Lets see…exciting news…what could it be?
I finished all four of the silk leaves on the Trevelyon’s Cap project. To everyone who gave me encouragement and kind words, thank you! It went far more quickly than I thought it would at the end and they do look really pretty.
The colors do glow, even in the artificial light at the end of the day. (It’s still dark here when I get home from school.) In the sunlight they will be really fabulous – I can’t wait!
The center veins that are unfinished will be stitched with gold passing thread couched down in either green or gold silk. I still have to decide which. Next up will be the little strawberries. Those will be a deep red, of course, done in padded satin stitch and then I’ll work a laid trellis over the top again with very fine gold passing thread.
However, this is not the exciting news. (It’s exciting for me, but not that exciting, right?)
Here’s the first bit of exciting news: I’ll be starting the RSN Goldwork Certificate Course at the RSN Rugby in April! This time I’ve decided to spread the course out over a longer time as I’m not as familiar with the techniques in gold work as I was in crewel work. Trying to learn and implement new techniques in a two week period to a high standard isn’t something that sounds like fun – more like something stressful.
Here is an excerpt from the RSN Course Brief:
AIM
To produce an embroidery which demonstrates technical competence in basic
Goldwork. Your own design will be worked on cotton velvet or silk dupion, using
the threads provided and including the techniques specified in the brief.”
TECHNIQUES
You must include the following:
I am so looking forward to this course! Gold work is so beautiful and I’ve done some, but I’ve limited myself to the simpler techniques. Learning how to do some of the more complex ones will be interesting and, I’m sure, challenging.
Of course, I’ll be writing about my experiences both this spring, when I start the course, and this summer when I’m finishing the course. If you’re interested in reading about my experiences during the Crewelwork Course last summer, you can read all of the posts if you go to the top of the home page, click on Embroidery Travel and then on RSN Crewelwork Course.
So was that the exciting news? Well, yes, part of it.
But the really exciting news is that The Unbroken Thread will be featuring a series of personal interviews with some of our favorite needlework designers over the course of 2012. You’ll be able to read about what inspires them, how they choose color and stitches, what they love about embroidery and loads of other things. In addition to all that great insight, they will be sharing photos of their work spaces for us to drool over.
First up is one of my teachers (although only for an afternoon!) Tracy Franklin. For those of you who’ve visited her workspace, you already know how fabulous it is. I especially love her work in gold and silk; it’s fantastic. Look for the interview with Tracy Franklin at the beginning of February!
Kathy,
Am happy to hear the news about your RSN Goldwork course which you’ll be sharing with us this year. I’m looking forward to reading all about it. Also think the idea of having interviews with designers is excellent. Am hoping they will share their insights on the way they approach their design process. And I have to tell you that I’m impressed with your work on the Trevilian’s Cap project – all those tiny, tiny stitches that must demand so much patient and laborious stitching…
-Sharon in France
Thrilling! I can’t wait to: a.) see the work you do at the new RSN course and b.) read the first needlework interview with Tracy Franklin!
This is almost too much awesome to handle!!!
I can’t imagine working on something this detailed, but maybe some day. I love following your progress. So inspiring. The RSN is on my bucket list. I would love to spend some time (several months?????) at the England school. What a dream, to be so totally immersed in needlework with no distractions….. Sigh.
Your green leafs looking lovely, and the strawberries sound lovely too.
I am so pleased to hear that you are booked onto the next module of the certificated course – Goldwork.
Indeed this is exciting News.The interviews will also be splendid .
All I can say is ‘thank you so much’
I thoroughly enjoyed your reports on the Crewelwork course last year, I can hardly wait for you to start reporting on the Goldwork course. I would love to do the certificate course but if I could do only one component, it would be the goldwork.
Trevilian’s Cap is looking fab. Although silk work is slow going, the small motifs are relative quick to do and you see that you are making progress all of the time.
