend is very lucky to receive such a wonderful handmade gift (which are the best in my opinion)

    the colors on the silk are beautiful - can't wait to see what comes of it all :)

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  3. The phoenix looks wonderful and beautifully stitched!

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  4. I'm sure your friend will be thrilled to be on the receiving end of your phoenix. I'm sure she will know the love that went into it.

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Thank you so much for commenting! it means a lot to me to know you're out there and reading and enjoying.