Experimenting with reverse appliqué

 In the past week I have seen the sewing technique of reverse appliqué demonstrated by this sewer.

It is a new technique for me & I was keen to have a go. This week my social media memories popped up of a visit to Transylvania 3 years ago. 

While in Romania at Bran castle, I photographed an art piece with winged angel shapes.

I drew it then scanned it onto tracing paper (glue tracing paper on printing paper by just dotting a bit of glue on each corner so it goes through the printer.)

I cut out 4 different linen fabrics, then tacked them together around the edge to keep them together. 

I pinned the traced sheet on to the top layer & then sewed on the lines with black no 8 Perl cotton. Because of the 4 layers, I could not do a long line of stitches because you have to stitch through all 4 layers. I worked out that back stitch was easier most of the time. 

Once all the lines were done, the tracing paper tore away easily to reveal the black lines. 

The technique is to cut the sections through the layers so I cut 1layer on 2 wings to reveal blue linen, cut through 2 layers on another 2 wings to reveal pink linen, then the last 2 wings were cut through 3 layers to reveal the dark brown linen. 

Linen doesn’t give sharp lines but it is effective & a technique I would approach it differently next time by tracing the outline on a light top layer instead of using tracing paper. 

That should make the sewing lines neater & give a sharper edge. 

I will try another one as it is an interesting technique with creative possibilities.

Have you tried .this & what hints do you have for me? Thank you for stopping by & supporting my blog, 

Dee 🏰🪡📍

A challenging goldwork embroidery gift ....

Some months back, my friend & I did a workshop in our county town of Shrewsbury as an introduction to goldwork embroidery.  It was a relaxing day getting some understanding of goldwork embroidery. The technique we used was just couching - laying down gold threads & couching over with threads to hold the shape. It is a technique I use for various threads & it is relaxing. 

However, from background research online before that course, I knew that goldwork is much more complex, often used in intricate religious & ceremonial garments & it is a specialised field. 

I bought a book to better understand the techniques & various threads used, but other than a brief read, it was not studied. 

My talented friend & neighbour who makes the most amazing beaded miniature books surprised me with a goldwork kit for my birthday in April, as a follow-up to the workshop I had done a few days before. 

I must admit to being rather overwhelmed when I opened it & found an array of gold threads, beads, & instructions that were rather challenging. I  put it aside & thought - this will take careful work to even find out what each thread & instruction is for. 

This weekend, being a long one here, I decided now or never; I had postured enough. 

I have my creative space & machines in a spare room that I have taken over & so I laid out the contents of the goldwork kit & spent a lot of time deciding which threads are which - rough or smooth purl, pearl purl, leather, bright check. passing thread, beads & more.  Once they were laid out on the right section of the instructions, it felt more ordered & manageable. 

Fortunately I have an embroidery stand that is essential when you need your hands free. 

Mine has a  small board that you can peg instructions to - essential at such times as these when following instructions is the only way to see a way forward with unfamiliar techniques. 

I have not really used silk so putting in grid stitching to hold it to the backing fabric was interesting. 

Then the pattern was traced, then pinned to the hooped fabrics, running stitches around all the shapes, the tracing paper then torn away to leave just the outline stitches. 

That took much longer than I thought it would ... 

Then the process of following each & every instruction in order to couch the stems with the really fiddly pulling back of the threads at the end of each section so they are not visible at the front. 

Tracing & adding felt to part of the flower shapes, then beading it by cutting some of the wire - I think I made mine a little big but it worked out even though it was fiddly. 

The gold leather shapes on the flowers needed a thimble to get the fine needle through the leather & keep it neat. Gold beads on part of the shapes followed before the shapes were outlined with the stretchy bright check wire. I worked through the order of things & on the second day was relieved that the progress was good. 

Finally after about 10 hours of stitching, cutting, threading multiple needles, the last stitches went in & I could un-hoop it & decided what next. There is a carboard backing board, but perhaps I will just hoop it for now until I decide how I want to display it. 

It is easily the most challenging sewing I have done, & it requires very nimble sewing & an awareness of several techniques & use of threads & wires. 

It is a massive relief to say it is done, I did it after putting it off for weeks because of the unknown nature of the techniques. 

My friend Diane is a City & Guilds embroidery & her stitching is precise, mine is good but she is way too generous to say anything other than be complimentary. 

I feel a sense of relief & pride that I completed this rather challenging gift & I am in  awe of the work of guild people who do intricate goldwork. 

It is a real skill, one which  I don't have, but then again, I have never studied embroidery formally. 

Do you also procrastinate when challenged until you have to step up? Thank you for stopping by, please subscribe & share - it is much appreciated. 

Dee 🪡📍📖

Tracing the enigmatic footsteps of T.E. Lawrence in Dorset

 I have heard the story from my late father in law of him watching Thomas Edward Lawrence (T.E. Lawrence / Lawrence of Arabia) travel down the road past the old Dorset family home for years. He told how he used to sit on the brick front wall & watch T.E drive past & waving to him. What Johnnie didn't tell was that it was his Father TG who rode out with T.E Lawrence & that it was something they both enjoyed doing. 

