St Eligius Entry

This weekend,  I went out of my comfort zone and after 13 years, entered St Eligis Arts and Science competition.  I entered an Italian Assisi redwork embroidered hand towel  or "napkin" as they called them. It was from the 1500s. It is a work in progress because as a friend is fond of saying, "Embroidery always takes twice as long as you estimate it will" and she is correct!

I was very nervous about entering because of a past bad experience in a competition, but I bit the proverbial bullet and threw my hat into the ring.  Here are pictures i took and I will copy and paste my documentation in for further reading.

This is my entry set up at St Eligius.

Cell phone shot while working on it.

another cell shot at 1am the day before of the stopping point.

A photo of me at my spot someone took of me.

Documentation papers from St Eligius:

St Eligius 12 Question Contest Documentation

What did you make or do?

I am currently working on an Italian embroidered hand towel inspired by an extant piece in the Victoria and Albert museum.

What is the connection between your entry and a medieval item or practice?

I am creating an Italian persona for myself and want to have feast linens for myself.

How would your entry have been made/done in period?

The detail work on the towel/napkin that inspired me was actually a separate piece that was woven and then stitched onto the linen towel, then the hem was created and trimmed with red stitching. However there are other extant pieces that show the linen being directly embroidered on.

How was yours made/done?

I am embroidering directly onto white linen with a counted stitch pattern using Splendor Twisted Silk 12 strand embroidery thread, two strands, color number 0822.

What are some similarities and differences in materials, process, tools, approach?

The silk that would have been used on the piece at the museum would have been stranded silk. I am using twisted silk thread for durability, also it was what I had in my stash already.

What inspired you?

Two pieces from history inspired me. The pattern came from a “cover” that is at the Victoria & Albert Museum. I found a pattern already charted very similar to this one in the New Carolingian Modelbook and am using that. The other piece that inspired me is the towel also at the V&A with a woven band of embellishment.

What was your favorite part of preparing your entry?

I love to embroider. I have always been a lover of counted work (except when I miscount and have to pick out stitches). Blackwork is one of my favorite embroidery styles to execute as well. So with creating an Italian persona having a feast gear linen set made for my persona was an appealing idea.

What would you do differently next time?

I would invest in stranded silk to execute the embroidery to make it more accurate to the original pieces.

What references or sources would you recommend to someone interested in your work?

The V&A has a large collection of embroideries and this is where I found wonderful images of redwork.

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/2295/cover (cover with the embroidery pattern)

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O119345/napkin-unknown/ (images of the towel)

Image of woman with embroidered towel on shoulder.

Towel/Napkin from V&A Museum, 1500 Italy

How did you find your sources of information?

I found images, paintings and inspirations mainly through internet research as well as a few books in my collection.

• Assisi Embroidery by Jos Hendriks ISBN 9082190028
• New Carolingian Model Book by Kim Brody Salazar ISBN 0964208229

Did you find a connection to a medieval artisan or owner while working on your entry?

I have always loved embroidering. My mother taught me when I was a small child and have progressed through the years from cross stitch to free embroidery and after I found the SCA 26 years ago, now researching techniques done through out history and doing my best to recreate them as accurately as possible. Recreating the embroidery from pieces in history gives me an idea of what it was like all those years ago. Modern day conveniences such as electric lights, machined metal needles and threads and magnifying glasses give me an advantage that they did not have then. I have, for the sake of curiosity, tried embroidering by candle light with a large glass vase filled with water to act as a magnifier but it proved quite difficult with my already aged vision. I imagine embroidering that way caused eye sight to deteriorate more quickly over the years.

Any last thoughts or amusing stories about your work?

A fellow friend who also embroiders once told me “Embroidery always takes twice as long as you think it will”. As always, she is right. Even though I allotted what I thought was a generous amount of time to finish this project prior to the event, I did not allot enough. The tight linen I chose, even with reading glasses, was sometimes difficult to count and mistakes were made that required stitches to be removed thus delaying completion.

Internet Research Web Site Links:

http://www.larsdatter.com/voided-work.htm

http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/24931

http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/436943

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/213459

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/222080

Image References:

Close up of Towel/Napkin at V&A Museum, 1500 Italy

“Cover” Showing cross stitch pattern Inspiration

While I most likely will not enter another competition, I did learn quite a bit while sitting for this one. I wanted to thank everyone that stopped by and gave suggestions or compliments at my work.

