Embroidery Feed

Recycling

Recycling is so very 'now'.  But recycling has been going on for ever.  Then again, recycling can mean something quite different depending on the era.

This book was published in 1915. 

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WW1 was raging and recycling was a necessity for most people, so, it was often a topic of interest, especially for women trying to make ends meet.  I find the difference in how we 'express' ourselves in different eras interesting.  Back in 1915 we 'explained' what we meant with a lot more words.

A good example was the 'Preface'.

War is a hard, stern teacher, and its lessons are bitter in the learning; yet some of its teaching we badly needed - and not the least important of its main lessons is the one it inculcated on the criminality of waste.

To so many of us "waste" was a word with a comparative meaning. What was waste in one woman was not necessarily waste in another, we argued.  It was wrong for the factory girl to let her skirts drop off her for lack of mending: but not wrong for the better-off women to discard their clothes directly they showed the least sign of wear, because they could afford to buy more, we said; and besides, it made it good for trade - that was a favourite argument used by the extravagent to excuse their wanton waste.

Harsh words indeed.

On reading this book I had no idea that you could use old crockery for beads.  It seems like a lot of work.  We can purchase beads at a very cheap price today, maybe this is something that will change over the next 100 years?

What I was looking for was drawings, rather like those of Margaret Clarke, to use in my 1920's quilt.  The only thing I found was these illustrations in advertisements.

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Screen Shot 2023-04-08 at 1.26.29 pmI might use the faces of the girls looking over the wall and the flowers on the cover could translate into an applique.  Or maybe these?

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What I can't see myself doing is turning the collars of my husbands shirts.  If he wants that he can do it himself!


A morning at the gallery

I am now well enough to resume the monthly Member's Lectures at the Art Gallery.  It has been a year since I have been able to attend one of these and they are a great source of information and inspiration.  One of my favourite places to just sit is under the Bodhi Tree outside the gallery.

Screenshot 2024-11-05 at 4.40.13 PMThis is a descendant of the ancient Bodhi Tree at the site which gave birth to Buddhism and every year the Buddha's Birthday Festival starts here and then continues at the main temple in Underwood.

As I continue to write about the Tibetan Temple is the Southbank Parklands, which is only a block away from this tree, I think that one of my projects for 2025 will be based on the leaves from this tree.  Once a month I will collect one leaf and design an embroidery or some other textile item inspired by it.

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Inspiration for embroidery design

Back in the mid 1990's, whilst in India, I discovered Tara books. The art is these books has continued to inspire me over the years.  It all started with "The night life of trees", still one of my favourites.

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This, in turn,  introduced me to "Gond Art".

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And this opened up a deep well of inspiration, not only for me, but, for countless others.

This is a very good article concerning how Gond Art has been used in the Indian Fashion Industry,  mainly using modern machine embroidery.

Screenshot 2024-10-19 at 11.38.57 AMAnd the illustrations in this article really show how the drawings, or parts of the drawings, could translate into embroideries, there are so many filling stitches you could use to fill in the shapes.

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It was whilst reading "The London Jungle Book"

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that I realised that all of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories were the folk tales of the Gond people.

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Just think what Impact that has had on our society!!

Now I have to start some small embroideries inspired from this.


New ways of learning

Video clips seem to have overtaken written tutorials.  (A picture is worth 1,000 words!)

I shouldn't be surprised.  It was obvious over 20 years ago that this was the trend.  I remember when I was a class room teacher that I had noticed a trend in students towards "visual literacy".  This translates to

"they were always looking at their phones and texting. "

I have to admit that I embraced it fully back then, designing classes that included the use of mobile phones to gather information and solve problems, even teaching how to read text.

There are many kinds of literacy but this one is now the most dominant.  I think it is time that I fully embraced it and learnt how to use it properly. 

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to this is that I have retired from the workforce.  It is easy to see now looking back, that this, being in the workforce, was about a lot more than just earning a living.  It was the interaction with peers, the banter to and fro and the need to keep up with new tech that gave me ( and others) the opportunity to learn from each other all the time.  Now I spend a lot more time on my own or with other people who have retired and I am cut off from that kind of learning and I am sure this applies to many other people, especially those of us who are catagorised as "elderly". 

Being in the workforce gave me the opportunity to absorb new ideas and skills without realising it and I have fallen behind.

So, be prepared for some really terrible videos made by an old lady.

But before I start filming I am researching not only how to use these tools but what young people are doing with it.  (Old people are followers and many are rehashing what it being done, young people are the inventors.)

Now what I love most is embroidery so this is where my investigation begin.

I am so enjoying this group of young women who make up the team at "The Fabled Thread".

