Japanese Embroidery Class Phase 1 - Day 1

Day 1. 9am

I'am so excited. I have been waiting for this day for so long.  I will finally learn all the secrets of Japanese embroidery. The teachers gave us an inspirational speech for our first, about seeking perfection but not be overwhelm by it. She said the journey was more important than the goal, and we should not seek perfection at any price at the beginning, it will come with time and practice.

This my work place, ready to begin

Our first lesson is learning to twist the silk. With 4 brands of flat silk, we have to make twisted threads. Easier said than done. The teacher told me i could twist the silk a little bit more tight. 

For all the morning, we practiced twisting thread. 

In the afternoon, we began to work on the blue iris. It is worked on twisted thread, and we follow the movement of the flower.

First, we have to make padding with the blue thread on perpendicular, then stitch on top of it. 

Teacher was really impressed since i've never did any embroidery other than cross stitch when you only have to put X's in pre-made holes. Following the movement of the flower was quite hard but i was satisfied with my progress for this day

Japanese Embroidery Class Phase 1 - Day 0

I have no words to tell how I was excited to attend my first day of Japanese Embroidery class. I was waiting for this day for so many years. Instead of me going to Atlanta to follow the Phase I course, a teachers came in Montreal. Her name is Sue Sprake from London, Canada. It was a dream coming true ! 

The teacher made sure to order everything we would need for Phase I : Threads, silk, needle.. etc. Another lady from the group order the wood frame we are using for JE. 

Since the time for embroidery was quite limited ( 5 day class), Sue asked our frame to be mounted already for day one. It was a good idea because it took almost 3 hours for the 4 beginners to have their piece ready. 


Here are some pictures : 

Some of my tools : 
- Tekobari, long stroking needle to make the silk flat and shiny
- Japanese Scissor (Regular embroidery scissors works fine too) 

In the back, the fabric mounted on the frame, and a picture of a completed project to help us

Light is bad, but this is what it looked like, with the frame and stand.

Finally, the seven colours we will need for the project. Silk tread is a pleasure to work with... but also a creation of the devil. It lays so beautifully on the fabric, until you snag it with the side of your thumb. 

« If you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.»

Beautiful things have their own caracter, I suppose.  

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By the way, if you know any Japanese embroidery blog these days, let me know ! I'm always looking for inspiration !

Welcome back

Hi everyone ! Long time no see !!

Last post was almost 3 years ago. Lot of things happened !!  

Since I had to put lots of efforts on school i had to stop blogging, i was taking me a lot of time. I was also giving myself irrealisable deadlines for my stitching. While working, going to school, life, I was not able to put all the time i wanted in stitching and felt ashamed, since i value myself mainly on performance. Now, i let myself the right to not have time to do some embroidery, and i feel great about it. (Ok, I'm lying, i always want to stitch, even if i don't have time!) I'm now in Graduate Program in university, so i still have so much work to do and no time for what i want.

Not only master is a great news, i have another one, very important : 

I finally got my Japanese Embroidery lessons! 

The one i was waiting for so long. At first i has prepared myself to go to Atlanta on September 2016, but got a last minute impediment... I was so sad, but began to prepare another trip for the year after.

Luckily, a teacher of JE came in Montreal in October 2017. I had the chance to meet a group of japanese embroidery in my city. We now have a monthly meeting for a full day of stitching at the house of one of the ladies. I feel so blessed to have meet those ladies, and that wouldn't have happened if i went to my class in 2016. 

Have confidence in life, she knows what's best :) 

I plan to post pictures and progression of my Bouquet From the Heart of Japan, the Phase I of the Japanese Embroidery Center. Instagram is nice to post picture, but it's hard to tell a story about my struggles and achievements. 

If possible, i want to document my journey like the two blogs i've been following for so long : Susan Elliott from Plays with needles and Carol-Anne Conway from Threads Across the Web, even if it's been long time they didn't post anything. They were a great inspiration for me, and i think it's the best way to do a tribute for them by posting my own journey on a blog. I hope they'll make a comeback someday !

