Tangled Silk....

First you need a pattern.  So out comes the graph paper.  I drew up a pattern for a stomacher and the front of a man's coat.  By no means a finished sketch.  I just wanted to get an idea of how big the embroidery would be if someone were doing it on the new frame.

Next, You know the old question, "How do you get to Carnagie Hall?".  Answer?  Practice!

I grabbed a piece of china silk and hooped it.

I really haven't done this for years, so yes, practice was needed.

What you see on the frame took me about 45 minutes. 

Here's a close up.  It makes the silk look like burlap and the silk sewing thread looks more like knitting worsted.

Not too bad, considering how out of practice(there's that word again) I am.

Basically it is just lazy daisy, back stitch and single wrap french knots.

The silk sewing thread is very slippery and sometimes irritating to work with, but I think that it will be worth the trouble in the long run.

Tessie had to get a few stitches in to see how it looked. 

Here you can see how small the floral spray actually is.  Smaller than her hand.

Even worse is the fact that you can barely see the needle that I was using.  I went and found one of the smallest quilting needles that I own.  I think it is a 12 or 14?  It is working nicely. 

Three or four threads to a backstitch....That is about 1/32 of an inch.....

Yup.  I'll say it again....All I need is a little practice....

See you tomorrow.