Scenes of Country LIfe Casket Progress...And

 Some Notes on the Importance of Stitch Direction

 The time is flying by~ I spent most of July in Washington State visiting my family there, so not much time for stitching. I am back at it now, working the front frieze, as seen at the bottom of my frame above. Because of the number of panels I have drawn on this piece of silk, the size is too large to comfortably reach the top of the frame, so I have to stitch it upside down...I don't recommend it. Shadows change, and stitching that looks one way upside down, may not look the same right side up, so if you are in the same situation, be sure to check your progress right side up frequently!

 As always, I work all the flat silk stitching first, then will go back and add gimps, then other things like silk-wrapped purls, etc. If I have silk-wrapped purls on a piece, those always get put on last as they are terrific thread snaggers. Especially when using flat filament silk that is so beautifully shiny, thread direction can have a huge impact on the look of the finished piece. Most 17th c satin stitch elements were stitched with the stitches running vertically. Colour choices and shading would add the details.

 If one looks at the finer long & short stitch pieces, you will find the stitch direction flows with the elements themselves~ for example, hair. An entire head of hair can be stitched with just one colour of thread, but by changing the stitch direction within curls etc, the stitches themselves create shadows and movement.  Look closely at the stitch direction of my birds here. Stitches that echo the curving design lines will help to portray a rounder more dimensional object. See how flat and boring looking the cherries are next to the songbird? I have chosen to work the flowers on the frieze in straight satin stitch while using long & short stitch on the creatures for more details and contrast.

 Don't be afraid to mix stitches within an element. I have used both satin and long & short stitches on the turkey

Rarely are 17th c pieces ever just one type of stitch~ whether it be a single panel, or an entire mirror or casket. I like to think of them as samplers of all different kinds of stitches and techniques~ so if you want to use a pile of different techniques, GO FOR IT! It will look amazing!!

Happy Stitching!!

10 Spots Available

 Beneath Thy Poft Oak

Beneath Thy Poft Oak, The Art of 17th c Beadwork is a wonderful class that will teach you all about 17th c beadwork. It is a 12 month class that I am now running individually, so you will not have to wait for a class to fill if you are interested in taking it!  I have just 10 class spots available.

You can learn more about all the particulars and/ or enroll here. You can also click the tab at the top of the blog page here for the Diamond K Folk Art Online Academy to see all the classes currently offered.

For those of you who keep asking me about teaching here in the USA,  this is the perfect opportunity for you to do so right from your own stitching chair! This is the most comprehensive class I have ever offered, and like all my classes, all materials you need to complete Beneath Thy Poft Oak are included in the class kit. All the student need to provide are a few tools and a slate frame. The class is divided into 12 easy-to-complete monthly lessons. Each lesson contains a slew of pictures, step-by-step photos, instructions, and videos for completing this pastoral Texan scene.  This is not just a class to work the shown picture~ it is a class aimed at teaching you all you need to know about 17th c beadwork techniques and how to apply them to other projects you have milling around in your head.

As you can see above, my scenes are complete. Ladye is not just sitting under a tree with a one-dimensional top of a skirt draped over her lap....she has beautiful legs, shoes, stockings, and garters under her gown. 

Each kit comes with a one of a kind 3 piece hand sculpted papier mache figure set (bust and two arms)

.

Along with flat and looped cartouche treatments, speckling, grounded and in-hand peyote stitch, flat and curved couching, French wired leaves and flowers, detached hair and lace techniques, netted overlays, designing and working clothing, and bead history, I will also teach you how to make these gorgeous fully detached yellow roses. The same technique can be applied to any flower~ known to nature or contrived of your own imagination. 

Future Class Dates...

 A closer look at my Beaded Stumpwork Casket

Here is a video sharing some closer looks at my beadwork casket. I chose to work my entire casket in beads, but there are literally oodles and oodles of extant 17th c silk embroideries that contain motifs worked in beads.

Registration is still open for my 17th century beadwork class, Beneath Thy Poft Oak. Class starts October 1st, 2022. I have had several folks ask me when I will be running it again, and the answer is honestly, probably not for some while. The class itself runs 12 months, so that puts me at 2024 for the next running. However, I am booked for in person teaching then, and as well my last is graduating from high school, so it may not be 2024, more like 2025 or 26 if I can still get the materials for it. 

