Art Deco Bird Cross Stitch Pattern

One of my favourite sources of inspiration is old books. I am lucky that the love of old books runs in the family so I have plenty to browse when I'm looking for new ideas. There has been debate in recent years about whether books will become obsolete with the growing popularity of digital literature. Not as long as there are people like me in the world they won't! I find the suggestion quite ridiculous. I love everything about old books: the texture of their covers, the artwork, the fonts and of course that smell of the pages of a book that has been loved and cared for by several generations of readers and bibliophiles.

 

 

 

My next few blog posts will be about some of my designs which have been inspired by various lovely old books. The first is my Art Deco Bird pattern which was inspired by an illustration in a children's story anthology published in the 1930s. The copyright page shows two stylised birds, one on either side of the list of contributors. I am not certain exactly what they are but they are clearly some kind of birds of prey. They are created by using simple shapes and art deco motifs. My cross stitch version is worked mainly in black with a few touches of gold to give a hint of art deco opulence.

 

 

This anthology contains a large number of short stories and poems, many by very well-known authors such as Sir Walter Scott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson and Frances Hodgson Burnett. I was quite excited when I came across a story by Hans Christian Andersen entitled The Red Shoes, which is about a little girl called Karen. I had a pair of red shoes when I was little and I've known for a while that my name is Danish so I was eager to read what happened to my namesake in this story.

 

 

I was expecting there to be magic but I wasn't prepared for how shocking it is in places! I won't give away the ending but it's a moral tale about pride and selfishness. I will now think twice before buying any more red shoes!

All photos (c) Karen Eley 2014

 

Bonjour, Leeds!

 

It's not very often you'll find me happily getting up at 3.30am, especially on a Saturday, but it's not every day that the most prestigious bike race in the world comes to the streets of Yorkshire. Leeds had been chosen to host the start of the first stage, le Grand Départ, of the Tour de France on 5th July, 2014. Living in south-east Derbyshire, we're not that far from Leeds but we wanted to make sure we arrived in plenty of time to get a good spot. After leaving the house at about 4am, we arrived at the Elland Rd Park and Ride at about 5.30am. Just before 6am we boarded the first bus along with many of the volunteer Tour Makers who helped to make the event a great success.

 

 

This was the first time we'd been to Leeds city centre and we were very impressed with the quality of the shops. If you live in Leeds, how lucky are you to have a Hotel Chocolat and a Patisserie Valerie? Even better than that, the latter is right next door to an old-fashioned sweet shop! We'll definitely be back at some point to do some shopping but that day was all about le Tour. It had certainly capture everyone's imagination and many of the shops had decorated their windows with Tour-themed displays, yellow being the dominant colour. For those who don't know, the overall leader of the race is awarded the yellow jersey (le maillot jaune) and this bright and sunny colour was very much in evidence throughout the streets, helping to create a carnival atmosphere. There were even banners translating French into Yorkshire dialect: 'ooh la la' became 'by eck' and 'je ne sais quoi' became 'it's neither nowt nor summat'.

 

 

After a lovely breakfast in a certain New York-Italian diner, we took our place at the barriers on The Headrow (the main street through Leeds). The clock on a building across the street told us it was nearly 7.25am and I thought that waiting four hours for the peloton to come by would feel like forever but it went surprisingly quickly. It's a good job we got to the barrier when we did because by 8 o' clock the streets we much more crowded.

 

 

Before the race starts, the caravan of the Tour's official partners and sponsors comes through with freebies which are thrown into the crowd. We got lucky with Bic and RAGT (a supplier of seeds) but unfortunately we missed out on the Haribo.

 

 

The excitement began to build as the time for the Départ drew closer. The helicopter hovered above as the fleet of support cars went past sounding their horns. The biggest cheers were for Team Sky, home of reigning TDF champion Chris Froome.

 

 

Not long after 11am the noise of the crowd increased as the peloton began to make its way along the route. Luckily for us Chris Froome was on our side of the road and passed by just feet away, alongside Mark Cavendish and Alberto Contador.

