Himotaba - Class

Now that my prep work is done and my colors were "selected", it's finally time to start stitching. Here's a drawing showing where I plan to have each color.

There are eight cords in this piece:

1. Double central braid in flat silk
2. Imitation wicker in twisted silk
3. Single central braid in twisted silk (2-color transition)
4. (real) Wicker in flat silk
5. Single central braid in flat silk
6. Imitation wicker in flat silk
7. Rein effect in twisted silk over couched gold
8. Double central braid in twisted silk transitioning into metal thread

As this is a study piece, it contains one of every type of cord. However, you'll notice some cords are repeated. This is so we can experience stitching the cord using both a flat and twisted thread. Not only will the effect look different, but the stitching process will feel different. 

The cords are stitched using the same foreground to background rule we always follow, ensuring we can leave a one point open space. This means the first cord to be stitched is cord #2, called imitation wicker. Since it's twisted thread, the stitching goes really fast. The slow part is those lambda's that go on top. We're meant to stitch it using gold thread, but for the purpose of learning the steps and right angles we used orange couching silk.

The second cord to stitch is another twisted thread, the single central braid (cord #3). This one isn't new, it's the same braid that is found on Hiogi. It looks so pretty in pink!

Once we got to the third and fourth cord, I decided I needed some bling. I mixed in some gold (minus the core) with the wheat and red cord. It gives off just the hint of sparkle between the sugas. Cord #4 gave me some trouble as I needed to stitch backwards and the angle was just so awkward. Cord #5 is another single central braid but with flat silk. That gold gives it almost a brushed paint look that is just perfect.

We skipped over cord #6 as it's the same technique as cord #2 but with flat silk. Instead we covered the last two cords. The rein effect (cord #7) is stitched over a foundation of couched gold using twisted thread. The idea is to make seven stitches and then skip seven stitches worth of space before starting the next stripe. Angle and spacing is very important, as always. The last cord #8 is a double central braid. It's the same cord as the very first one done in flat, but our teacher wanted to make sure we did the twisted version to ensure we understood the tightness of the twist. Although I'm a tight stitcher, it seems I'm not a tight twister. I had to do a few attempts before I got the right tension.

After class, I attempted the flat silk version at home. It has it's own complications, getting the silk nice and flat, and shiny.

I sadly had to put my piece aside. The picture below is from November 20 when I last worked on it. I only had one reel of silk per color, most of them opened reels. By the time I got to where I was, my pink was gone and I was almost out of red.

My stitching mojo has been in limbo since then. Luckily, I just received my order from the Japanese Embroidery Center. Right on time too as the holidays are coming up and I'll be starting my annual two weeks stitching retreat. I'm going to mainly spend my time on Himotaba and hopefully Eternal Grace as well. I also need to start planning next year's objectives. I usually start a new piece on January 1st but I have no idea what I want to pull from my stash. I'll have a look through my horde.