or nue project

Not that I need another project or anything, but....  I am intrigued to death with a goldwork technique called or nue.  It is pronounced 'ornway', not phonetically 'or nu' with a long "u", as I have been doing for a while (doh!). I found the correct pronunciation in a book- A~Z of Goldwork.  So, what is it?  Or nue is a technique where an area of fabric is covered with (usually) a pair of fine metal threads, laid in close rows.  The metal threads are couched in place using fine colored silk or cotton single strand thread to achieve a colored or shaded pattern.  The background, where no color is needed is couched in self-colored thread.  The couching stitches are worked closely together where intense color is needed and further apart for softer shading.  This is all taken verbatim from the A~Z of Goldwork book section on or nue, because it's too hard to explain in my own words.  Anyway, I want to frame up a piece of silk and use a colored pencil to shade in the areas of where I want color and outline the rest.  I ordered a piece of silk from Berlin Embroidery Designs www.berlinembroidery.com.

What else I needed was some recommended silk threads.  These are soie d'alger threads in colors I am considering for my project.

Here is my choice for couching down the silver metal threads where color is not needed.  I'm not sure if to go with the grey on the right in soie d'alger or the blanc on the left.

And because money does not grow on trees in my life, and I cannot afford real silver or gold threads (which are available, believe it or not), I ordered the much less expensive Kreinik Japan Thread #5 in silver from the same website listed above, plus one in gunmetal just because I love gunmetal, and one in gold (imitation!) that I will use for the base metal.  I will only use the silver for the project piece.

After intense searching and thinking about it and looking through art books, photographs, ready-made project kits and other sources, this is what I ordered to work my first project.  I love whales and this one has such pretty intense blues that would look really lovely on silver.  This image came from a tattoo art download site.  I paid $1.99 for the image.  Isn't it beautiful?  It will have to be shrunk down to size so I hope it doesn't become too compact because this project is intended to be rather small.  If it is too large, I will use all my silver threads (and lose my sanity with all the couching) in one go.  Time to soak and dry the silk, lace up my slate frame and get started.  I'm a little afraid of it, so we'll see how it goes.  Apparently quite a few needles are used for this at the same time, so the threads don't constantly cross on the back.  Woo, hoo!! Wish me luck!

Punch needle love

Ok.  I didn't exactly get off to a flying start with my new blog, considering a quarter year has gone by since I posted my first post.  *not a good start*.  However, I hope to make up for this deficiency with a little time set aside every few days now that I am home from several very long distance trips.  I could sit for hours pouring over embroidery books.  One of my favorites is Three-Dimensional Embroidery Stitches by Pat Trott.   The funky bird pictured above was created using a variety of 3-D stitches learned  from the excellent charts and photos in this book.  I have no idea what to do with this funny little piece and in fact I have a number of funky little experiments that end up sitting in a pile or used as bookmarks.

Years ago, I purchased a punchneedle pattern from a now-defunct needlework shop in Ligonier, PA called The Needle Nook.  The pattern is titled What Canary? from MeMe's Cottage Collection.  Entranced with the shop's finished piece, I walked out with not only the pattern and printed weaver's cloth, but all the expensive little bits of thread from all the expensive makers- Weeks Dye Works, Gentle Art Sampler Thread and so on.  Soooo excited to go home and make this thing!  Not finding much about it online and YouTube tutorials not yet in existence, I went ahead and thought I would figure it out myself.  From Lacis in California came an order for a Russian Punchneedle and the needles and plastic tubes to cut to size.  Well, I was completely befuddled.  What on earth?  How to thread the needle, how to cut the tubes, how to know how to size them, space them, stretch the cloth, what the??  Aaaaghhh!!! Truly, it was very frustrating and disappointing.  I could not figure it out.  Phew.  So I regretfully tossed it all in a bag and threw it in my closet with all the other unfinished projects.

Fast forward about seven years.  Wooo hoooo!!!  After moving three times in two years, we prepared for another move!  Nothing to get excited about.  But, I was going through my ungodly heap of UFO's projects, and came upon the canary pattern.  I'd forgotten about it entirely.  Long story short, much to my delight there were books, magazine patterns, youtube!  I discovered the fabulous Woolen Whimsies miniature stretcher for punchneedle.  And best of all, I found the blessed Ultra Punch.   Ahhhhh.  How wonderful.  So instead of punching What Canary?, which I still have yet to do, I started with a little rooster pattern from a company that regretfully I can't find in my stash.  I neglected to take photos of him in progress, probably because I was so nervous trying to make him right.  I didn't feel like going out to get the brighter red the pattern called for, so I used a darker red that doesn't bling as much as the pattern picture, and I used a funny variegated thread for a border, which the pattern also did not call for, and Voila!  I made my first punchneedle piece (See finished photo below).  It's pretty tightly packed but I love it.  And then I discovered the wonderful world of Lori Brechlin's Notforgotten Farm patterns.  Notforgotten Farm's Grey House was my second attempt at punching.  I raised the pile quite a bit on this one, at Lori's (the sweetest woman one could ever hope to meet) direction and the final result is posted here.  It's insanely fun!  There ends these projects, although I've turned the Grey House into a needlebook and framed the little rooster.  And begins my intense love of all things punched (and hooked!).

I adore all needlework primitive, but my true love is couture tambour, or luneville embroidery.  Next post has something to do with that in the city that has this.....