Here’s a sneak peek at my current embroidery project! This from the beginning of the sample project. I’m working on a test piece, and when an element works out the way I want it to, I move over to the actual project, embroidering the element anew, with confidence that it’s exactly what I want… not just guesswork. This process makes for slow going towards any kind of definite finish, but it gives me a chance to work out several thread scenarios and make the threads do what I want them to do.
Earlier, I showed you some of the silk embroidery threads that I’m going to use in this project. They include quite an array of types of silk thread, all of which stitch up a little bit differently, and all of which look definitely different when stitched up. That, in a sense, is the point of the project – to explore how different silk threads behave, what they look like when used in different types of stitching, and how they combine with each other.
In the photo above, four types of silks are used in that small area: Soie d’Alger, which is a stranded spun silk (s-twisted, for those who are interested); Soie Perlee, which is a z-twisted heavier silk thread, Trebizond, which is a z-twisted even heavier silk thread, and Soie 100/3, which is a fine, strong z-twisted silk, a little heavier than a sewing thread.
You can always play with silk threads on their own, but it’s a lot more fun when you mix in some real metal threads, too. Here you see gold passing thread, couched in double lines on the outside of this small strip, coiled lizardine in the middle, stretched and wound with Soie de Paris, and a dark green Soie de Paris filling the inside of the strip.
Both of these elements developed into elements I like, so I’m now re-stitching them onto the “real” project, making only a few minor adjustments along the way.
While feeling my way through this project, I’ll share some shots of various elements with you, and then at some point, I’ll “unveil” the whole, so that you can see where I’m going. While catching glimpses of the individual elements, try to imagine what the whole looks like! I’d be interested to see if the finish is anything like what you expect. There’s a part of me that thinks this whole thing may end up being a true “jumble” – a mess, in short! But if I can reproduce on fabric, with needle and thread, the idea that I have in my head (and sketched out generally on paper), then maybe it won’t be as bad as that other part of me is predicting!
Well, we can but see!
Vacation, by the way, is officially over, so next week, back to the grind! Less time for needlework and for my ongoing (never ending, mammoth) Organizing Project, but still, it plans to be an interesting next several months!
