Eternal Grace

I am still writing catch up posts for the items that I finished during the last 12 months. Eternal Grace, my Japanese Embroidery phase 6 piece was finished in August last year and took about 12 months to stitch. I must admit that Grace and I were not the best of friends by the time I finished. Pretty much all her kimono is worked flat ie untwisted,  silk and it is hard to keep that amount of flat silk pristine over a long period of time. Especially when it get transported to class on a monthly bases. Being so close to the embroidery over a long period of time, it seemed like she was wearing a fur coat rather than a kimono! Looking back at Grace after a few months separation I could see the overall result and I can happily that we are friends again now. 

The obi was worked quite early on. Two colours of orange provide the shading for the folds However I did leave the flowers until later on because I remembered  in Bouquet form the Heart of Japan that the stitches over the knots had a tendency to slip off, which I would have found distracting. 

After the obi, I carried on down the kimono skirt, adding in the under kimono layers. On reflection I think I could have stitched a longer transition between the purple and pink sections on the kimono but I don't think the effect is too bad. 

 After the skirts it was back up to the face. Japanese Embroidery is always stitched foreground first, so the chin was stitched first. The neck and chest had to wait until the collar was done. Looking at this picture it is possible to see the a holding stitch at the corner of the collar. This was left in by accident and I only spotted it when Grace was framed.

I found the hands one of the most satisfying area on Grace. I was dreading doing them because I thought it would be difficult to achieve a delicate effect. I expected to need several attempts. In the end they worked pretty much first time.

Once the kimono was finished, it was time for short stitch holding to fasten down those long flat silk stiches. This took several months to do and was challenging because the stitches show up much more on flat silk than they do on twisted silk. 

Grace has been finished so long that I have even managed to get her framed and she has been hanging on the wall for over 6 months now. For framing I go to Lynn Hall at Fringe Arts, who is a specialist textile framer. Lynn specialises in intricate mounts and the accents she used picked out the kimono colours beautifully, with a slight touch of art deco style. It was an expensive trip to the framers because I got the Butterfly Panel framed at the same time. Again Lynn did a beautiful job, with a very subtle red under mount. This was 2 years after I finished the Butterfly Panel but on reflection I am glad I waited, because the two are hung on the small wall and the 2 black frames complement each other quite nicely.

Himotaba

I am so far behind with blog posts, it is almost a year since I finished Himotaba, my phase 5 Japanese embroidery piece. Cords are not general popular with JE students but I like their rhythm. When I first came across, Japanese embroidery, this was the design that drew me in so I was looking forward to stitching it. 

It took me about 5 months to complete but in that time I reworked many of the cords to get more practise. I found the blue cord, which uses the wicker technique, the most challenging to stitch. In the design, this cord goes round a very tight curve early on and it was difficult to keep the balance of the two sides of the stitch. 

I also found the cord end fade outs difficult to achieve. Even after many attempts, I was still not sure they look natural enough but in the end I came to the conclusion it was time to move on.

Shizuka Kusano Studio

Day 2 of the Colouricious itinerary for the Creative Japan tour was the clincher for me when I was deciding whether the book on the trip because it included a visit to Studio Shizuka Kusano. The visit included a workshop in a nearby community centre and a lecture/demonstration at the Kusano-san's studio. Because there was so many of us, we were split into 2 groups.  The group I was in, did the workshop first, which was taught by Kusano-san's assistants.

Kusano-san came into the classroom at the end of the workshop, in her beautiful kimono. Through an interpreter she explained it was her mother's kimono and that she had embroidered the goldfish on the back

There was a line of embroideries across the front of the classroom. I managed to take a couple of photos before we headed off to the studio.

When we arrived at the studio it was setup with tables, so that we could eat our lunch. We were surrounded by amazing embroideries and I was delighted to be sat next to the Poppy Panel.

The Poppy panel was a group project, stitched by Kusano-san's students. The top of the right most panel was stitched by UK embroiderers and I had the privilege to stitch 2 of the flowers. It was fantastic to see the completed panel. 

The panel is inspired by the poem "On Flanders' Field and a wide variety of techniques were used to stitch the poppies. 

While we were looking at the panel I was introduced to a stitcher, who had embroidered a poppy at the bottom of the panel that came to the UK. We both pointed at our poppies and there was lots of smiles. I wish I had thought to take a photo.

After lunch, Kusano-san gave us a demonstration, explaining the tools and materials used. The piece she was working on looks like it's going to be another stunning kimono. 

