In Stitches

On Wednesday night, I attended the monthly meeting of the Trillium Embroidery Guild. This meeting was a project meeting where we stitched the tops of flowerpot pincushions. Our instructor was guild member and internationally known needlework designer Carol Arsenault. The project is featured in the Spring 2012 issue of A Needle Pulling Thread and is pictured on the top right of the cover.

Carol distributed to each of us a piece of muslin, two needles, coordinating threads and a little flowerpot about 1.5" high.

First, we drew a circle, the circumference of the flowerpot, onto the fabric. Then, with the fabric stretched taut in the embroidery hoop, we filled in the circle with the perle and DMC embroidery threads using French knots and colonial knots until the entire circle is filled in.

I used French knots with two wraps first, then single wraps filling the last, wee empty spaces. The key was to do a random pattern as there were a variety of colours of threads. The result was to look like tightly packed flowers.

I finished mine that night. I just need to trim the fabric, stuff the flowerpot and glue the 'flowers' just inside the rim. I could also attach a ribbon around the edge of the flowerpot.

I really like the 'make and take' meetings we have.

On another stitching note, while I was in Funchal, Madeira last month, I found this needlepoint kit in the back of a souvenir shop. (It was neatly packaged)

The canvas wasn't painted, rather, the colours were indicated by hand-stitched one-ply horizontal stitches which were then to be covered by the stitcher with the diagonal needlpoint stitches with the yarn provided. It is very easy for the stitcher to match the yarn with the coloured horizontal stitches.

I completed half of the design in just one evening.

It won't take much to finish the 3" x 4" design. Then I'll have to pick a background colour. The finished piece will be about 7" x 7.5" and could be a little pillow or a small, framed picture.

The entire kit (which did not include a needle) cost only 8 Euros ($10.64)!  We were so rushed, I didn't really have time to look through all of the kits, I just grabbed the smallest one I could find. Now I wish I had picked up several of them. I guess I'll just have to go back... someday.

I loved the fact that they were authentic as indicated by these tags.

And included in the blue one, was a brief history of the embroidery industry in Madeira, Portugal. 

We saw several embroidery 'factories' but didn't really have the time to stop in for a look. One only gets to 'sample' the ports when one is cruising, making a return visit a necessity for further exploration.