I am so excited for you, Kathy! How wonderful to get to go back to RSN, especially for Goldwork. I can’t wait until you go so we can get to read about it. The interview series will be wonderful! I have been re-reading old copies of Embroidery magazine (UK) and found an exceptional issue that has an interview with Tracy and tons of goldwork. I’m really excited to hear more from her – I LOVE her books. And the cap is really going to be lovely. I’m doing the Thistle Threads cap class, and mine is moving along very very very slowly as well. Actually, you’re moving faster than I am!
Thanks for sharing your exciting news so we can be excited, too!!
You’re such an inspiration to us all! I’ve worked more and more on my own crewel project because of your enthusiasm. I look forward to your posts and am encouraged by them. You’re a great teacher by your example — thanks so much.
The Trevilian’s Cap is exquisite and your stitching is worth emulating.
I’m always planning my next trip to England and that one may just have to be arranged around a class at the RSN.
Exciting, to be sure, Kathy! Thanks! I love following your stitching life!
Kathy,
I am so excited (and envious) that you will be doing the RSN Goldwork class next! I look forward to that part of your journey in expanding your knowledge of needlework – which I think far exceeds that of my own.
As it is, I have to save up money for the RSN; I don’t think I’ll be able to go this year as much as I wanted to, it’ll be next year or a couple years down the road, I want to be at Hampton Court…the history and the grounds…sigh…I so much want to be immersed in needlework 24/7!!
Looking forward too, to the interviews, it’ll be so nice to see/hear how everyone else does things – should be interesting!
Hugs and Love,
Jennifer
PS – did they tell you what books to start studying with? Is it very much like school all over again with looseleaf papers and pens?
Hugs and Love,
Jen
Cough,. Choke. Ker-bubble.
WAY beyond exciting!!
I very highly recommend (and the entire Facebook Historic Embroidery group came up with this as their all time beginner’s goldwork book) is Country Bumpkin’s A-Z Goldwork book. It covers everything mentioned in the course outline, plus more.
For more ideas on what can be done with various threads in Goldwork, and delving into some of the more obscure techniques, the new Hazel Everett is the one to go for.
A great highly technical, accurate but much denser reference to all goldwork is the Jane Zimmerman book “Techniques of Metal Thread Embroidery”. It is available in part on-line for free – http://www.janezimmerman.com/Site/Techniques.html. It’s hard to read because it’s self-published, but oh, so very thorough.
There are many many books on the market, and I’m sure others have their personal recommendations. And you haven’t actually asked for any recommendations. But these are mine
Hi Elmsley Rose,
I’ve got both the A-Z and Hazel Evertts’s book – isn’t it great? – but didn’t know that part of Jane Zimmerman’s was online. Thanks for the tip! I ALWAYS like recommendations! What would I do without our online community? And you?
Hi Jen,
Yep, going to Hampton Court is expensive. It isn’t the course that’s a killer – it’s the room in London during the summer! Yikes! That’s the reason I do my work in Rugby: the tutors are great and the cost of living is much lower. As much as I love London – and I do love it having studied at the Guildhall School of Music – it’s just too rich for a teacher’s budget. You do bring up a good point – the course costs a bit of money. I am very fortunate that my children are grown and just about financially independent so I can save for it throughout the year. Even as recently as 10 years ago that wouldn’t have been possible.
One thing I would recommend is to contact the RSN when you’re ready to make a commitment and ask them for a list of places to stay when you’re at the course. They sent me a list and it was quite long and included the homes of people in the area. This was before they opened their site in Rugby.
Liebe Grusse,
Kathy
Wow Mom! How exciting! You get to go to England as well as take an awesome course. I’m excited to read the interviews, and sure you will have a ton of fun interviewing Tracy Franklin.
Exciting news, indeed. You have a great year ahead, Kathy..
Thanks for sharing the exciting news.Am looking forward to the interviews and your goldwork posts.This cap is looking gorgeous,am sure this’ll be one of your masterpieces.
Anita.