Current Size: 100%
Embroidery - the finer points
I never knew this about threads until a gem of a lady joined our craft group and she has been heaven-sent for me. Did you know there was a right and wrong way to work your thread? Like the principle of going against the grain, if you like. If you work against the grain, you end up having a lot of tangles. To know which way "the grain" is, run your finger along the thread. One way is all smooth and the opposite is gritty, snarly. Now I begin each embroidery thread by "caressing" it!!! I am waiting for Hubby to make a comment. He hasn't noticed my strange goings-on as yet.
French Knitting
Granddaughter was given a knitting kit for Christmas by a doting grandma, complete with a pair of the cutest knitting needles just the right length for small hands, and attractive skeins of yarn. However, included in the set was also a bobbin for French Knitting but the instruction for this was unfollow-able. I am usually good at following knitting patterns too. So I asked some ladies at Craft Club for a lesson. Now that I have a suitable length made, I would like some suggestions for its use, apart from the obvious tea-pot base. Anyone can help?
French Knitting
When I arrived in Europe many years ago I saw a lot of girls carrying small handbags, wearing scarfs and French knitted hats. They showed me how to do it. I made a few skipping ropes and several tea/egg cosies. I just didn't have the skills and patience to knit something more useful.
Have you ever heard of a "Knifty Knitter round loom"? I know an American woman who knits a lot of amazing stuff, gloves, hats, socks, bags and dog sweaters. Once or twice a year she sells her products at the local market. People just love it.
Dog sweaters
would be a novel thing to make. Many ladies here in the retirement complex have little poodles. A little dog blanket shouldn't be too difficult to design.
Rug
I've seen a knee-rug woven with long lengths of French Knitting. It wasn't tightly done; plenty of holes throughout the piece, but very attractive with the bright colours. The edges were sewn with a zig-zag machine stitch to keep it together and they left a fringe.
This person had many lengths collected from people she'd taught over the years.
Good recycling!
Cheers, Linda
Knee rugs
are popular items in our village. I enjoy making these with attractive crocheted squares, and are popular in our bring-n-buy. I think I shall confine myself to small projects with the french knitting though, Ingrid has given me some suggestions. I rather like the idea of making little handbags for girls.
Photographing my embroidery
My digital camera is marvellous for pictures of my stitchery. I have a home-made stand to keep the camera steady, and use the "flower" setting for automatic close-ups. My latest project is to save a record of my craft accomplishments for posterity.
Today I am soaking my crochet work so it won't look too discoloured for the camera, while I am having a go at ironing an apron that is trimmed with miles of ric-rac braid. It was one of my first cross-stitch works, and has lasted well. The ironing must be done well today, for Mrs Fussy (me!) to photograph it properly. Ric-rac was very popular once, but not used so much any more. Young mothers find the simple non-iron clothes of today much easier to fit in to their busy lifestyles.
Linda
Photographing craft
Like you, I keep a photographic record of my craft projects. I like to give hand-made presents when we visit relatives overseas, and I donate items to our Bring n Buy to raise funds for charity here. Having them as photographs is one way of feeling I still have them. Perhaps that doesn't make sense?
Ric-rac!! Now that brings back memories. Ceridwyn had to have miles of it sewn for her ballet costumes!
Feeling you still have them
Feeling you still have them.....yes, that make perfect sense. They are just like babies to us. Each has it's special memories. How that colour was hard to see, or another stitch was hard to combine with two threads. I could go on and on. Even giving headings to pictures of each item is hard, because I want to write a whole story about them! Well, I am a chatterbox!
Soaking? Just checking...
Soaking ?? as in the kitchen sink? and so it won't look too discoloured? Seriously, this has never occurred to us. Cross-stiches, embroidery, tapestries, longstitch, hardanger,(sic) all go straight to their frame or under the things they are doilies for.
