Not black blackwork! (part 2)

I’ve continued working the diaper pattern from last week, and realised I can do variations of this one pattern on several of the castle towers, getting quite different effects.

It will look quite different if I have the diagonal stitches touching, rather than off-setting them, also whether I put in a horizontal stitch at the top and bottom of each rectangle.

I was keen to try out variations, but realised that the castle really needed to have some fabric strips putting round the edge of the blue background fabric, to stop it fraying any more…..

…….. also to be able to stretch it on a frame and put it on a stand, making it much easier to work on, with one hand on top and the other underneath.

I’d counted my backstitches and worked out how many repeats from one side to the other. I was being too impatient to get stitching, so started at the top rather than working out from the middle and outwards from there. I was also playing thread chicken with an old wooden reel of Coats Satinised Machine Twist.

I was really pleased with how it was looking, and continued stitching…..

……. only to find that the last pattern was two threads short of the backstitch edge. I’d had about 6 inches of thread to spare. I was happy with the colour, so didn’t want to unpick and start again and, on looking at it, realised the darker effect on the right hand side and lighter on the left makes the tower appear rounder. Phew!

I then did two rows of the same pattern, but with the diagonal stitches touching on a narrower tower.

I’ve reassessed the threads I’m going to use in better daylight, eliminating some for being too light, too grey, too mauve, or too turquoise. This is the selection to choose from at the moment.

I’ve started with a thicker perlé in the foreground.

It’s also slightly brighter.

I’ve also made the decision to use the same thread and diaper on the symmetrical blocks, so the foreground section will be mirror-imaged. (And writing that has made me aware that I haven’t mirror-imaged what I have done on the left hand tower.) Some unstitching to do next, then.

Not black blackwork!

I’ve done some more on my blackwork sample piece that’s not black, which I started with Liz Almond at the Spring Gathering a couple of weeks ago. The central motif was relatively simple to be able to spot mistakes before doing very much, and it was obvious which stitches were the ones that needed unpicking. The little square motif below was not so easy, in spite of looking small and simple. The diagonal stitches threw me a couple of times. There are four….. one down, three more to go!

Every time that I thought I’d cracked it, I made a silly mistake, so there was quite a lot of unstitching. Even on the fourth corner, I managed to do two stitches over three threads instead of three stitches over two threads. It looks right, the pattern is right, it joins up and nobody has spotted it (yet) until I’ve managed to find it again and point it out. So I’ve left it. I’d already finished off a thread and started a new one before I realised.

I then ended up spending quite a long time on Liz’s website, and reading a couple of blackwork books. I’m still struggling to make decisions on how to progress my Blackwork Palace Project which continues in Finished bubbles and more.

I thought I’d shown a photo of the outline finished, but it seems not. It stalled again here, which was one of the reasons I chose to do Liz’s workshop.

It will be in shades of blue, and I’ve gathered various threads.

I also looked at Sarah Homfray’s blackwork on YouTube. Some very useful basics, such as starting in the middle of each area to be blocked in, both vertically and horizontally, so patterns look even. She demonstrates how to work various diapers (patterns). This is the beginning of one of the patterns from Liz, but worked in one colour rather than two that she’d used. It’s come on slowly, but I think it will work for one of the towers.

I’ll test out at least three more diapers between the corners. In spite of taking the hoop off each time I finish working, the fabric is marking, so I intend to put the castle on a rectangular frame before continuing with it.

Spring Gathering

Last Saturday was the first Spring Gathering of YHEG (Yorkshire and Humberside Embroidery Group) at the Regan Centre at Riccall. The venue is used for the Summer Gathering, what used to be Regional Day of the Embroiderers’ Guild, there were workshops morning and afternoon, and the usual lovely lunch.

I chose to do Liz Almond’s blackwork sessions, one in the morning and continuing for the afternoon session. Most of the other workshops were just for two hours, so you could choose two different ones.

I’ve not done much blackwork and not particularly successfully – the usual counting problems! But I really want to finish my blackwork castle from “In the stitch zone” last summer. I’ve only done the outline so far, and thought this would be the push to pick it up again.

Liz had got a pack for each of us, with fabric, needles and enough patterns to keep us going for six months (she said!). More like six years, I thought! We could stitch on Aida in the kit, or swap it for a piece of 28 count Jobelin if we wanted to. I thought it was an ideal opportuntity to try it. But there was no white or cream, just a pinky peach, which I wasn’t sure about at first. But after a rummage through Liz’s bag of floss I came up with a pinky chestnut that I found was kinder on my eyes. (The last photo is the nearest in colour.) Blackwork doesn’t have to be done in black.

The pattern that I chose to follow was intended as a bookmark, with the motif repeated several times. This is just a tiny part of it.

I started off ok, with backstitches following the pattern……

…..until I got to the top of the second set of steps and turned left. I soon realised I’d miscounted and done one step too many, which meant the pattern was too far out from the centre motif. Fortunately it was soon unpicked and corrected. This is where I’d got to at the end of the sessions.

There were also sales tables from many of the individual stitch groups, always good for a bargain. Not that I needed anything, but who can resist?

I have got back to it during the week ……

…… and finished off the first block, apart from x-stitches or beads in the middle of the two central motifs and the centre square. I’m not going to do the bookmark as the pattern, but work outwards from here.

Liz had a huge amount of samples and finished pieces of work, and told us about her website with lots of information, freebies and patterns. I spent several hours browsing on Monday evening and I’m planning on going back soon http://www.blackworkjourney.co.uk