Post 185 Experiments

Today was the Certificate Course Workshop on Wessex Stitchery, a style introduced by Mrs Margaret Foster, born in 1843, lived most of her life in Bath and stitched well into her 90s. Margaret Foster used a narrow range of stitches, some basic designs and to create an almost limitless range of patterns by overlaying the stitches and combining colours.

effort 1

Mary Hall, who took the workshop, has been playing with Wessex stitchery for some time, and has some beautiful and helpful samplers she has worked and labelled. She is a good teacher, and the workshop pushed us into experimenting.

Effort 2

It was a lot of fun.   My first effort didn't work. The colours were good, but the combination of stitches didn't. My second effort had much more promise.

I think the Covid set-up at the Guild is good. The 1.5 metre tables are set up so we work properly distanced and there are notices about not leaving your seat. We now have Marshalls at all meetings. Barbara acted as Marshal today and has agreed to act for the next meeting of the World Embroidery Study Group. I'm going to do the training and encourage others in the group to do the same.

Mary encouraged us to go outside to eat our lunches. It reached 25C in Adelaide today!

I got my second example finished. I was very happy with this one which used linen thread and coton a broder.









My last one at the workshop an orange stranded cotton and a luminous green acrylic thread. I dislike working with the latter, but it gives a good effect.




I finished this one off at home and also worked a fourth example.


























There is endless possibility in this form of stitchery (Margaret Foster used 'stitchery' rather than 'embroidery', which she thought elevated it beyond the reach of ordinary women.


I am inspired by Mary Hall's long thin samplers to look at using these strips left from myIcelandic Endless Knot bag.


Turtle appeared on my balcony ever so quickly this morning - landed for a few seconds and took off again. This afternoon as I was stitching at the living room I heard a very loud and persistence dove cooing at the oher end of the apartment. When I investigated, Turtle was up on the corner of the roof, cooing as if his life depended on it. I opened the door to throw down some seed, when Myrtle flew off my wall garden and away, Turtle following. Some strange bird activity.

The succulents are continuing to bloom, in quiet, mostly unassuming ways.








I focused from about 2.30 this afternoon on the Icelandic rune embroidery. I'm embroidering in bursts to avoid eye strain

To Katherine's to dinner tonight. Most of them are tired and Fionn is sore from football.

I have a day to myself tomorrow. I need to do some shopping and some cooking preparation.  There's a lot of embroidery stuff to put away and a lot of books to read. The temperature is forecast as a 14C maximum - bit of a contrast to today!