Barefoot Shepherdess

Spring Cleaning

Would anyone be interested in helping me destash these Japanese cotton print fabrics...?

I once collected cute prints, but realized that I prefer to use plain fabrics for my own projects.  A few of them are leftovers from things i've made.  Some have been washed once, others are straight off the bolt.

**ETA** Here are the details (length x width):

{ top row }

me-in baby cotton double gauze, pears & apples (partially used)-- 57cm x 60cm full square and another 36cm x 45cm, all one piece ¥500

me-in baby cotton double gauze, carousel (unused)-- 50cm x 110cm ¥700

moco*moco by Harumi Sugihara cotton fabric (partially used)-- 50cm x 40cm, plus a little extra ¥300

Nous Partons cotton fabric (partially used)-- 48cm x 50cm ¥300

D's Selection brown houses cotton print (unused)-- 30cm x 110cm ¥400

Little Red Riding Hood cotton print (unused)-- 25cm x 110cm ¥300


{ bottom row }

Cosmo Textiles Co. sheep & shepherd cotton print (partially used)-- 50cm x 108cm with a little piece missing and another 22cm x 45cm plus a little extra, all one piece ¥500

Shinzi Katoh christmas print, white (unused)-- 50cm x 106cm ¥800

Shinzi Katoh christmas print, green (unused)-- 50cm x 106cm ¥800

Lecien red mouse cotton print (partially used)-- 36cm x 50cm, with about 15cm x 15cm missing ¥150

Lecien grey bird cotton print (partially used)-- 36cm x 50cm, with two small hexagons missing ¥150

Lecien dark teal cotton print (unused)-- 36cm x 56cm ¥300

green stripes (washed, but unused)--26cm x 54cm ¥150

blue stripes (washed, but unused)-- 26cm x 54cm ¥150  *two pieces available*

Prices are all in Japanese yen.  Shipping is separate-- please email me with your location for an estimate.  Payment via PayPal only please.

Thanks for looking!

Sampling :: Canvas Work

It's been an awfully cold winter here in Japan this year.  There's been record snowfall on the western half of Japan-- two or three times as much as usual!-- and while we haven't had any of that, it's just been really, very cold.  In the mornings, I can even see my breath in the bedroom often times!

On days like this, what better way to stay warm than cuddling up in a cozy blanket with the current issue of my favorite embroidery magazine?

Stitch Idées, No.14

Though I suppose current may be a bit misleading, as it actually came out in October.  It's a biannual magazine, so I didn't feel a particular rush in ordering a copy until now.  But what finally motivated me to get it was that this issue features canvaswork, which was the focus of our second embroidery class.

This time, the assignment was this small motif composed of leaf stitch, using three colors and accents with silver thread.  Up until now, I've always had an image of canvaswork as a grandmotherly form of needlework-- bright-colored-acrylic-yarns-on-plastic-canvas sort of thing-- but after seeing various samples and trying it out myself, I realized there was so much more that can be done with it.  And as with cross stitch, there's something soothing about methodically counting and stitching to a set pattern.  Which, of course, makes it very addicting.

This piece was to be a part of a measuring tape cover, surrounded by pink silk taffeta, but in looking at the finished sample, I didn't think it showed off the embroidery very well as it appeared to be almost buried in the taffeta.  So I decided to turn it into a needlebook cover--

I still have to get the rest of the materials to complete it, but I do like the way this looks much better.  I'm looking forward to getting this finished!

The magazine offers cute ideas & patterns for canvaswork--

There's also an introduction to a Japanese counted stitch embroidery method called kogin-zashi (こぎん刺し) that looks simple & stylish--

Some of these designs are reminicent of Fair Isle or Scandinavian knitting motifs or traditional cross stitch motifs.  But these are classic patterns for kogin-zashi too, the floral one representing a plum blossom--

And on page 108--

I made it into the reader's gallery again!  This time, it was my secret garden embroidery composition.  I'm really happy about it.

Now off to search for some nice evenweave fabric...  Do you have any favorites or recommendations?

Sampling :: Mountmellick

In order to learn some new techniques and hopefully a few tricks that aren't found in your average embroidery book, I enrolled in a class on English embroidery techniques at the end of January.  It's only six, two-and-a-half hour long classes-- really, just enough time to try out each technique on a small project-- but I think it'll be a great way to figure out which methods I'd like to learn more in-depth.

The first class was on whitework-- specifically, Mountmellick embroidery.  Rather, I should say 'Mountmellick-style' as the traditional method is just white on white, while we used gold thread also.  The assigned project was a monogram using couching stitch and french knots, with a crown above and accents of gold.  The white sections were fairly straighforward, but I had a hard time deciding where and how to add the gold.  In the end, I settled on using it as highlights on the monogram and as a striped decoration along the bottom of the crown.  I wasn't a fan of the bulky look-- another characteristic of the method-- but it did turn out to be sort of pretty, I think.

