ONE MORE

 One more for my Alice in Wonderland collection.

The Mad Hatter's tea party ends with as Alice left,   she looked back to see they (the Mad Hatter and March Hare) were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot, and no doubt that would have been head first! But I decided to let my Dormouse sit up in the teapot instead. I will add to the Alice in Wonderland collection later when I have ordered more felt.

Meanwhile I have decided on a different book for next month, and am currently researching the dress for the characters. more about this next time when I hope to have photos to share.

Guild has started for the year and our first project  we will be stitching a needle folder, with Wessex stitchery on it. This one was made for me by my friend Lyn and she has given the guild permission to copy her design.  About ten years ago on my blog  I shared some of the lovely Wessex pieces Lyn had stitched, she was in the very first workshop that I taught on Wessex stitchery away back in the early1990's and over the years since she has stitched many pieces, and in turn has taught many people this work.

To all my blogging friends may you stay safe and keep well.

WESSEX STITCHERY NEWS

Wessex Stitchery news and a good book!

 I often get enquiries as to where one can find out more about Wessex Stitchery, so its good that I can share with you, about a new publication that has a really good write up on Mrs Margaret Foster and her work, Wessex Stitchery. My friend Lyn in Christchurch alerted me first, Lyn had been in the very first Wessex workshop I had taught way back in the early 1990's and  continues today to stitch and share her love of Wessex Stitchery. Having borrowed a new embroidery book from the library she was delighted to find quite a large section inside on her favourite work and promptly email the news to me. Just when I had decided I would have to request it on inter loan, Ann from Whitianga arrived to visit and had brought THE BOOK down for me to read.
 The book is.......

Early 20th Century Embroidery Techniques by Gail Marsh and it was published in UK in 2011. Ann also brought with her the other books in the series 18th Century Embroidery Techniques and 19th Century Embroidery Techniques. I had a wonderful time just looking at the books there was so much to take in, and although the work many of the embroiderers written up in the 20th Century book  was known to me through previous research I was constantly finding new things. Another one who is mention is Louisa Pesel I have a copy of a very old book of her designs and have used it so many times when designing samplers.    Yes I have now bought myself a copy (and delighted to get it for almost half price) I have since bought the other two and are now waiting their arrival.

 Anyone interested in Wessex Embroidery, I do recommend you see if your library has a copy, just to be able to see more of Mrs Foster's work and to read about the embroiderer herself.

WESSEX STITCHERY BY MY FRIENDS

I am very excited at being able to share some Wessex Stitchery done by several of my friends

Firstly a tiny piece from one of the Junior Embroiderers in the group that meet each week,
the four older girls working with Maree have all completed a a small block with "Steepholm stitch " and are now working on a second piece. They are really enjoying this type of stitching and having a
wider variety of threads to work with.
The four younger girls are working on canvas work with me and one  lass keeps refering to her thread
as String!




Joycelyn from Christchurch in the South Island attended the very first class I taught on Wessex Stitchery (1997) and who has had a love affair with Wessex ever since, sent me some photos a while back but as the piece I really loved was part of a set she had sent to the National exhibition I have had to wait untill now to show it to you, and of course I saw it in the exhibition. Part of a set of pin cushions all stitched in Wessex Stitchery  her 15 sided biscornu is a really lovely piece.

Joycelyn was also in my last class at conference and she shared with me her album ... Her Wessex Journey a record of all the pieces she had stitched. Truly the pupil has surpassed the teacher.

At conference my very good friend Ann taught a workshop  " Wessex Draw String Workbag"  her first bag that she had taught several time (I have shared photos of it a while ago on my blog) was very popular and she designed a new one for this workshop. The colours are really lovely in this piece however in the workshop everyone was able to make their own colour choice..

And from Mary Joan in Sheffield England comes some pieces that show how lovely varigated threads looks in this work. Mary Joan's Wessex stitchery was featured in " New Stitches" magazine in March of this year.

Now across the seas in a different direction from Hilton in South Africa, Rhoda has sent some of her Wessex

work  Rhoda hasbeen stitching Wessex since 2002 and recently taught it at her Embroiderers Guild. 

There has been some much lovely work shared with me, that it has been very hard to keep it to only two photos from each person.  I hope seeing all this might inspire someone else to try this work too.

.

ANOTHER WESSEX STITCH

Here is another   Wessex Stitchery  stitch., again from an old embroidery magazine and simply described as fly and detached chain. Note the fly stitches have quite small tails while the chain stitches have long ones.

