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"Hanukah Still Life" is Gail's original design
in fulfillment of Step 6 of the Master Craftsman in Canvas Embroidery
program, and represents about a year and half of work from inspiration to
finish. She began work on the masters program about 5 years ago.
Here is what Gail said about her experiences.
"I am satisfied, and pleased, with my
achievement.
"Other than completing Step 6 and finding out
that I had achieved Master Craftsman, I most enjoyed the stitching, and
when things came together the way I hoped. Sometimes this occurred
only after several unsuccessful attempts. I also enjoyed stitching
on my doodle canvas and trying out different colors and stitches before
trying them on a piece.
"My least favorite part was deciding on an
idea, and making a plan was difficult. Creating an original design was a
very painful process.
"Some of you might want to know that one
learns from participating in the program despite the fact that this is a
testing program. For example, I was not familiar with diaper patterns
prior to the program and had to do a lot of research in this area. Also,
I had never done canvas appliqué prior to this experience and I had to
read about it and practice it. I also practiced couching and asked a
friend for lessons after several unsuccessful attempts on practice canvas.
"One other item that might interest others is
the provisional pass I earned on my step 2 and step 6 pieces. This was
particularly disappointing at the step 6 level since one should have a
good grasp of the standards by this point in the program. Thinking about
this from the judges’ perspective, I recognize that the piece to earn
Master Craftsman certification has to be just right. The good news is
that I persevered and corrected the perspective on my gift box to the
satisfaction of the judges and have now earned the title of Master
Craftsman in Canvas Embroidery."
About the design:
"Hanukah Still Life" is stitched primarily
with stranded embroidery cotton, including variegated browns and tans, the
piece also includes red and gold Balger braid, DMC metallic gold, and
Balger blending filament. Some accents were stitched in silk and
wool blends (Impressions and Silk and Ivory), Persian wool, Medici wool,
silk, nylon and polyester blend (Petite Frosty Rays), and Wonder Twist.
The dark night background is stitched in
irregular Byzantine. It was quite a challenge to start and stop the
stitching to go around the menorah, candles and reflection and keep the
pattern in line. A simple Florentine pattern was used for the candles,
the flames and the base of the menorah. The reflected candles were
stitched in mosaic and the reflected menorah is stitched in tent stitch,
as is the reflected package. The dreidel is stitched in diagonal tent
stitch.
The table and its reflection are composed of
cross stitches using a variegated thread and making the crosses one at a
time as you stitch. The muttons were stitched in Gobelin with a line of
tent stitch along the edge. The larger package was stitched in Hungarian
and the ribbon and bow was stitched in cashmere. The gelt (coins) are
stitched in diagonal mosaic with a couched thread at the rim. The arms of
the menorah were made up of three “rows” of 12 ply metallic thread each
that were couched to the canvas. The candle cups are an invented stitch
that is a variation of stitches by Jean Hilton.
Text and photograph copyright © 2005 by Gail
Stafford. Published with permission. |
