Brick stitch pattern #17

With this, my 17th pattern, I am now one third of the way towards my goal of 50 patterns. This pattern is taken from a hanging circa 1290 - mid 1300s showing scenes from the legend of St. Margaret of Antioch. Unfortunately I only have the black and white picture so colors are speculative. The light color is probably white. I had a lot of fun playing with the colors for this pattern, and since so many patterns in embroidery of this period were repeated using different color schemes you could change the colors up a bit and still have a plausibly period color scheme.

One of the disadvantages of making all these patterns is that I do not have time to make examples of all of them, although I hope to someday. This one is definitely in my top five of favorites so far so I'm sure I'll get to it eventually.

Below are some of the ways I played with color for this pattern:

One cuff finished

I promised myself that I would not do any more brick stitch until I finished one of the pair of klosterstich cuffs I am making. Here is the first one, I think it is charming and I hope it looks good when it becomes a cuff. Not sure how to attach to sleeves that button up.

Brick stitch pattern #16

This is one of the bigger patterns, and I've always liked it. When I first started embroidering I liked it but didn't think I could ever do it. I haven't yet, but now that I made the pattern I know I could do it.

Photographs of the original can be found here. It is listed as late 13th century Spanish in origin, with woven straps terminating in turk's head knots (as often as turk's head knots show up in these types of purses I really should learn how to make them). The colors look to be light yellow, a deeper gold color, and dark blue or maybe purple? Taschen did a beautiful reproduction of the embroidery which can be seen here, it is really enviable and drool-worthy. He also published a really nice pattern. I made my own using the photograph both for the sake of completeness with my own patterns and as a technical challenge. My pattern is very slightly different, almost unnoticeably so. I'm not completely happy with it but I am tired of looking at it. Check out his pattern to compare.

In the picture I set the pattern on a tiled backround of the same pattern. The original isn't made quite this way, but imperfect photograph and wear obscure the rest of the pattern. I may attempt it another time.

Someone used my pattern to make a needle roll

How wonderful, someone used one of my patterns! It is so nice to have proof that I didn't post all those patterns just to amuse myself. This is Pattern #6 executed in Splendor silk on linen by Aelia Appolonia of Sinister Stitches. Her embroidery turned out really beautiful, didn't it? I love the colors!!

Aelia likes to embroider but feels her finishing skills are lacking so she asked me to make the embroidery into a needle roll with kumihimo cord. I did as she asked but set her up with a second maru dai and made her learn how to make a simple four bobbin cord. She agreed that it really is easy! Hopefully I have sold her on the idea of doing more kumihimo.

If anyone out there makes something from one of my patterns I would love to see a picture and (with permission) post it on my blog.

Klosterstich cuffs progress

Irregular and slow, progress nonetheless...



I like this better as I get more of it done; I think it will look great when it is finished.

Painting progress

The last time I posted about this painting it looked like this. I'm not done yet, but obviously I made a lot of progress. Successively lighter washes of colors and layers of highlights brought me to this point. Then I was dissatisfied and put the painting aside for a few days. Seeing it on the computer screen helped me identify some of the problems. When I work on it again, hopefully within the next week, I'll try to fix the problems as well as continue forward. We are our own harshest critics, aren't we?

The approximate size of the painting is 7 by 9 inches. If you click on the picture for a larger image you can see the gritty texture of the paint.

Klosterstich cuffs

Here is the beginning of my progress on a pair of embroidered cuffs. I've been wanting to make something embroidered in klosterstich for a while now. I used elements from some German klosterstich tapestries to come up with two designs, shown below:




I then transfered my chosen design to linen and inked the designs:





And here is my current progress. It is going fine so far but I think as I practice more I will get better. I am using Medici wool thread with two strands on the needle. I have a small supply of it I would like to be rid of so I am trying to use it up. The Medici is very nice but I think it is too fine for my purposes and I would rather use naturally dyed colors if possible.

A simple chemise

It's not very exciting, but it is finished. This is a basic linen chemise. I actually did not have a chemise appropriate for my medieval period dress and I've been wearing it without one (!). It is entirely hand sewn using linen thread with French seams.

Egg tempera painting on panel, the painting of an icon

WARNING: This is an image intensive post!

I spent the last week at an intensive icon painting workshop and painted this icon of St. John the Forerunner (aka John the Baptist, "Forerunner" is how he is often referred to in Orthodox Christianity). The workshop was presented by the Prosopon School of Iconography, a school founded in modern times but based on the techniques of 15th century Russian icon painters, including the famous Andrei Rublev. Techniques learned in the workshop included gilding over clay bole and various techniques in working with egg tempera paint. I also experimented with texturing gold after my gilding did not turn out as smooth as I wanted (make sure the bole is totally dry before gilding!). I am looking forward to doing more painting!

Here is the step by step process (I forgot to take pictures of the bole application, gilding, and etching):

Base coat of all colors (roskrish)



Dark lines painted in



First highlight



First float (look what this does to the face!)



