swirly blue

kitty number three

a naughty bengal – trubble steals baubles from the tree, but he’s very selective adn only steals the cat shaped ones

and a video

(I’m not sure if I’m doing that flosstube thing right, I couldn’t find any instructions)

and the third pdf /video for the lady and the unicorn has gone out – foliage. I can still rustle up a few kits if anyone else wants to sign up (this one is limited by the amount of appropriate pearls I could get)

shop update and some sale kits

I’ve added some lovely new colours of silk twill for embroidery to the shop

https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/shop/supplies-and-materials/6?page=1&limit=60&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc

and there are also a few kits in the sale, the last ones, and once they’re gone they’re gone, I won’t be doing them again
https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/shop/sale-items/7?page=1&limit=60&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc

great wheel spinster

Great wheel spinster from the luttrell psalter. I know it’s two new kits very close together, but I thought I might as well get her ready in time for TORM this weekend, so she’s available in the shop too

https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/product/great%2Fwheel%2Fspinster%2Fluttrell%2Fpsalter/135?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=3

christmas kitty

is a medieval christmas kitty, and so is cleaning his bum (it’s important to have a bath before Santa comes, santa doesn’t like stinky kitties)

odd jobs and a finished hildegarde

I’ve done so many small pieces for classes and course this last year that I don’t know what to do with them. I don’t do embroidery to sell, but in this case I’ve decided to mount and list these in the shop on the basis of nothing ventured nothing gained.

They’re a bit of an odd selection, and a wide price range, but maybe someone will be christmas shopping

https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/shop/original-embroidery/11?page=1&limit=60&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc

I also listed some of my greetings cards, which I’ve been meaning to get round to for a while(I made myself a long list for this week, full of things I’ve been meaning to get round too for months, and I’m slowly plodding through it)

https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/shop/greetings-cards/12?page=1&limit=60&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc

and I finished Hildegarde, and made her as a kit (I wasn’t intending too, but quite a few people asked, sooo…)

https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/product/hildegardeembroiderykit/115?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=3

jacket

I bought some gorgeous bluegreen tweed at yarndale, with a very unusual 16 shaft weave. It sort of reminds me of oldfashioned parquet floors.

it was only a half width of about a metre, and I bought three with a vague idea to make a lieghtwieght autumn coat because my orange one I made the other year is a bit too heavy for the season.

I decided I needed a day of doing as little as possible the MOnday after yarndale, so I watched a film and started to play with my fabric.

In the end I made four cuts – one across the end, which was then cut in two to make two sqaure sleeve pieces, and two slits in the main body to accomodate the sleeves – the idea being that the rest of the fabric would be pleated and draped around the body. I had in mind the kind of bedgown that originated in fashionable eighteenth century dress but which persisted in the folkwear of the Cullercoats fishwives until ww2

There was much pleating, sewn carefully into place

a symetrical block at the back, with a half set reflecting it at the front.

THe fabric had a beautiful selvedge, so I decided to yse that as the lower hem rather than interupting the drape with a hem

I toyed with different ideas for the collar but in the end I really liked the way the uncut edges hung into a natural collar, so I left it alone. I didn’t bother with a fastening because you tend not to need one at this time of year.

All in all it’s quite minimalist, the idea being to allow the lovely cloth to speak for itself. It was minimalist enough to be easily handsewn in an afternoon, even with thinking time.It’s very comfy. Gareth says if I wear it with my red hat it makes me look like a 1950s schoolteacher.

I’m not sure whether that’s a compliment or not.

skittle baby

I have reasons

and I have learned how to speed clips up today, so thats a useful skill

hmmmm…

so I bought this lovely tweed at yarndale last weekend

I had originally thought perhaps a frock coat, but with an asymetrical hem created by making the gores from straight squares to emphasise the pattern, but now I’m playing with it and wondering if I should just let the cloth be itself by making a cape – you know the sort of semi tailored cape with buttons down the front and slits for the arms?

Much though I like nice tailoring I find myself more and more leaning towards the idea that beautiful cloth should be allowed to do all the talking. I find myself making simpler and simpler garments – on Monday I took another piece of tweed from the same weaver, made three cuts and a lot of carefull pleats and ended up with a very wearable jacket somewhat reminiscent of an c18th bedgown (I haven’t had a chance to take pics yet but I will)

I mentioned what sort of cape I was thinking of to Gareth and wondered if it was a bit too old lady, but the sarcastic bastard pointed out that I am an old lady – I’m only 50!

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I started her on saturday morning as a demo piece to work on at yarndale. She’s based on an image of hildegard of bingen, but I gave her a little dog because christine de pisan always has one and I thought it would make a change from a cat. I ahve to leave her unfinished for a filming thing I’m doing in a few weeks, but I will do some more on her later in the week – I’m having a day off today before sorting out all the unicorns for my new online class. My plan is to leave her lectern partially finished for filming, but do the rest. I hadn’t intended as much But I think she might end up being a kit