Japanese Embroidery Phase 6 - New Start and Homework

Since our last online class with our Japanese embroidery teacher, the COVID situation has been getting better(?). At least well enough that we felt comfortable enough to plan for an in person class in April. As there were no guarantees and there was a chance we'd have to cancel and do a zoom class instead, I decided to have a backup plan. 

Sadly not all those silks were for me

I purchased both my phase 5 (Himotaba the extended version) and phase 6 (Eternal Grace). As they each cover two different techniques, cords and short stitch holding, I felt comfortable enough to ask my teacher if I could switch the sequence a bit. If we met in person, I would work on Eternal Grace. If it ends up being a zoom class, I would work on cords.

Once our teacher confirmed her flight details, I got the green light and started to work on doing some pre-work. My design came printed on kimono fabric with gold woven in. It's really pretty in person. I've noticed online that there are many different versions of Grace. With guidance, many stitchers changed the color of her kimono to suit their tastes. My color selection came from a friend who had stitched hers with a green kimono and coral obi. I really liked her palette and she was kind enough to share it with me. Lucky for me she takes such great notes. The colors are from the Heian period, which I really love. Bonus: it will go very nicely with the Himotaba and Hiogi as both follow the same palette. 

As I've done this previously with Hiogi, my teacher was ok with me starting some of the foundation. This would help save time in class.

My mission was to put in the foundation and temporary holding stitch on the right side, the obi that sits right under it and then the rest of the kimono going all the way down.

For the obi, we have light and dark areas where the obi is folded. I tried to play with the length of the stitches so I wouldn't just have a block of light and dark. Those shared areas will be smoothed over when I put in the short stitch holding and then the outlines later.

There is a color change towards the bottom of the kimono. Mixed in with the lighter green is a metal thread. I went with a lovely white gold. It gives it just the right amount of shimmer.

The obi is done in twisted silk, but the kimono was all flat foundation so it was imperative that I put in the temporary holding stitch in order to protect it.

The pre-work took two weekends to put in and I really enjoyed it. I love foundation work! With this my piece was ready for class.