Second highlight



Second float (still a bit damp when the picture was taken)



Reemphasis of dark lines, border painted, inscription painted (although this should more correctly be within the inner frame, not at the top)




Final highlights, white border on halo, highlights for eyes, all finished painting!



To finish, the painting will be sealed with a linseed oil mix called olifa. But I must wait a few weeks until the egg is thoroughly dry to do this.

Cardweaving set up with household items

The complete setup, ready to start. I would have liked smaller clamps but those were the smallest I could find in the garage.

My setup is a bit crude as I just went into the garage and scrounged around. I attached the clamps to a board so it would be portable (note to self - try to find a piece of lumber that isn't so rough and splintery for next time).


Part of the first finished weaving as well as the start of the weave. My beater is a knife from the kitchen drawer (using the blunt side, of course)


I have a little arrow drawn on a piece of paper. I use that to remind myself which direction to turn the cards if I have to leave the weaving for a while.


Gradually, I am acquiring items to make a complete medieval outfit. Now that I have shoes I need hose and garters.

I learned a bit about cardweaving last year, made a few experiments and then dropped it and moved on to other things. Last time I did the weaving using an inkle loom I made in woodshop. This time I decided to try the method of using C-clamps.

MATERIALS: Spun silk 2-ply from Aurorasilk in undyed and dyed with Brazilwood by Renee of Solar Colors. I used 12 cards with about 4 meters per card, totaling 48 meters of silk for the warp plus the undyed thread I used for the weft which was not more than a couple of meters. The finished length of the weaving is about 55cm (21.5 inches).

It's barely long enough to make a garter, something to remember if I do this again. Overall I am pleased with the evenness of the weaving and very happy to have another item for my outfit (as soon as I get buckles).

Lessons learned: Remember that there will be a lot of waste silk on either end. I should have made the warp longer. Also I needed a longer board.

Now it's finished

Here are the finished pictures of the little needle roll I made. They are posed in the corn we are growing in the front garden.

A small piece of embroidery

I think it is about time I posted about actually making something. This is what I've been working on for the last week. It is my brick stitch pattern #12 executed as a small piece of embroidery which later today will become a roll up style needle holder. Eventually I want to make examples of every pattern I draft so I will mostly be making small items, otherwise I will be stitching these forever.

Materials: 32 count Zweigart linen stitched with a single strand of Solar Colors spun silk thread dyed with weld (yellow), indigo (blue) and indigo over weld (green) with undyed thread for the white. Lining will be an off-white wool and ties and seam finishing cord will be 4 bobbin kumihimo cord. The pastel colors look very nice, I think, and something different from the deep bold colors I usually favor. Thank you to Renee of Solar Colors for suggesting I try pastels.

Solar Colors - naturally dyed silk

My friend Renee has been dyeing silk thread for the past couple years using natural dyes. You can see the results in some of my work, here, here, here, and here. Somehow the natural colors just look prettier than modern dyes and I really like working with them. It is also easier to use a single strand of thread on 32 count linen or two strands on 24 or 28 count linen than it is to use up to seven strands of Soie d'Alger. It is my favorite spun silk. I have used it for embroidery, kumihimo, and card weaving; Renee uses it for fingerloop braids.

Now anyone who wants to use this thread can get it because Renee just started a website, Solar Colors, and an etsy shop. She has a limited range of colors to start with but plans to gradually add more. The thread comes with magnet clasps tied on the ends so you can wear the skein as a bracelet. I had a lot of fun wearing thread bracelets while I contemplated colors for my latest project!

Brick stitch pattern #15

This is another pattern from the embroidered hanging at the Cloisters. The original is yellow and white like my pattern but where I used green the original has an unknown color that faded to a nasty brownish color.

I want to keep knocking out patterns as the mood strikes me. At 15 patterns I am now almost 1/3 of the way towards my goal of 50 patterns. When I decided to do 50 patterns I felt like I was making an insane commitment but now it feels more manageable.

Every once in a while I make incremental progress on learning the program that will allow me to make patterns with grid lines. Until then I am doing them this way. Sometime in the future all these patterns will be lovely handouts with background information and gridlines and organized on one website. I will also have a sample item worked in every pattern.

I am stitching away on the next example but feel the need to take a break and do another technique for a while. Klosterstitch seems to be calling my name...

Brick stitch pattern #14

It's been a while since I posted but I have been busy. Here is one thing I've been doing, working on patterns. There are a couple of patterns, #12 and #13, that I haven't posted yet but I did make them. They'll be published later. On this handout I list my website, www.medievalartcraft.com, but it doesn't exist yet except as a domain name. That's coming up as well.

Want to learn to paint with egg tempera?

Go to Prosopon School website and click on "The Icon, release of DVD on practice and theory, 2009" to find more information about this DVD and watch clips (which are very good).

