Lee?
Aula
would like to start with a kit. The type of thing I have in mind would be
along the lines of http://herrschners.com/products/product.aspx?sku=042994
I am having one terrible time finding kits for sale on line other than that
and
http://herrschners.com/products/product.aspx?sku=045018
Now I think both are lovely, but I'm not sure that pricing is competitive,
etc. I do have confidence in Herrschner's products, though, so I might just
order both as potential Christmas gifts for mom and sis for next year.
Do you have suggestions or thoughts? If anyone else knows much about
beading or finding similar types of kits on line please chime in!
-Aula
enigma
news:11680443...@r2d2.vermontel.net:
oooh, Ann Benson. i have her book & it has the butterfly. i
don't think it has the Celtic knot, but once you see what
she's doing it's pretty easy. personally, i don't see it as
beading (which is generally bead weaving without a loom). it's
more bead embroidery. just a different thing. her idea of bead
weaving is, well, making things a LOT harder (& less
attractive) than they need to be (but neither of the pins you
referenced use her 'weaving' method. they're embroidery)
anyway, i think the Herrschner's prices are fairly good. i'd
hope they add extra in the seed beads in case you drop a few
though. i can't tell the bead quality from the photos, but in
the zoom on the butterfly the silver lined beads on the border
look like Taiwanese beads... not the best.
i'd recommend getting Silimide thread, since it's one thing
not included. i'd also get some Thread Heaven or beeswax to
keep thread tangles to a minimum & strengthen the thread (my
preference would be the Thread Heaven if silver or color lined
beads are involved, because beeswax can react with the
lining).
ok, found the book. she calls those pins Mosaic Beading. the
butterfly in it is slightly different & set as a pendant. it
has some really nice pins. if you want to borrow it let me
know & i'll get it to you.
lee
--
Question with boldness even the existence of god; because if
there be
one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded
fear. - Thomas Jefferson
Aula
"enigma" <eni...@evil.net> wrote in message
news:Xns98AFDDF99CF3...@199.125.85.9...
> oooh, Ann Benson. i have her book & it has the butterfly. i
> don't think it has the Celtic knot, but once you see what
> she's doing it's pretty easy. personally, i don't see it as
> beading (which is generally bead weaving without a loom). it's
> more bead embroidery. just a different thing. her idea of bead
> weaving is, well, making things a LOT harder (& less
> attractive) than they need to be (but neither of the pins you
> referenced use her 'weaving' method. they're embroidery)
> anyway, i think the Herrschner's prices are fairly good. i'd
> hope they add extra in the seed beads in case you drop a few
> though. i can't tell the bead quality from the photos, but in
> the zoom on the butterfly the silver lined beads on the border
> look like Taiwanese beads... not the best.
> i'd recommend getting Silimide thread, since it's one thing
> not included. i'd also get some Thread Heaven or beeswax to
> keep thread tangles to a minimum & strengthen the thread (my
> preference would be the Thread Heaven if silver or color lined
> beads are involved, because beeswax can react with the
> lining).
>
> ok, found the book. she calls those pins Mosaic Beading. the
> butterfly in it is slightly different & set as a pendant. it
> has some really nice pins. if you want to borrow it let me
> know & i'll get it to you.
>
Thank you for the response, Lee! I want to learn to 'embroider'
[essentially] using beads instead of floss. I like the look and think I can
adapt some of my red/black work patterns readily. I had thought of buying a
book but I find I learn best by doing so had settled on a decent kit to
start with. That way I can start discovering techniques and basic
materials. Do you have other suggestions for a learn by doing type of
person?
I would be interested in borrowing your book. Email me at
aulaatvermonteldotnet and we could set something up.
-Aula
enigma
news:11680957...@r2d2.vermontel.net:
> I would be interested in borrowing your book. Email me at
> aulaatvermonteldotnet and we could set something up.
emailed.
just so people know, i now have a live addy in my headers.
Ericka Kammerer
> Thank you for the response, Lee! I want to learn to 'embroider'
> [essentially] using beads instead of floss. I like the look and think I can
> adapt some of my red/black work patterns readily. I had thought of buying a
> book but I find I learn best by doing so had settled on a decent kit to
> start with. That way I can start discovering techniques and basic
> materials. Do you have other suggestions for a learn by doing type of
> person?
If you want to do that sort of embroidery, IIRC,
Mill Hill has a ton of tiny little kits you could try.
Here are some from their website, but you can find them
around:
I have also run across some kits in stores here and there
where significant parts were all beaded. Hmmm...I'll put
one up that I did:
http://eekpublicpix.shutterfly.com
In the butterfly sampler, the wings of the butterfly are
all beaded, and there are a bunch of other beads scattered
around (the blue flowers, some of the bands). It's hard to
see the detail, but anyway, the point is that I pretty
regularly see patterns or kits lying about that are all or
mostly beaded. I think they can be a good way of getting
your feet wet.
