thirty six hours in a day - stitching

more earthquake embroidery

6" x 6", embroidery on felt, bead embellishment.

here is the third piece in my series on the earthquake. this one reflects the moment we are at now, 6 months after the quake. winter is coming to south western China, and this year it is expected to be a cold one, which will lead to even greater vulnerability for the millions who are without permanent housing. Reconstruction has started, but it is a mammoth task and will take several years. In the meantime, many people will need looking after, especially during the cold winter months.

As it was sunny this morning (although way below freezing, with a forecast of "smoky" - you can imagine what that means in Beijing, ugh), I took photos of the first two pieces so you can see the colors better:

the next one, which I am just starting now, is about rebuilding.

Labels: Embroidery, Wenchuan Earthquake

The earthquake and back to embroidery.....

It's been a very long time between blog posts........and almost as long since I picked up a needle and thread. I am afraid my sewing year has gone totally off the rails because of work. If you are wondering what I have been doing, I have been working on this:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008-11/13/content_7202416.htm

So far, it has been months of long, long work days and trips away, including to Sichuan and Washington....... But even though my team is tired, we don't pause to think about what else we might be doing, because winter is coming and there are many extremely poor and vulnerable people who need us to help them right now, and there are many people in Sichuan who are working much harder than we are. We are just a small part of the story that will be told one day.....

This may be the most difficult and yet the most meaningful work I have done so far in my career.

But it sure has put paid to my sewing time. A few weeks ago I gave up on applique for this year - it became too difficult to work on something so beautiful and so exact amongst the tragedy and chaos of the one of the world's worst earthquakes. So I decided to put my thoughts on the earthquake into stitching using a series of embroidery pieces. I have completed two so far. I plan either 6 or 9, and then I will somehow mount them together as a tribute to the Wenchuan earthquake victims and all the people who are working to help them. I may even hang them in my office to remind me later of this period of time.

The first two pieces are about the impact of the earthquake. The first is about the human tragedy:

"empty arms, shattered dreams"

6" x 6", embroidery on felt, silk and cotton applique, bead embellishments

This piece is dedicated to all the mothers who lost children in the quake. The numbers of children who died are still not known, but most certainly many thousand children lost their lives in schools and kindergartens. In this piece, the heart behind the maternal figure is white, the color of mourning in China.

"the mountains exploded"

6" x 6", embroidery on felt, cotton applique, stone, bead and bone embellishments

This piece (the colors are not very good in this scan, in reality the background is more mauve and the hills more green) depicts the extraordinary environmental impact of the earthquake. In the mountainous areas near the epicenter, the land did not shake, it literally exploded. Massive landslides scar the landscape and huge boulders lie littered about where they were spat from the mountain sides. When I am in that area I simply cannot imagine how horrifying it must have been to have been there that day, to have the world explode all around.

I have started this series with some pieces about the tragedy of the quake, but I do intend to also include some that will portray the rebuilding process which has already begun, the enormous number of people from all walks of life who are helping the people of the earthquake region to rebuild their lives, and especially the hope that I have for a better future for the children of Sichuan.

Labels: China, Embroidery, Wenchuan Earthquake

Beijing Olympics!

Normally, in my spare time I do applique and embroidery.

At the moment, I am an....

.....Olympic volunteer!

It's hot work, but fun. I am working on the main Olympic site (called Olympic Green), in the area around the Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube. Today was the busiest day so far with track and field competition starting in the main stadium. Today was also a bona fide blue sky day, hot as blazers in the sun, but nevermind, everything looked fantastic!

And here's one from the other night, all lit up:

OK, so now I am off to start an "Olympics section" on my Stitchalong sampler!

Labels: Olympics

Stitchalong starts.....

We are back from beautiful, cool Norway to dusty, hideously hot Beijing (how are the athletes going to survive this heat?), so I am posting the first part of my sampler that I have been working on for the Stitchinfingers Hand Embroidery Stitchalong.