Laurel "Doby Sock" Alms Purse

Many months ago, a friend approached me about making her a sock pouch to present to her apprentice for her elevation ceremony. She originally wanted it knit with her arms woven into it but, being not terribly proficient in color changing in knitting yet, I asked if it could be embroidered and she agreed. She explained that the recipient is a huge Harry Potter fan and that by presenting her with a "sock" at the start of the elevation, she would release her as her apprentice to become a laurel. I LOVED THIS IDEA!!  After inquiring about her persona, I decided to make a sock version of an alms (aumonieres) purse. Alms purses have been found through the years in several coutries: Spain, France, England to name a few.  They vary in shapes, styles and materials made in. 

Some examples:

This alms purse from the 13th century is knit. Currently it is located in Spain. 

 

 

 

Chaplain of a Countess of Bar and its hinged armature Paris, Cluny Museum

 

 

French Alms Purse 1340s

It was from these images and a few others that I took my inspiration to create her purse.

Materials used:

Silk dupioni fabric (blue, antique gold)
Silk sewing thread
Splendor Silk 12 strand twisted embroidery thread
Sulky Embroidery stabilizer
Gold Pallions
Lucet Corder

I obtained an image of her arms from my friend and transferred it to the stabilizer and then used that to outline the design and added the peerage symbol of a Laurel wreath.

Then i placed it over the ground fabric of the antique gold silk. Now while in most of the alms purses the ground fabric was covered with embroidery because it was usually a linen, I did not cover the entire purse in embroidery because I loved the glow of the silk.

Using two strands of silk, I embroidered her arms and the wreath using split stitch, stem stitch and some satin stitch. Outlining the crane and ermine were done with one strand of black silk thread.

Once finished I removed the stabilizer and cut out the shape of the sock. The entirety of it was hand sewn. I added the pallions in sets of three around the wreath/shield on the one side. I had considered putting some on the opposite side of the purse but for practicality purposes, it would rub against the clothing and I feared it would cause them to catch and pull off so I chose not to for that reason.

When it was together, I made the eyelets using an awl (Yes, Jaji, that same deadly awl) and did buttonhole stitches to bind the edging.

The draw strings, hanging cord and edge cording trim are all lucet braided from more silk splendor thread.  Netflix was my biggest friend during all this, LOL!

I was very pleased with how it turned out. I wish I could have seen the recipients face when she was given it but I have been told she liked it very much.

One of these days I'll have to get around to making an alms purse for myself.  HA!!!
#cobblerschildrenhavenoshoes

Middle Kingdom Gifts

I created embroidered covers for two blank books that were to be gifted to the visiting royals of the Mid Realm on Saturday as they attended the Coronation of Ioannes and Honig.

My original plan was to hand bind the books as well, but as these are intended to be used over their coming reign (which means through Pennsic War) my hand bound book would not have withstood the rigors of that type of use. So I opted for a commercially made blank journal, which has the integrity to take months of constant use they will get.

The cover fabrics were dupioni silk and the ground fabric for the shield embroideries was white linen.  The threads used were Splendor Silk twisted embroidery threads.  While I embroidered the arms on white linen as a base, the spine embroideries were directly on the ground silk fabric.  Obviously, the shield embroidery is Middle Kingdom arms of the King and Queen. Though they were Prince and Princess when given yesterday, their Coronation is to happen in the next couple weeks so I opted to do the full Royal Arms for King and Queen.  On the spines, I took facets of their personal arms to decorate them. Her highness has dandelions and their leaves on hers while the Prince has three white stars, a tigers head and the Augmentation symbol of a golden sun.

I enjoyed making these covers very much and hope their Highness's will get much use from them.

Edit: Found a picture of the books being given out:

Pelican Embroidery

A friend was elevated to the Order of the Pelican yesterday. Now that it has been given, I can post the images of the embroidery.  I was asked to embroider the medallion for her coat and was given a drawing to go off of.  I am told it was adapted it from a painting inspired by "Conference of the Birds" by Mantiq-ut-Tayr.  

I embroidered using silk threads on the ground fabric of teal silk dupioni. I was very pleased with how it turned out. 
When I have a picture of the recipient wearing it, I will post that as well.

Edit:  This is a picture of "Conference of the Birds" where the design inspiration came from for her Pelican cloak and medallion.

EMBROIDERED BOOK PORN!!!

A short post because while parusing through Pinterest, I found this embroidered book and I am all about recreating it in the very near future...FOR ME!! HAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Book Porn - Very Safe for Work!

Enjoy!

Apron dress Do Over



So, the apron dress I sent to my friend in PA was not fit correctly. So after some pinning, she sent it back to me so that I could refit it for her. Before I send it out to her, I decided to spiff it up a little to make up for my mistake in measuring when I cut it out and stitched it together.  I added this little motif that I found online to the dress in matching silk embroidery thread.  I sent her a picture and she loves it! :D Going out in the mail tomorrow.