Ann has allowed me to  copy her Wessex pin Cushion Chart that is based on this stitch.
The original was stitched on 32 count Belfast material so if you use a different fabric you will need to adjust the fabric size.

Fabric 18cm square Belfast Linen.

4 Colours of no 8 Perle thread. 1 dark, 1 med, 1 gold, 1 green.

Each square of the graph represents one fabric thread.

Stitch 1 Dark colour - 4 fly stitches

         2. med colour - 4 fly stitches

         3. gold centre  - cross stitch

         4. green          - 4 detached chain stitches.

repeat to make a square 5x5, joining the design at the straight stitches.

Finish by using one of the border patterns supplied or make up your own.

 Adjust corners as required.

 Thank you Ann, I hope someone might enjoy stitching this.

       

STITCHING WESSEX

I will add some Wessex patterns with charts over the next week as I have friends in England keen to see these and I hope others might enjoy stitching this work too
These are the samples from a Wessex Mystery sampler I designs about 10 years . Mrs Foster who created Wessex Stitchery used a variety of threads and colours in her stitching.

This pattern is taken from one of Mrs Foster's samplers that is shown in the book "Making Samplers" pg 113 If you are able to study the book you will see although she has stitched it in blue, more than one shade of the colour has been used as have different thicknesses of threads. I am sure she would have enjoyed all the varigated threads we have today.

Mrs Foster named this stitch Steepholm and the illustration above comes from an old Embroidery magazine. It is a favoutite stitch of mine.

Stitch it in stages, Lay and couch the outline threads first,

then Rice Stitch with additional straight stitches

lastly lay threads across and couch with up right cross stitches and an eyelet in the centre.

MORE WESSEX STITCHERY

Every now and then as an embroidery tutor one has that special student that is not only a pleasure to teach but whose work stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

Today's such student was an 8 year old, The project was using star stitch to create a Christmas tree and  in a group of 5 children her work stood out above the rest for her neat stitching and the amount she completed in the hours class.

I mention this because I want to share with you some work by another embroiderer. Jocelyn was in my first Wessex Stitchery class in the mid 1990's, she has gone on to create many, many pieces in Wessex stitchery but also to share this embroidery with many others throught her classes. This week when I received an email from England for more information on Wessex Stitchery I contact Jocelyn and she was happy to share some of her work with you.

Her Hussif shows many of the different stitch patterns that form Wessex Stitchery I will try and add "How to" for some of the patterns in the next few days.

WESSEX STITCHERY

It was exciting to make a new friend (in England) who enjoys this embroidery. Wessex Stitchery was created by Mrs Margaret Foster of Bath, England early in the last century.Stitching her very distinctive embroideries she described her work " A Wessex needle..... asks for no suggestion for pattern or design on paper or material... it has lovely stitches of its own, by the use of which patterns will as it were, envole themselves....."

This posting is specially for my english friend, but I hope others will enjoy seeing some Wessex stitchery. I have work from two NZ friends as well as one of my early designs to share , this is Ann's lovely bag, I did this class with her  but have to confess I have not yet finished my bag. She has design a new bag and will be teaching it at the NZ Embroiderers Conference in 2010.

This is an earlier piece from Joycelyn, after learning Wessex at an Arahina Retreat , she has now designed and stitched many pieces, also has taught Wessex to many people.I have seen photos of her latest design is very exciting but under wraps at present. .Hopefully when she has taught it I will be able to show it.

This Pin Cushion was one of the earlier pieces I did. I think the most popular of my designs was the Wessex Mystery Sampler in 8 parts, one a month is was a little like a SAL.

My pin cushion  was stitched on 28 count linen 15 x 15 cm  Stitches used are back stitch, Fly stitch Straght stitch and eyelets. The centre is  long tailed chain stitches forming an eyelet. I used 3 shades of blue and 1 of pink, however work in colours of your own choice. one square of the graph =  one thread of the fabric.

Stitch section B first, backstitching over 2 threads, in 2 shades of blue and 1 of pink changing colour at random. Row 1 must have 9 stitches on each side, miss 1 fabric thread row two has 10 stitches and row 3 has 11.

Section C is stitched in Navy blue as charted and followed by four more rows of backstitching. (D)

On the outer edge the sides have 4 rows of fly stitches in different shades.

The centre is Long tailed chain stitch. start at the corner one thread in from the back stitching . and stitch with the long tail going into the centre. leave 2 threads between each stitch.

The eyelets in the corner are worked the first one over 6 threads and the second over 4.