One thing that worried me was that the blue pattern lines wouldn't wash out entirey... and, it didn't.  I soaked it, then washed it more vigorously than I probably should have, but there's still a faint blue shadow to the whole thing.  The carbon tracing paper I normally use isn't so uncooperative, but this one is really stubborn!  Is there a good way to get this out?  Since it is supposed to be whitework, I'd like for it to be all white.

LOVE Handmade

I'm still trying to catch up...

In the middle of January, I participated in a group show with fellow Etsy artists at Gallery 7 in Yaesu, just a few blocks from the Tokyo Station.  The weather was far from ideal-- cold, rainy & grey-- not the most appealing time to head out to a gallery, but while it was dreary outdoors, it got pretty lively inside.  I had a great time meeting and talking with everyone.

Thank you to those who joined us during the weekend!  For more photos from the event, please hop over to my Flickr photostream.

Hello February

Now that it's February...

Happy 2012!  It's been a really hectic start to the new year here-- before I knew it, a whole month had gone by.  So where in the world did January go...?

Well here, for one:

25 hand embroidered pincushions, to be exact.  These were made for a custom request at my shop.  It took me a lot longer than I anticipated to make them all-- for being so small, the embroidery takes more time than one would think.  I feel relieved to have them finished, finally!

Still, I'm a little sad to have to part with these...  For despite all the pincushions I make, I don't have a single favorite set aside for my own use yet.  Lined up like this, they make such a pretty picture-- sort of like a pincushion quilt!

But this isn't the only thing I've been up to... more on that next time!

M a k e

That's exactly what I've had to do for the past month and a half: make, make, make.  Make things for my shop for the holiday shopping season, make attempts at new designs and make preparations for my first ever 'event.'

A couple of weekends ago, a group of Etsy sellers in the Tokyo region got together to participate in Make: Tokyo Meeting 07 at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.  This was our collaborative booth-- each box represented a different shop.  My box was on the far right.

Though the focus of the event was on technology-based creations-- robots, machinery and such-- they also had a section for handmade goods, which was where we were.  And what variety we offered too!  Each shop had its own distinct style, which hopefully, made it fun and interesting for the visitors to explore.

We even had a workshop section at our booth, offering button-making and wood picture frame-making (that by one of the sellers).  Kids especially, seemed to enjoy the button-making, happily showing off their original buttons once they were finished.

Since Etsy still isn't well known in Japan, this event provided a good opportunity to gain exposure for the online craft market.  In fact, many people were interested, both from the standpoint of sellers and shoppers.  And interest in our shops ranged from children...

... to adults.

Truth be told, I was somewhat nervous going in to the event, not knowing what to expect, but with the other sellers there for support and camaraderie, I ended up having a really good time.  And I was surprised to find that talking to customers wasn't so hard and actually... fun!

All in all, it was a great experience.  And now, I'm off to re-make things for my shop...

Simple Wristwarmers

Just your basic wristwarmers with dark bronze beads on linen-colored yarn.  Made for a custom request.

I usually prefer my beads to blend in more with my yarn, so that they are visible in some lights and almost disappear in others.  But I really like the contrast on this one.  Perhaps it works because there are so few beads-- they aren't overly assertive, but keeps the wristwarmers from becoming too plain.

I wonder what an additional row or two of beads-- maybe in staggered rows-- would look like.  Whatever the case, another instance of less is more.

Leaves :: Two Ways

This is turning out to be really pretty--

I'm very pleased with the rose bloom portion of it; all it needs now is a rhinestone in the center.  I simplified my version from the pattern by using just satin stitch in the non-seed bead sections.  The original combined satin stitch & gold bullion thread, like this--

As for the leaves: I wasn't happy with them the first time around.  I had planned on following the pattern as shown above, with a combination of beads & sequins.  But when I finished outlining the leaves, I felt that it looked out of balance.  The flower seemed weighty compared to the leaves, even considering that the addition of sequins might adjust that a bit.  So I searched for a different technique and switched to this--

I think this looks much nicer!  And I didn't have to go get the sequins besides.

In Progress

So I'm moving beyond the basics.  Because simple rows are just not enough.

Sampling :: Bead Embroidery

Just trying out some bead embroidery techniques--

{ seed beads :: scattering effect }

{ cupped sequins, cupped sequins + beads, seed beads, bugle beads }

{ flat sequins :: side-by-side, overlapped rows and fish scale effect }

Rather than being tedious and annoying, sewing down these beads & sequins one by one was calming and soothing... hypnotizing, almost.  Would it surprise you to know I'm already addicted?