Sunday 24 April 2011

Two finishes. Yes, TWO!

So, I really got going this week and finished two things! No, not the narrowboat - I haven't had that much stitching time.=) In fact, I've only put a little bit of water in on that, so it isn't worth showing, but as I've run out of ideas for 'information posts' for the time being and have got back into my own embroidery work somewhat (could be famous last words.....), I hope to post WIP shots more often instead.=)

The first finish was the giraffe needlepoint that I was given as a 12th birthday present by Nicholas Cook! I remember him explaining why he chose it out of the series (it was the only one with a girl's name, bless him!). I decided not to save it to complete whilst I'm away doing exam work in May, but rather to make use of mum's sewing machine those 3 weeks and get it finished up into the cushion cover I've planned. I'm going to give to a disabled girl (I say 'girl', but she's not much younger than me!!) who likes cushions on her bed. Had I given it to a little girl as I'd originally thought, she would have grown out of it in time, but Georgina won't as she will always have a mental age of around 13, so it's perfect.


As you can see, it's got a bit warped. I know that this wouldn't be a problem had I been planning to frame it as the stretching process would correct it, but I'm going to be using it in a patchwork. Any ideas on how to straighten it up a bit??

Now then, here's the finish of the month, the water violets design! I put the last stitches, the water lines, in on this early yesterday afternoon. I decided to exclude the mayfly after all. It would have looked better, more balanced with it, but I really had had enough by then and just wanted it complete. So, this is it:


This too will be made into a cushion cover and I'll do that at the same time as the giraffe. I'll need to get some backing fabric for it. Oh, the design is in the right hand half of the cushion, in case you're wondering why I was doing such a long, thin cushion.=)

I've also got re-started to some degree on the goldwork viola (don't anyone dare call it a violin!). I put the felt padding on the chinrest yesterday, but I haven't finally decided on what to overlay it with. The options are rough purl and kid leather of which I have silver and gold. I know very little about goldwork, but I have two or three useful books that can help. I'm undecided on many parts of it - what threads to use etc. Anyone with more experience care to comment? Mary? Ruth?


All the best with a dog design, Linda and, go on, start a blog! If you do that kind of work, then I want to see it!=)

© Elizabeth Braun 2010

8 comments:

SheilasEmbroidery said...

Try pinning out the piece firmly dampen with a spray, the sort you use for indoor plants and leave to dry naturally. I've tried this with canvases before and it usually works. It's a bit like blocking a piece of knitting or crochet. I hope this helps. Your waterflowers are beautiful.

MeganH said...

Ruth O'Leary is a bit of an expert stretcher, and a lovely lady.
Here's her blog : http://rutholearytextileart.blogspot.com/

The fish piece looks lovely!

Cynthia Gilbreth said...

The damp stretching should work just fine. I thought Ruth had a tutorial on her site. The water violets came out beautifully. I would put the leather on the chinrest. The rough purl would make my chin itchy just thinking about it.

Carol R said...

The fish turned out great!

Gee, I thought that was a cello ;-) It will be nice to see how it turns out. I've not worked with kid yet, but I think that would be better on the chinpiece than rough purl.

Rachel said...

I think I would use kid leather on the chinpiece, but you need to make your own decision, based on what else you are intending to do...

Carmen said...

love giraffes!, i can help you in your question, i am a beginner stitcher, my knowledge about embroidery are so poor. :(.

coral-seas said...

Well done, finishing two pieces this week. The blocking that other have suggested will work for making your giraffe square. You need something like a cork tile covered with a towel.

Stretch, reshape and use lots of pins to hold it in place, then make very damp but not soggy and leave to dry naturally and totally before you remove the pins.

I really like the water violets, it is very delicate and pretty.

Anne S said...

Woohoo, congrats on both finishes - they're really lovely. I love your idea of giving the giraffe to someone who will truly appreciate it always, that really warmed the cockles of my heart :) And I can't wait to see both cushions made up! :D

 
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