JEC ©

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I did a lot of cross stitching, and posted it on Instagram since 2015. You can follow me on @marilym.stitch if you want. I have some pictures of progression on a lot of things. I will still post pictures of cross stitch if by some reason i do work on my WIP, but mainly most of my time is on JE now.

HAED 50% on ALL charts !

I just received this email : 50% off on all charts !

Until January 30 2015 ! Dear Stitch From Stash participant, this is your chance to buy at low cost that chart you wanted for soooo long ! Spread the good news !

Have a nice day :) 

IHSW Report Jan 2015

I've decided to participate to the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend (Hosted by Joyce from Random Ramblings )

The rules for this are simple : Stitch all the weekend ! As much as your time permits it !

Exactly what I've been doing because i've been attacked by a terrible cold and fever that left me staying home and doing nothing «productive» all the weekend ...
Nothing productive meaning I felt like my brain was swimming in some jelly. Result : no homeworks and lectures, only sleeping, movies and stitching !  ( A week end of break sometime isn't bad ? )

I made a lot of progression on 3 projects from Friday to Sunday night ( Yep, missed my classes on Friday, I could'nt get out of bed, it was like a truck passed on me while I was sleeping  )


(Sorry for the picture quality, I take them from my old phone ) 

#1 Jazz Café  

Before

After

Close up

Anchor/Maia Collection

Black Aida 16 ct

I've been working on the dress and finished the brown already started.

#2 Elegance of the Orient

Before

After

Little close up 

Dimensions Gold

Cream Aida 18 ct

After doing so much blue in those 2, I relaxed with other colors in the last one ;)


#3 Mad Hatter

Before

After

HAED/ Hannah Lynn

White Lugana 28ct

I haven't done a lot of work on this one, because I like to keep it for when I'm tired of my other projects. This is the main reason why I don't expect to have it finished in 2015...

****

This is it for this month. My stitching pace is slow if I compare to others I follow but it's okay for me. It is not a race, I stitch because I love to ! 

I'm not sure to have time for the next one, because the due date will fall almost in the same period as my exams, and I suppose it would be suicide to dedicace all my weekend on stitching .
Only time will tell !

Hope you had a nice week end full of stitching too ! :)

Hello 2015 !

15 days later...

Happy New Year everybody ! I wish you time, health, love et 50% reduction on thread and patterns for 2015 !

2014 was a great year for me. After more than 10 years without cross stitching, i found my old sewing box covered in dust. Since I had quit my part time job in 2013, it was the first time I had nothing to do during Christmas time. (I had always been working fulltime during the 3 weeks vacations to have more money). And this is where everything started.

One year later, I am very pleased to have a blog and show you my projects and progressions.

***

Everything was listed as new project in 2014, so I don't have picture of before/after to show you.
So, let's go with the progression of my work so far, separated by resolutions. 

To finish

#1 Elegance of the Orient, Dimensions/Gold Collection

I didn't make progression this month, here is just a picture to show you where I am for now. I hope to finish it in 2015

#2 Jazz Cafe, Anchor/Maia Collection

This is the one I've been working the most on during Christmas Vacation. I completed the Elbow, the hairs, a little bit of the flower and almost finished the face (She looks more like a human now ! ) I love working on this project. The thread and the Aida are high quality ( Thanks Anchor kit! ) this is a pleasure to work with thread that's not knotting every 10 minutes ! I hope to give it to my parents this year !

 

***

To make progress

#1 The Mad Hatter, HAED/Hanna Lynn

No work has been done on this one on December. I do it very slowly, I hope to make a little bit of progression this year but i'm not sure to finish it, since I have more enjoying projects than this one. ( Hope it will not become a UFO ... It would be my first one :/ )

#2 Pagoda View, Anchor/Maia Collection 

New start here !! Because I can't bring Jazz Cafe home when my parents are there, I was stitching this one. Here is a picture of the work so far.