You can learn more about it/enroll by clicking the link to my Online Academy classes at the TOP of this page, right under the blog header. 

Happy Stitching!

So I was Thinking....

 And Had This Idea...

 I shared this picture the other day on Instagram(link to my Instagram is on the right in the sidebar under links)...I love this picture, even though I absolutely really do 100% hate seeing my reflection or having my picture taken. 

I was filming my casket for YouTube and was just vegging out staring at it and saw myself there. Immediately I thought of the early ones, and how absolutely awesome it would have been to SEE who made them~ who's reflections those mirrors had projected for so many years. It's been a few years since I made this one, but I still look basically the same, so I printed this picture out and it will forever live in my casket. 

I hope my fellow caskateers will do the same!

17th Century Beadwork AKA "Beugle Works"

 Applying Learned Techniques to Different Projects

Over the next few days, I will be shooting a number of videos of different things I have made using the techniques I teach in my 17th c beadwork class, Beneath Thy Poft Oak.  So many marvelous things can be made using the core techniques from class~ change the beads... the pattern...change the colours and BAM! you can make some new something of awesomeness!!!  Today I will share a peek at my Padded Mirror Case. While I no longer offer this class specifically, I do still sell the pattern and figures for it. The surface work, three-dimensional berries and leaves, and clothing/figural work are all covered in the Beneath Thy Poft Oak class. I think the only thing not covered in this piece, is the making of Kings Crown, and the covered watte acorns. All of the beads on this piece are antique, which adds to its perceived complexity. As well, note that all of the beads are NOT the same. There are big ones, little ones, and metal ones....there are cut charlottes, and large bone beads (the berries above the Queen). There are opaque, transparent, satin, and greasy glass beads. For a proper 17th Century impression in your beadwork, aside from the colour palette, the more variation in materials you can glom on, the better!

Floss Tube Finer Finishing Tips #14

 Gluing A Finished Panel Onto The Box

So.....you have laboured for perhaps years on your embroidery and it's finally finished. All that is left is to glue it onto your box or casket. Easy right? You may be surprised to learn that the majority of folks I know when they get to this point, they panic. Some don't even get as far as opening the glue pot, just the thought of glue on their embroidery is overwhelming enough for them to stop and make the thing live unappreciated in a drawer for the rest of its life. 

I am here as a calming voice to assure you, it's really NO. BIG. DEAL. 

Take a deep breath, gather your tools, and watch this week's YouTube video on how to do it below!

Each panel is glued on in the same way, one at a time, no matter what you have worked onto the panel itself. It could be cross-stitch, crewelwork, stumpwork, or beadwork...no matter, they all go on the same way. Come on back next week for a fun video on choosing trim!

Dome Top Casket Progress

  & Upcoming 2022 Classes

 Today is just a short video to show you the progress of my Dome Top Casket and to reinforce my point that while you do need a good sound foundation for a casket, it need not be an overly fancy or expensive one. It's more about what you do to the box....than the box itself.  Of course, I have not been stretching this project out minutes at a time. Its been finished for a while and SUPER hard to not just share the whole thing. I think overall, from start to finish, it was less than 2 months time from buying the box on Amazon here , to its total outside completion.  BTW, I see that the price of the box has gone up, when I bought it it was 11.00 and now is up to 18.00.  Still an excellent value! You will see the link on Amazon there are three sizes~ I used the large size for my little casket. 

I am working on a new teaching website and am planning on launching 2 new classes at the first of the year. The first will be Puffed Silkes~ 17th c Inspired Padded Box Interiors. 

This class will teach you the skills to make a padded interior for any shape of box or casket, as elaborate or simple as you want. 

The second will be a very exciting class on how to make Gummed Silk~ Gum Worke ~ The Arte of 17th Century Gummed Silk, where I will teach you my technique for making gummed sleeven silk.

Either class offers skills no one who wishes to make their own casket should be without.  My little Dome Top Casket is a perfect example of combining the two. 

 Traditionally, a picture or casket covered in gummed silk was worked only in gummed silk. It was usually flat...like the closer view of the interior door above. But unlike the 17th c examples I have studied, I like to add silk stumpwork stitches and goldwork to really make the surface come to  life....and wait until you see the outside! While it is amazing as flat work...I will show you how much dimension you can achieve with Gum Worke. It really is a fun and fabulous technique!

