In a message dated 11/13/04 4:23:43 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> I have just been sent from The Embroiderers Guild their > catalogue of the books that they sell. In the Stumpwork > section there are two new books > > Stumpwork Face by May Maxell, Price 6.50 pounds....... > > Stumpwork Beetles by Jane Nicholas > Sally Nicholas Publishing Price 29.50 pounds. > > I could not believe how many books are published > relating to embroidery. > Dear Lacemakers, Since I enjoy both embroidery and lace, perhaps I should shed some light on Stumpwork, and on this particular expert - Jane Nicholas of Australia. I know that many people are not interested in needlelace techniques, but there is so much to learn from stumpwork that I want to encourage needlelacers to investigate this subject. You may find new methods that are helpful in doing needlelaces, plus inspiration for unique designs. Stumpwork employs needlelace techniques. The needlelace pieces are made separately and attached to a ground material in such a way as to be 3-dimensional. A lot of color is employed. At it's height in the 17th C. (1600's), it was the "graduation piece" for young upper-class embroiderers in England, Scotland, and perhaps other countries, many of whom made caskets (like large jewelry boxes) and mirror surrounds featuring animals, flowers and Biblical scenes. The ground material was usually a white satin. The people illustrated on these works of art wore the fashionable clothing of the time when the stumpwork was made, so there was gold and sometimes very tiny pieces of lace. It is thought that most of the caskets and mirror surrounds were designed by professionals and sold as what we would call "kits". If you search around, you'll find examples, especially in the museums of England and Scotland. One place with a wonderful collection is the Burrell Museum in Glasgow. Today, stumpwork is enjoying a sort of revival amongst women looking for a embroidery/lace challenge. (In the U.S., EGA offers classes in all forms of needle-made laces, because they are made with a threaded needle and EGA regards the use of a threaded needle as one of the criteria for making embroidery.) Jane Nicholas is probably Australia's foremost teacher of stumpwork. She enjoys a enthusiastic following in the U.S. She has actually authored three hardcover books, all published by Sally Milner Publishing, Australia (correction of publisher name given in original message). The other two books are "Stumpwork Embroidery - A Collection of Fruits, Flowers and Insects for Contemporary Raised Embroidery" ISBN 1-86351-183-0 and "Stumpwork Embroidery - Designs & Projects" ISBN 1-86351-208-4. The full title of the beetle book is "The Stumpwork, Goldwork & Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection" ISBN 1-86351-318-3. These three books should be readily available through InterLibrary Loan. I have seen the Beetle Collection; it was displayed at a national seminar of The Embroiderers' Guild of America about 8 years ago. The beetles were pinned on display boards, using insect pins, and they looked very real! There are certainly other experts and other authors of very nice books on stumpwork, but I will stay with the contribution to this art from Australia in this correspondence. Country Bumpkin Publications, in Australia, publishes the most beautiful quarterly magazine "Inspirations". (www.countrybumpkin.com.au) Until recently, it could be purchased in fine needlework shops in America. Now, it can be found at Borders and Barnes & Noble (bookstores). It is very expensive at $13.95 (U.S.), but more like a softcover book - the most recent issue being 96 pages. The reason I'm writing about this is that they often have a stumpwork project in this magazine - using the finest materials, and with detailed color photographs of techniques. It seems that there are several wonderfully talented stumpwork experts in Australia, spreading the knowledge and appreciation of this particular art. If you compare stumpwork books to a book like Catherine Barley's "Needlelace - Designs & Techniques Classic & Contemporary" ISBN 0-7134-6810-6 Batsford, you will see the similarities. (Catherine is a member of Arachne. Be sure you have her book, if you make needlelace!) Kind regards, Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace & Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
