Old butterfly pattern used again.

The Holocaust Museum Houston is asking for handmade butterflies to be submitted for an exhibit in 2013 remembering the 1.5 million children who died in the holocaust. My embroidery guild is participating by collecting butterflies made by members and sending them in. I made mine from an old, probably 1960s or 70s pattern I have used in a couple of crazy quilts. It always gets interest from viewers of my quilts, so I used it again, making it about 6 inches (15 cm) square. It is DMC floss on a piece of hand-dyed cotton cloth that was given to me several years ago.

Embroidered Lettering Class Project

Here is the completed embroidered lettering class project. I enhanced the print on the fabric and mounted the piece on an oval card with a beaded edging to join the backing fabric.

Lettering on Fabic Workshop

You must read Susan Elliott's report on the workshop sponsored by our local Embroidery Guild chapter on embroidered lettering. Not only was the workshop great, but Susan is a master at description and at photography. I thought I could surface embroidery well, but I learned I could do better. Here is a picture of the workshop project, partly done, compared to the name tag I made a few years ago. I love the improvement resulting from using teacher Canby Robertson's technique. I know I will be using it more in the future.

Long and Short Stitch Tutorial

I can't remember where I learned of Mary Corbet's Long and Short Stitch Tutorial, but I'm glad of it. Motifs filled with long and short stitch are some of my favorites. Here is an early example from my first crazy quilt. It's my interpretation of the celtic-style sculpture of a Roman sun god found in the Roman baths at Bath, England. I used the drawing from the cover of a book I bought in the gift shop there.

What a special place those baths are. I like the story of their discovery by Bladud, eldest son of the King of Britain. He came home from studying in Athens, afflicted with leprosy. To avoid being confined in quarantine, he ran away to the countryside and became a pig herder. One winter day, some of his pigs wondered away and came back covered in mud. He wondered why they were wallowing in winter, when they usually only did so in summer to keep cool. He investigated and found steam and smoke arising from a warm mud wallow. After some days, he noticed that the wallowing pigs were free of scabby skin. So, he bathed himself in the mud and was cured of his leprosy. He returned home and succeded his father as king. He built temples at Bath in gratitude for his cure. Hmm, I think those pigs deserve to be showcased in embroidery for their part in this story. Stay tuned.

First, however, I'm following Mary Corbet's tutorial. I'm sure I can learn something new to make my long and short stitches better.