Mariner's Compass - Week Four, Five, Six & Finish

I've been bad about posting updates of this piece on the blog. Too distracted with my recent finishes I guess. In week four, we worked on the second round of couching.

And there was a lot of it.

I managed to complete all of it in one day, which was maybe not a good idea. I found I made a mistake stitching the last part of the North arrow. I was so annoyed I didn't touch the piece for a week. It's really a small thing and I almost didn't even fix it, but as I had some pearl purl left I felt that I should make the effort.

In week five, we had a short lesson. We only had to stitch the arrow. I had to sacrifice two needles to create the body of the arrow. This gives it some rigidity.

This is covered with a very shiny kid leather. Very hard to stitch through leather when working in hand. If I ever do this piece again, I would mount the entire thing, compass and arrow, in a slate frame. 

To set the back, glue is used. This made the back rigid so we can safely cut it out. I guess I got my first taste of stumpwork.

For week six, the last lesson, we put in the finishing touches on our compass.

We put in the South, East and West points, as well as all the directional divisions. For the compass points, I found that it was easier to couch down the black braid and then plunging the ends, rather than starting with a knot.

For the very last step, we cut out our arrow. If I did this again, I would stitch it on a darker fabric. It was very hard to trim all the white fabric that was showing from the front. I have a gold sharpie in my stash and used it to lightly color the edges that were peeking. This really helped mask what I couldn't cut away.

Here it is all done. I was really hoping to make a working compass, but I couldn't figure out how to properly magnetise the arrow. Also, although the body of the arrow is rigid, the ends are very soft. I would have preferred if it was a little more solid.

One change I did make to the construction was to add in a "washer" at the bottom to keep the wire piercing the arrow from shifting. If I did it all over again, I would also add a smaller "washer" right under the arrow before adding the large bead. This would help stabilize the arrow and keep it from shifting forward and back.

All in all this piece was a great experience. I really enjoyed learning from Cynthia. It was very well organized and she did a really great job shifting the class from in person to online. The Mariner's Compass is the first of a trilogy and I'm hoping to be able to stitch the other two pieces: an armillary sphere and an astrolab.

(click on the post to see the video below)

Mariner's Compass - Week Three

 This week's lesson took a bit more effort than the first two.

Lots and lots of couching around the center, going round and round.

Followed by some s-ing.

Here's the trick for getting a perfect circle and this doesn't just apply for s-ing but also stem stitch as that's what it basically is. Your needle should come out to the right of the last purl/stitch and come down to the left of the first purl/stitch in the circle. This ensures seemless join.

The s-ing is then surrounded by two rounds of couched purl and lizerine.

The last bit was putting in the spokes in between the compass points.

This piece is so shiny! Usually it's really hard to convey the shine of the material, but this piece just captures all the light and reflects it back. It actually makes it very hard to stitch on for long periods as it strains the eyes. The best way to avoid this is to stitch during the day, so no artificial lighting is needed, and take lots of breaks. Three more lessons to go...

Mariner's Compass - Week Two

 For week two on the compass, we worked on the compass points and enclosed the area.

I got to try a new material: looped wire. This one was actually hand made by our teacher Cynthia and is meant to be couched in place. She shared her process with us during our weekly zoom chats, so we would be able to make our own in future. A great asset to add to my skill set.

The compass points are surrounded by a circle of couched lizarine. Did you know there are two types: lizarine and lizardine? They're both used the same way, but I think the lizarine is finer than the lizardine. I guess I'll have to get my hands on some to really make a comparison.

I've gained a companion on my journey. I needed something to hold my hoop still, but still be able to quickly adjust and rotate my hoop. This puffin weight came in handy. He was a gift from the 2017 EAC seminar in Newfoundland, hand made by the members of the hosting guild.

Now I'm ready for lesson three. I looked at the lesson plan and it's going to involve lots of couching. Good thing I just got lots of practice.

Mariner's Compass - Week One

I think a year or two ago, I spotted this piece by Cynthia Jackson and just fell in love with it. It was one of the class that was going to be taught at the EGA 2020 seminar in Boston. I couldn't attend and later on that seminar was cancelled but I always kept it at the back of my mind. Then it started popping up on my social media. An online class had been organized and I don't know how but I missed the registration. Luckily there was so much demand, Cynthia decided to offer a second round and I jumped at the opportunity.

It's a goldwork piece, with lots of new materials I've never tried so I look forward to the experience. It's my first official Zoom embroidery class. The way it's organized is that for 6 weeks, we get homework on the Saturday(ish) and have the week to do it. It includes a document and video demonstration. Then on Friday evenings, we have a Zoom meeting with Cynthia where we can ask questions.

Homework for the first week included transferring the design onto the black silk. I learned a new method. I would have never though of drawing the design on the calico and the stitching with the front and back fabric together. I will definitely remember this option. 

The second part was to put in the kid leather at the center. All this took about three hours and a half of work.