The Japanese Embroidery weekend (finally!)

Well, I'm curently wired up for the day to check my blood pressure at annoying regular intervals (ouch!) so I'm catching up on my blogging before knitting group. As promised, here are some gorgeous pics that the tutor had stitched (some of which I'll get around to eventually!).

This first picture is a combination of embroidery and gold paint/leaf techniques using stencils, masking shapes, cut gold leaf squares, strips and torn pieces, brushwork, stippling and painting. My version as and when I get around to showing you is much more scruffy! It's waiting for the wonderful embellishment that you can see above because I needed a spare frame to loom it up to. As the Fan picture's now complete (see below), I just need to tweak a previously stitched pic then it'll get a chance to shine.


And here it is in all its glory! This is a multi-layered piece that built up over time. The white background of the fan was first, great long stitches avoiding the bamboo leaves that were then couched down with tiny stitches followed by the bamboo leaves in flat silk. Then it was thin red grid lines stitched across everything onto which teeny oval pieces of cardboard were stuck and then embroidered over. Only once all this was complete could I stitch the gold end piece, the flowers and finally the curving cords. 'Course, now I need to pay out for another picture frame and lace the darned thing! Pretty though.

Here are two more pictures, the top one a fabulous dragon that another student was sewing and below it a much more complicated version of "Kinsai" or painted embellishment. Like the one above, all the colours have been applied in one way or another, I SO want to do this course but as it will be in London and I haven't won the lottery yet I'll just have to want!

And here's Burton Manor itself, it plain and simply isn't advertising itself enough so the courses are woefully undersubscribed on the whole, in fact my second course in Fevbruary has been cancelled due to lack of interest!

It is a beautiful place, even in the winter and the constant mealtimes are always fun, no cooking all weekend;) As I'm still attempting to lose weight, I was hopeful the desserts weren't too tempting but did fall for the Chocolate fudge cake more than once (with cream of course!).

I've had a great weekend this time too, visiting a Cheshire guild spinning day and leaving with some wicked woolcombs! And I've been driving again, this time on my own, only a local jaunt but I'm planning on building on the experience as I've some target to work up to, namely driving myself to Haworth and back at the beginning of March. More about that next time.