Flying Geese

Based on the quilting block of the same name, I designed and stitched Flying Geese in 2005 for entry in the Royal Highland Show 2006.

The class description in the schedule was "Sampler - Birds", and from within the convolutions of my brain came this. "Sampler"; Websters Dictionary defines a sampler as "a practical example of needlework patterns". Tick. "Birds", well Geese are birds. Tick

The background is a Beaty Stitch variation, the triangles are Jacquard, Hungarian, Byzantine and Oriental stitch. The right hand side is the reverse of the left. Apart from being (I thought) an interesting and attractive design, it is also an example of how to get a different effect by reversing a stitch, and an exercise in compensation (and we all love working out those compensating stitches).
Flying Geese was worked in Soie d'Alger on 18 count canvas. It measures 5" by 5" and took fifty hours to design and stitch.

I thought I had pretty much hit the schedule description with this. The judges didn't agree. It came last. The winner was a colourful and beautifully worked cross-stitch picture of hens and a rooster.

Despite my disappointment, I got a great deal of enjoyment out of designing and stitching Flying Geese and my mother, who was an avid quilter, enjoyed having it on her wall and showing it off to her friends.

Christmas Lights

I stitched this in October - November 2005. It was not for Christmas, but for the American Needlepoint Guild charity auction 2006, a good six months away at that point.

One thing I try to be 'well ahead on' is DEADLINES. Mostly they're self imposed, sometimes it's for an exhibition or a gift, but I always like to be finished well ahead of time. I hate to be in the position where there is a deadline looming and the stitching isn't finished, there's still the finishing or framing, the artist's statement to write or other paperwork to be completed. Not that I'm compulsive about it, but if I can I like to have the completed piece in my hands a good month ahead of the deadline. (Sad or what?)

This hit the deadline with time to spare. It's actually about 3" x 2" and stitched using metallic and rayon threads to give it a gloss. The background is worked in a very fine machine embroidery thread and is much less open in reality than the image suggests. (I make no claim to any photographic skill.)When held with a light shining on it the bulbs reflected the light and looked as though they were on.

I don't know how this was finally finished, how much it was sold for, or what happened to it, and I don't really need to know. The important thing, for me, was to "give something back", even if it is only time and a few threads.

Kites

I made this small wall hanging in 2005, and it's only as I write this that I remember why I made it.

It was to be entered in the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh in 2006. The Highland Show is a big annual event and the Handicraft section always has an overall theme, with sub-themes for different crafts. The theme for 2006 was, I seem to remember, "Air" and the sub-theme for Patchwork and Quilting was "Kites".

The background is completed in 1" squares, the kites were appliqued on.

Did I win a prize? Not a chance! When I saw the other entries I knew I just had not achieved a high enough standard. I had spent 120 hours on this, and looking at it compared to the other entries I could see that it would have been much better if I had spent another 20 hours on the quilting.
What I did learn was that Patchwork and Quilting is more likely to mean 'patchwork and QUILTING' than 'PATCHWORK and Quilting'.
With 20/20 hindsight, I'm not sure that my colour and fabric choices were the best either.

"Roses," said St. Elizabeth

St. Elizabeth's Apron, which is the title of this hanging, was the 2005 Patchworks McMillan Challenge. The challenge title was "Roses" and the fabric was a rose print.

I dithered over a number of ideas, then, while reading a Hornblower novel I came across a reference to St Elizabeth's roses. That was the trigger. I knew the story (vaguely), but I went to the inter-web to check it out.

One story about her relates that St. Elizabeth (1207-1231), Queen of Hungary, was a Christian given to good works. She would take food to the hungry, clothes to the poor and medicines to the sick. The King, not necessarily having the same values, and watching her drain his coffers, put his foot down. He threatened that if he ever caught her doing so again he would have her beheaded.
The story goes on to say that she continued to do so and one day, when her apron was filled with bread for the starving, they met in the street. "What's in your apron?" he demanded. "Roses," she lied. "Let me see!" Feeling the cold edge of the axe on her neck, Elizabeth opened her apron and the bread had changed to roses.

I based the colour scheme on a depiction of St. Elizabeth. It shows her in a red dress, with a blue over-mantle and a white apron. I chose a red 'mille-fleure' cotton for the dress to extend the rose theme and to indicate that as a lady of high rank she would have had access to exotic fabrics. I retained a solid blue for her mantle, blue being the colour that indicated purity and is associated with pious Christian maidens. The apron is formed from a large piece of white fabric. This was draped as though round the waist and being used to carry bread, then pinned and tucked into shape.
The rose fabric was ironed onto a backing to stop the roses fraying when they were cut out. Each rose or small bunch of roses was cut from the fabric and appliqued to the apron in a cascade, as though the apron had been opened and the roses were falling out.

The roses probably took about one third of the 97 hours I spent on this piece, which measures 24" on each side. I finished it off by hand embroidering the title, which I don't normally do, and making a bias binding from the remainder of the rose material.

There is a post-script to this story. A lady who worked for me was retiring to spend more time in her garden. She, like Elizabeth, was having a second chance. (Nothing to do with an irate axe wielding husband, she was in recovery from cancer.) I knew she had seen and liked the hanging, and as she grew roses it seemed an appropriate leaving present.