Lest We Forget

I felt compelled to do a little more than simply buy a paper poppy pin for Remembrance Sunday this year; I wanted to create a simple and tasteful piece that I can display in the house each year or perhaps on the front door, as you would a Christmas wreath

I began with a lovely, demure vintage fabric from the current Get Smitten vintage fabric fat quarter collection and traced my text directly onto it. I then stretched it tightly in a standard wooden embroidery hoop and used a grey embroidery thread to neatly back stitch over the wording

To tidy up the fabric around the edges so that it can be displayed, I simply used a cotton sewing thread to pull all the edges into the centre at the back so it cannot be seen. And for a professional finish, I cut a piece of grey felt the same size as the inner part of the embroidery hoop and glued it in place to hide all the messy bits

For the glittery poppy, I took apart a paper poppy bought from the lovely people at the British Legion and applied several coats of red, glittery nail polish. This helps to strengthen the poppy and allow it to stand up to a bit more wear and tear if the work is to be displayed on the front door

I count myself fortunate to have never directly known anyone who has given their precious life in war; I truly hope it stays that way and I am grateful to all those brave souls who have made such an incredible sacrifice. I will display my comemorative embroidery with pride and perhaps add an extra poppy to it each year

Lisa x

{All images by Lisa Pocklington for Get Smitten using Instagram - follow me @lisapocklington -  Vintage fabric fat quarter available at Get Smitten on Etsy}

The Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap 5

This summer I participated in The Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap 5 organised by the lovely Beth Nicholls at the Do What You Love website. This is the second time I have joined in the stitchy fun - you might remember the first time (here) when the theme was Love and I had the pleasure of meeting my swap partners Heather Powers (Textile Designer and Organiser Extra-ordinaire) and Jessica Swift (Pattern Designer and Colour Expert), both living in America

This time the theme was Discover and I used the opportunity to discover a new technique I have been curious to try - cross stitching onto paper. My swap partner was the lovely Katherine Quinn (Illustrator of gorgeous, whimsical characters) across the other side of the world in New Zealand

Leaving it to the last minute as I often do (I always have the best intentions with too many ideas and tend to over commit!) I set about marking my design onto my postcard background with coloured pencils to make it easier to follow. I simplified a cross stitch design of a flower that I found in a vintage embroidery book

To make the stitching part easier, I used a pin to pre-poke (is that even a term?!) the holes in my postcard and then set about with my stitches one colour at a time

Now, I won't lie to you; it really hurt my fingers! I mean really! Pushing the needle through all those holes and often missing the target a couple of times, each time, was a teensy bit tedious but I am delighted with the end result. In fact, I love it!

I decided to give it my trademark crochet border and then added a little text using some vintage Lettraset which I glued on as it was too fragile to transfer.

One of the best parts about participating in a swap is that you get to meet other like minded people from all over world, and so the wording I chose for my text is "Discover new friends". I'm still in touch with both Jessica and Heather from last year and I hope to strike up a lasting friendship with Katherine too - she wrote a lovely. friendly message on the back of her postcard, as if we had been friends for years, just catching up. Here's the back of mine; I hid the reverse of the stitching with a piece of white cotton before I worked the crochet border and wrote my mesage on it with a ball point pen

I did plan to send my postcard directly in the post - like Jessica did with hers last year - but right at the last minute (and influenced by the gasps of horror from my sister!) I decided to enclose it safely in an envelope so that it arrived in New Zealand unscathed by the postal system!

So would I use this technique again? Yes; infact I have a couple of ideas lurking already for how I would like to use it. I would like to learn the magical trick that is using embroidery floss without getting into a hideous tangle - something I've never managed to perfect despite my degree in textiles!

And, of course, I'll be looking forward to Beth's next Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap too. You can find out more about that here and sign up to be notified when it takes place

Lisa x

Penguin Classics Embroidered Covers

{sigh}   When I was studying textile design at Uni - I specialised in embroidered textiles - this is the kind of project I dreamed of... I love literature books, I love colour and I love threads. Imagine working on a project that enabled you to pick your favourite literary classic and interpret it, using fabric and thread into a beautiful book cover...    {sigh again}

This became reality for embroideress Jillian Tamaki when she was approached by Penguin Threads creator Paul Buckley to hand embroider the designs for the latest re-prints of three of their timeless classics: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell and Emma by Jane Austen. What a dream job... and what a mammoth undertaking! Aren't they stunning?!

The books themselves - released this October - have deliciously embossed covers to accentuate the embroidery detail and make it look as 'real' as possible, I've not yet actually handled one of these beauties but The Secret Garden is so going on my Christmas wishlist {yeah, that's a hint!}

Here are the full covers, I just love how the back includes a small snippet of a quote from the book - a real book lovers treat!

The inside flap shows the back of Jillian's handiwork, which I think is a lovely nod to the tactile quality of hand produced work - they say the mark of a quality embroideress is that the reverse side is as neat as the front!

Be sure to check out Paul Buckley Design's full range of shots on Flickr to see the whole collection. Work is already underway for the next three books; The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. This time stitched by the expert hand of Rachell Sumpter and due for release next year

I am besotted with this collaborative project. Which books would you select? I would love to see Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol and, of course, my all time favourite, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen!

{sigh}

Lisa x

{images by Jillian Tamaki}