Embroidered Lifebuoy

I volunteered to be a costume assistant to Arianne Cardoso´s performance on Saturday, June 26. Her concept and video filming entitled Der Nähkasten (The Sewing Box) is inspired by the book Berlin Childhood around the 1900s by Benjamin Walters, written by Benjamin Walters who was an exiled Jewish. His book is a collection of intimate memories of Berlin when he was still living there. He committed suicide before the book was published.

The performance was in accordance to the Arts Festival “48 Stunde Neukölln”. Read more in german: http://www.48-stunden-neukoelln.de/2010/

You can read more about Arianne´s works here: http://www.ariannevitale.daportfolio.com/

Aside from finishing the great costumes and assisting in the costume fitting, I also embroidered this buoy.

Started and Finished today: June 24, 2010

No. of hours: 9hours

The Gothic German fonts are padded with cardboard and satin-stitched.

I corrected the slanting “e” in the word “Berliner”.

The buoy was sewn into a bouy and attached to an air-blown tube. Here are photos during the day of the performance.

Off the streets:

…

Successful performance:

congratulations!

Other artists were Odile Hautemulle (Costume Design), Stephanie Hanna (Performance), Akemi Nagao (Movement/Dance), Thiago Bartolozzo (Stage/Set Design), Ilaria Soncini (Fashion/Costume Design) and Marise Cardoso (Music/Sound Design).

Here is the flyer to the performance:

Photos of early embroideries

Beautiful Bird (added border and stumpwork butterfly) by Dimensions Gold Collection Petites (2007)

Started: April 18, 2007

Finished: April 25, 2007

No. of hours: 53 hours

Dimensions: 25 cm x 10.5 cm

Materials: cotton floss, metallic threads, watercolored paper, evenweave

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With This Ring Wedding Sampler (added more stitches) by Sweetheart Tree (2007)

Started: April 18, 2007

Finished: April 25, 2007

No. of hours: 38 hours

Dimensions: 34 x 10.5 cm

Materials: Cotton floss, beads, gold coated rings, evenweave

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Sunflower by Kaya-san (2007)

Started: March 30, 2007

Finished: March 31, 2007

No. of hours: 11 hours

Materials: DMC cotton floss, evenweave

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Wedding Sampler (altered words) by Teresa Wentzler (2006)

Started: August 11, 2006

Finished: September 22, 2006

No. of Hours: 98 hours

Dimensions: 10 x 11 inches

Materials: Cotton floss, Mill Hill beads, Kreinik metallics, Rayon floss, evenweave

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A Year of Love (altered words) by Marie Barber (2005)

Started: Sept. 2, 2005

Finished: Sept. 22, 2005

No. of Hours: 20 Days

Dimensions: 32.5 x 34 cm

Materials: DMC Floss, beads, metallics, evenweave

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Antique Wedding Sampler (altered Words) by Cross My Heart, Inc. (2005)

Started: January 10, 2005

Finished: February 19, 2005

No. of hours: 40 days

Dimensions: 200W x 280H (count)

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Camelot Sampler by Teresa Wentzler (2004)

Started: August 20, 2004

Finished: November 1, 2004

No. of hours: 169 hours

Dimensions: 22.5 x 16 inches

Materials: Cotton floss, beads, metallic threads, evenweave

Finished Today”Kabuto” Boys´ Day (traditional japanese warrior helmet)

Started: November 3, 2009

Finished: June 14, 2010

# of hours: 76 hours

Materials: Cotton threads on cotton fabric

Finished Size: 50cm x 65cm

A Kabuto symbolizes the strong and healthy boy, which is why it is brought out during Boys´Day, which was celebrated in Japan, every 5th of May. Girls Day, or Hinamatsuri, was celebrated on the 3rd day of March . Boys´Day was also called Tango no Sekku, which is one of the seasonal festivals, this one marking the beginning of the rainy season or the summer. On Boys´Day, a Kabuto helmet is displayed, or a Kintaro doll riding a giant carp. Kintaro is the childhood name of a samurai hero, known for his strength even while still a young boy.

Boys´Day is also known as feast of the banners. On the day before this day,  families raise colorful carp-shaped flags called koinobori, each carp representing a boy or a child in the family.

In 1948, the japanese government declared the day Children´s Day, Kodomo no hi.

I am making this design from a japanese embroidery book. My first japanese embroidery teacher Kayo helped me with the translations last 2007 a few days before she went back to Japan.  The book suggests Cosmo cotton embroidery threads, but I converted them to DMC or Anchor.

