Oops!

I'm not too good at this blogging lark, a seven month gap is a record even for me. I would like to say it has been a productive seven months and in a way it has. 

As you can see I have done lots of spinning and experimenting with felt.

I have even managed to play with core spinning, a good workout for finger dexterity.

As for progress on my toran project, nada, zip, nothing! I'm obviously going through a wooly phase. 

New Year Musings

Happy New Year

Guess what one of my new year resolutions is? Yep to make a proper start on my Toran project.
I also have other exciting plans  afoot but more of that in another post.

I was really lucky to get some excellent craft books over Christmas so once I've had a good mooch I will share some reviews with you.

I updated the Inspirations page back in December but forgot to post here so have a look at more gorgeous images of Banjara textiles.

Colours to dye for

A bit of colour inspiration

There is something special about the way colours obtained from natural dyes complement each other without clashing. The subtle effects are well worth the extra time it takes to prepare the dye bath.

My favourites are:

Indigo / Woad - Which always gives great results (as long as the correct prep is used). I still find it magical to see the greeny yellow wool turn blue as the dye oxidizes in air.

Madder - Beautiful reds, oranges and pinks.

Gorgeous colours from Peru.

Eureka!

I have finally found out what that stitch is...

I was chatting with my friend Sarah and she mentioned Aldi were selling DK Craft books for £1. Not surprisingly I hot-footed it down to my local store and managed to get the last copy of 'Stitch - A guide to embroidery.'  I dithered about buying it as I was really after the sewing or knitting book but then I thought a craft book for £1 I'd be daft not to.

On flicking through I discovered a section on satin stitches and variations including the herringbone stitch and on the next page there it was.....

                                   The flat stitch.

I will post some details on the techniques page once I have mastered it.

Ooops!

Ok I admit it, I've got distracted and have been seduced by other craft projects. I warned you this would happen!

The good news is I have finished my practice piece and am feeling brave enough to make a start on my wall hanging. However I still haven't tracked down that elusive stitch.

The temptress who has stolen me away from stitching is a gorgeous Ashford Traditional spinning wheel called Margo. I first met her in Cornwall when visiting my dancing friend Carol. We hit it off straight away and she ran away to live with me in October. Since we met my head has been full of wool and dyes and the gorgeous yarns we can make together. Unfortunately for my other projects this means we have been spending time getting acquainted, although so far this has been limited to short draw worsted spinning.

The dark nights also mean my crafting is limited by the gloom of my sitting room. Even with t' big light on and a lamp it is too dark for needlework. Instead I have been busy knitting a blanket to keep me snug.

The chains that bind

Working on my sampler has taken me out of my embroidery comfort zone, I think I've mentioned how I've never used satin stitch before. 

After a childhood of avoiding needlework like the plague; I even got my mum to do my textiles homework for me; it was a surprise that I spent my college years being hooked on cross stitch. Unfortunately I burnt myself out by doing a large 'Forever Friends' design for a flatmate's wedding. I didn't embroider for years after that, the stress of finishing it the night before the wedding was just too much.

I dabbled with a bit of embroidery to decorate my reenactment costumes, but there wasn't much evidence that this was historically accurate so I was limited to the stitches that had been found on textile fragments and I had to keep it very simple. It was the gorgeous Indian textiles used by Tribal dancers which really got me hooked and my stitch of choice is the chain stitch. 

I love this versatile stitch and the beautiful effects it creates as shown by the picture below.

Of course other stitches are used in this example but it is the sinuous linking chain that holds it all together.

When I decided to decorate a waistcoat for my Four Hundred Roses costume I knew I wanted to use the logo designed by the talented Bev Spracklen. Other troupe members had appliqued motifs onto their costumes but I wanted to embroider mine. The stitch I chose was chain and I'm really pleased with the result.

Re-use and recycle

I've added some pictures to the Inspirations page of a dress I bought at the Jewel of Yorkshire Festival. It is a great example of how textiles can be recycled.

Some elements of the dress are modern while others have probably been used many times.

 It reminds me of how clothes in the past were made to simple shapes with detachable decorative elements which were treasured. Now clothes are so disposable and you pay more for a designer label than for the actual workmanship involved in production.

Getting There

I still haven't worked out that stitch though......

Here is my practice piece so far. I've mainly used satin stitch.