You can read about it here: (http://stitchinfingers.ning.com/group/handembroidery)



The sampler is 6" wide, on 25 count antique white linen. I decided to go through the list of stitchalong stitches "as the spirit moves me" rather than in any particularly organized way, so this is the result. I also decided to try to stitch motives that have some meaning - so, the strawberry is in honor of all the strawberries we ate while holidaying on a strawberry farm in Norway and the Hardanger embroidery is my very first attempt ever at Hardanger, inspired by the few days that my husband and I enjoyed up near Hardangervidda (the Hardanger mountain plateau) last week. We didn't technically stay on Hardanger, but when we climbed to the top of Gausta Mountain, close to where we were staying, we could SEE Hardangarvidda, so that is close enough for me!

Anyway, here is a list of stitches in this part of the sampler (from the top):

1. Brighton Stitch (actually, I am not sure if this really counts as Brighton stitch because it is supposed to be done as a grid in needlepoint and I only did one row, but anyway.....)
2. Colonial Knots
3. Outline Stitch
4. Leviathan Stitch
5. Rope Stitch (a type of twisted chain stitch): Strawberry Stem
6. Buttonhole stitch: Strawberry leaves
7. Padded Satin Stitch: Strawberry fruit
8. Split Stitch: Outline of strawberry flower
9. Straight Stitch: Inside strawberry flower petals
10. French Knots: Center of strawberry flower
11. Backstitch: writing
12: Drizzle stitch: strawberry tops
13: Honeycomb filling - pulled thread: left hand side pattern under strawberry
14: Wave filling stitch - pulled thread: second pattern from left under strawberry
15: Drawn Faggot Filling Stitch - pulled thread: second pattern from right under strawberry
16: Ridge filling stitch - pulled thread work: far right pattern under strawberry
17: Interlaced Band Stitch (Interlaced Herringbone)
18: Raised lattice band
19: Kloster Blocks
20: Kloster blocks - needlewoven
21: Satin Stitch (star)
22: Detached Chain Stitch (flowers)
23: Cretan stitch (2 rows overlapping)
24: Up and Down buttonhole

Hey, cool, that's 24 different stitches already! Now only about another 200 to go....!

Labels: Embroidery, Sampler, Stitch-a-long

Back to stitching....

It's now been exactly 2 months since I picked up a needle! The earthquake work really has derailed my stitching year, that is for sure. Since my last post we have been working really hard on the Wenchuan earthquake response, including having visited some of the hardest hit parts. It was a really moving experience to actually go there and see the devastation and the millions of people living in tents, and the trip has spurred us all on to do more if we can....and it looks like we will be doing more (much more) come the end of July when reconstruction starts. I've never connected my work with this blog before, but seeing as anyone can google my name and I come up many many times and it isn't hard to work out who I am, I'll just come out with it here by pointing you towards a couple of posts on our work blog that I wrote while I was out in the earthquake affected area:

http://eapblog.worldbank.org/blogs/mara-warwick

So much for work. Yesterday was my birthday (not a big one that involves a hill, that one is coming awfully soon but not this year), so I decided that my birthday was THE right day to pick up the needle and start again. But I haven't had the time or inspiration to work on TIFC (I hope I can come back to it later in the year), so I decided that for the next few weeks, I will do something that requires less planning and inspiration - more of a "doodle" with thread. Hence I have started the "stitch a-long" on the Hand Embroidery Group on Stitchingfingers. In this stitch-a-long Sharon B posted a list of stitches (more than 200 of them!), and we can stitch a long (as the name implies!) at our own pace and in any order. I decided to use this opportunity to make a band sampler. I don't have any fancy inks or dyes, so I can't do anything as spectacular as Sharon's stitch-a-long sampler, but I do have some nice 25 count linen and I am going to use that. I particularly want to try some pulled thread stitches (which are in the new A-Z of Embroidery Stitches 2 book) because I haven't tried any of those before. I wonder if I can do something contemporary like this sampler of Sharon's, which I particularly like.

