Royal Blackwork

On my way to hang out with friends, I realized I'd be just sitting all day chatting, and would do well to do something with my hands during that time.  I grabbed a scrap of linen from my stash, and some skeins of silk floss as well as needles, beeswax, and a handful of period patterns, and set to doing some blackwork in my spare time.

I chose a spiral/diamond motif from this 16th Century Italian Blackwork samplar, and began stitching in a beautiful royal blue silk.  So far, I have completed enough for one camicia/smock cuff, and intend to do another as well as enough for a collar.  This will likely end up as a high-necked smock since I only have one and it's far easier when self-dressing to use one of those as opposed to a camicia and partlet combo.  Yes, sometimes the easy way out trumps versatility... though can you call hours of embroidery the easy way?  Not so sure...

This is blue silk floss run through beeswax, and stitched onto lightweight linen.  As the linen is not an even weave, and I do not use waste canvas, the motifs are not as evenly shaped as they would be otherwise.  I count two linen threads for each blackwork stitch.

I've had many people ask me how I can do that and still see.  Well, I don't see.  Hah!  Actually, I'm absurdly near-sighted but too much so for stitching without glasses.  The key is good lighting, and the angle of the lighting so you can see the shadows behind the linen to help distinguish between threads.  

The main difference between this piece and other blackwork I've done is that it is not reversible.  The motifs are not connected to one another in any way, and have a tiny square between each of them, so it's not worth it to try and finish off the threads over and over for a reversible look, particularly when it will be the top layer in a cuff.  When I'm done I'll show you the back side for reference.  It's sloppy, but not unbearably so.

Brick Red Norse Tunic

Remember the brick red tunic I was working on for Sven?  No?  Not surprised.  Refresh your memory here.

Well I finished that tunic nearly two years ago, and never got a "Project Complete" photograph.  He's worn it several times but luck was never on my side.

This weekend was Artemisia's fall crown tournament, and he wore it again, and I managed to snap a photo this time.  Although, the sun rising over the mountains led to some interesting coloring.  I swear, there is no filter on this photo.

Both fortunately, and unfortunately, Sven has lost quite a bit of weight since I made this tunic, so it rather drowns him.  This is awesome for his health, but not so awesome for the huge amount of hand sewing I did on this piece.  I don't think I'll be taking it in, though I may have to take the sleeves up a bit.

The frigid temperatures as we set up site reminded me rather briskly that I need to step it up to finish making warmer clothes for Sven.  Perhaps a wrap coat and some wool pants.  His linen pants were far too lightweight to wear this weekend.

Details:
100% brick red linen
100% black linen
Silver/Red Celtic knot trim

Frayed neckline - A fix!

After washing one of Sven's Norse under-tunics, I discovered that I had clipped my seams too close when turning and sewing in the neckline facing.  This caused some awful fraying.

Since this is a key area that takes stress, this would not do!  I took some fray Check and covered the offending area, carefully.  This will cause the fabric to stiffen up and will result in plasticy-scratchy fibers.  It may also create stains depending on your fabric, so apply with caution.  

After letting the Fray Check dry, I began running a blanket stitch around the entire neckline.  This added a subtle decorative edge, while also binding the offending frayed fibers back into place.  I eyeballed the stitching length and width, but for perfect accuracy, measure everything first!  I did this in white at Sven's request, but any color would work well and look good, to boot.

New Ink

The beauty of having a husband that has parallel interests means we often get to share toys.  He recently purchased some new ink for use in his studies and writings, and happily shared with me.  This is "Black Swan in Australian Roses" by Noodler's Ink.

on Rodia lined notebook paper

Its shadows look like a dark burgundy-ish brown, which lightens to a brownish rose.  If it bleeds, it halos to a lovely dusky rose.  

On Bristol vellum finish art paper

Overall it has a lovely antique brown finish with warm rose undertones.  While not a period formula, it wouldn't necessarily look out of place on a medieval style manuscript.  It certainly would make gorgeous modern calligraphy come to life.

It flows smoothly, but will bleed out on porous papers - which could be beneficial for those looking for the rose halo effect.  As I detest bleeding, the right paper selection and nib size is important with this ink as it will soak down into the paper rather than pooling on the surface.

Do you have a favorite ink brand or color?

Monogram

I've been trying to expand my skill-set in calligraphy, and when I found out an old high school friend was getting married, I offered to do something for her.  She asked me to come up with a Monogram for her thank you cards.

Being very new to this, I was extremely nervous and did a lot of research on monograms.  It's tricky business, "marrying" letters together in a way that creates a balanced, aesthetically pleasing image.  I came up with the lettering concept and sent it to Lorien for proofing, and she seemed thrilled.  I asked a few questions in order to come up with a frame for the letters, and she gave me very valuable input.

The overall image is very...busy... but it fits their love of steampunk.

This was an awesome learning experience, particularly when it comes to digitizing the image to send to the client.  This is an area I could certainly improve on.  But so long as the client is happy, I'm happy.

Disclaimer:  The frame is from Florid Victorian Ornament by Karl Klimsch, a book in the Dover pictoral archive series, meaning the designs may be used for free for graphic and craft applications.  I would have drawn something free-hand loosely based on this, but due to time constraints (so Lorien could have this prior to her wedding day), it is an exact copy.

A Little Incensed

Recently I've been playing with my husband's incense collection, and making custom blends for fun.  You wouldn't think that squishing resin with a mortar and pestle is fun, but it is!  