 

Roll with It

 Dome Top Casket Progress...

Do you ever feel like you are on a roller coaster that won't stop? Lately, I have been desperately trying to get off the one I am on but it never slows down enough for me to leap out. Every time I turn around it seems like it's time to go to bed and my to-do list is not even half-finished for the day. Maybe the sun is on the same schedule? It goes to bed around here by 5pm.  IF anyone has any hints on how to s-l-o-w  t-h-i-n-g-s d-o-w-n a bit, I would very much appreciate it. 

The Dome Casket flew together and I am so happy with how it came out! In the line of progression for today's Floss Tube Finer Finishing Tips YouTube series, I am continuing to prep for the embroidery of the interior doors. What you don't see in the video is the finished padded interior, shown above. Isn't it the most gorgeous shade of green?

 I have a list in my head going of interior colour schemes I want to do, and this green was high up on the list. 

I have always admired the interior of this one at the Met Museum, shown above. Click that link to go to the Museum's page to really check it out! It was the inspiration for my padded interior, except with gold trim. I love my tiny little Penhaligons bottles nestled so snugly into their cubbies. Who am I kidding, I just love padded interiors....and if YOU love them, well I may just have the class you have been looking for coming up soon! It's not a project class in particular. It will teach you the skills to make a padded interior to fit any shape or size box you can dream of! If you think that's something you would be interested in, just shoot me an email (rlkinnison@yahoo.com)to get on the mailing list, I am hoping for a January 2022 start!

Just a quick tip today showing you how I roll the glued paper onto the surface of the silk to glue it on. I use this rolling method for gluing finished embroidery panels as well. Along with the Yes! Paste, one will get no bubbles!

Things You NEED to Think About....

  Before You Know You Need to Think About Them....

I was editing videos for my Dome Top Casket series on YouTube today and think that this next tip is just too important to wait until Saturday's usual post. Today's tip is about when to transfer your embroidery design onto your ground fabric. If you plan on mounting the embroidery onto a particular size of something...or the finished size of your embroidery needs to be exact for whatever reason...today's tip is for you! The easiest way for you to not have to cut into that glorious embroidery you just finished because its now magically too big for its intended spot is to watch today's video tip!!

What's Your Plan?

 Floss Tube Finer Finishing Tips #9

Happy first Saturday of November! Stop by the You Tube today to see the latest video for the Dome Top Casket. I am a firm believer that one should finish the inside of a box FIRST, before the outside. There are several reasons for doing so, but mainly, it is not so easy to manipulate the box in all different directions when a finished embroidery is mounted on the outside! 

That being said, if you are one of my readers who is dragging their feet on their casket....this video is for YOU! Who cares what you are going to put on the outside....DOESNT MATTER. Get up and FINISH THE INSIDE! Then, when you do get the outside embroidery finished, the inside will be done and ready!

Finer Finishing Tips #7

 Wrangling That Paper!

Happy Saturday All! I hope you had a great week. If you are following along with the progress of my little dome top casket, this week's video is a birds-eye view of cutting the exterior paper before gluing. Everyone says matter of factly to glue paper on the outside of the box...but they don't really go over how to wrangle and cut that huge expensive sheet of paper. If you only have one or two sheets, it can be intimidating...especially if you are afraid of making a mistake and wasting it! 

Have no fear, Rachael is here to help guide you through it! As always, I do apologize for the angle of the camera in today's video. I changed it to an above view so you wouldn't see the back of my elbow like last week, but along the way, I think I knocked it out of alignment. If you ever had aspirations of being a bird and seeing what they see, well just imagine you are an inquisitive woodpecker hanging upside down on a tree branch while I'm wrangling this paper!

I wanted to share the photo above to show the finished fold-over of the paper on the lid. This is what can form the halo I talk about in the video. 

a TWO video day today!

 Gilt Stamped Edgings

It's time to finally start to paper my little dome-top casket.  I wanted to bring you all along with me so turned the camera on real-time as I applied my edgings. Before you write and ask me if I make and sell stamped paper edgings, the answer is no. Not at this time anyway. I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done~ I do link on one of the videos today to Talas where you can find a plethora of beautiful brass finishing tools, papers, and foils to make your own though. A pretty edge treatment doesn't have to be just a stamped paper though, it could be gilt with gold or silver leaf, or a pretty marbled or otherwise fancy paper!

