How to stretch a closely trimmed tapestry

The Christmas Stocking mentioned in my last blog arrived at the beginning of this month.

It had been badly made up with piping by someone who must have had little or no experience of the job.
The tapestry had obviously not been stretched before making up and although it wasn’t too badly out of shape, I felt it would look better if I could straighten it somehow.  I normally do this on a frame under tension, but whichever method is used – you need spare canvas at the top and bottom to pull on.  This stocking had been trimmed to less than a quarter of an inch and that was coming unravelled…

I wanted a straight edge with enough extra canvas to attach to my stretching frame that would not come unravelled under tension.  So I hand-stitched a piece of spare canvas to the back of the stocking round the bottom edge.

       

This gave me a top and bottom that could be made parallel with each other and square with the sides.  That was my theory, but I still didn’t know if it would work.

… Now on the frame.

Next I covered it with a piece of linen sheeting and gently held a steam iron to it to dampen it; turned it over to do the other side; turned it back again - more steam; checked that the top was still parallel to the bottom; and left it for about three days to become completely dry.

Then off it went to Vi, my Cushion (Christmas Stocking, Doorstop, Anything) Lady to be made up.
And here it is - none the worse for its adventures!

I am pleased to say, my customer was delighted – as was I.
And on top of that, I learnt a new technique which may or may not be the conventional way to do it, but the important thing is, it worked.

I find I rather enjoy rescuing. 
See my blog  'New from Old' 27 April 2010 about a puppy chewed tapestry cushion.

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2 June 2011  

We can work it out 

I was reminded this week, how much needlepoint can mean to stitchers.
For many, the pleasure is all in the stitching but for others it comes from spending hours and hours making something special for a relative or a dear friend. When a lady rang about our Making up Service, I had barely finished my phone answering greeting when she said the making up of one of my Christmas Stockings was so badly done she could cry.  She showed it to a neighbour who declared they could have done it better themselves.  I was speechless!  Had I posted off an item that badly done?  My sewing lady doesn’t do them badly – or even if she had, how had I let it go?  What staggeringly perfect standard was this lady expecting?  All this shot through my mind as I tried to think what to say!!  It wasn't until she mentioned the piping...  “It’s not piped, it’s binding”  I managed to get in edgeways.  Then she explained that she had sent it to a local shop to be made up.
By this time, I could hear the poor lady was very upset as she explained she had stitched it for a relative and it had a special lining - and she hadn’t sent it to me because she had added to the design - and she thought I would mind. (I wouldn’t)

I haven’t seen this disaster yet, but I was able to say that I was sure my lovely Vi would be able to fix it, probably complete with the special lining …all will be well.

Also last week, a man emailed to say that his wife had just finished stitching Red Patch; he would post it that day and it would be wonderful if it could be ready for his wife’s birthday.  He appreciated that giving me a week when I ask customers to allow 4-5 weeks was asking a lot!

It was - because Vi, my fastest and nearest cushion lady, is on holiday! (She has been known to call me to say “Cushion’s done” within an hour.)

The tapestry had been beautifully stitched on a frame so it was easy to stretch and the warm summer weather helped to speed the drying along.   Then it was off for a drive through the Sussex downs to my backup cushion lady…. and she did it!

A number of factors had to fall into place and fortunately, they did.  Red Patch was packed and posted off in good time for the birthday. 

8 May 2011  

A Special Occasion On special occasions (and the Royal Wedding was a very Special Occasion) I print my own designs onto needlepoint canvas.  This requires a spending time  in my rather spidery shed, usually on a Sunday morning while listening to The Archers omnibus -  which helps me to forget the spiders.

The Royal Wedding sampler is a cross-stitch design but it translates perfectly onto canvas so when requested, I print them to order for customers who prefer printed canvas needlepoint.

The technique requires heat under pressure and this slightly affects the colour of the canvas which takes on a rather pleasant ‘antique’ appearance. It will all be stitched over anyway - but an afternoon in the sunshine restored these canvases almost back to the original sparkling white.   Thanks to those gloriously sunny days we had in April! 

10 April 2011 

Squishy? I had a most interesting conversation with a customer who wondered if I could make my cushions more squishy!

We normally like to use feather cushion pads that are 2 inches wider than the tapestry cover in our Cushion Making Service, to provide a firm, practical cushion that will display the needlework at its very best while providing good support for the back when needed.  These do relax with use and become softer and more 'mouldable'.

So I had to ask my customer exactly what she meant by squishy! 
Was she asking for Floppy? (using a smaller feather pad) for a homely, lived in look - Or Soft and Bouncy? (using a manmade fibre filled pad)  She chose the latter.

The resulting cushion is much lighter than it would be if it had a feather pad but it will remain soft and bouncy.

If you are particular over your squishiness preferences, do let us know.  We aim to please!

24 March 2011 

Spring is here... 
The warm weather has arrived rather early, but then - so did the winter weather!  Easter is on the way and soon we will be stitching in the garden or on holiday - the perfect way to relax.

Here's a little number to remind you of long, sunny summer days.
  
However!  I have been busying myself with some new designs ready for next winter!  I am planning a new Christmas Stocking, a completely new idea for Minikits for children and more.   I may not have time to stitch in the garden...

 

The Royal Wedding

Once the Engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton was announced and the wedding planned for April 29th, I knew it was high time I got cracking with a design for a counted cross stitch sampler kit that had been rattling round in my head for some time.
Of course, I should have had it ready to go immediately, but cross-stitch is not my normal habitat!  Still, I carried on regardless - stitching away, and tweaking the design and the colours until they were right.
So here it is - a bit late but at least it is here before the wedding!

