Hello everyone
Firstly a BIG THANK YOU for the wonderful response to the idea of miniature embroidery. Your comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated and have been very helpful. I think we can safely say that everyone is in agreement that this is something you would like to see in kit form and I have every intention of pursuing it – actually am on to it already between other things like Colour Scheme booklets. Never a dull moment! Actually this is a very exciting concept for me – it has opened a whole warehouse of ideas and am now sleeping and eating miniatures much to my family’s dismay who live in hope of getting dinner on the table and homework done before bed time!
There were varying preferences for the background fabric some of you prefer the good old reliable cotton satin and some of you would like the flexibility of a muslin/cotton fabric to use for quilting, needlework accessories etc so the research for this is still in the pipeline. I have ordered samples of different fabrics and will test them out to find the most suitable. I think one needs to take into consideration the fineness of needle painting in miniature which requires a very close weave to allow for the specific stitching.
I have decided to base the miniature collection on the Victorian gift book and postcard illustrations. Not only are vintage illustrations gaining in popularity but the Victorian style lends itself so beautifully to this form of embroidery. The year is 1890 and I dream of sitting on a chair in the rose garden in my long flowing dress stitching and thinking sweet nothings. Perhaps I should have lived in this era ………… but then panic – no computers, could not do without the computer! This weekend I did a trial run on a little pair of bluebirds from a gift book by Charlotte Murray. The actual picture is approx 6 cm (2inches) square.
Here are some illustration examples to give you an idea. Most of these old postcards are available for purchase through Etsy or online Vintage shops but if anyone is able to point me in the direction of a good source of vintage postcards that would be great.
When I embark on a new idea I like to try something that is challenging first so if it works I feel more confident about tackling similar pictures. The original illustration was weeny and not very clear so was relieved to satisfy myself that it could be done! Having done the preliminary sketches in crayon and come up with some plausible ideas I am ready to start – Perhaps I will show you the working of a design from start to finish over a couple of blog posts because it is quite a process?
Just to be clear with regard the pansies I showed you last week. These are one of a collection of 4 projects that I have designed for Country Bumpkin in Australia and will be available from their shop as soon as they reach their destination. These 4 designs are exclusive to Country Bumpkin but this does not mean that all my other kits including the new collection of Miniatures are still available through the usual channels – my online shop:
and the new Etsy Shop.
Until next time wherever you are have a wonderful week and many happy stitching hours. Trish