If your focus is mostly on embroidery with beads,
rec.crafts.textiles.needlework has a lot of folks
with good information. A lot of it, though is just
personal preference. The big issue is getting the
right fit between the beads and the fabric--and different
people prefer different proportions. Then, you decide
how you like to attach the beads. Some like to use
floss (and match either the background or the bead color,
depending on the effect they're going for), others use
transparent thread of one sort or another. Some attach
beads with a half cross (so the beads are on the diagonal),
some with a full cross (so they're more horizontal), and
some use doubled thread and split the thread over the
bead. Some will go back and run the thread through a
completed line of beading.
Anyway, there are lots of options, but a lot of it is
personal preference. As you start experimenting with
them, you'll find what you like best pretty quickly.
Here are some sites with beading tips:
http://www.salt-and-pepper.com/Hints1a.htm#Beads
http://home.comcast.net/~kathydyer/nf_xstitch_tut.html#beads
http://prettyimpressivestuff.com/stitches/
I think I saw somewhere a chart of which beads fit
well on what count/size fabric, but heck if I can
find it now. Some of that is a matter of personal
preference, but at least it gives you somewhere to
start!
If you want some fun cross stitch designs that also
have some easy beading, check out M Designs name
trees at: http://www.m--designs.com/personalizedtreedesigns.html
I've done a number of those on 36-count linen with
Mill Hill petites.
Have fun,
Ericka
kiticat
I started doing a little bead embroidery last year. Just doing cushion
covers. Its something I really want to get into. I love the intricate
detail you can get.I think I'd find it hard at the moment but if it
remains tricky then I'll try doing some chunky tapestry with wool and
wooden bead. I reckon you could get a really nice organic feel doing
something like that.
One thought I did have, to learn stitching techniques was to put an ad
in the local papers asking for an experienced embroiderer to teach me. I
reckon there must be people, especially elderly people who would love to
have someone to pass these skills down to.
--
Sarah
*******************************************
Doctor, Doctor I keep thinking I'm a
mosquito Go away, sucker!
Ericka Kammerer
> One thought I did have, to learn stitching techniques was to put an ad
> in the local papers asking for an experienced embroiderer to teach me. I
> reckon there must be people, especially elderly people who would love to
> have someone to pass these skills down to.
I don't know about where you are, but there are
stitching festivals/conventions/etc. around the US that
provide a fun way to learn from experts and get in some
good shopping while you're at it. IIRC, there's a nice
(and growing) one in the general vicinity of Aula. They
usually have some beading classes.
Best wishes,
Ericka
Aula
"Ericka Kammerer" <e...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:dvmdnXyTiNY-4zzY...@comcast.com...
> IIRC, there's a nice
> (and growing) one in the general vicinity of Aula. They
> usually have some beading classes.
>
Near me? Do you know where/when/url?
-Aula
Ericka Kammerer
Lemme see if I can dig it up again...I think this
was the one I was thinking of:
http://www.celebrationofnw.com/index.htm
I haven't been, but I've heard good reports from a few
people.
I'm not seeing much in the way of beading in the class
list yet, but they're still settling things. I usually
go to CATS in Hershey, PA (http://www.stitchingfestival.com).
They don't have their classes listed yet, though. Love
to get away for a weekend and do nothing but stitch and
shop....
Best wishes,
Ericka
Aula
I'm drooling! This is now in the saved for later reference file, let me
tell you! Maybe I can get there for part of it!
-Aula
kiticat
I've not heard of anything like that but now I know to look out for them
- thanks!
--
Sarah
*******************************************
Doctor, Doctor I ve lost my memory!
When did this happen? When did what happen?
Ericka Kammerer
> Ericka Kammerer wrote:
>> I don't know about where you are, but there are
>> stitching festivals/conventions/etc. around the US that
>> provide a fun way to learn from experts and get in some
>> good shopping while you're at it. IIRC, there's a nice
>> (and growing) one in the general vicinity of Aula. They
>> usually have some beading classes.
> I've not heard of anything like that but now I know to look out for them
> - thanks!
You're welcome. CATS in Hershey is not far from
me and happens right after my birthday, so lately my
birthday gift from the extended family has been my hotel
room and childcare so I can go. I love it! Nothing to
do bit stitch, shop, and socialize for a whole weekend.
I find it wonderfully relaxing and can't wait to go again
next year.