 

Today is a two video day because the battery in my camera died partway through, and  I am still trying to figure out all this YouTube stuff. I have no idea how to put two videos together, and honestly, it is not in my brain capacity currently to try and figure it out. There is a hideous closeup of my elbow that I am both warning you about and apologizing for at the same time. I would have cut that out, which I know how to do, but I was talking at the time so all I can offer is, to just close your eyes for a few seconds!

I am planning on some very in detail interior finishing classes in the near future, so if you like what you see and want to dive into greater detail, just comment here or drop me a line at rlkinnison@yahoo.com and I will put you on the mailing list for future classes.

and Part 2....

New Finer Points of Finishing Tip Series

 Come Along....

I get so many questions on Embroidery Finishing that I have decided to run a small You Tube video series on the subject, FlossTube Finer Finishing Tips.  We spend so much time on our embroidery, years and years even, and then expect to mount said embroidery on a box in a weekend. NOT SO.  Just as much care should be spent on finishing as the embroidery itself. A great finishing job has the ability to elevate a mediocre embroidery...just as bad finishing can make the most elaborate and expertly worked embroidery look horrible. 

I will be having some finishing classes in the future, but hope that until then, you will join me to follow the transformation of a cheap wooden pine box (under 10.00 USD) purchased on Amazon. I will try and post a new video every 10 days or so. The second in the series is below:

I am not a scripted person, and I don´t make notes. What you see is what you get. When I get my arm stuck in glue...you will probably too. My camera angles need work. I am not a skilled cinematographer...but I think you will enjoy the videos and maybe pick up a few tricks to use in your own finishing~be it a stumpwork casket or mounting a cross stitch or needlepoint piece to a cigar box. 

As you will realize through this series, a box need not be expensive to offer a spectacular, unique finish for your precious embroidery. 

Not Quite 'Blush & Bashful'...but close

Pretty In Pink 

  Some of my favorite early 17th c caskets have very light pink interiors~ not that they were super faded...but they always were a very light shade of pink right from their start. I have searched and searched for just the right shade of pink~ makes me think of Steel Magnolias when she says her two wedding colours are "Blush & Bashful".  I super love how this interior came out

The paper I chose for this one is a beautiful faded blue. It goes so well with the pink. Of coarse I have my signature secret compartments all over the place, and hiding under the tufted pad within the mirrored octagon is a beautiful 17th c engraving.

What have you been working on? I hope that whatever it is, makes your heart happy~

if not....just WHAT are you waiting for????

DO IT!

Look at these Bunns!

Ready To Get Dressed!

  I spent some time carving a set of my turned bunn feet into these fluted cuties for a lil somethin I been tinkering on. They are drying now after a quick dip in 24k gold....well, it wasnt a dip. I wish it was that easy. Gilding with real gold is quite tedious actually. What have you been working on?  It feels great to finally  be getting my mojo back!

 

How to Wax Paper

 Easy Peasy!

I have been asked as of late how I wax my marbled papers for finishing 17th c caskets. Theres nothing to it. All you need is a hard beeswax cake and some paper. I use an old hanky or muslin cloth to buff after applying the beeswax to get off any little crumbly bits that may have fallen off the cake. I do prefer a hard wax cake of 100% unprocessed beeswax as then you dont have to burninsh afterwards for the nice shine. Soft wax and some thread waxers may have conditioners added or scents ect...you dont want that, just 100% beeswax.

Flat Top Casket Progress

Patience!

  I said I wasn't posting pictures of Precious until she was finished....and I'm sticking to it! It makes my heart smile so many of you are as excited as I am to see her finished. Putting the panels on was a breeze, she has been finished since Friday the 18th~ as in, all panels glued on, hardware on....she's just waiting for her trims...she's shy and doesnt want to be seen until she is fully dressed. I had planned on using an antique gilt trim I have,  its absolutely gorgeous and EXTREMELY flexible....and literally as I was about to cut into it, I realized how perfect it would be for my mirror frame~ one needs a very flexible trim to go around all those curves and angles....so I got out my little trim samples and decided to use the 17th c reproduction gilt trim, so we are patiently waiting for that to come in the post. Maybe by Friday.....