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This is embroidery re-imagined.  Problem for me is that it is on the other side of the world!!  Their journal page was helpful. After reading this I have taken a subscription to Maison & Object Paris.  (That's a bit like "Women's Wear Daily" that I used to follow trends when I was a Fashion Buyer.)  Just looking at the images helps you 'feel' the trends.

And then there is the You Tube Channel.

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I might never get to making any videos, the research is so interesting.


Kogin

I said I wouldn't teach again but .... you know the rest.

I taught a Kogin class at my patchwork group but it didn't go to plan.  We meet in a school hall and it's school holiday time.  I wanted a quiet room but the battery had run out on the lock and we couldn't get in so I had to set up in the main hall.  Not what I wanted at all.

Kogin looks so simple but it requires a certain level of concentration.  You can not stitch and socialise.  And, it was a large class.  There were some who got it straight away and some who didn't.

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I have to admit I love this form of stitching.  I might do some more.


Lots of distractions

I haven't been sewing at all much.  I did spray up that quilt, which I hope to start today, but soooo many other things have got in the way. 

Firstly, I have had constant requests to teach again.  I did a couple of workshops for my local groups and love doing them BUT my health is not what it was and I don't want all the stress.  Then I started to clean out all my old kits etc and found there was a lot of classes already prepared.  So, I will teach again, but only on my terms (i.e. using up the kits I already have prepared) and all the money I raise will go to charity.

So one or two classes before the end of the year.

Kogin is booked in.  Just a drink coaster, "easy peasy." ( Here is a link to the tutorial)  You don't have to use Kogin stitching for this.  You could use repurposed embroidery or fabric, this pattern is multi purpose.

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And I will see what else students might like.

Then, I got a request about a very old embroidery class I did years ago.  I couldn't find that one but I did a lot.  I think I will put them up here on the blog as well.  Someone might like them.


Half year review

We are now half way through the year and I am still having trouble walking.  I am greatly improved from where I was a few weeks ago but I have to watch that I don't walk too far or too much.  I find it difficult to pull back, "the mind is willing but the flesh is weak."  I haven't been able to go to the Embroiderers' Guild for a few weeks now as it is a 4 hour + round journey and I have to pace myself.  I miss seeing friends and keeping up with what is going on.

I am working my way through the Marjory Allingham novels and have become quite fond of Albert Campion, the main character.  I am still finding things I know nothing about here and there.  I knew there was an earlier version of a bus but didn't know it was called a "char-a-banc" or that it looked like this,

Screen Shot 2024-06-25 at 1.55.33 pmor this,

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The text just said the Gypies arrived in it.  The descriptive text paints so many pictures with details I am not sure about.

I have pre-ordered Donna Leon's next book, which is due for release next month and look forward to starting that.

Screen Shot 2024-06-25 at 2.08.45 pmI usually review how I have travelled at the end of the year but I am having a half yearly review of my progress.  Not too bad considering the major health issues I have had to face.  Last year I would have said "could do better" but all things considered I think "not too bad" sums it up.


Still Struggling with Technology and a Surprise Gift

I am determined to get to grips with this technology issue.  (Says she gritting her teeth and pulling out her hair!)

I was all set to buy a new desktop but then Mr Apple wouldn't let me into my Email account and on top of that said I had security issues because I was trying too many ways to get in.  So I have put my $3,000 back in my bank account and am going to learn how to use this laptop properly.

I have had some wins, but I am still behind.  I managed to link this machine to the printer, download a new browser and attach an external hard drive, air drop a photo, (which I can't open), they were big wins.  Next I have to transfer everything over from the old desk top.  Hope I survive that!

And then in the midst of all this chaos a parcel arrived in the post from my friend Marion in the UK.  It was a lovely embroidery kit .

 

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I already have it set up in my hoop ready to start stitching.  I find stabbing easier than scooping when stitching these days, hence the hoop.  This isn't something that I would have bought myself but I just love it.  Thank you Marion.  (This will now be part of my WIPW.)

I spent the morning with the scrap material and and thinking, "should I continue with this, or should I put it all in the bin?" The constant cutting is aggravating my wrist problem but then again it is starting to take some shape. Maybe just a bit each day.

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The mess is getting to me but I don't want to waste the fabric.  Then again if I put it into the bin I can concentrate on other things?

Decisions, decisions.


Birds

I have long had some ideas of embroidering some pieces featuring birds.  I have done some in the past,

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but want to do some more.

Not wanting to reinvent the wheel I first turned to my on-line antique pattern library books and there I found some wonderful designs that are now all out of copyright.

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What I want to do is use the basic shapes to depict some of our native birds.  That will require some changes to the designs but I now have the basic shapes and can tweek the drawings to suit me.  I also noticed that there are a number of Kate Grenville designs in this book, also out of copyright.