Re-reading, is the drenching just for the camera? <edited after first submission>
Yes, Kilroy, soaking in
Yes, Kilroy, soaking in solution to get the yellow age spots off, and get them white again. I have a lot of them, and can't use them all at once. Consequently I don't use the real antique ones as they are too precious/fragile. Hence the discolouring. Sad to say I don't check them enough, about once a year. The next batch is the damask linen tablecloths and serviettes. They aren't used much either, because the wash-and-wear ones get used more often. And no, it was not just for the camera, I do them regularly, but needed them nice and white now for the photo session.
My napery might be suffering from North Queensland Syndrome here, because of the humidity plus heat. I only have a few pieces framed, because I've been disappointed in past years by a framed embroidery deteriorating. I like them out so I can check them every so often. An antique shop owner told me that the Tropics is the worst for keeping antiques in good condition.
Knitting socks
My friend at the club is knitting socks for her brother in Melbourne, using 80% wool yarn and 4 needles. ( Lovely for him and he probably appreciates his good luck with the cold of Melbourne!) I heard in talk back gardening programme Colin Campbell was marvelling how warm his socks were knitted with possum wool - or should that be fur? Anyone can enlighten me about this? Where to get it, what label it comes under and, of course, price. Would love to knit hubby some warm socks before we venture Northern Winter again.
Possum
Kiwis must love turning a problem into a solution. O'Possum Fur (plainly called Possum fur to the poor people) is big business over there. I'd try maybe they send internationally?
Or the road between Winton and Longreach is a fair amount of wildlife, mostly roos, but some possums.
Ok All right Mrs K went to NZ some time back and purchase possum socks and gloves, (yes, they wear gloves, hands remarkably like ours hohoho) which are warm as toast. Here in Bris I can wear them v v seldom.
Possum fur wool.
I'd try "Googling" it, Rehanna. If it's being done somewhere as a cottage industry, you may find it on the Internet. I suspect it could be a New Zealand product, as possums are a pest there and their harvest for wool, fur etc wouldn't be frowned upon there as it would be in Aus.
Finer points of embroidery - contd
With double stranded cross stitch, unless you cut short lengths you are going to have one thread going with, and the other against,the grain when you cut a fairish long strand and thread it to loop on itself when you sew double. I tried the latter but found I ended up having too many short ends, a real waste, so now I don't even bother to stroke the thread to see if I am going with or against the grain. I find that if I hold the threads gently when pulling through the fabric I can prevent tangle.... Well, most of the time anyway. As Linda says, just enjoy the past time while we can.
Threads
I found that when I was doing the work to enter the show, that technique was quite important for the good look of the whole piece, ie, the sheen of cross-stitch, etc. There is also an approach to machine sewing, too, that encourages the worker to put thread through the needle "with the grain" as well.
However, some threads are hard to define as to the direction of the grain, and we found that some people who were not confident sewers were getting quite worried that they couldn't feel the difference in direction. They were encouraged to just get on with it, as the passtime is better for those people than the finer details.
It sounds as if your friend has been of great help to you all. Happy sewing! It is such a nice feeling, sitting doing needlework, and such a feeling of satisfaction when it's finished.
With the grain when machine sewing?
How do do that, rewind the whole spool?
When you think about it the thread would come off the manufacturing process running with the grain, it would depend on how many times it was rewound on to spools as to which way the grain runs.
My NZ motherinlaw, a keen knitter always re wound her wool balls, as although they were wound to be drawn from the centre she said that ran against the grain and resulted in a coarser feel to the garment.
With the grain or not?
I used to think that, as well, when talking to people who were rather pedantic on the subject of whether a spool of machine thread has grain or not. With my machine embroidery it was sometimes easier to thread a fine sewing machine needle with rayon or metallic type threads if the grain was going the right way, but as for ever thinking of rewinding? No!
I suppose with every subject there is more than one school of thought.
As I said in my comment above, it doesn't help to worry too much if you are doing the right thing, but can't cope with the fact that you can't feel if your thread isn't running with the grain. Just do it, and enjoy the passtime.
However if you are doing exquisite embroidery and you enjoy making it as fine and as perfect as you can, then go for it!
I've gone through both stages, and am back to the enjoyment without the quest for perfection. For one thing my eyes can't cope with really fine stuff any more.
Linda