Works finished and in progress

First a shoutout for a wonderful completed sampler, by Evie, seen here at an embroiderers' meeting.  She designed and executed this marvelous piece of fine cross stitch

over the last few months, and you really have to see it in person to appreciate the quality of the work.

Then, my own work is progressing. 

Some of the decision making is starting to show up, since the other version of this is an ink and wash drawing, and here I have to simplify the lines and block out areas much more, to allow for the embroidery to work.  It's slow motion decision making, compared to the lightning swift execution you can do when you draw, which gives me plenty of time to  think and plan, often a good thing.

Stitching Retreat for Memorial Day Weekend

Since the weather's not up to much out of doors: our official first summer weekend is in the 50sF, with wind and rain and general discouragement from going to the shore, aka beach,Jersey-style.  Except for the gov and his wife, who are stuck with going up and down the shore, visiting the resorts displaying our recovery from Sandy, which in fact is still under way, much damage yet to be fixed, nonetheless, welcoming tourists.  I expect he'll have to wear his famous fleece, what with the cold weather and all.

Anyway, on the stitching front, aided and abetted by John Grisham on CD and The Goodwife on DVD, the goldwork piece either Galaxy or Constellation, jury's out on the title, this one is finished and framed and will be exhibited with my group in Sepember.

 

And the Cellist is under way.  You see the color range the Cellist will have, at least at this stage of thinking, in the skeins I've put next to it.

Both pieces will be framed in an 8 x 10 inch shadowbox frame. Shadowbox is best so that the stitching doesn't get compressed against the glass, has room to breathe.


 If anyone prefers the title Galaxy or Constellation, please vote!  I always like input on art, and titles are part of the art.

The Cellist

The goldwork embroidery on green linen, now entitled Constellations, is nearing a close, needs some more touches, but it's at the point where I need to not look at it for a day or more, so as to know how to finish it well.  I already have a frame in mine for it.  I'll show it when it's done.

And now the other drawing-becomes-embroidery is on the art horizon: this is an ink and pencil drawing I made the same day as the drawing which is becoming the source for Constellations. 

It's called The Cellist, and will be really interesting to stitch, with the shadows and shapes and the challenge will be to keep that frenetic movement going!
I think this one may be done on white linen, or beige, not sure yet. 

Collaborative stitching

My loot, from a stash busting operation last week, was a lovely little linen piece, already framed up on stretchers, and partly worked in pulled thread.  I thought I'd like to render it in goldwork instead of the pale green thread currently in residence,so I gently removed the center part which had been stitched and found that the threads stayed put.  I think they'd been in place a while!

And then I thought rather than tweak them back into place,why not honor the first stitcher,Helen H, by leaving the linen like that and continue the design differently in golds.  So that's what's up with this piece.  She is not yet aware that I'm doing this, so I hope she's okay with it.  Anyway, here's a pic of the pulled thread goldwork.

And another one of the progress of the green linen goldwork surface embroidery piece, with the enlarger I was donated via freecycle, interesting new view, never having used any kind of magnifier for work, even on miniatures, so this is a new skill.

I framed the first goldwork piece,the learning one, and sponge painted the frame from a boring black to a mottled gold, to work better with the stitching.

 

Housekeeping

The title reminds me of many times on a platform opening a meeting and setting out the ground rules and info, aka housekeeping, mainly about the location of the bathrooms (waving arms in directions, like a flight attendant) and more important the location of the coffee and pastries..

Anyway, today's housekeeping address is about this blog.  There are changes under way at home base, so, since the current follower function may not continue for long, I've put in a couple of options, in case you can't live without reading this blog, for which I thank you a lot.

First, I've put in a following device, bloglovin, and you can click on that if you want to follow posts or comments, or both, via various pathways.  If you don't have them or don't like the option, I also put in a direct email option.  See that line right under our main heading? tells you to enter your email address there.  Do that and you'll receive posts into your own email box every time there is one.  I've tested these with my other email address and they seem to work okay.  But let me know if you encounter any surprises.

Stormy spring skies

This must be a fast moving weather phenom -- I ran out to get a pic of the sky I'd seen a couple of minutes ago on my way home, as the sky cleared up from massive rainstorms, mountains of cumulus, white layered on grey layered on dark grey, with scuds of clouds whipping past against a blue sky.  then it changed by the time I'd stopped the car and got my camera out!

So here it is now, at least five minutes ago it was -- probably changed yet again.    Nature the great Designer and Eraser!

The Embroiderers Take a Field Trip

The embroiderers' monthly meeting roved out.  We started at the home of a member, founder member, to be exact, in the process of selling her home and anxious to share some stash...so great excitement and milling about in the basement, a treasure cave of projects and materials, and a nice little drawn threadwork project came home with me.

Then we processed up the street to another friend, a retired OB in fact, last time I saw him I had just given birth, it's been a while, who is an excellent needlepoint worker and art collector, with his wife.  They've been in Bangladesh, working in a clinic where women came, got checkups, their children got routine shots, and the mothers sat and stitched beautiful works some of which you see here. 

It's a group project -- one person stitches all the eyes, another all the birds, and the work is so fine, using old saris.

The pillow with familiar aboriginal designs is the work of an Australian needleworker, a gift to this family via a student staying with them.  The Klimt pillow is the work of one of our members, ready to be shipped off to her daughter before her wedding

And the Escher is a sample of the needlepoint done by our host.

One decision we finalized at the meeting was for me to open and set up a blog dedicated to the activities of our guild,

so watch this space over the summer for more info on how to see it and follow our adventures in stitching.  We're thinking a September launch.  But now's the time to tell us what you might like to see in that blog!  Pictures of projects? our exhibits? meetings in progress?  all suggestions will be read and considered!