Embroidered Boxes

I will take the time today to share two little embroidered boxes I have done.  The little box [etui] in the above photograph was stitched some time ago.  I had to cut the cardboard pieces myself, I did not have an etui kit.  The instructions and pattern are included in a book I purchased, Hardanger - Fundamentals made Fancy, by Janice Love.  I have used 22ct hardanger fabric, with #5 and #8 perlé thread, rather than the stated 30ct linen, which made her box measurements pie in the sky for my piece!!!

The design on the top of the box is so pretty.  Indeed, many of the fillings I had not seen or tried before, and I had not given any thought to the use of pearls or beads with this type of work.

I hope some of these shots will give you a good look at the lovely way Janice has used these unusual fillings.  Each of the bands were to have a different filling, but as usual, I picked the ones I like the best and went with them.

I particularly like the flower design that has been given the name of Edelweiss.  It is just beautiful when it's done, and with concentration, not all that difficult to achieve a pleasing result.

I hope this shot shows you the box with the panels open.  I thoroughly enjoyed the stitching process with this project, but I have to say, I am not, and never will be a fan of glue, card, or paper, so I doubt I will make another of these little sewing accessories.

I would also like to share this wooden box with it's blackwork knot garden lid.  This blackwork pattern was designed by Mary Hickmont, and again, I did my own thing, using a variegated thread for working.  The whole piece has been done on 18ct aida, using 1 strand of DMC cotton.  The gold stitching is also one strand.  For some reason I found it hard to get a good photograph of this - still learning with my new camera.

This is the box opened.  I purchased it from Janie Hubble of The Cat's Whiskers in WA.  It is a beautiful box, quite large really, with the top recessed area just perfect for the stitching I'd done.  It is lined with black felt, and the bottom also has black felt attached to avoid scratch marks on one's furniture.    I feel quite privileged to own such a lovely piece.












My friend Dian has some lovely examples of stitched knot gardens on her blog.  You can see them here:  http://dians-beachtextiles.blogspot.com/2011/02/stitched-gardens.html

Mission Accomplished

I think just getting to blog this week has been a 'Mission'.  I've had an injured dog as well as an injured husband to look after, and have been neglecting my stitching and blogging.

Some time ago I shared a piece of blackwork with everyone.  This has finally been framed and ready for somewhere to 'live'.  The matt board was not of my choosing, but now that I've laced the embroidery and it's sitting in the frame I suppose it will grow on me.  I think I would have chosen something a tad darker, but after waiting for some time to have this done, I'm not going to worry about it anymore.  I do have this design drawn, and the stitches catalogued/charted, as well as the colours I've used.  If anyone would like more information about this, please email me, and I will endeavour to help you with it.   Although the Noshi as such is not my design, working it in coloured blackwork most certainly is.

I have also been waiting to have this cross stitch framed.  This piece was started in 1995, but I only finished the stitching a few years ago.  I had this lovely Tasmanian Oak frame, which I gave a facelift.   The chart was in a Burda magazine I had from my dressmaking days.   Again, I think I'd have chosen a slightly darker green matt board, but this pale green has grown on me also.  Please forgive the reflection on the glass here, I just could not get a photo without having this problem.






Tomorrow will be busy for us.  We will be watching the 1000km car race at Bathurst [on the television].  It will be the tenth, of the tenth, of the tenth.  I wonder if there's an omen in there somewhere.............

Coloured Blackwork

Last year I decided I'd try my hand at designing my own piece of blackwork. I wanted to break with the traditional black on white colourscheme, because of the subject matter of the design. I have loved the Japanese Noshi design for a long time now, having done this in needleturn applique from a pattern I purchased from the store Abundia in Brisbane. I wanted this needleworked noshi to be a sister decorator item for the appliqued noshi.

Most of the threads used were in my stash, and are a variety of brands and fibres, ie some stranded silk, stranded cottons and a tiny bit of goldwork wire for couching.

I thoroughly enjoyed this process, and despite not yet having this piece framed suitably, I like it. It's not the brightest piece of embroidery I've done, but for it's intended purpose I feel confident that when it's framed, it will suit the decor.