This is another exquisite piece from Marjorie Gilby. She created the design for a class with Pamela Watts in a technique called ‘scribble canvas’ in 1998. Just click on the photos if you want to look more closely.
Here’s the finished work framed
and some closer views
This is specially for those of you who like to look closely at the stitching…
The green plant in the pot is done in needlelace. The pot is constructed of two metal rings each of which has been sewn over with Buttonhole stitch. These two rings were then laid on top of each other and stitched together.
The grey/beige ‘pebbles’ around the pot are French knots while the terracotta pavement is Cushion Stitch.
The flat blue and pink flowers are Rice Stitch. To create the waterlillies in the bottom left hand corner Marjorie first made needlelace leaves and then she used Cup Stitch to give dimensionality to the lily flowers.
Now you might remember Velvet Stitch (also called Turkey Stitch or Ghiordes Knot) from the blog post about Audrey’s extraordinary Aran style Canvaswork pillow here. It’s used to create a plush pile and here Marjorie has stitched it in green wool to create a box hedge for the parterre.
Tip
Here’s a tip that Pamela Watts passed on to Marjorie for creating a thick and even pile – use an eyebrow brush to shape and fluff up the pile after you’ve cut off the top of the loops.
The other feature flower that’s repeated in the geometric design of this piece is made with Bullions and then set off with needlelace leaves. The surrounding triangle in mauves and pinks is done in Algerian eyelets. The small mauve and yellow ground cover flowers within the box hedges are French Knots.
To create the shaped Cumquat trees Marjorie first made pompoms and then clipped them into a ball shape and added beads for fruit.
The texture, geometry and dimensionality created by all these different stitches is just awesome. My favourite feature is the terracotta pot and plant in the centre of the piece. Do you have a favourite feature?
Carmen.