 

 

It was one of the most exciting events I've been to, much more so than when we went to see the Tour of Britain when it went through Ilkeston in 2012. My favourite headline of the day is this blog from French newspaper Le Monde - Roule, Britannia! It also features a photo of a bike made from various items from a local butcher. I want to give a special mention to the police who joined in with the fun, laughing and joking with the crowd and taking pictures for people. It was also a real novelty to see them alongside their French colleagues the gendarmerie. Chapeau to you all.

 

 

There was a nice surprise for me in the official fan pack that we bought. As well as the bandana (which has become my new must-have fashion item) and T-shirt, there is a set of bracelets which are ribbons representing the Tour's jerseys. As well as yellow, there is a spotty one for King of the Mountains and a green one for the best sprinter. I am planning to use them to create a piece of hoop art to commemorate the day. I've never used ribbons before so any tips and ideas are welcome. You can contact me through Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

It's a shame that Mark Cavendish crashed out that day and it's even more disappointing that Chris Froome was forced to abandon the race during stage 5 but he's such a great champion I'm sure he'll be back. Allez, allez, allez!

 

All photos (c) Karen Eley and Roy Eley 2014.

My First Stitches

It is September 1989.

I am walking down the little lane past the high brick wall that surrounds my school. The leaves are starting to fall from the large sycamore tree that stands in the corner of the playing field and which leans over the end of Baker's Lane. I can hear some of the crisp, brown leaves crunching under my feet. I am wearing a duffle coat and my Mum's red snood to keep my ears warm. My favourite top is a white sweat shirt that has a hologram of a wolf on it. I secretly want to be Kylie Minogue.

This year I will be in Mrs Habbershaw's class and it's my last year at Infant School. Every Friday we will write little stories. We will learn about how days grow shorter and longer as the seasons change. If we are lucky we will get to have a little go on the computer that sits in the corner of the room. Computers are really expensive and we are lucky to have one.

 

One day, a kind old lady will be our guest in the classroom and we will take turns to work in small groups around her and we learn how to make simple embroidery stitches. This is the first time I have ever used a needle and thread and I am immediately fascinated by the feel of the fabric and the bright colours of the threads. The lady has marked out the letters of my name on the pink canvas and I am working over them in cross stitch with an orange thread. The stitches are fairly neat, even if they are not all being worked in the same direction.

 

 

 

Next I will work a small flower with white and green threads. I won't work all of the stitches in the sampler myself but it will be treasured for many years to come and will begin a lifetime's love of embroidery. I will soon forget the lady's name but I will never forget what she has taught me.

 

 

 

Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog for my embroidery design and needlecraft shop. You can find my shop on Folksy.com where you can browse my portfolio of cross stitch and blackwork designs. I also have plans to make some items too but with just one pair of hands to run all aspects of the business this will have to wait a short while!

 

My designs are inspired by a huge variety of sources but my two main influences are Celtic art and the natural world. These are both combined in the symbol of the hawthorn tree. The hawthorn tree symbolises the joining together of numerous contradictions. Soft, fragrant blossoms flower alongside sharp woody thorns. The strongly perfumed blossoms were associated with female fertility in the spring and yet the tree was said to have a male energy.

My own Hawthorn Tree has many branches; my influences are quite diverse. I collect ideas from historical sources from ancient Celtic manuscripts and stonework to twentieth century art nouveau and art deco. All of my designs are inspired by interesting shapes and colours, whether it is stylised geometry or natural forms. So taking inspiration from history and nature, I have created designs for the modern stitcher. I don't mind at all if you stitch one of my designs using different threads and/or fabric, in fact I would encourage you to do so. Hobbies are meant to be enjoyable so find a design and make it your own. That way you will get more satisfaction from working it and you will have created something unique which can be cherished for years to come.

Do keep checking back and you’ll learn more about me and my designs. You can also find me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. I’ve just updated my Folksy shop with two new designs and there’s another one coming very soon so keep in touch.