I bought this DVD recently, anxiously awaited its arrival, and with great anticipation and excitement watched all four hours of it. It cost $98 but worth every penny! The artist, Vladislav Andrejev, is a master painter and it was a joy to watch him work. I learned several things I have already done incorrectly or would have done incorrectly if left to my own devices. It is really going to help me improve my painting. I'm sure I'll watch it many times, reviewing each section before I start that step. If you are a rank beginner, there are a few things that are not explained enough, such as making bole and shell gold paint. I highly recommend taking a workshop to run through everything at least once. Luckily I already know how to make shell gold paint. The use of wax paper as an aid in handling loose gold leaf was a revelation and makes using it a snap. No expensive gilder's tips, pads or knives necessary; just cheap scissors and wax paper from your kitchen, plus a dedicated gold brush (doesn't have to be an expensive one) and a plastic container for the gold scraps to use for making shell gold paint later.

BTW, I am still working on an embroidery project but don't want to post pictures until it is further along. I also ran out of yellow thread and had to order more. That is taking up the precious little free time I have what with this being spring (gardening season) and working more hours at work and finishing woodshop class for the semester. Too many irons in the fire!

Brick stitch pattern #11

One of the difficulties of making patterns from low resolution pictures, especially black & white pictures, is that some of the patterning is guesswork. The colors are a rough guess as well as some of the stitches. I would love to be able to see better images of most of the known brick stitch embroideries, but I do what I can.

The image above is a comparison of two guesses as to what the pattern is in the B&W photo. I think the one on the right is correct but I am not positive. Anyway, here it is, Pattern #11 (and variation #11a).

Icon and other painting links

I added a new link list on the right that is a list of some of my favorite links regarding supplies and techniques in painting, especially icon painting using traditional methods. The great thing about modern icon painting is that it is little changed from icon painting of the medieval and Renaissance periods, so techniques practiced today easily translate to period techniques. Most of the sites linked to on these websites are in English and the classes are in the U.S. but Iconofile has links to classes all over the world, including this site in the Netherlands. If you are in Texas you are in luck because there are workshops in silver repousse, icon writing and illumination this year so check out Icon Arts.

Kalish Finest Brushes has really nice brushes, my personal favorite. The Series 8 liners (scroll to bottom of page) are awesome for illumination and much better than even the Kolinsky sable brushes from major manufacturers that are sold in art supply stores. Not only are they better, they are cheaper!!

Natural Pigments has the most amazing supply of traditional artist materials. They even carry such traditional and hard to find (not to mention hazardous) pigments as orpiment, cinnabar, lead white and real Naples yellow. They also do the Iconofile website and hold annual workshops in iconography (Yaroslavl 17th century style) and traditional fresco. I'd love to learn fresco but I have too many irons in the fire as it is, unfortunately. Pesky job eats up too much of my time!

I study with Betsy Porter, a wonderful lady who volunteers her time twice a month to teach an ongoing workshop in San Francisco. The cost is only ten dollars per 4 hour session and she shares her bole and pigments with students as well as some of her tools. This makes the cost of getting started very minimal. She studied with the Prosopon School, which holds workshops all across the U.S. at various times during the year. I will be attending the 6 day class in Santa Barbara this summer and I am really excited!

The Prosopon School also released a DVD this year which contains over four hours of instruction in the creation of an icon from preparing the gesso panel to applying gold to painting and finishing. Check out their website to watch clips from the DVD, it looks really good. I think I may have to order a copy!

When I was first interested in illumination and tempera painting I had a hard time finding good references and suppliers and was really at a loss about where to begin. If I had known about these websites and schools years ago I would have been jumping for joy. I plan to add to the links as I find more and have time to look through all my bookmarks. I hope this is helpful to anyone who has a similar interest and if you know of other great places please let me know.

Icon painting, step three

I don't much like driving in the rain, especially on the freeway. Driving crowded freeways through San Francisco after dark is even worse. Lately it rained on a lot of Sundays which is when the icon workshops are held in San Francisco. Before daylight savings and the advancing season the class let out after dark, even worse. Hence my lack of progress. Yesterday I finally went back to the class and this is the result of my efforts.

The background colors are all filled in now. In egg tempera one works from dark to light so these are the darkest colors, the roskrish or base colors. The flesh and hair base color is called sankir. Can you believe that the pink robes of the angel will eventually be light blue? My dark blue came out too roughly textured so I sanded it just a bit. The sankir is supposed to be opaque but the other roskrish colors may have some translucence. I worked a bit thick on some of them. I added another layer of the brown sankir color to the flesh and hair because it was not opaque enough.

All pigments are traditional egg tempera: powdered period pigments mixed with egg yolk (and a bit of wine in the egg yolk mixture in the Russian tradition).

Brick stitch pattern #2, different colors

The figure illustrated in the image is from the border of this hanging. I loved how the variation in color gives a striped effect and makes a simple pattern look more complicated.

I put together this picture as a starting point for developing a handout. I would like to teach brick stitch at an event and need something to give to students.