Tag: Stitch: Vintage cloth

The beginning of the end for Blogger?

~ Liz A ~ 11 Comments

I’ve already written this post once, but my mobile version of Blogger on my old iPhone 5s wouldn’t publish it. So, back to publishing on the laptop … for as long as that lasts. And ugh … I hate formatting on the PC … the mobile app was soooo much easier.

Anyway, in addition to the gift pot Deb Sposa sent, there was this beautiful bit of handwoven cloth …

Here’s the back story in Deb’s words:

“I found it at an estate sale at a gorgeous mountain home where the owners had collected amazing Southwestern flavored artworks including fiber pieces & western antiques.  Not sure how old it is but I’m guessing at least 50 to 75 years old.  The weave style looked Mexican or possibly Native American and I think it was used as a small book cover.  I hope you will be able to find a use for it.  Possibly bind your own book to put inside …”

Well that answered the question I had about the sewn-under ends …

And got me thinking how best to showcase it …

I liked the idea of a book, so I played with the idea of making pages out of used tea bags …

And then, recalling our trek to northern New Mexico last summer, I hit on the perfect idea: the petroglyphs that we saw in Santa Fe …

So now I’m playing with watercolors and gouache, trying to find the perfect combination …

As Rachel Maddow is wont to say, “Watch this space … “

Past is prologue

~ Liz A ~ 16 Comments

I’m working on a project right now …

 

I’d call it a commission, but as I have declined any monetary compensation, it is better considered a gift.
The full story will be told later, but this is the back story of its making (quite literally, as this is indeed the back) …

 

I am stitching eyelet initials on a vintage handkerchief, which is most likely linen. Originally I was attempting to stitch the initials in an imitation of the font on a wedding invitation, but the results looked amateurish. I tried and tried with every fiber in my cloth pantry: fine linen thread, cotton floss, plied silk untwisted into a single strand. I tried split backstitch and plain backstitch. I tried different fonts. Nada.
It had everything to do with the handkerchief. So after a design consult with my oldest daughter, I decided to go back to my colonial marking stitch roots and headed out to stock up on supplies. Seeking the finest silk possible, I asked for direction from a helpful employee at Needleworks in Austin. Peering at the proffered handkerchief she opined “70 count?”
“Probably,” I replied (while making a mental note to check the count later) and then went on to select four silks and three needles to try …

 

The John James needles, usually my go-to needles of choice, were quickly eliminated. Likewise the first three silks, of which one was too white, another too fuzzy, the third too heavy. The last silk tried was best, hugging the gossamer strands of the (confirmed) 80-count handkerchief. Even so, the crossed stitches sat too high on the cloth.
And so, eyelets … each composed of eight stitches … each stitch ideally worked over three gossamer strands of the handkerchief … or two, or four (it’s hard to tell sometimes) …

 

The camera focus shuddered on this last image, moving in and out, much as my eyes do while working. Thank goodness I’m as near-sighted as I am. Even so, I can’t work more than a few hours at a time. I’m on day four or five at this point.
All this (and the full story yet to be told) awakened me this morning with a thought. So I pulled out the wicker basket in the back of our closet, dug down to the bottom, and unfolded a sheet-wrapped bundle to try this on …

 

I can honestly say I weigh the same as in 1977, but these days the zipper couldn’t possibly be closed without tearing something. Sadly, gravity and childbearing seem to have moved significant portions of my anatomy south.

So I’ll leave you with this vintage image instead …

and a promise to tell more of how this project came to be … later, when it is done.

Word matters (part 1 of several related posts)

~ Liz A ~ 8 Comments

Words matter, but actions speak volumes.

In the heat of the #Charlottesville moment, I forgot a very important principle: that each of us has a copyright to our words. And so, I offer a public apology to Marti for using her words before seeking her permission.
Since then, I have reached out to many of you who left words in the form of phrases for the Peace Pin Project. Thank you to those of you who graciously gave me permission to use them for my peace shawl project … especially Marti!
As it turned out, my initial peace patches turned out to have insufficient margins …

so they are currently winging their way to their authors.
In their place are the latest versions, back …

and front …

Eventually, these will be stitched together, along with many others, to form a two-sided peace shawl. The seams are variously known as Korean Pojagi or French seams, both of which conceal all raw edges …

I’m particularly liking the idea of wearing the shawl inside out, creating an asemic statement of peace (with thanks to Mo for that concept). Therefore, I am taking care not to use any knots and to clip all loose ends …

This cloth came from Mo, part of a wonderful package that arrived early this summer with cloth dyed by Ulrike (Nemo Ignorat) in Europe …

and Geminid birthday greetings to Don and me (our birthdates being one day apart) …

a wondrous gift from Mo’s Honesty/Lunaria series …

Which is to say, I continue to be amazed by the love and care that come from the community of stitchers and dyers, writers and readers, who visit this humble space. One can’t help but be hopeful, and for that I am most thankful.