This sampler is about 9 x 13 inches, stitched on 14 count antique white Aida using Anchor stranded cotton.
The design includes thistles for Scotland where the couple met; dragons for Wales and Lions for England - but also for Africa where the Prince proposed.  The shells are from the coat of arms of his mother - Princess Diana and Prince William insisted on them for his own arms.
Roses, wedding bells, peacocks and blossom trees are all appropriate for the occasion. 
There are three versions of text:
1) Engagement announced + date
2) Wedding Day + date  
3) Married + date + Westminster Abbey
Simply choose the one you like best and follow the chart. 
The Royal Wedding Sampler will always be a lovely reminder of a happy day.

New designs for 2010

It has been a very busy couple of months! All at once, we had eight new designs to launch and a new catalogue to nurse through the proofs stage, the printing stage and then to send out to customers.

We also had a long wait for the canvases to be printed - a sure sign that the stitching season is well under way - and the poor printers have been going flat out to keep up.

So the new designs for 2010 are ready at last. 

Cat’s Whiskers - teeming with cats of every hue. 

There must be one just like your favourite.

Zoo -  the perfect nursery tapestry in old-fashioned Toy Shop colours. This one can be personalised with an initial and a birth date - alphabet and number charts are included with the kit

Then there are the new MiniKits

Newcomers to needlepoint tapestry naturally prefer to start with something small.

So I have introduced six new small designs that are large in scale. Lovely big easy to see canvas holes and tapestry wool, all go together to make life simple for the beginner.  These little kits are suitable for adults or children who want to learn to stitch. I have even devised some simple 'quick start' instructions to go with them.  Perfect for anyone who wants to get going straight away.

Mini Chicks  Mini Monkey  Mini Owl  Mini Scarecrow  Mini Whale and Mini Ted

I will be introducing more in due course..

Speed stitching?

This month, we are lucky enough to be featured in the 'Editor's Choice' pages of Good Housekeeping. Even though it is the August edition, subscribers were receiving their copies by July 1st and by the time August is upon us, they will have their September magazines!

No matter; the featured kit was Regatta and on the last day of July, Cowes Week begins, from Cowes on the Isle of Wight - the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world.

One of the first of many orders for Regatta resulting from the Good Housekeeping appearance was posted to the customer on Monday afternoon – she will have received it on Tuesday.  The following Sunday, she emailed me to say her stitched kit was packed and ready to be posted to me the next morning for making up into a cushion! 

I could hardly believe it. Six days to stitch a 10½inch square tapestry.

I think this must be a record.

It arrived this morning.  It had been beautifully stitched in continental tent stitch and the stitcher had worked in horizontal lines.  It was quite distorted so I don’t think a frame was used and I can only assume that she stitched with the much faster ‘sewing’ style as opposed to the stabbing method one has to employ when using a frame.  We can easily stretch the needlework back into shape and it will be made up into a cushion by one of my marvellous ‘cushion ladies’. 

But it will probably take a little longer to make the cushion than it has taken our customer to stitch it!

A Day Trip

Recently I was lucky enough to be invited along on a day trip to Jersey Zoo.  We zoomed across the Channel on a big and rather rattley catamaran and after a short drive we were at the zoo.  The first thing I learnt was that it is not a zoo but The Durrell Wildlife Conservation.  There are no elephants lions or giraffes here, but rather a rare collection of endangered species, living and breeding happily in the grounds of a Jersey estate.

We saw dignified and elegant blue cranes, the hilarious bald ibis, gigantic fruit bats and colourful frogs less than 2 centimetres long.

In almost complete darkness we saw the shadowy shapes of aye-ayes which so enchanted Stephen Fry in his recent TV documentary.

The young macaque monkeys were a delight with their cartwheels and handstands while their parents were busy getting on with the next generation!

We saw the gorillas in their grassy sunken enclosure into which in 1986 a child fell and the elderly Jambo (the first male gorilla born in captivity) lumbered over to the little boy to guard and protect him from the younger, more boisterous gorillas. Pictures and film captured the whole story at the time.

But best of all were the critically endangered orangutans. They don’t swim so they live on two islands surrounded by a moat – maybe 4 metres wide. There are plenty of climbing frames, ropes and swings for them and though the orangutans are rather deliberate in their movements, we were richly entertained by the gibbons that share the islands.

Feeding time was great fun.  The food – chunks of cabbage, whole carrots apples and parsnips - are put in large paper bags like a picnic and hurled across the moat.  The gibbons get there first, then some female orangutans but they don’t touch the bags.  They settle down and politely wait.  Then in his own good time, along comes Dagu the adult male.  He is seriously ugly with huge black pads either side of his face and under his chin.  But to the females he is drop-dead gorgeous and gets first go at the picnic.

We had a wonderful day at the the Durrell, blessed with good weather and thank goodness, flat calm both ways between Weymouth and St Hellier.  But it was a long one – 22 hours from our dawn start to our arrival home in the small hours!  We were tired.
http://www.durrell.org/

A Patchwork Story

Years ago, I decided to make patchwork quilts out of old jeans for my two sons' beds. I thought I had plenty of outgrown jeans but it is surprising how many pairs you need for a quilt.  I was beginning to mooch round charity shops! Anyway, various friends donated to the cause so I made a start.

One day I was stitching away and there was a knock on the door from a  man asking to use the phone because his car had broken down.  (Pre mobile phone days)
We had a cup of tea while he waited for the AA and he asked about the dozens of denim triangles and  remains of jeans all over the place so I showed him my quilt.
Eventually his car was fixed and off he went.  

The next day, I found a bag full of old jeans on my doorstep.

This is one of the quilts I was making.