I start out with nuggets of raw resin incense, and some herbs, and blend them together to suit my personal preferences and/or design goals.  It's important when doing this to test the blend out to see what your nose thinks it needs to achieve balance.  

For resin incense, we use a self-igniting charcoal disk over an incense burner.  We like those as pictured above because after the charcoal is burned and turns to ash, you can gently shake it, and the ashes will sift down into the container below, and you can start over without cleaning the burner every time.  You'll notice it sits on a small wooden base - this is important as the entire brass burner gets very hot from the charcoal, and the base keeps the desk surface safe from scorch marks/burns.

I've used a marble mortar and pestle in the past, but the resins tend to stick to the marble surface (especially if you want to add essential oils to the mix).  The brass one pictured here works much better.

The first blend of the week is something I call "Cleansing White Lavender."  My intentions were to make something that is good for cleansing away negativity, purifying, and acts as an anti-anxiety scent while leaving one open to new positive experiences.  It's a delicate balance of white copal, frankincense, lavender, sage, and Hawaiian white ginger.

New Ink!

As a surprise gift, my loving husband bought me some new ink to play with, Noodler's Baystate Blue.

Ignore the sloppy Copperplate - I haven't done much practice so my technique is still crap (too round, still don't have a grasp on pressure for thicks/thins, etc).  The purpose of this picture is to show off the beautiful cobalt blue hue of this ink.  It's highly pigmented, but a tad sticky, meaning it is not for use in a fountain pen, but works beautifully for dip pens, particularly the copperplate nibs that don't have the separate reservoir.

This weekend we had a bit of a stitch 'n' bitch at my home, though I have been under the weather and wasn't much of a host.  A few lovely ladies came over and played in my art studio, sewing, beading, mending, etc.  I didn't even think to take pictures, but it was nice to share my space, particularly on a hot day when my room is quite chilly.

Adventures in Calligraphy

I purchased an oblique pen holder and some nibs (from John Neal Books) appropriate for Copperplate and Spencerian calligraphy, the two most popular hands for wedding purposes.  This is definitely new territory for me.

Thicks and thins are produced by pressure of pen to paper, somewhat akin to the volume of a note on a piano.  The middle of the nib spreads a bit as you add pressure, thereby providing a thicker line.  In medieval calligraphy, pushing so hard the nib spreads is a big no-no - you'll only serve to damage your paper/parchment and the nibs, and make ink spit all over your work.  These nibs, however, are very flexible and don't have ink reservoirs that helps prevent spitting but leads to constant dipping.

The oblique holder is supposed to help you obtain the angled lettering.  This is something I need serious practice with, as all my calligraphy experience has trained my hand to do everything on a vertical line.  I'll have to pick up some angled practice paper to help out, as my consistency is crap.  My flourishes are also very infantile, but I'm more concerned with mastering the basics before going there.

So in short, I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it's awesome and exciting!

The Kirk - Final Entry

I finished the hem and Sven wore his "Kirk" tunic to its first event this weekend.  He seemed pleased with it.

In truth, he said it was very comfortable and served him well.  That's the lovely Tanzeda in the background.  Isn't that shade of blue gorgeous?

Final sewing notes:

• Made of 100% linen. (IL019 Autumn Gold from Fabrics-store.com), and some black linen from the same site.
• Metallic gold braid on the sleeves was from Jo-Anne's if I recall correctly. Trim hand-stitched on.
• I used a huge variety of sewing techniques on this thing.  I hand sewed part, hand flat-felled, machine sewed, machine flat-felled, and even serged part of it.  This is what happens when a project goes through phases of completion over the course of a year and you gain new tools and plans on how to deal with things.  Hems sleeves, and facings were all hand-sewn.
• Basically, it took way too long due to life situations (flood, flood, buying house, packing, moving, unpacking, etc).
• I really enjoyed making an historical garment that was inspired by something so unexpected.  I'm sure there will be more to come on that front.  Sven is already talking about a Spock Tunic...

This picture has nothing to do with the Kirk, but Their Excellencies Vilhelm and Bethany are family to me, and this picture turned out too gorgeous not to share.

Misc. Weekend

This weekend was full of a lot of crazy randomness, with house guests and the Utah Renfest, to boot.

While the husband was entertaining guests, I snuck away and made him some more bookmarks.  This set came out much better, as I pressed the trim both before cutting and sealing the edges, and after.  I also used some Mary Ellen Best Press to set them (Caribbean Beach and Lavender Field are my faves!).

We went to the Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire on Sunday.  I'm sad to say it was not impressive.  Alas, a huge rainstorm on Saturday left the grounds a messy mudpit, and it was the last day of the faire, so merchants were low on awesome.  It even seemed like the entertainment was weak.

I was, however, able to pick up my headband from Sable Greyhound, and while the picture doesn't even come close to showing how amazing and sparkly it is, I'll post it anyway.  I think these don't like having their pictures taken because the crystals are so reflective.  Holly, if you're reading this, I think a little video might benefit you! I got compliments all day from strangers.

And while trying to capture the headband, I discovered that my aging face is kind of oddly foreign to me.  Has this happened to any of you?  It's not like I don't see myself in the mirror every day, but it's different in a photo.  Like... I really had no idea I had that much of a dimple.  Where did that come from?

Veil + wind + humidity = crazy fuzzy hairs