And the finished product will look like this :

You can see there is a major difference in the colours (grey and purple) It is because the image of the package I received was this. With purple. Such disagrement to see the grey thread instead of the beautiful purple expected.  

I was sooooo disapointed. I decided to look in my stash where i own more than 200 skeins. I found the 3 purples matching so I began to stitch. But then, I-don't-know-how-many-hours-later, I saw the picture of the two other cross stitch pictures associated with this one :

Well.... the two are made with grey thread. The package lied to me. I will remove the purple thread when I will have more courage. Until then.... I hope to make progress on it.

#3 WOXS Mini's

My little sister paid me a one year subscription of the Magazine The World of Cross Stitching for Christmas, and I will work on the little minis they're sending each month. This is the January project, a little card ^__^

***

To start

#1 Kimono Sunset, Anchor/Maia Collection

I bought this kit on September, and I hope to start it this year. But I will wait to have one of me project finished before! I don't want to have 10 projects in the same time... I don't like the rotation concept ( But I do not judge people doing it ! It's their thing and way to do, not mine !! )

#2 Charlotte, Mirabilia

The last time I went to cross stitch boutique, it was to buy needles ( Only had one left) and new box and bobins because I missed place for all my skeins the last time.
The problem is, I can go there and buy only the things I have to !!!! I fell in the Mirabilia Collection and absolutely had to return home with her :

The owner didn't had the fabric in stock so she ordered it for me. I will receive it in one or two weeks.  I can't wait to do the first stitch !

(Surprisingly, It costed me around 85$ CAN for everything (including taxes) and would have cost me 88,37$ CAN (At today's rate) if i had bought the exact same thing on 123Stitch with shipping fees ... )   

 ***

So, this is it, I hope to be here on January 2016 to see the progress made through the year, and that you'll be still following me ! 

Now is time to get out of the internet's and stitch ! Have a nice week end !

:)

(So sorry if there are mistakes, I try to improve my English everyday !! )

WIPocalypse January

Oupsi ! Sorry for the late post for the WIPocalypse ! School just began this week and I had a lot of things to do because i'm on the Conseil Executif ( Don't know how to translate :/ ) of my Program Association.

So here I am, my name is Marilyn. I live in Mont-Royal, neighborhood in Montreal, province of Quebec ( In Canada, but since i'm not feeling as much Canadian, Quebec is enough ^__^ ). I am 24 years old and I'm studying in Demography and Statistics (But it's easier for people to understand when I tell them Population Studies and Mathematics). I hope to receive my diplome in June 2016, and then continue to the Graduate Program in Demography or in Biostatistics ( But for the last one, I will need a killer GPA... that's why i'm working so hard and don't have a lot of time for cross stitch ) 
I live with my boyfriend since 2012, the one BF who loves me for everything I am, even when I return home after buying everything in sight at the cross stitch boutique. (Yeah the rolling eyes he makes is love demonstration :)  )

I started cross stitch last year, after more than 10 years of break. I found my old box full of threads and patterns.. with some UFO inside ! The BF will tell you he had not signed for this, but it's ok (I think) 

Exactly one year later, here I am with a blog and 1 000 000 000 000 new projects in mine ( But not as much in my bank account )

Here is a list of what I want to work on this year :
(The link send you on the page of the label associated to the project progression. If you only want the lastest picture,  I invite you to go to the WIP page ^_^(To be done soon.. I hope))

Completion Goal

• Elegance of the Orient
• Jazz Cafe 
• Kimono Pagoda view

Progression Goal

• The Mad Hatter

Starting Goal

• Charlotte
• Kimono Sunset
• (Insert New Project here ! )

On the side Goal

• Mini's from the World of Cross Stitch Magazine

And.... That's it ! I will surely modify this list trough the year, but this is a good start. 

I will put link for the missing pictures (i've made a lot of progress during Christmas vacation) on the next article. 

I wish you a lot of time to stitch, hope you will enjoy this year !

Have a nice WIPocalypse :D