Some research suggests the stitch I want is called Picot stitch so my next task is to have a go at that. Off to Jewel of Yorkshire Festival this weekend so it might have to wait until I get back.

Tuesday Inspirations

To keep me focused I've decided to post a new picture to my Inspirations page every Tuesday.

This week I was going through some pictures from my recent stay in Cornwall and found a picture I'd taken of Kelley's floor runner. I think she said it had come from Uzbekistan. The picture below is another example I found online.

Another gorgeous example of a Shyrdak

It is made of carded roving which is laid out in geometric patterns between two pieces of canvas. This is then felted by kicking the canvas roll up and down or dragging it behind a horse. The design is then embroidered for extra strength. This type of carpet is known as a Shyrdak and is made by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia who live in white felt yurts.

 The Shyrdaks are used as wall and floor coverings to further insulate the yurt from the harsh Steppe Winters.

I'd love to make a small scale piece like this. Hmmm anyone got a horse?

Stitch Confusion

I've just started working on a sampler to practice my satin stitch so it matches the one on my door hanging. Unfortunately the stitches used don't seem to be straight satin stitch.

If you compare the two the door hanging seems to have a herring bone effect down the centre where straight satin stitch doesn't, even when done on the diagonal. I've tried putting a long stitch down the centre and weaving into it but that just adds bulk

Does anyone know how this effect is created?

Can you see that each block of colour seems to be worked in towards the centre line. However on the back of the fabric there are no stitches in the centre.

My attempt to recreate the stitch. The white area was done with a long stitch down the centre to create a ridge but it doesn't have the same effect.

There's always more to it than you first thought

When I first saw my door hanging I thought I just needed to add a border and maybe do a bit of embroidery. Now I've had a good look there are lots of little bits which need doing. (See my latest post on my Restoration Project page for more details).

I got a sense of deja vu in a different context this week when I decided to tidy my craft room. I began by sorting the boxes of textile stash but then needed to move some books so I could fit them on a shelf. But then where could my books go? I ended up by having piles of books in about three different rooms and the question of whether I needed to buy more bookcases.

Then it entered my head that the dining room would make a good library (I never use it to eat in) but the decor was looking a little tired.........

So a simple plan to tidy has now mushroomed into decorating and refurnishing half the house!!

Maybe I should have left things as they were.

Heaven equals lolling on the sofa reading textile books

There are worse ways to spend a cold and damp evening. I've just been reading through my textile book pile searching for info on the wall hanging I acquired in Glastonbury. Check out the Restoration Project page for where I am up to.

Part of my growing collection of books on textiles.

My favourite resource books are:

Sheila Payne's Embroidered Textiles and John Gillow's World Textiles which has interesting sections on techniques.

The book I anticipate using the most for this project is Indian Textiles by John Gillow and Nicholas Barnard.

Ok I admit it I spend more time drooling over the pictures than reading. Then when I ran out of images to slobber on in the books I searched Google for some more.

I am such a sparkle junkie!

Welcome

Here it is, another Tribal Geek blog, this time to share my passion for all things textiles.

On this blog I hope to share my projects and things which inspire me and keep me occupied when I'm not dancing.

I got into textiles by accident. Having absolutely loathed sewing and the like at school I avoided anything to do with yarn or embroidery until my early twenties. Then a backpacking trip round Ireland introduced me to Irish crochet and I was hooked.

Sadly the ability to crochet left me when I crossed the sea back to England (weird! I know) but I still enjoyed messing round with yarn and took up knitting instead.

About 10 years ago I got involved with historical re-enactment and discovered that I could sew after all. Having made all my kit by hand I was overcome with the urge to decorate it, so taught myself to embroider and tablet weave. Then I decided that buying yarn wasn't authentic enough for me so I learnt to spin with a drop spindle and played around with natural dyes to get some colour into the yarns I was making.

Now that my life has been taken over by Tribal Bellydance I have extended my passion into ethnic textiles and I have learnt mirror embroidery, tassel making, beading etc so that I can restore or create costume pieces to add to my dance dowry.

There are so many things I want to make or recreate but sadly I have a butterfly brain and tend to flit from one thing to another. My craft room is full of unfinished projects and things that will be 'useful for something' so hopefully writing this blog will help me to focus and finish what I start.

So if you see me add another project page before the last one is done shout at me.