An Old Bookmark
Bookmark from The Needlewoman
This design came from one of those Needlewoman Magazines. It was inside the back page with the competition results, as a sort of bonus.
The most difficult thing about it was finding the fabric – navy grosgrain ribbon, four inches wide. I recall that I bought the last length in the shop, which was enough for two bookmarks, but as it was cream, I dyed it with Permanent Blue Quink.
I stitched the first one as a teenager and gave it to one of my cousins, and the second has remained in the back of one of my stitch dictionaries ever since. Now, however, I’ve decided to fish it out and use it for more Long and Short Stitch practise. The design is drawn on with quilter’s pencil, so the first thing was to backstitch around the whole thing so I didn’t need to worry about rubbing the design off.
I’m using silk threads, and as you can see from the text, some of them will be variegated. As it is such a closely-woven fabric, it’s rather a trial to stitch on, but I think the flame shows it will be worth the effort!
Cool idea! Should be lovely!
On the other hand, a closely woven fabric can be much easier to work on than one with few threads – more choices for where to put the needle and therefore more chance for accuracy. 🙂
The flame is very effective…looking forward to see how it progresses:-)
Thank you for your comments on my blog they were very useful and much appreciated.
Take care,
Alison.