Sewing Rolls and other needlework toys

Historically small accessories for needlework were called "Toys". Today we sometimes call them smalls or even still call them toys. They can be things such as pin cushions, needlebooks, scissors sheaths, fobs, emeries or anything else that stitchers create, collect and use. Many times they are stitched but can also be made of fabric, paper, and Bristol board to name just a few of the materials but fabulous examples are created with Mother of Pearl, gold or silver. One of the very useful accessories is a sewing roll. It could combine a pincushion, a flannel piece for needles or pins and often has a pocket to store buttons or thread. It is then rolled up and can be placed in a pocket or bag. There are so many variations made from scraps of whatever fabric was available, sometimes it sould be a wonderul reminant of silk but even the last useable bit from the rag bag that was pieced and pressed into use. It is so much fun to imagine who it was for and who created it. I bought a barely started kit designed and created by Tricia Nguyen. It was a sewing roll called the Salem Sewing Roll. It is stitched on a lovely green linen with silk threads in pastel shades of yellow, pink, blue, green and tans. There was enough extra linen and thread in the kit so that I was able to create some "toys" to go with it. I used Tricia's original design for inspiration and created three more pieces to match. I did a scissors sheath, a combination needlebook and pincushion, and an emery. The first photo shows the outside of the roll and one side of the smalls.

This photo is of the inside of the sewing roll and the other side of the smalls.

Sewing rolls are fun to do. I designed and taught two of these sewing rolls in past classes. The last photo is of an antique piece that I own.

An army of goldwork frogs and a single robin

Last fall I took a class from Maria Clara Warschuer. It was a goldwork robin and was so much fun to do that I looked up her pattern for her frog in Inspirations magazine (#124). It is called Rana and worked in shades of green. I decided that since I love to look at poison arrow frogs becuase of the wonderful colors, I would create my own colorful batch of frogs. I went to my stash of colored purls and bullions to see what I had. Turns out that I have more than enough colors to make a huge army of frogs - who can resist purchasing assortments of colors from time to time. I ended up chooseing six colors. Each frog takes 2 colors - one for the body and one for the back. I used Clara's design for the back of the blue frog but played with other designs for the other five. I put pin backs on them so I can wear a cluster on a jacket.

Casket side and another Robin

It took me six months but I have finished the right side of my kist. It feels like I am getting a bit closer to finishing. Next step is to glue the back and side to the box and then get started on the left side.

I really love the way that the deer turned out. I found some fun deer on caskets and mirror frames and played with the designs.

I have been doing a number of robins lately and just took a goldwork class with a small robin. We were able to finish most of it in class and I came home and did the finishing touches to make it into a pin. It was designed by Clara Warschauer. She has a couple of other designs that I am planning on stitching.

Two Birds stitched 15 years apart 2009-2025

Years ago I took a soft shading class of a Red Poll from Tanja Berlin and really enjoyed it. I finished the bird in 2009 and was really proud of it, and it has hung in my house for years. Soft shading is a wonderful technique that is used to stitch realistic flowers, birds and many other things but it does take some practice to master.

Yesterday I finished a new bird by Trish Burr. It is "The dainty European Robin Erithacus rubecula" that was published in Inspirations magazine. I think that it turned really well and I can see so much inprovement in my stitching technique.

My husband's middle name was Robin and he was named for his father's friend from England. Since my husband's passing I have been collecting a few robins that make me think of him. One of the more unique birds that we discovered was one made of Legos. We could not find the kit but got the plans and ordered parts from several sources to build our bird. He sets on our mantel so we can enjoy seeing him everyday. It makes us smile.

Another pattern that I bought is "An Australian rose robin resting on a splendid magnolia depicted in threadpainting, by Trish Burr" from Inspirations magazine. The breast feathers are the most amazing shade of pink. The first time that I saw it, I was not sure that it could be real but it is. I stitched it several years ago and gave it to a friend who loves magnolias.

Casket Back is finished

 I  have finally finished the stitching on the back of my casket. I love the way that perspective doesn't matter. The peacock is as big as the pear tree and I am not quite sure if all of the flowers exist in nature and the snail certainly does not.

The crocodile is taken from the early 17th century painted ceiling at Rossend Castle in Burntisland, Fife in Scotland.  His body is exotic leather that I painted a bronzy gold color. The Mother of Pearl Fish was made in China in the late 1700's as a gaming token but I thought that it would swim beautifully in my pond.

My husband lived in New Zealand for several years and so I added the Kiwi bird. I bought the yarn that I stitched him with while I was there visiting. It is a combination of cashmere, silk and Brushtail Possum Down.

There are many dimensional elements on this panel with the pears just hanging from the tree along with flower petals that stick out from the background. 

I have used very tiny (about sizes 18-24) antique seed beads in several places. They are so small that I have to insert the silk thread  through the bead and then into the needle to sew them in place because even my smallest needle will not go through the hole of the bead. It takes a while because for each bead, you thread on the bead, then the needle and sew it down, unthread the needle add the next bead, rethread the needle and repeat. I am lucky that I have been collecting them for about 50 years since they are so hard to find now-days. 

Cabinet back motifs

I have been enjoying working on the back panel of the needlework casket. It is full of fun animals and flowers and is stitching up quite quickly for the amount of embroidery on it and all of the color changes but that is just part of the joy of creating my own interpretation of the fabulous originals .


This outline of the carnation uses some antique Chinese thread that is created by wrapping thin strips of paper with gold glued to it and it is then wrapped around a red thread.

My snail is so tiny but full of unique threads and stitches. The crinkled gold plate is from India. I was ordering some thread that I needed and added it because it was quirky and as long as I was paying for shipping why not add some extra goodies. You can see the scale of it by comparing the US twenty-five cent piece. It's amazing how much stitching  and how many different threads you can pack into a tiny area.

This pear tree is full of interesting details. Some of the elements are stitched flat on the silk like the tiny pear blossoms, the trunk of the tree, some of the leaves and two of the pears. The padded pears use 16th century English embroidery techniques with a tiny gold plate along with the gold silk thread. Four of the leaves are wired so that they can be manipulated into shapes. I have used a paper mache form for the other two pears which I did in needle-lace with gold plate around them.

Just finished the peacock which wears the most fabulous colors. 

 

Twined Floral Brooch

 

I call this piece "Twined Floral Brooch". It is an adaptation of a new class from Cynthia Jackson. The class is "A Garden in Gutter Lane". Cindy gave us three different designs and encouraged us to change things if we wanted to. I went totally off course and made mine look like a wreath that is fastened with a needle.

It has flowers and leaves done in a 16th century technique. Some of the flowers have 5 layers of thread and metal threads, and are only 1 inch (2.5cm) across.

I stitched a handmade lizerine around all of the flowers and leaves. Cynthia made it and although it more closely replicates the original metal thread it is much harder to work with than the more modern machine made metal that we use today.

I did the same strawberry two different ways, one with the handmade lizerine and and the other with the more modern machine made metal trim so you can see the difference.