"O" -- One of the Monkeys on My Back

Stumpwork has been on my work table this week.  This project is one of those monkeys on my back that I mentioned earlier this year.

I'm re-imagining a stumpwork design from a class I took with Jane Nicholas a few years ago.

If you ever get the opportunity to take a class with Jane, you should do it.  So much of my base stumpwork knowledge has come from her.  Her new book, Stumpwork Butterflies and Moths is a real treat, with very detailed and precise instructions.  The only thing you need to add is good light, good magnification and tons of practice.

What this piece will be used for will become clear in my next post, suffice it to say that it is a project for my Embroiderers' Guild...and it's very late.

This has been a great exercise in warming up my stumpwork skills for the completion of Mrs. Rose...I hope to get to her as soon as I get some of these smaller projects complete.

One of the tricks I learned from Jane was the use of a very large-eyed chenille needle to sink wires into the base fabric.

Pulling the needle to where the eye is halfway above and below the fabric creates a "channel" through which you can place the wire and pull it easily through to the back side...

I've also been making a few more of these three-dimensional berries that I learned from her.  They're so simple it's almost a sin.

Fill an oval on muslin with french knots and beads, baste a running stitch around the oval, and cut them out.  When you pull the running stitches, it makes a "berry" that you can applique to your background.

Easy peasy, right?

Japanese embroidery has gotten me in the habit of embroidering with two hands.  My right hand above the hoop and my left hand below.

When I'm working on something in a hoop, I find these clamps from the home improvement store to be invaluable.

Unlike many clamps, they can open up very wide to fit around the lip of any table, including those portable ones with the big wide plastic top.  These are about 8" long and cost about $5.75 apiece.

That's it for today.  Just giving you a peek into my world today.  I'm off to finish off my composition and attach all those petals!  That's the fun part.