Hubbies Great grandfather TG was pictured on his motor cycle with great grandma sitting side ways on the back, locally  in the lanes of Walditch. 

While in Dorset for a few days, I asked if a trip to Moreton could be on  the cards for Sunday because it is actually somewhere I had not been to even though it was not far from the county town of Dorchester that I have visited dozens of times over the years. 

That is how we came to visit Moreton, close to Bovington where T.E. Lawrence was stationed after his famous Lawrence of Arabia time when he had an ambivalent attitude to the fame that followed him. 

Grandfather TG had kept dozens of newspaper articles on him & we read them with interest. 

One said this of his attitude to fame:

He was once described as the type of man who would feign embarrassment if he walked in to a party & people recognised him - but stand on his head if no one did. 

St Nicolas Church Moreton is very special; a church has stood on that site since 1190. Its popularity is largely because of 2 persons named Lawrence / Laurence - the 13 Laurence Whistler engraved glass windows & the grave of Lawrence of Arabia, T.E Lawrence. 

The church suffered a direct bomb hit in 1940, losing the north wall & windows & being out of action for some time. 

The 12th century font remained standing amidst the rubble. 

Sir Laurence Whistler - the Father of Glass engraving - etched all 12 windows inside the church & the 13th panel - the Forgiveness Window, was the last addition. That is best viewed from outside.

The bright sunshine made the details on the windows harder to see & some were better viewed from outside. They are all very special windows.

There are impressive Minton encaustic tiles in the apse with 5 sets of 3 panel engraved windows in the circular space. 

T.E. Lawrence enrolled incognito as a private soldier - T.E. Shaw, at the nearby Bovington Camp to escape the notoriety that followed him after Arabia. 

He lived at the modest Clouds Hill house nearby so this was his local church. 

T.E Lawrence died in a motor cycle accident near Clouds Hill & his funeral was held in this church. It was attended by Winston & Clementine Churchill, G.B. Shaw & others.  T.E had served as an advisor to Churchill in the 1920's so they were well acquainted. 

Hubbies Great grandfather TG attended the funeral & there is a photo of him at the graveside. 

After visiting the church, we made our way to the grave, it is immaculately maintained because of his fame. I wonder what he would have made of the steady stream of people making the pilgrimage in his memory? 

It was very interesting walking in the history of T.E Lawrence & the shared history of great grandfather TG. I still want to visit Clouds Hill but that will be on another visit. I also need to watch the iconic Lawrence of Arabia movie with Peter O' Toole. 

I hope this has been interesting too, thank you for your company, 

Dee  ⛪️🌳🏡 🚙 

Quick cheese scones

 It is one of those wet afternoons when I am whittling my way through my book stash. Reading in the bright conservatory is my favourite time, listening to the rain on the roof. 

The rain brought on memories of my childhood when my  mother would bake scones for us to come home to on wet days on the Highveld in South Africa. 

This is my quick recipe that is quick to make 

250g (1 cup) self raising flour

1 rounded tsp baking powder

40 g butter 

1 large egg & milk made up to 100ml

grated cheese & mustard powder

Preheat the oven to 200C (fan) while you are busy making up the scones

Rub the butter & self raising powder together till it looks like breadcrumbs. Add in the baking powder, mustard powder, & most of the egg & milk mixture, keeping back just a little for brushing the tops with. Lightly mix in some grated cheese if you like (about 80g, I didn't weigh mine)

Turn out on to a lightly floured surface (I used a silicone tray what worked really well), pat down to a thick shape & cut in to about 6 - 8 scones. (I used a medium cutter & got 7 scones. 

Brush the tops with the leftover egg & milk then bake in the centre of the oven for about 10-12 minutes. I use a silicone mat from Ikea that makes baking so easy as nothing sticks. 

Turn out, make some coffee & enjoy with butter & more cheese.

I hope  you make some too ... 

Dee 🧈🪺🥞☕️

Kahlua infused date & banana bread

You know by now that I love using up soft bananas in baking. We had 2 large soft bananas in the fruit bowl & I immediately thought of a date & banana bread for the weekend. 

However, the dates are a little under whelming & I have infused them with tea the last few times but today I thought coffee would be good, Kahlua coffee liqueur to be exact. 

I cut up about 120g of dates, poured over about 30ml of Kahlua & left it to steep while I made up the banana bread as per this recipe I always use. I doubled up everything to make 2 loaves - one for eating, one for the freezer. 

The dates had plumped up a bit & I added them & the tiny bit of liquid in last with a bit of desiccated coconut, mixed briefly & divided the mixture between two lined baking tins.

It baked for about 55 min at 175c until a sharp knife came out clean. 

Cooled then cut to go with coffee. It was a subtle taste, just a hint of the liqueur but an interesting taste. The second loaf was sliced before being frozen for those days when you want a slice of something & it can be warmed in a microwave for a few seconds then enjoyed. 

Is it a variation you might try? Thank you for stopping by,

Dee 🧈🍞🍌☕️🥃