One year later and an award!

Well here I am one year after starting this blog. 176 posts was all I could manage in a year. I had rather hoped to post everyday and it started out that way, but then I took on more and more projects... I just can't say no to interesting collaborations!

However, I'm still here and I still hope for time to post more often. There are some 200+visitors a day which I find mind-boggling. I have heard from so many people! Some looking into research, others are people hoping to sell antique pieces of needlework, still others are people looking for appraisals!

I never even thought about what I would do about receiving messages from people... it never occurred to me that anyone would write to me. Now I am often overwhelmed by the amount of email to be answered and have some messages still in my inbox from last August!

I recently received an award from a fantastic blogger named Racaire who lives in Vienna. You can read her blog here. I received the same award from Eva in Finland, you can read her blog here. The requirements of receipt of this award as I understand them is to answer the following questions and then nominate five other blogs. I have to say that blogging myself has made me much more aware of other bloggers and it is difficult to choose only five gorgeous blogs but I will list my choices at the end of this post, they of course follow my interests!

Gorgeous Blogger Award questions:
When did you start your blog?
I started this (my one and only blog) on March 21, 2010.
What do you write about?
I write about Italian needlework and pretty much anything Italian textile related.
What makes this special?
When I first discovered the Italian needlework arena, what I noticed most was how little was known about it to the English-speaking world and how many treasures were just waiting to be brought to light. The more needleworkers and textile enthusiasts I met, the more I wanted to show them the wonders of the Italian needlework and textile world.
What made you start writing?
After 10 years of collecting and exploring and researching, I felt it was time to share what I had discovered as I don't feel that all the information that I have collected should be closeted away for my own enjoyment. I am still learning so much that I think I will never run out of things to blog about!
What would you change in your blog?
If I could change anything it would be the amount of time I have to blog. I wish there were more hours in the day and I could post more often!

Five Gorgeous Blogs I pass on this award to:
Elisabetta - ricami a mano
The Textile Blog
Ricamo, fichi e fichi d'india
Dentelles d'abord
Ricami e... altro

There are so many others but I must stop at five.
Thank you dear readers for a very pleasurable year of blogging, I hope to deliver more interesting things to you in the year to come!

Italy's 150th Birthday

2011 marks Italy's 150th birthday and the country is celebrating for 9 months! If you are planning a trip to Italy this year, don't forget to check for celebrations wherever you are going. Discover Italy in Turin has a lot to look at and plan for on their website (click on the British flag for the English pages).

Cover art for the book Le Donne del Risorgimento by Bruna Bertolo.

Among the things that are textile-related is the Fashion in Italy 150 years of Elegance exhibit which goes from July 23 to December 11, 2011 at the Venaria Reale about 10 km outside of the center of Turin.

There are several exhibits of Bandera Embroidery in Chieri.

Artisan exhibits with an "Arts and Crafts Supermarket" featuring textiles and other hand-crafted articles in Turin from March 17 to November 20, 2011.

In Como at the Silk Museum there is a lace exhibit from March 16 to April 29, 2011.

There are historical and cultural events in many cities and towns. Don't miss the opportunity to see period costumes and take advantage of reduced rates at many newly restored museums, palazzos and monuments. There will be shows, plays, films, books, historical documents - more than I can list.

Tricolore by Gaetano Ricchizzi.

Please let me know of any textile events you attend, I'd love to see photos!

Gigliuccio Hemstitch - Attaching the hem

Lots of readers have asked if there is another way to attach a hem while doing the Gigliuccio or Peahole Hemstitch at the same time as executing the hemstitching instead of in a separate operation. The answer is yes! However, the rules of how to execute the Gigliuccio change and instead of executing the work on the frontside of your fabric, you will have to do everything on the back side.

I finally got around to reading up on my camera's settings and was able to do a relatively nice set of super-macro photos for this, though it took many tries and hundreds of photos! I got a great table-top tripod for Christmas from my photographer-daughter and with a ball-head attachment it is perfect for what I need it to do! (If you're wondering: the camera is a Canon S5 15 and the tripod is a Joby Gorillapod.)

So, withdraw your threads for the Gigliuccio hemstitch, turn up your hem and baste it down (to the backside of the fabric). I tied a knot in my thread and then went into my hem area about 2 inches away from where I wanted to start stitching. Come up at the top of the hem fold right where you want to begin. Just to be clear, you are coming up from inside the hem fabric, you are not catching any of the front fabric at all.