After the demonstration Kusano-san unrolled the fabric which had already been embroidered and allowed us to have a close look. I just love her birds.

Kusano-san then talked about the various embroideries displayed around the room, including the PoppyPanel.

One of the kimono's displayed was inspired by seeing William Morris designs during a visit to the UK a couple of years ago.

It's fascinating to see how the familiar Morris-esque design elements have been re-interpreted for Japanese Embroidery. This kimono, called "Queen Victoria" was on display in Tokyo in January as part of a collection of kimonos "Embodying the Soul of Historical Characters".

We also had a sneak preview of another kimono in the collection. This delicate pink and green kimono covered in beautiful butterflies, was inspired by Yang Guifei, a notorious Chinese beauty and concubine.

Kusano-san generously shared this work in progress and allowed us to take photos.

After the talk Kusano-san encouraged us to try on her beautiful kimonos and of course I jumped at the chance. I recognised the kimono I was wearing from a book on my shelf at home. I never dreamed I would end up wearing it one day.

I have to say I was more than a little bit star-struck meeting Kusano-san and felt very honoured to visit her studio. So I didn't really take a coherent set of photos. For a better set of photos, I recommend having a look at the Colouricious facebook page here and here . I'll finish off with 1 last photo of my poppies, which are  2nd and 3rd from the left. 

Butterfly Panel

So here it is - my Japanese embroidery phase 4 piece finished. I seem to be taking 2 years to finish each piece of Japanese embroidery or bead embroidery at the moment. I was warned there was a lot of work in this design but I still went ahead and did it. After doing the endless gold circles, I  no longer have any fear of going around corners in goldwork or plunging gold threads. Next up is the cords design for phase 5. I enjoy the rhythm of cords, so I have been looking forward to Himotaba. It will be nice to work with more than 2 colours as well!

Small Gold Butterfly

The main project I'm working on at the moment is my phase 4 Japanese Embroidery piece - the Butterfly Panel. After finishing the circles around the red butterfly, there was a bit more variety for the large and small gold butterflies. The small gold butterfly is now finished and the large gold butterfly is coming along as well.  

All I have left to do now, is to surround the large gold butterfly with circles. As it will be a larger area than around the red butterfly, it is still likely to take me a fair few months more. Here's how the whole design looks so far.

Red Butterfly

It's been a bit of a marathon of going around in circles but the first butterfly for my Phase 4 Japanese Embroidery piece is finished. It's taken well over a year to get this far. I stalled a bit last year but a new year's resolution to get it going again has paid off. This is the first of 3 butterflies - the marathon will continue for some time to come.  I have a trip away coming up at the end of the week so I am very deliberately stepping away from this piece from a couple of weeks. Hopefully I won't have too much trouble getting going again when I get back.

Honouring the Journey in 2017

I have decided that my mantra for 2017 will be "Honouring the Journey".  The idea for this mantra came from two sources. The most recent source was the film "Passengers", which we saw as a family on Christmas Eve. In the film Chris Pratt's character was given a piece of bartender wisdom that many people are so focused on their destination that they forget to enjoy getting there.

The other source was some management training I attended a couple of months ago, which covered the theory of growth mindsets developed by Carol Dweck of Stanford University. I won't try to explain it in detail because I'm in no way an expert. In principle, the theory says that intelligence can be developed and effort leads to success. One key aspect is that mistakes should celebrated and not feared because they are all part of the learning process. If you want to know more about growth mindsets there is a good video by Train Ugly here.

In the spirit of honouring the journey, here's a picture of the current progress on my latest piece of Japanese Embroidery. This is a JEC phase 4 design which focuses on goldwork.The red butterfly is the first of three. When it's finished the circle around the butterfly will be completely filled with gold circles and should look like hammered gold. It's very difficult to work on this under artificial light, so this piece is going to be a long journey.

Before I took the photo I turned the frame over so that I could tap the back to loosen any dust that had settled. We don't often look at the back of Japanese Embroidery, so it can be a complete surprise what the back looks like. It certainly was in this case. The path of the couching thread had created some interesting spiral patterns.

So in the year coming I will be doing my utmost to enjoy the journey and if not actually celebrating my mistakes, accepting them as part of the learning process. I would like to wish you all a creative 2017 and an enjoyable journey.

