Spring is only a month away!!! Here in Alberta we have had a wonderful winter, not too cold, not very much snow and lots of sunshine. What more could you ask? Other parts of the country have not been so lucky. The only positive thing I can say is you likely had lots of time to stitch. Right?
I would like to share a few tips on making your flowers just a bit more life-like.
As I made my way from sewing show to stitching show, one of the things I have noticed is how many of the spider web roses were fairly flat, others were really loose and almost floppy, while others were just right. I remember the first roses I ever did and they were like a flat lump, not much for "petals" going on there! So as I began teaching and experimenting with the rose, I found that if you twisted the ribbon as you wove it over and under the spokes of the web, and do not pull too tight, the rose had nicer petals and really looked more flower-like.
Many ribbon instructions tell us to "keep the ribbon flat" when stitching. This does not work for the spider web rose. Try one with 14 - 16 inches of ribbon and as you weave, twist the ribbon a few times (three to four twists are enough). If you twist too much it will turn back on itself. Now keep the tension not too tight and not too loose. Keep weaving and try to use up all the ribbon, making a nice compact rose. Nice isn't it?
When you say "spring", what flower comes to mind? I think daffodils, snowdrops and crocus. These flowers are so easy to stitch. Use a bright yellow and orange for the daffodils, a couple of shades of purple for the crocus and a white ribbon for the icy snowdrop.
If you have any suggestions for information you would like to see posted here, simply e-mail us at silkworm@shaw.ca. We welcome all input from our customers!