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Showing posts with label my design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my design. Show all posts

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Thank you : Survey - little Schwalm bird design

Thank you all for giving me an idea as to what most of you prefer.  Some of you had difficulty commenting here (?)  so I appreciate you emailing me through the blog or posting things on Facebook.  You can continue noting your preference here on my blog...
I will tally things up in about 10 days and then research all the options, figure out the logistics and see how I can 'enable' all of you!
I truly appreciate all your compliments on my little design - it was just something I put together to commemorate a very nice Sunday afternoon I spent with a needlework friend 'in person'.
It may take me awhile to work out all the details because February, March and May are going to be very busy months for me on all fronts BUT I will be in touch with you all as soon as I have figured it all out.
Thanks for your help!   

Friday, December 19, 2014

Christmas wishes - a la Schwalm - my design

I came up with an idea just a few days ago, sketched it out, found a remnant of 'suitable' linen and started stitching it - this was an exercise for me to not just familiarize myself with the techniques of a German whitework technique commonly known as Schwalmerstickerei / Schwalm embroidery, but also to test myself to stitch something without spending too much time 'thinking' and 'studying' - the emphasis was on the 'doing';  I wanted  to get familiar with thread thickness, stitches and their effects etc.  I have collected a number of books in this area over the years and was fortunate enough to see a beautiful collection of embroideries - the technique is a combination of  using pulled thread techniques, needleweaving, and some crewel stitches.  The designs are made up of the simplest of shapes and the motives are taken from nature - the linens produced are exquisite.  The overall effect of this embroidery is finer than Mountmellick although they both have similar motives taken from nature; it is a bit like Hardanger - quiet and elegant;  Hardanger is more geometric, Schwalm embroidery is more playful.
I am not quite sure if I am 'finished' with this piece yet - but this is the current status as of today... I'll think about a few points and then once satisfied will finish it as a standup Christmas decoration.  Here is my rendition of some of the techniques of Schwalm :