I can’t call this a UFO…
… because I never got around to starting it!
I found this, languishing in a box. It’s a kit for a Japanese embroidery design, complete with spools of flat silk and a handmade needle (which didn’t register with me as it should have done, I admit!)
What I didn’t have was the instructions, but I remembered that we bought two kits, one for my mother and one for me, so I asked…
And look what she came up with! As it turned out, her kit was safely packed up, together with the magazine that the instructions were in. So I’ve photocopied them, so as not to deprive her, and I intend to get along and finish it.
Then I’ll only have to decide what to do with it. Perhaps I’ll actually source a little box and put it in the lid, as suggested by the magazine! (Yes, I know, me, doing as suggested – the world has turned topsy-turvy!)
Still, onward, ever onward!
The first stage is to put in some padding stitches under the flower petals.
I’m always a bit reluctant to use my Japanese needles – I’ve found them tricky to thread, and I’m very conscious of their rarity, and don’t want to break them – but every time I’m reminded that they are really lovely to use. Although I’ll admit to finding them slightly disconcerting, because, being shorter than I’m used to, they balance differently!
Meanwhile, Amarna Family Group continues to make progress: Episode Twenty is now live, and chiefly concerns Nefertiti.
It might not have been a UFO, but a Sleeping Beauty that has now turned into a WIP. Good to have all you need: fabric, flat silk, needles and instructions.
I agree, using a short needle is a bit tricky for us who prefer a longer one. I wonder why the craftsmen who stitch kimono embroidery use such short needles…
I bet I had that issue of Needlecraft, back in the day. I had a subscription, had a little design published in it once, some letters printed and had a sampler in the exhibition they organised at George Washington’s ancestral home. I never sent for that kit, though. I was still only interested in counted work in those days. A great little magazine while it lasted.
I like Queenie Patch’s term “sleeping beauty.” I’m intrigued by the differences in Japanese needles. Are the shorter than quilting needles?
Good luck with your rediscovered project – looks good. xx
I’d be curious to know when that magazine came out. By the way, you pad and stitch each petal individually so you can leave your 1 pt open space between each element.
Looks like a very pretty project! Enjoy
You have found a hidden treasure. I’m sure it will stitch up to be a gem.
Looks like an interesting project, I´m intrigued about the Japanese needles – I´d use them.