Unfortunately, many of these festivals are
struggling. CATS used to do five or six festivals
around the country, and now Hershey is the only really
healthy one. It may be that Hershey is the *only* one
they do next year :-( But it also seems like some others
are cropping up, so perhaps there's hope.
Take care,
Ericka
Knit Chic
"kiticat" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:50da57F...@mid.individual.net...
You may want to check your local library. I was just hired to teach 4, 8
week sessions for the public county library. (Embroidery, crochet, and 2
knitting classes) I can't wait to get started. One, I really need the money
and secondly, it sounds like a lot of fun.
Knit Chic
"Aula" <aulaN...@sovermont.net> wrote in message
news:11682143...@r2d2.vermontel.net...
If you go to your local embroidery shop (not craft store) I'm sure they
could tell you when/if there is a embroidery festival, or fiber festival
near you.
>
>
Nan
wrote:
>You may want to check your local library. I was just hired to teach 4, 8
>week sessions for the public county library. (Embroidery, crochet, and 2
>knitting classes) I can't wait to get started. One, I really need the money
>and secondly, it sounds like a lot of fun.
Hmmm.... I might have to put in a suggestion for something like this
at our library. We had basket weaving and scarecrow making, so I
don't see why they can't have someone come in to teach this. I'd sign
up!
Nan
Ericka Kammerer
> If you go to your local embroidery shop (not craft store) I'm sure they
> could tell you when/if there is a embroidery festival, or fiber festival
> near you.
Also, many of the shops sponsor classes or retreats.
Best wishes,
Ericka
Knit Chic
"Nan" <Jami...@ss.net> wrote in message
news:bkd7q21n0u484g2cg...@4ax.com...
I think some ppl are really starting to appreciate craftsmanship. Not
enough, but it's a start. I also think that ppl are looking for something
to do that has nothing to do w/ screen time ie, computer, TV, PDA, etc.
I really like this story :) (If you go to the link to read it, there are
more links to his work.)
http://www.acfnewsource.org/art/sins_and_needles.html
Sins and Needles
The Osgood File (CBS Radio Network): 8/19/03
The Osgood File (CBS Radio Network): 4/23/03
Fighting the demons of addiction-with embroidery.
Ray Materson began embroidering tiny, delicately sewn 2x3 inch works as a
heroin addict in prison, using materials he scrabbled together: a hoop
fashioned from a Rubbermaid lid and threads unraveled from old socks. Today
he is renowned as a "sock thread master" whose works are exhibited
nationwide. Now, his embroidered life history, Sins and Needles, a series of
30 separate embroidered works, is part of High on Life, a show of over 300
works produced by 100 self-taught artists who have struggled with the demons
of addiction. The show continues through September 1, 2003, at the American
Visionary Museum in Baltimore.
In 1987, Materson, a desperate drug addict tried to commit robbery with a
toy gun to get drug money. He was caught and sentenced to 15 years in
prison. He found prison life intolerable and after almost a year of it he
prayed for a way to cope. Then, one day in late 1988 he was sitting on his
cell bunk at the time of the Michigan University/USC game at the Rose Bowl.
Materson was remembering happier times of watching games at Michigan
Stadium, and noticed that a fellow prisoner had hung some blue and yellow
socks up to dry. Coincidentally, yellow and blue are Michigan's colors, and
Materson had an idea. Though he had never embroidered before, he remembered
his grandmother practicing the craft when he was a child.
He traded a pack of cigarettes for the socks, tore off a corner of a bed
sheet and borrowed a needle from a block officer, then made a big "M" for
Michigan from the sock thread so that he could wear it on his hat during the
Rose Bowl. Then he bought some popcorn and settled down to watch the game.
Materson says that even though prison is a very macho environment, other
inmates responded strongly to his work, and the embroidery proved to be a
hit with other prisoners. Soon even the toughest inmates were trading him
cigarettes to make custom embroideries of sports figures, Harley Davidson
logos, flags, etc.
With an embroidery hoop fashioned from a Rubbermaid container, Materson
continued to create tiny, intricate 2-1/2 by 2-3/4 size embroideries, each
of which take between 40-60 hours and average 1200 stitches per square inch.
Pretty soon, his themes evolved from the sports and flag motifs popular with
prisoners, to become much more complex. He recreated Renoir and Monet
paintings in sock thread, and then moved on to illustrating scenes from
Shakespeare. He started to incorporate both happy and sad memories from his
life before prison, and recreated elaborate histories to try to make sense
of how his life had turned out so tragically. Though Materson continued to
use drugs during his first year in prison, he soon discovered that he had to
make a decision between drugs and art. He chose art. To this day, he
continues to use the same tiny format for his pieces. He still uses sock
thread, and because it comes in a huge variety of colors, Materson can
choose a thread palette to reflect his theme: whether it is the predominant
gray of prison life or the bright colors of some of his surreal and hellish
drug scenes.
