Finishing things

I have had a busy summer finishing a variety of projects and travelling!  I spent a lot of my time making 3 bridesmaids dresses for a wedding in mid-August - they were finished the day before the wedding as there were a lot of last minute adjustments to make however the girls and more importantly the bride were very happy with them on the day.

I also made 2 bags over the summer - I wanted a padded bag for carrying my laptop around and decided to use this blue Tiffany style fabric.

I was also asked if I would make a bag for someone, which I agreed to.  She sent me the fabric and here is the finished result.  I was very pleased with how it turned out and so was the recipient.

In the middle of August I got my results back for my blackwork module and was very pleased to have earned a distinction - the piece of work has also been included in the RSN's special summer newsletter commemorating 140 years of the RSN much to my delight and amazement.

Now it's time to start some new projects and continue with others which have been put to one side over the last few months.  I have started my next module with the RSN which is Long and Short Silk Shading.  For this piece I am working on a picture of a fuschia flower on dark green silk.  So far I have created the design, decided which threads to use, transferred the design to the framed silk and started to do the split stitch - on Wednesday I shall start the actual long and short stitches.

Blackwork finished!

I have just realised that it is many months since I last posted and haven't given any progress reports about my RSN course.  My Jacobean crewelwork piece was assessed and I got a credit for it which I was pleased about - a good mark for a first piece.  Since then I have been working on my next module - blackwork.  I decided to create a picture based on a photograph of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland and actually used 2 pictures because one of them had a wonderfully dramatic sky outlining the castle.  It was important to find an image with lots of shadows and shading that I could trace and use as my reference.  The design was transferred onto evenweave fabric using tissue and stitching lines and then I had to choose about 5 or 6 different stitch patterns.  The shading is achieved by using different weights of threads (fine silk, machine embroidery thread, stranded cotton and coton a broder) and breaking up the stitches or adding an extra line to them.  The first photo shows the progress I had made by early March. 

And here is the finished picture ready to be handed in this week for assessment over the summer.

The next module that I will start in September is Silk Shading using long and short stitch.  I need to find an image of a flower that is not too complicated and that I like before then so I intend to take lots of photos as I am out and about on my travels.


This week we have an exhibition opening in Rugby Library and Museum for 10 days, with a lot of work from the RSN Certificate and Diploma students based in Rugby on display - it should be a great show as there is a lot of lovely work to be displayed.

Finished!
The crewel work picture is finished!  Hurrah - it is mounted and now ready to be handed in for assessment.

To get the mounting right took a lot of work and a lot of tweeking but I am pleased with the finished result and look forward to getting my assessment mark - hopefully a good one.

Now on to the next module - Blackwork.  I have chosen to do a picture of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland - lots of opportunities to use a variety of stitches (about 6) and lots of shading in the picture which will present an interesting challenge.