Monday 18 November 2013

blackwork 1

I've not been very well and haven't been to work in a while.  I don't really want to go into it, but my condition means that quite a few of my days have been spent reclining on the sofa, watching TV and stitching.  I got the urge to do some blackwork.  Wow, is blackwork addictive.

I started with the book Blackwork by Sonia Lucano which is full of beautiful photos and loads of charts.  Blackwork does not have to be stitched in black, you can stitch it in any colour you like.  It's a counted form of embroidery, not unlike cross stitch, but using simple backstitch to make geometric forms.  I stitched on Aida as it's easier than evenweave.



This flower is stitched in pink and green on 14 count Aida.  I'm going to make it into a lavender sachet.



And I will do the same for this purple and green flower.



I've included a ruler in this shot of the pink heart to show you the scale - those are cm not inches.  I hope my husband never reads this post, one of his biggest bugbears in life is the misuse of the word ruler.  He would ask me if I really used a King to show scale...

These are so quick to do, a couple of hours with coffee breaks maybe.  I wanted to try one of the sampler style blocks, the top right and bottom row are both from Blackwork, but the top left is filling number 15 from The New Anchor Book of Blackwork Embroidery Stitches.



This one has really whet my appetite and I'm going to tackle a large piece with multiple squares, probably in black.  I think I need to practice on evenweave first as that would look nicer.


Finally I stitched a snowflake from Blackwork in white on a light blue Aida.  This will be a christmas tree ornament.  I say finally but I didn't stop there... I won't bore you with the rest right now, I'll show you next week instead!

What do you think?  Do you like the look of blackwork?  Have you tried it?

14 comments:

Jane said...

I find it quite relaxing, once you get in the groove. So many different filling stitches to choose too

Chrissie said...

Lovely designs, as you say it doesn't need to be black. I have tried the technique, although not for ages, not sure its one of my favourites but still very effective.
Hope you are feeling better soon

Anonymous said...

I love the blackwork and always have been tempted to try. Even got the materials, the only thing lacking is time ;-) I'd love to see what else you made!

Maria said...

I hope you feel better soon. I've never tried blackwork, in fact this is the first time I've heard of it. Yours is beautiful, it would take me a lot longer than 2 hours to stitch though. I love them all but that snowflake is gorgeous.

Celtic Thistle said...

I have the pattern for a lovely Blackwork sampler but have yet to try it, maybe next year!

Yours look lovely.

Hope you are back on top form soon, there is a limit to how much daytime TV a person can stand :)

JoJo said...

I absolutely LOVE these!!!!!! I've done similar work from kits I've gotten. Some use beads and thread combined, which is quite striking with snowflakes.

JoJo said...

PS I hope you feel better soon!!!

Sandra :) said...

I hope you're feeling better, Miss Wendy - you've had a lot going on so it's no wonder you've been feeling out of sorts.

I like the snowflake the best - so sweet!

Anna said...

Délicatesse et beauté...
Bonne semaine !
Anna

Alison said...

These are all gorgeous, another craft to add to my must try list!

Hope you feel better soon,

Alison
x

Samantha said...

Wow, you need to tell that hubby-poos that we don't have a King....we have a Queen, and you could measure loads with her! Hey, how high is that horse? Oh, it's a Queen and a half!

Fiona said...

so pretty... I haven't tried it and the stitches look smaller than Icould cope with....
Hope you feel better soon....
Hugz

Anonymous said...

Hope you're feeling a bit better now Wendy, Your blackwork looks great - love the acorn design and the snowflake.
I used blackwork to make some biscornus which was very effective.

pennydog said...

Get well soon, they look great, I've always loved the look of Blackwork. Are you going to put them together in a sampler or some other plans?