Monday 22 November 2010

there is another

Another embroiderer on the 192!


Heading home from work, I saw her get off the bus at my stop. I did a bit of a double take, registering that yes, that was an embroidery hoop she was carrying, and there was a needle in her other hand. A quick chat and a nosey: She said other people knit on the bus, so she embroiders, and the piece she's working on isn't suposed to look perfect, so the occasional odd size stitch doesn't bother her. Her work was in mostly long and short stitch (I think), I think the dark border was finished, and a scatter of stars, but there was a figure and some foliage still to do. I wished her "Happy stitching" and scurried onto the bus.



Sunday 21 November 2010

slow poke

The Manchester to Leeds train takes 55 mins. On the round  trip I completed 3 parsnips.


mending embroidery


The plastic lining on my Parsnips bag (the replacement of the not yet mended Make do and Mend bag) was tearing away at the top. A bit of duck tape nearly solved the problem, but it didn't stick in the bits where the lining had come completely away from the fabric. Obviously, this was a situation for a bit of embroidery. Some green fly stitch and straight stitch, with a white detatched crossed chain stitch laced through. It looks enough like a pasnip to satisfy me. But I am a bit surprised that it takes me so long to stich them.


Oh, and yes, embroidering through duck tape does leave sticky stuff on the needle, but it scrapes off easily. What a useful thing to know!



Tuesday 9 November 2010

dark evenings and magic lantern review

Because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis plus the country changing the clocks back, it’s a bit dark to do needlework on the bus home. So now I work on the secret project in the morning, and in the evening I read about how to manage anger and irritability. It’s hard for me to get my head around thinking more “helpfully” about things that make me angry, but I’m just not going to get upset about that.


Yesterday, we went to a brilliant Magic Lantern by Professor Heard at the John Rylands Library. Fantastic colours! Stuff that was painted 200 yrs ago looked so clear and vibrant. The slides were all hand painted, though some use early photo techniques to make a black and white image to be painted over. The professor has seen photos of the painting being done, mostly by women and he had never seen one with a magnifying glass. Consider that a 2cm painted angel was projected to 1m on the screen, and you’ll understand how skilful these slide painters were. The machine itself looked really cool, too, with all the shiny brass knobs and lenses like cannons.


Am I now wishing for a Magic Lantern, you may ask? Well, no. They are cool, but as the Professor pointed out, they are used for a performance before a live audience. Not something I want to do. But I am curious about combining them with shadow puppets.


Also saw a little exhibit on early photography at the library, including what I think was a Holmes type stereoscope. Now I would like to try that- two pictures taken from a left and right eye standpoint, then put in a viewer that held them so each eye saw only the appropriate image to give a 3D effect. It seems like the perfect way to show off dolls and such. I wonder if there are any plans for them available on the interwebs?