Step One: Moving left to right, slide the needle back toward the left under four ground threads:

Step Two: Insert the needle into the hem fabric without catching any of the front fabric to the right four threads, only catch about two ground threads of the hem fabric:

Step Three: Slide the needle behind the same four ground threads as in Step One:

Step Four: Moving diagonally to the right, go up and over four ground threads and slide the needle behind the four ground threads directly above:

Step Five: Insert the needle four ground threads to the right and down, coming out right where your previous stitching is:

Now we begin the whole procedure again, to the right four ground threads and slide the needle back toward the left under four ground threads and carry on from Step Two above:

This is what it should look like on the backside:

This is what it should look like on the frontside:

This is the first step of the Gigliuccio hemstitch which is, in this case, the Four-Sided Stitch and the Simple Hemstitch combined. You will have to do the second part of the Gigliuccio (the other row of Four-Sided Stitch and the bundle knotting) on the back side as well in order to have your stitching match. Click here for the second part of this tutorial.

An excellent publication on the finer points of the Gigliuccio Hemstitch is Liliana Babbi Cappelletti's booklet which is available in Italian from Tombolo Disegni. There was an English version done (called Peahole Hemstitch), you may want to contact the author to see if you can get a copy from her. The step-by-step images are fantastic and even if you can't get your hands on the English version, you should have very little trouble with the Italian version.

Shadow Work Embroidery

While Shadow Work Embroidery is thought to have originated long ago in India, it is well known in Italy. There are lots of pieces to be appreciated in museum collections, look for it on handkerchiefs and table linens especially. The following three photos are of works at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan.

Here Shadow Work is used in the swirly designs which surround other techniques.

Made with the Herringbone Stitch (worked very close together) or the Double Back Stitch it can be worked on either the back or the front of the fabric and Italy's fantastic gauzy linen fabrics lend themselves nicely to the transparency which is an immediately recognizable characteristic of this technique.

Shadow Work is used here in the filling of the letter A.

In coloured or white threads, it is usually combined with other traditional needlework techniques like padded satin stitch, pulled thread filling stitches and many others.

Shadow Work fills the hanging flowers in this monogram.

Another recognizable characteristic is the bas-relief effect which can be rendered more dramatic with heavier threads and fabric. These images are from Punto Ombra by Carolina Maraini, N. Zanichelli, Bologna, 1924.

Front side of the work using heavier fabric and thread.

Back side of the work using heavier fabric and thread.

In the first years of the 20th century Carolina Maraini started a women's committee in Rieti (a couple of hours north-east of Rome) to promote local techniques and Punto Ombra or Shadow Work was the basis of the work. The designs and execution of the work coming from this group were widely known to be of very high quality giving a re-birth to this technique using floral and Vinci knot motifs. Signora Maraini used ivory carvings, wrought ironworks, designs from paintings, marble carvings, fabric designs, print designs and even floor patterns as inspiration for her works.

More can be learned about Carolina Maraini and her Shadow Work at the Tuttoricamo website. Click on the British Flag for the English pages, then "Techniques", then "Shadow Work". Make sure to click on the link to see a gorgeous coloured Shadow Work tea service tablecloth!

Thanks to Stefania for the use of her photos!

Rolled Hem - Corners

Many people have written asking about how to do corners when doing a rolled hem. I have been trying to work up a tutorial for a while but I did about a dozen corners until I got one that was passable to show you - aside from the very first one I tried just to see if I remembered how to do it which of course, I didn't photograph! It is difficult to photograph and stitch at the same time and my daughter doesn't have the slightest inclination to help me out, so you'll have to forgive the photos. I hope they give you a little bit of an idea anyway.

One thing to note before we get started. I received lots of photos of what readers were trying out after following my rolled hem tutorial and I just have to tell you that when you are stitching into the roll, you do not exit out on to the front of the fabric. That is, when you catch a couple of threads of the roll to secure it down, you do so on the back of the work and you enter and exit the rolled fabric without ever coming out on the front.

Okay, so the corners: they are tricky but with a little practice (and some spit) you can do it!

When you get to the corner intersection of your Four-Sided Stitches, go up over a couple of ground threads and this time you do exit out onto the front of the work, catching one ground thread and the roll to secure the hem. This works great if you are stitching tone-on-tone, you'll never see this little stitch. However, if you are stitching with a thread colour that will be visible, go up a little farther so that when you roll the top hem over, your catching stitch will only be visible on the back of the work.