Materson has been out of prison since 1994 and he says his embroidery has
been a healing and cathartic process that has helped him understand and
process some of the thornier parts of his life. And its also through his
artwork that Materson met his wife, who became his art dealer. Now he has
been out of prison for eight years and works as a program director at
Berkshire Farm Center, a residential facility for young men for behavioral
problems in Eastern New York State. Materson continues to create and show
his sock thread embroideries. He says working with sock thread is a metaphor
for rehabilitation for him. "Taking these humble materials and making
something beautiful out of them is a metaphor for life. Taking socks apart
and making something, our souls are recreated. By taking something so humble
and lowly as socks, it's like when people come to recovery from addiction.
You need to break it down and you just need to rebuild from scratch. You
take stock and start stitching your life back together. You work with what
you have."
Curator Tom Patterson, who collected the works in the exhibit, says that
Materson's work is exceptional, and that he has never seen anyone work in
the method that Materson developed in prison. "There are plenty of people
who embroider. But nobody that I know of has happened onto the craft in
prison and has been so ingenious to get the supplies necessary for
embroidering like that." Like other works in the show, Patterson says that
Materson's art has helped him deal with all kinds of issues. "The most
compelling pieces are autobiographical. It's tremendously cathartic to make
these things and go back and deal with your demons this way. The power of
the work is incredible."
Knit Chic
"Knit Chic" <jarka...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:HVOoh.30335$hI....@newssvr11.news.prodigy.net...
>
> "Nan" <Jami...@ss.net> wrote in message
> news:bkd7q21n0u484g2cg...@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:29:25 GMT, "Knit Chic" <jarka...@aol.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>You may want to check your local library. I was just hired to teach 4, 8
>>>week sessions for the public county library. (Embroidery, crochet, and 2
>>>knitting classes) I can't wait to get started. One, I really need the
>>>money
>>>and secondly, it sounds like a lot of fun.
>>
>> Hmmm.... I might have to put in a suggestion for something like this
>> at our library. We had basket weaving and scarecrow making, so I
>> don't see why they can't have someone come in to teach this. I'd sign
>> up!
>>
>> Nan
>
> I think some ppl are really starting to appreciate craftsmanship. Not
> enough, but it's a start. I also think that ppl are looking for something
> to do that has nothing to do w/ screen time ie, computer, TV, PDA, etc.
> I really like this story :) (If you go to the link to read it, there are
> more links to his work.)
>
> http://www.acfnewsource.org/art/sins_and_needles.html
oh, and here is a direct link to Masterson's site.
http://www.raymaterson.com/index.htm
Nan
wrote:
>> I really like this story :) (If you go to the link to read it, there are
>> more links to his work.)
>>
>> http://www.acfnewsource.org/art/sins_and_needles.html
>
>oh, and here is a direct link to Masterson's site.
>http://www.raymaterson.com/index.htm
Amazing art work!
Nan
Aula
>
> If you go to your local embroidery shop (not craft store) I'm sure they
> could tell you when/if there is a embroidery festival, or fiber festival
> near you.
>
Thanks for the suggestion. I think there's one in Arlington, but I have yet
to find one on this side of the mountain. Knitting is more the thing up
here, perhaps for obvious reasons, and embroidery seems to be a side light,
perhaps.
-Aula
Aula
There are some in Brattleboro. I just need to teach them to hold them
outside of traditional work hours! Why are all these wonderful things
during work hours? Argh!
-Aula
Ericka Kammerer
Because even some of the shops assume that all
their customers are little old ladies who are retired!
Because my work has flexible hours and I telecommute,
I can often make these sorts of things. Truth to tell,
most stitching events *do* seem to attract an older crowd,
but still. Plan a trip to Hershey in September!
Best wishes,
Ericka
Aula
>
> Because even some of the shops assume that all
> their customers are little old ladies who are retired!
> Because my work has flexible hours and I telecommute,
> I can often make these sorts of things. Truth to tell,
> most stitching events *do* seem to attract an older crowd,
> but still. Plan a trip to Hershey in September!
>
I'd love to go to Hershey, for more then one reason. I do think, however,
that what you plan for is what you get and if the class planners don't take
into account working people then they will continue to fail to attract them.
I can't tell you how many various types of events, not just
crafting/embroidery, which I have reluctantly passed up because the planners
seem to think working people don't have interests or a life or something.
Or maybe they just don't work and can't imagine what working does *not* do
to one's intersts and hobbys.
Gripe session over.
-Aula