This project will have to wait a while before it is finished. But I am enjoying this project, because of the many stitches featured. Here is another update photo:

Kabuto Dec 15 2009 After 17 hours

Here is the finished embroidery:

Kabuto (japanese samurai helmet)

A closer view:

Kabuto

handarbeit stickerei handstickerei in Berlin

My 2009 London Vacation Part 1: Needlework shops and Fabric Stores

To the stitchinfingers.ning.com members, who replied with addresses of stores with needleworks or haberdashery departments, or needlework shops around London, thank you. I was able to visit all of them.

I am writing this blog entry, for those who are visiting London and would want to look for fabrics and needlework stuffs. This is not a complete list, so if anyone has to share, I will add another list of shops I have not visited. Before I got hold of the AtoZ London map book, I used the Google map to locate the addresses, I would recommend using that when you are online.

Updated list June 14, 2010: I added a 10th shop, the London Tapestry Needlework.

1. All the Fun of the Fair is a little store on the 2nd Floor of 8 Kingly Court. They have mostly knitting stuffs. The shop has the feel of a cake shop, maybe because of the knitted muffins. Visit their website for photos.

2. Broadwick Silks is along Broadwick Street.

Broadwick Silks Ltd

3. The Silk Society’s website has the same design as the Broadwick Silks Ltd. It is a different store.

The Silk Society

4.The Cloth House is a very warm place with lots of vintage fabrics, great prices too. They have a great website and another blogger has written about the shop. http://www.fashion-stylist.net/blog/2008/03/06/the-cloth-house-and-buttons/

Cloth House

5. The Soho Silksis located in D´Arblay St.

Soho Silks

6. The Liberty& Co. of London is located at Great Marlborough Street. It is a large store. The haberdashery section is in the 3rd floor

Liberty & Co of London

7. John Lewis is one of the most visited store located along Oxford Street. Go to the Haberdashery Section on the 4th Floor.

John Lewis

8. MacCullogh and Wallis is located at Dering Street.

MacCulloch and Wallis

9. The London Bead Co. /Delicate Stitches, I like this store because it is the only one which sells embroidery books, including Inspirations magazines. They have american tools and threads, which the other stores have none. I recommend this store, although not located in the busy Soho area. It is really worth the time going there. I was told at the RSN and by a friend, that they are probably only beads there. But if one goes inside to the other half of the store, one sees the reason why the name of the store has a slash then Delicate Stitches to it. 🙂

The London Bead Co./Delicate Stitches

10. The London Tapestry Needlework – Thanks to Rosanne for mentioning it. It is located near Harrods. And they have a website too. http://www.tapisserie.co.uk/

The address is 54 Walton Street, London SW3 1RB. They specialize in handpainted canvases for all kinds of needlework  for smaller accessories to larger upholstered furnitures.

Jan. 21, 2012 Update:

Thanks for the additional info, Sophie:

“I lived in London for 3 years. Used to go to Roll and Rem’s (no website) in Lewisham. They sell mainly fabrics and ribbons at a good price.
For ribbons, beads etc… there is a shop in Winsley street and another one, more luxurious, near Sloane square.
Another famous fabric shop is Shaukat (Old Brompton Street). ”

Semmenihana (Fan Flower) Japanese Style Wall Hanging

“Fuji” (Wisteria – symbol of Spring in japan)

Started: May 19, 2007

Finished:May 28, 2007

No. of hours: 37 hours

Materials: Cotton floss on Rayon Satin

Semmenihana Fuji (Wisteria)

“Kaki” (Persimmon – symbol of Autumn or Fall in japan)

Started:  April 11, 2009

Finished: April 18, 2009

No. of hours: 25 hours

Materials: Cotton floss on Rayon Satin

Semmenihana Fuji (Persimmon)

I am making this set of 4 fans, depicting various flora in various seasons of the year. The embroidery book suggests a japanese way of presenting the fans, one piece at a time. The fans are mounted to the shape of a fan. I added gold ribbons on the edge to imitate gold leaf (I still don’t know how to put gold leaf on fabric, a japanese technique suggested in the book). Then I mounted a larger background for the fans. I sewed clasps and hooks on the back of the fans and on top of the dark background. Honestly, I do not know how the japanese framers make their wall hanging. But from what I did, I could not tell the difference. lol!

Semmenihana Fuji and Kaki (Persimmon) off the background