"Texture is the most enduring and ubiquitous underpinning of form... Certainly a calming, meditative and appealing world for both the eye and mind.â - Linda Lehman
My latest sampler course has only recently begun, and itâs a complete change of pace for those students who have done goldwork and/or freestyle stitching with me in the past. Now weâre in the land of needlelace, wrapped beads and incorporating wires wrapped in coloured threads as well as surrounding tiny pieces of fabric - it really is a feast of techniques!
The term âStumpworkâ is younger than the technique itself; it was originally referred to as âRaised Workâ or âEmbossed Workâ, which gives you an idea how important texture and form is to it.
I had never heard of Stumpwork until I became an apprentice at the Royal School of Needlework, and when I first saw some examples I just could NOT get my head around its existence! Add to that the fact that much of what I was looking at was over 400 years old, and I was an instant fan. Historically, this over-the-top form of hand embroidery represented the pinnacle of a wealthy young ladyâs stitch training because it basically incorporated every other form of embroidery sheâd already learned, and then added wires, gems, tiny costumed figures and three-dimensional objects in a visual feast of texture and form.
Enter the 2023 Stumpwork Sampler online course - secretly this is the one Iâve been really itching to get my hands on although I do love my Goldwork and Freestyle Samplers very much. Many of my students are tackling this project as their 3rd sampler with me, and as my âtest pilotsâ they already know theyâre in for an exciting ride. Apart from the techniques being so different, the whole sampler is much more personalised than previously - there is definitely a stitch plan, but only for parts of the piece. Many of the motifs have different options for stitches and for threads, including some threads many of them have not seen or worked with before, including silk-wrapped gimp, chenille thread, silks, wools and ribbons. Itâs a big piece too, measuring 44cm long by 30cm wide so theyâre having fun framing up the linen! As the year progresses weâll be looking at associated techniques too, including fabric painting with watercolours and wet felting with wool roving. Itâs proving to be a bit of a monster to keep organised, but of course Iâm having a whale of a time with all the sampling and scheming - my central panel, which must contain a figure, is definitely going to be a self-portrait of me in my garden - what hairstyle will I end up using I wonder? Iâve had them all over the years! :) :) :)
Iâm sharing some pictures from my original sampler which I taught a group in Bristol, England many years ago; I look forward to sharing some more up-to-date images of the new one soon!
In my workbox...
I first started using a thimble when I was learning to quilt back in my teens - I bought one from my local shop that was metal and had a tiny âridgeâ surrounding a slightly indented surface at the tip - now I know that there are many kinds of thimbles, but Iâve stuck with this style (sometimes called a âDressmakerâs Thimbleâ because it suits the way I hold my needle. And I put mine on my ring finger rather than the middle one - again, blame the quilting teacher of many years ago! The brand I know best is Prym, and most of my thimbles (I seem to have a large number of them) are the standard âsmallâ size, which is 15mm. There is one size smaller, at 14mm, which I have a few of as when my hands are very cold, the 15mm thimble tends to fall off! You can get Prym thimbles from most quilting and haberdashery shops, or from amazon, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prym-15-0-Thimble-Zinc-Silver/dp/B0012FJVGQ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2QN0Q4RTABLHI&keywords=prym+thimble+15mm&qid=1679324295&sprefix=thimble+15mm,aps,95&sr=8-2