On Tuesday we are off for 2 weeks to the Land of the Midnight Sun (which I guess means the girls will be up at 3am every morning, not the normal 5am) so as my husband said, that should give me 21 hours a day of sunlight to stitch by!

Oh, and today was a bona fide, not to be disputed, clear, lovely BLUE SKY DAY in Beijing. It was as hot as hell but nevermind, beggars can't be choosers!

Labels: Stitch-a-long

Gosh, where did May go?

It passed in a blur of 2 huge work trips, a horrific earthquake in western China on 12 May 2008 at 2:28pm, 18 hour work days and utter exhaustion. I haven't done any stitching since the May 1st long weekend, nearly a month. Especially after the earthquake, when my work life turned upside down (I am coordinating my organization's earthquake response), I haven't felt like doing any stitching. I can't even get it out of the drawer.

Normally stitching reduces my stress, but in this case, my anxiety has been so high that I do not want to stitch the stress into my work. I am sure only stitchers would understand what I mean.

I will try to catch up May TIFC later, and I'll attempt to do June TIFC this month. Let's see how I go.

Friendship Quilt block continued - Post 3

I just finished the many many SMALL leaves on the Heart Wreath of Flowers so I thought I would post a photo of my progress (which has been slow) before I move on to the next stage which is the bud calyxes. The leaves are a mixture of applique in the various cotton fabrics supplied, and embroidery using fly stitch in Silk 'n Colors stranded silk. I think this provides a good (neutral, but not boring) basis for the colorful flowers. What do you think?

Labels: Baltimore Album Applique, BAQ, Friendship Quilt

Friendship Quilt block continued - Post 2

I thought that I might use this opportunity to blog in more detail about how I go about my BAQ applique.....using the Heart Wreath of Flowers block I am making for the Friendship Quilt as an example. I posted a little background about it the other day, so I'll jump right into the making of it.

Because I am making this block for a group quilt, I received a packet from the organizer with a set of fabrics to use (additional fabric can be added by the stitchers) and the pattern. The pattern I received was from Elly's first book (Spoken Without a Word) and is not a plain line drawing, so for this reason, the first thing I did was to trace the pattern onto tracing paper, including just the basic shapes - stem, leaves, buds and ribbon. I left out (for now) all the upper layer items such as flowers. I then scanned this into the computer and jiggered it around a bit to make sure that it was straight, that the center line was really in the center, etc. Often when I am doing this for myself, I have to change the size of the pattern as well, but in this case, I am replicating exactly the size sent to me, which is 6:3/4" x 7" design area. (By the way, after doing all the tracing, scanning and jiggering I found the pattern reprinted in one of Elly's later books as a line drawing! well, #%@&^#@^%!!)

Anyway, after the computer jiggering I then printed 3 versions - one on paper as a pattern to trace for the stem, one on overhead projector plastic as an overlay and one on a sticky label sheet to cut up for patterns.

I then started on the stitching, with an awfully skinny bias strip stem for the 2 sides of the wreath. I decided in this case to make the stem continuous on each side even though much of it will be covered up with flowers. The reason was to ensure a good curve. Also, I plan to use dimensional flowers and often they do show some of the stem underneath. The stem was about the skinniest stem I have ever done (finished size was 2mm wide), made from a bias strip less than 3/8" wide. I considered embroidering the stem and then decided that in the spirit of miniature applique, it should be appliqued.....so I persevered with it and in the end it wasn't that hard to keep it even (enough).

After the stem I started on the leaves, using 3 green fabrics provided by the organizer and one extra of Elly's previous Kaufman fabrics - a darker green. The leaves are all pretty miniscule - smaller than my little finger nail. I had some difficulty with the fabrics sent to my by the organizer because frankly, I don't think Elly designed them for miniature work - the patterns are the wrong scale - very difficult to get a "sensible" bit of the pattern onto any particular leaf to give a sense of shape and dimension. Anyway, I managed it as best I could. As you can see from the picture on the left, the leaves look almost black on the scan, but really they are not (neither is the stem), they are all very dark green and when you see the block in real life, they are obviously green not black.

