Tuesday May 3, 2022

Time for another workshop update! I've been a little more scattered the last two weeks as we have been in the middle of two big house renovation projects--finishing the main bath and starting the kitchen remodel (I'll share pics as soon as we get just a smidge farther, but the short story is penny tile floors, arabesque tile backsplash, and Benjamin Moore's Aegean Teal or Stratton Blue, and thankfully, oh so thankfully, a new gas range that actually works).

I thought I was going to have to set down my stitching in order to help with the sanding work, but my husband--normally an extremely easy-going individual--has absolutely put his foot down about me using the sander again after my hand injury of two years ago. I threw a mini-tizzy about it because I really wanted to help, but he held his ground and I finally saw reason and am now helping from the sidelines (read: acting as general contractor and bossing everyone about). Which, means I have more design and stitching time than I thought I was going to--woohoo!

Here's what I'm up to:

Yesterday, I did the "tech check" with the EGA (Embroiderer's Guild of America) team for my upcoming virtual lecture on May 15th. The lecture will be on Greek Orthodox vestments (for those new here, I have worked for 26 years as a specialty tailor to Greek Orthodox churches making custom-tailored vestments and paraments and that's how I got introduced to Greek folk embroidery). Their team was so fabulous that I'm getting really excited about the lecture--it's such an honor to get to hang out with the EGA!

Byzantine Beasts quiet book (pic below)--well, this baby is really coming together! I finished the sample stitching (wow, do little animals stitch fast! after doing the 20K+ Cycladean Scrolls, I felt like I flew through these little guys) and now I'm just mentally puzzling over the construction method and figuring out which kind of interfacing I'm going to use. It's an interesting process--if I was going to sit down and sew this, it would only take me a few minutes because I would figure out stuff on the fly, but as soon as I have to write up pattern instructions, the whole process takes a LOT longer because I have to think through what an amateur seamstress might or might not know, what needs to be explained, what needs to be sketched, etc. I like the mental puzzle of it, it just takes a lot more time than you would think.

Byzantine Band Sampler--I finished up the final outer border a couple of weeks ago and am waiting for the frame to arrive. I'll photograph it in the frame, then take it apart and rework it into a wall hanging to be able to photograph it in that variation. I'm never quite sure which kind of finishings stitchers like to see, so I try to do as many as I can with a single embroidery. Even I'm not sure how I would display this in my home--I think I want to have it as a wall hanging in my upstairs hallway, but then I might like it in the frame--who knows?

New releases--since it's the beg of the month, I just released Cycladean Scrolls and Latvian Berries. Super happy with both of those! I never tire of those Greek island embroidered cushion borders and feel like I could happily work all of them for years and years. On my upcoming trip to Greece, I'm hoping to see more of these.

Linen--The third color of the 30ct Greek linen arrived on Monday and I just got it up on the website--we're calling it "Parchment" (by "we", I mean Pamela and I--we just look at the fabric and make up names!). It looks almost identical to Legacy Mariner's Map and even has the same blue selvedge stripe, so it may be made in the same mill. I love this color--it has that tea-dyed warmth that feels aged and vintage-y.

Riga Diamonds--Cindy Russell just sent me her simply stunning version of Riga Diamonds and I am hoping for a sunny day so I can photograph it in the living room with maximum light. She worked it as a table runner and it really sings in this format. Plus, she worked her super-amazing drawn thread hemming magic and it looks so luxe (true confession--I aspire to work drawn thread hem as well as Cindy!!).

Wool, anyone? OK, this one is pretty interesting: Appleton's, the company that developed crewel wools for William Morris, reached out to me about using their wools in some of my designs (do you all know how I feel about William Morris?! his textile designs were some of my very first textile inspiration when I was in my early 20s and when I found out he was inspired by visiting a museum exhibition of Greek folk embroidery, it just felt so full circle!). I was intrigued--I love wool and have used it for decades in my tailoring work, but I've never done crewel work or needlepoint and I wasn't sure it was something you could do with cross stitch. Well, they sent me samples and I. Am. In. Love. Oh my word--the wool just works up so gorgeous on the Mikini 26ct (I'll be sharing pics on IG soon when I get a smidge more done). The texture is really interesting--the wool has more loft than DMC floss, so it fills in the stitch and sits a bit "taller", which creates more textural contrast between the stitches and the fabric, resulting in this look that's not quite cross stitch and not quite needlepoint. So, then I thought "Wait...I'm kinda late to the cross stitch world, surely someone else must be working cross stitch with crewel wools?", but after checking with a number of embroiderers I know (incluing the entire EGA tech team!), it seems like we haven't thought to combine these two media before. Can I just say that my Textile Nerd heart is overflowing??!! So, stay tuned for some Avlea kits coming up with Appleton's Wools--I've got some cushion cover designs for the fall that I think will be fabulous in this new pairing.

And, now that I'm thinking of that Appleton's wool, I'm off to keep stitching the sample. I'll be back in a couple of weeks with more updates!