Sensu

 

Woohoo - after two years Sensu is finished! When the thread pack first arrived, I was surprised how many colours it needed but I've enjoyed using every single one. Sensu spans both phases 2 and 3 in the JEC curriculum, so it is packed full of new techniques to learn. I  learned a few additional things - such as long straight lines in couched goldwork are my arch-nemesis. I restarted the spine on the main fan seven times before I had a result I thought I could live with. I also learned that if I'm guessing where to stick my needle, it's time for a new glasses prescription. Alternatively, as I am short sighted, I could take my glasses off and get up close and personal with the fabric. There were some techniques like fuzzy and short-stitch holding I could only do without my glasses on.

 

 

 I think fuzzy was the new technique I enjoyed the most. Although I might change my mind if I have to do a whole piece in fuzzy. A technique I enjoyed returning to, was colour blending in the cord. Because Japanese Embroidery threads are twisted by the embroiderer themselves, it is possible to create threads to achieve different effects. Twisting 2 colours together allows even very different colours to be blended smoothly.

 



Another embroiderer commented that the colours look like autumn, so perhaps this was the right time of year to finish.

 

Whitework Button - Buttercup

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a workshop with Jenny Adin-Christie  at Embroidery Now in Winchester. We were given a choice of 5 button designs. I chose to do one of the simpler designs to give myself the best chance of finishing it. The strategy worked because here is the completed button. The design is small (1 1/4" across) and for the majority of the stitching I found it helpful to use a magnifier. It was my first workshop with Jenny and the fact that I was the only first timer in the room demonstrates what a great teacher she is. Jenny's kits are beautifully put together and include very detailed instructions - well worth the money. It was also my first time at Embroidery Now. I have been thinking of attending one of their courses for some time but it took until this year for the stars to align enough that I was free at the right time and spotted the class before it booked up. Their venue in Winchester is lovely and Jane Bennett who organises the courses made me feel very welcome. I'm definitely hoping to mage a return visit - I just need those stars to align again!

Kirigami - a joint effort

 

 

 

A few months after I started learning Japanese Embroidery, my friend Steph brought over her JE bits and pieces from New Zealand when she visited the UK during the 2012 Olympics. This included a couple of frames with designs in progress. One of these was her phase 2 piece, Kirigami, started in June 1997 at a class in Wellington.  Steph had completed all the main motifs in the piece beautifully - the Chrysanthemum, Cherry Blossom, Plum Blossom and Pine. My favourite motif is the three-dimensional effect in the Plum blossom. It positively glows when the sun shines on it.

 



 

Her flax leaf effect in the Chrysanthemum is super-accurate. It's really easy to pick out the stars or cubes, depending on how you look at it.

 

 

 

All that was left to do was the single central braid for the cord and the staggered diagonal strings, so this was a great opportunity for me for me to learn those techniques. It was also an opportunity to try the finishing process on my own. It went OK but it was still pretty nerve-wracking.



Bouquet from the Heart of Japan

My second Japanese Embroidery piece, Bouquet from the Heart of Japan is finished. It wasn't a design I would have chosen to do but I have grown quite fond of it over the 9 months I have spent stitching it.

As it is a phase 1 design there were quite a few techniques I had already learned on Hanazume. and there were plenty of new techniques as well.

 

My next piece is Sensu and I'm looking forward to getting started on it.

Harikuyo Festival

Today is Harikuyo - the Festival of Broken Needles. You can find the story of Harikuyo at PlaysWithNeedles.

The needles I treasure most are the hand made  needles I use for Japanese embroidery. Like all the other Japanese Embroiderers I know, I keep my needles in a piece of wool felt. I have spent a lot of time with these needles over the last year but nowhere near long enough to break any.

I thought about what I should post today because I don't normally blog about work in progress. I prefer to show completed items. But I thought I'd break my rules for once. So here is my second JE piece - Bouquet from the Heart of Japan.

I have been working on this since September. Life has been pretty busy over that time. With a business trip to India, a week at the International Quilt Festival in Houston and the mad preparations for Christmas, time has been freuently in short supply. The cold weather we had in January played havoc with skin and for a while I had to put my JE to one side because I could not keep my hands smooth enough. But I'm back on the path again.

 

 

As I'm showing my work in progress, I thought I would show another of my WIPs. This free-motion machine embroidery is put of a slightly larger piece which I am hoping to finish in a week or so.

The relationship I have with my sewing machine needles is a much more functional arrangement. I use good quality needles and replace them often. To store my broken needles safely, I use a plastic pot which originally held mini chocolate eggs.

When Graeme saw this picture, he asked my why I had taken a picture of a small dustbin!