By the time I had done most of the appliqued leaves on the left hand side I sat back to admire the handiwork and thought......well......hmm.......

I was not terribly impressed, actually. It seemed awfully flat and uninspiring. Obviously, there is still a long way to go, but stillllllllllllllllllllllllll...................

So then I decided on doing some of the leaves in embroidery, using fly stitch and Silk 'n Colors hand dyed silk thread. As you can see from the photo, I have done 4 so far and (in real life), what a difference they make! Suddenly the block is already starting to sing! The silk shines, the color variation of the hand dyed thread gives it more interest and perspective.....yes, it was a good decision, I think.

Anyway, that is where I am up to. I'm going now to finish the left hand side applique and embroidered leaves, and then during the May Day long weekend, I will try to do the other side and get a start on the buds and flowers. I am still tossing up how to personalize this block - I wonder whether to do the bow in China silk? (Would the organizers mind a bit of silk on it, I wonder? Maybe I should check.). Or maybe I will do the buds in silk ribbon....or......

Labels: Baltimore Album Applique, BAQ, Friendship Quilt

Starting my first Friendship Quilt block and other things

I've been terribly busy the last few weeks (what's new) so I haven't done much stitching. I have made some more progress on my blue urn applique block, but it is tough going because of its miniature size and the silk fabric, so I have found I need something "in between" that doesn't require so much precision.

So, last weekend, I thought I would start on a fabric journal of my favorite quotes, one per page. I am inspired by the CQ postcards made by Cat. I started 3 journal pages using crazy quilt techniques. The quotes I am using for these pages are:

If not us, who? If not now, when?

(Robert Kennedy)

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the diference.
(Robert Frost)

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

upon the place beneath.

It is twice blest,

It blesseth him that gives,

and him that takes . .

(William Shakespeare)

I've chosen several other quotes, and I intend to use 12 altogether. Let's see how I get on. I'll post a photo of the first finished page once it is done!

In other sewing, I am starting today my first block for one of the BAQ Friendship Quilts organized by Elly Sienkiewicz. Seven quilts are being made - as true album quilts, i.e., with blocks contributed by many, many women from around the world. The quilts are all being done in miniature, which is challenging, and may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they should be spectacular when done. We just heard that they will be shown in the Houston International Quilt Festival in 2010. Cool! Anyway, my first block is the heart wreath block from the long out of print book by Elly, called Spoken Without a Word. Here's the block pattern, which I am doing at 7" x 7" design area. that means the 46 leaves are all smaller than my little fingernail! eek!

Haven't worked out how I will do the flowers yet, but I do intend to add some dimensionality, so let's see. I'll post progress as I go along.....

Labels: Baltimore Album Applique, BAQ, Crazy Quilting, Fabric Journal

Applique - silk BAQ block work in progress

I thought I would also show the applique block I am working on - a silk miniature of the Blue Urn block taught by Nancy Kerns at Applique Academy this year.

Here is the original antique version (p97 Baltimore Album Quilts by Dena Katzenberg):

And here is Nancy Kerns' version (at full size about 14" design area) from Applique Academy 2008:

And here is my silk version in progress:

Because my version is much smaller than the original or Nancy's (not that you can tell from these photos because they are all the same size!), I replaced the green doodads below the urn with embroidery (split stitch in fine wool/silk). I reduced the number of them somewhat to space them further apart so that the definition of the embroidery would show. I used Jan Vaine's embroidery method for the berries in stranded silk (lovely sheen!). The urn is silk brocade (difficult to applique at this scale!) and dupioni silk (the dark one). The brown dividing lines between the colors of silk are a braid from Oliver Twists.

I am pleased with the way this block is shaping up and I have some ideas for the floral wreath at the top. I am also planning to do the birds in ribbon applique, using the techniques Wendy Grande showed at Academy this year.

Stay tuned for more on this block!

Labels: Applique, Baltimore Album Applique, BAQ