In the case of this hem, I have ten ground threads of fabric to roll. On the already rolled hem, I trim off the last bit of the roll (in this case about 4 threads):

This will make the top roll easier and less bulky but you must be careful that your edge does not unravel. Use a needle to wrap the top roll tightly - spit on your fingers for a better grip! Take your time with this step, if it's not a good roll, it will show.

The little catching stitch will now serve to hold down the roll as you turn the work and start your stitching as previously done when securing the rolled hem - that is, by entering the roll like the first photo here above.

The rolled hem corner works in theory just like a folded hem corner (not mitred), that is, one fold over the other with a little bit snipped off the edge of the hem that will be hidden. The photo above is the backside of the corner after completing the stitching.

This is the view from the front side:

I wish it was a little more even, but as you can see - I need to practice! I will be hiding my corners with tassels as they do in Assisi embroidery.

If anyone has any other tips for making this easier, please post a comment!

Luoghi e Volti del Punto Filza - new book

A few weeks ago I received a lovely package of things from Italy which included a book on Punto Filza or the Running Stitch. Now, you're thinking: the Running Stitch – really? You might pass it by thinking you already know all about the Running Stitch. I must tell you, this book is definitely worth hunting down.

The Running Stitch might be a simple embroidery stitch that you think you know but here it is used to execute some very special embroidery techniques. Luoghi e Volti del Punto Filza translates as: Places and Faces of the Running Stitch.

The book is softcover with 95 pages of glossy photos, historical information and how-to instructions for a type of Sardinian embroidery known as Puntu Vanu and su Bastonete and other names, depending on the region. This is terribly exciting as Sardinian embroidery in general has been jealously guarded for centuries. Up until very recently it has been impossible to learn the stitches of the many beautiful styles. We talked a little previously about Punt a Brodu and Punt'e nù and this is another of the Sardinian techniques that has long eluded me.

The first half of the book is dedicated to the different regions of Sardinia with emphasis on Puntu Vanu which is kind of like smocking... but different. There are step-by-step photo sequences and charted patterns and though the text is in Italian, those that already know how to smock may be able to figure it out from the photos. I don't smock but I'll be trying it out just as soon as I can find the time.

The second half of the book looks at the Running Stitch in other kinds of Italian embroidery like Catherine de' Medici Embroidery, Assisi Embroidery, Trapunto, Ars Panicalensis and Embroidery on Tulle, Lampugnani and Antique Deruta Pulled Thread. Then the last section is about the Running Stitch in other kinds of embroidery in other countries of the world. There are lovely large photos accompanying almost every one.

The authors, Rosalba Lecca from Sardinia and Ebe Ciampalini Balestri from Tuscany have worked hard to present a comprehensive and fascinating text. Email Rosalba Lecca for purchasing information. When I have some info on overseas purchase availability, I will post again.

I have just learned that the book is available through Tombolo Disegni - send an email request to order and she accepts PayPal.

Botticelli in the Lombard Collections - Poldi Pezzoli Museum

If you are anywhere near Milan before the end of this month and want to see some fantastic goldwork embroidery from 15th century Florence when it was at its height of splendor, you should head off to the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.

There you will find the hood of a cope executed from a cartoon by Botticelli (c.1480s) as part of a collection of liturgical vestments commissioned most probably by King John II of Portugal. The Portugese ambassador to Florence at the time, Cardinal James of Lusitania died in Florence in 1459 and was buried at the San Miniato al Monte Basilica of Florence. Great expense went into building and decorating the Chapel for the Cardinal and some of Florence's leading artists at the time contributed to the artwork and its construction.

The hood of this cope is done in silk shaded goldwork embroidery. Florence was well known for excellency in this technique as I told you about previously. The design is the Coronation of the Virgin. Information on it from the museum says "...is absolutely the most beautiful embroidery that has been handed down to us executed on the design of the artist."

Check out the details on the folds of this angel's robe (click on the photos for a closer look):

And the pattern designs on this architectural representation:

More exquisite details:

The exhibit: Botticelli in the Lombard Collections is to mark the 500th anniversary of the artist's death in 1510 and has been on display since this past November.

Photos courtesy of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum and are subject to copyright. They can be downloaded from the Museum's website and used only to promote the exhibit.

Thanks to Linda for making me look! 

This exhibit has been extended until the 25th of March, 2011!