Record, Map and Capture – Jordan Cunliffe

My embroidery teacher brought this book to class, and clearly, I had to find a copy. This is like the intersection of two of my great loves; stitching and maths. Not to mention story telling with stitching and maths.

Here’s a bit of a book description …

This stylish and fascinating book from up-and-coming textile art star Jordan Cunliffe shows how raw data, maps and personal experience can be distilled into textile art, producing mesmerising works with deep meaning, whether obvious or hidden, and concentrating on the smaller, quieter moments that make up our lives.

Jordan explores the use of stitched data to tell stories, pinpoint special places on maps, convey secret messages, and record personal detail, for example daily walks or nightly sleep patterns. Her finished work is beautifully precise, including a long strip of fabric containing a stitch for every day of her life, a reimagination of a favourite childhood book in unreadable code, and pleasing beaded representations of secretly important documents.

Almost any aspect of your life can be represented in graph or map form, and here are many practical ways to achieve this, whether it’s recording the colours of flowers on a favourite path to create your own unique palette, or encoding your most private thoughts in beaded morse code. This visually stunning book explores a new way of working and will help you explore a fresh new angle in your embroidery and textile work.

Illustrated with a wealth of examples of the author’s own work as well as pieces from other data focused artists from around the world, Record, Map and Capture in Textile Art proves beyond all doubt that data can be beautiful, and can inspire stunning works of stitched art.

I have so many ideas for my memory/special things project. I can incorporate special pieces of fabric, use evenweave fabric (my preferred choice) maybe even put in a secret code.

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Filed under Book Review, Canvas Work, Cross Stitch, Embroidery, Inspiration

Blanket Update

Blanket Progress

I am now working on the borders of the blanket – if it was a marathon I would be in the last two kilometres.

I am watching Stephanie Pearl Mcphee’s patreon and I used her tip for stopping the last cast off stitch being a bit dodgy.

I am so keen to get back to knitting socks! I bought 52 Weeks of Socks Volume 2 last week (I already have volume 1).

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Surface Embroidery

Surface Embroidery on Mattress Ticking

This is my current class project. I am doing various stitches on Mattress ticking (using the lines on the ticking). I am going to turn this into a needle book (because currently my needles are stored in random bits of fabric and even paper).

As you can see, my design is symmetrical.

Starting from the centre, I have done chain stitch, blanket stitch with running stitch and colonial knots, tête de boeuf (gold on the left, pale pink on the right), cretan stitch. And the two outer gold ladders will be a raised bar stitch.

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The Quilt is Finished!

Sampler Quilt is finally finished

I have decided that this is my year to get things finished. I have finished my Gingerbread House and now (finally) I have finished Miss A’s Sampler quilt. I started working on this in 2013, so only ten years in the making.

I used my embroidery machine to do the foundation piecing, which mean digitising and testing each block, and I had a smaller hoop then, so each block was four smaller blocks that then had to be joined. Anyway this quilt stopped me quilting altogether.

I made each block completely, front, batting, backing and quilting and then joined the blocks using a zig-zag-stitch (and covered the stitching with bias binding).

The next project on my to be finished list, is Miss P’s blanket.

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Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Free Motion Quilting, Patchwork, Quilting

New Class Project

New Class Project

Now that my Gingerbread House is finished, I needed a new project for class. It has to be something easy that doesn’t require all of my paraphernalia (magnifying glass, stand, etc.). So I ordered this cushion from Ehrman, it is Blooming Roses Charcoal by David Merry. I am just doing tent stitch.

There are a lot of colours in similar shades, so I might be getting it wrong, but I am just going to push on.

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Filed under Canvas Work, Embroidery

Testing Reds

Au ver a soie reds (the spools are 100/3 and the skein soie d’alger

After all my other embroidery projects (Cinnamon Stars and the RSN crewel work), I want to make the Home Sweet Home sampler from Modern Folk Embroidery. So I have bought a few different reds from Stitchers’ Corner to test. I am going to use this linen (Sand 40 count)

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New Sock Start

New sock start

I am still plodding along on Miss P’s blanket, but every now and then I need a bit of a change. I have started a new pair of socks – I have joined the Golden Honey Sock club, and this is my version of the Duke Who Gives it All Up socks. I think another pattern comes out in May so I need to get a move on.

I am using a yarn from Elsie Gray’s (my Albany souvenir yarn) and my usual 2.25 knitting needles.

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Gingerbread House Finish

My Gingerbread House is finished!
Side view with the Christmas Tree

I finished the Gingerbread House! First mentioned in December 2018. I stopped working on it for a number of years, but in the last six or so months I was determined to get it finished.

The pattern was from the 2016 Family Circle Christmas Special and for a while you could get the charts online, but I don’t think they available anymore.

I used a plastic canvas I bought from Spotlight (kind of like this one), one sheet is probably enough for two houses.

I used the called for DMC floss (six strands). I needed multiple skeins of the white and the gingerbread colour, but a single skein of the other colours is enough.

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Quilt Update

Attaching the binding

I have almost finished Miss A’s quilt – just the binding to go.

After watching this video, I managed to finish my continuous binding (it did take four attempts). The really useful piece of information was knowing that the overlap had to be the same length as the width of the binding strips.

Now I just need to turn it to the back and sew it down. I still haven’t decided whether to hand sew it or machine sew it.

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A finished Object! Dunsborough Socks

Finished Socks

I finished my Dunsborough Socks (so called because I put the yarn there while I was on a weekend holiday).

The yarn is Cowgirlblues Merino Twist in sock weight (100% wool), colourway Camel.

I used my standard 2.25 knit pro zings (I use a circular needle and do magic loop)

It’s top-down with a heel flap, gusset and round toe. The pattern on the leg and foot is from the Bijou Socks pattern.

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