O.K. I'm not going to lie...its killing me waiting too!

I am keeping busy now making her travel case~ so in the meantime, thought I would share some of my favorite pictures~ pictures of the back of her embroidery.

  One of the reasons the panels went on so easily, is that I have stitched everything over paper~ yes~ glued the paper on first, before stitching. It was worth it a zillion times over in the end, to be able to just cut the panels out and glue them on...and using the Gane Yes! Paste, it took literally minutes. No joke.

  I want my panels to look exactly the same after mounting on my casket, as they did on the frame....and working this way, they absolutely do!  If you enlarge the pictures, you can see, I even have wire tails....and they are totally invisible when mounted~ they nestle down into the Yes! Paste like little babies snug in their beds.

 I have to say that I enjoy looking at the back of the panels as much as the front....but the swan side was the only one I actually took a picture of...the other ones went on so quick, I forgot to snap a pic of the backs!

My Flat Casket Progress

All Stitching is Finished!

 Can you believe it? I can't. Nearly every day stitching on something that I hoped would one day come to and end, as much as I thought, 'is this ever going to be finished'?  Well my friends...that day has come!

Five years of work here on the piano...just hangin out

Enjoy this little video~ the next time you see these panels, they will be on their casket!

Since I stitched over paper...there are no tedious steps now...just cut these babies out and glue them on...not lying...I may have already started  XOXOXOXXO

Waste Not, Want Not

Au Natural

 I am still getting caught back up from my classes at Colonial Williamsburg, but was really, really looking forward to stitching on my casket panels alllllll day Sunday. Of coarse, as usual lately,  that didn't happen. A neighbor asked if I wanted some porcupines he had recently dispatched, and hello....yes I wanted them!  I do not believe in waste of any sort. We are a hunting family, and hunt for our food, only for food, but I don't just dress out the meat of an elk, antelope, deer or whatever....and then throw away the rest.  That's not how I was raised, and not how I raise my children. We have utmost respect for an animal who has given their life for us, and try an use as much as we can, the hair, the hide, antlers if there are any, and bones....what is left gets put out on our property for the forrest animals to have. The same goes for found animals....and yes, I have been known to stop and get different things off the road. Such is life. Anyways, I ended up spending the entire day Sunday stripping guard hair and quills from porcupines. I took the opportunity to show the girls how to do it, and yes, we said a little prayer of thanks to the Great Spirit for all he has provided us and the porcupines' sacrifice.  The guard hairs, shown below, are used for making Native American headdresses~

  I may end up using some in my stitching, but will probably save these for trading at Indian Market down in Santa Fe

  So many quills, and fine tiny ones like I like to use. I am planning a large project on birch bark with moose hair and quills that these will be used on.  I love to use natural things in my embroidery~ which is right in line with 17th c embroiderers. They used what they could find, what they had on hand, especially for stumpwork, or raised work. Thin kid skin vellum was cut into strips and covered with silk to make the loupes seen in cartouche borders, all sorts of feather products were used~ the 'fluffy' parts to embroider or couch onto the surface (peacock hurl was a common one), the quills were stripped, scraped and cut down to make all sorts of shapes to pad up embroidery....natural pearls, gemstones, and shells, were all stitched to the surface. Wood, bone and ivory were carved and used for faces and hands.  I have some teensie weensie quills, as in less than 1/2" total length, I am planning to use for a special little critter on my silk casket.

  I have been trying to work on the castle a little each day...sometimes maybe on 5 or 10 minutes...but it all adds up and I am now up to the roof, which currently, I am making the shingles for

Here are 3 pin'd on~ roof will be shades of lilac purple, with the traditional blue door as seen on the majority of 17th c castles in raised work. I have a seperate little blue door ready to go on for a little added dimension. I am using some of my turkey Mr.Giving's quills for the conical tower roofs...they should look pretty cool if they come out like I am hoping.

Happy Happy

Not bad for a Sunday....

My goal was to get one tower worked...a few hours later, here sits 4 towers, 2 walls and some smoke! It's hard putting it away until next Sunday.