Basics of Stumpwork Class...maybe I should have started with this?

Before you read about the wonderful class I just took.  Here is a peek at one of the slips for the birds.  This one is an Acorn Woodpecker (very common here), and it will be stuffed, and one of the wings will be a wired element.  I might pad the tail....outlined with stem stitch, filled mostly with split stitch, and a little herringbone stitch to make the feathers.

And now the main part of this post.


I got to take a stumpwork class with Celeste Chalasani this past weekend, and it was glorious.

I teach myself how to do things all the time, by the process of making every possible mistake or wrong turn, or misreading of the instructions, until I finally figure something out.  This is a wonderful, but time consuming process.

So, I took a Basics of Stumpwork class with Celeste Chalasani sponsored by the Bay Area Sampler Guild.

She provided a kit, a textbook, and a bunch of muslin squares to practice on.  I took notes on mine.

I learned a much easier way of doing just about everything.


Follow the link above to her website to see if she is teaching near you!  Or you can purchase her Craftsy class (I bought it, but have not yet taken it...)

The Birdfeeder and the Birds

I have a backyard birdfeeder and these are my common visitors.  Black headed Grosbeak, Dark Eyed Junco, Chestnut Backed Chickadee, California and Spotted Towhees, Acorn Woodpecker, Band Tailed Pigeon, Stellar Jays and White Breasted Nuthhatches.

I want to stitch them all into my project.  Problem, I can't fit them all onto the piece of fabric I have.

I am using a piece of Legacy Linen that I purchased from Needle In A Haystack, discounted since it had a small fleck of dirt on it.  The piece probably has a 14 by 14 stitchable area.  Not bad.

But as with most sewing projects, the problem is tension.  Stumpwork works best when the ground (background) fabric is drum tight.  I own a 12 inch quilting hoop that is not too big to hold, and holds the fabric tight enough.

Stumpwork enthusiasts rave about slate frames...I read Mary Corbet's blog about dressing her slate frame, and I have decided to skip that.  You can click on that link to see what I mean.

So instead of having 196 square inches, I am working with 113-ish square inches, that is a big difference....

So, I put the sketches away....and decided to start this blog.  Hope you'll join me for a future post.

Sketch:

The Project

I recently became obsessed with stumpwork.  This is a form of embroidery with dimensional elements added with the use of wired or padded elements, and incorporating a range of embroidery stitches.

Do not be fooled into thinking I am an expert.  I have done exactly 2 projects.  They looked like this:

This is a project from the Embroider's Guild of America , it was a stitch along, and I thought that there would be a video class to help out.  There was not.  The project was designed by Luann Calley, and her instructions, and her pacing in her written guide turned out to be fantastic.  I believe the class is no longer available, but if you find it, take it!

The second project was this one.

This is by Jane Nicholas and I got it from Issue #88 of Inspirations Magazine (there will be much more about this magazine later).  Here is a link to the kit.  Lacewing and Dogwood Kit.

I loved the hummingbird in the first one.  Stuffing the fat little bird body with stuffing made me a lot happier than it should have.  So, my girlfriend suggests that I do my life list in stumpwork birds.

And that is what this blog will be about.  I hope you'll join me.