Thread and Stitch Extravaganza!
May. 22nd, 2010 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Here is a shot of the full range of thread I plan to use. In the top row, I have spangles, gold thread, rolls of Gild Sylke Twist and one roll of Soie Gobelins. On the bottom row, it's all Soie Perlee, which will be my primary silk for color work. Needless to say, I need to get more gold thread (my recent effort making a priest's ordination stole pretty much sucked up two rolls of the stuff). By the way, I'm still working with color choices for the blues and lavenders--I am going to draw from the colors I have, but I'm not sure I'm going to use all of them.
The threads variously came from Hedgehog Handworks, Needle in a Haystack (who also supplied me with the linen) and Thistle Threads. These are all outstanding embroidery suppliers--I recommend them highly.
There's a thing about my choice of threads. For the colorwork, I'm using Au Ver a Soie's line "Soie Perlee." This is the thread used in the Plimoth Plantation Jacket Project (i.e., my inspiration) --and it's got a super shiny luster--and is tightly spun, rather like a thin pearl cotton thread. However, it isn't the most commonly used product Au Ver a Soie sells--it's got a limited color range--and color cards are not available. Moreover, the local needlework stores (unfortunately, slaves to cross stitch and needle point customers) don't stock it. But--on the other hand, the silk thread lines available locally weren't filament silk (cheaper silk threads are made from chopped up fibers, which are far less shiny) and they also didn't have that nice tightly spun quality which makes detached stitches far easier.
So I took a shot in the barrel and ordered Soie Perlee. I think I'm a good gambler! The colors work together--and resemble the colors of the period.
This weekend has not witnessed much stitching. I am expecting the onslaught of a month of houseguests, starting with my friend Joanna, who returns on Monday to DC to do initial research for her dissertation. Tomorrow is graduation day for several in my EFM group. So, my focus has been cleaning. However, I am finding it rather tough to avoid spending a little time stitching....I've got a new lamp on the project and it's working much better, though the new stitches are challenging my innate lack of direction!