Hand embroidery and quilting silk-on-silk

[Renata L.]

I just mentioned in a posting under the header of "Laura Nownes" my mom's work with silk. She does a great deal of hand embroidery with silk thread on silk fabric and is amazing. I thought you might enjoy a peek at her work.

These three pictures are from an all-silk bed quilt she made for my husband and me, I suppose you could call it a legacy piece. She made something for each of her six children that reflected in some way how she saw each child evolve as an adult. There are actually 41(?) vignettes based on an intellectual and artistic journey throughout China in this quilt. Mom was 75 years old when she started this quilt and took her three years to do (although she multi-tasks and works on several projects at a time). It was quilted in what mom calls the "clam pattern" for lack of a better term, a pattern of overlapping curves. She found the pattern on a picture of a shoe found in the rubbish on the Silk Road in Mazar-tagh which dated back to AD 750-860.

Most of the silk thread comes from Japan purchased on my many trips to Tokyo. When she did not have a shade of thread she needed, or ran out of one, or wanted a different effect that the silk she had could not render, she took silk fabric and drew the thread from the fabric to embroider with. The black cat is our Luigi and yes, the fighting cocks each wear a chain with our initials on them (mom wanted to inject some humor into the vignette). Most of the blocks are about 6 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches, some much smaller, but none too much larger. It was difficult to pick the vignettes to show you, but since there has been a lot of talk about cats and roosters, I thought I should include those two.

[E.M. T.]

How beautiful, Renata...such a treasure !

[Nancy R.]

Wow, Renata! Your mother's work is breath-taking! Thank you so much for sharing (and don't be shy about sharing more pictures. ). What a wonderful gift for you mother to give you. And so meaningful. I can see where you get your artistic abilities!!

Nancy

[Hannelore N.]

Renata, your mum's work is exquisite! Thank you so much for sharing!

[wendy w.]

Wow your mum is amazing. The colours are just wonderful, you're going to have to show us a picture of the whole piece. She must have such patience to do all that stitching.

Thank you for posting it

[karen f.]

41 vignettes!? Renata that thing is epic! Thanks for showing some of the blocks. I'd love to see it all.

[Norma H.]

Renata, these embroideries are exquisite. I would love to see more. Can you keep your cat away from it? I know that in my house it would be destroyed by cats wanting to sleep on it.

[Norma H.]

Maraviglioso Renata! Thank you for sharing. I'd love to see more pics and also a photo of the full quilt, please.

[Norma H.]

What everyone else said, with extra knobs on!

I would have been the first to comment last night, but my 'ifad' ran out of battery and played up. They are stupendeous pieces of work. I do hope that you compile a small book to go with it, to record the stories behind the vignettes. Silk is a beautiful fibre to work with, either as the thread or the fabric, it just looks so lucious & rich - but you do need smooth hands and nails otherwise it will catch.

[Renata L.]

Thank you all so much for the kind comments on my mom's work--it is so heartwarming! I wish I'd paid more attention to her when I was younger... but I am lucky because she is still prolific with all her work and is willing to teach me when I visit her, and I actually pay attention now! :lol: :lol: :lol:

The battery died on my camera so it is recharging. I will take a photo of the whole quilt and post it. Yes, Norma, my cat would love this quilt to shreds so it is not on the bed--in fact, it is securely put away and I pull it out regularly to admire it, fold it and refold it. Rosemary, when my mom started this quilt, I actually asked her to keep a diary of it and she gave me that journal along with the quilt. I've reproduced a page on my scanner so you can see what a precious little book came along with this quilt. Each vignette is individually annotated.

[Rita C.]

Renata, I am absolutely gobsmacked! What an incredible treasure. Your mother is a marvel. Such beautiful embroidery and what a fantastic record not just of this quilt but of the history of stitching it would seem. You are very luck. I too would like to see more when the battery is recharged.

[Rita C.]

What a glorious, beautiful and thoughtful gift.

[karen f.]

That was brilliant of you to ask her to keep a journal. What a treasure!

[Lois B.]

Renata, Thanks so much for sharing this marvelous piece of work. You mother is an amazing needleworker and artist. Be sure to tell her how much all of us have enjoyed learning about and seeing her work. Thanks.

[wendy w.]

Renata this is so interesting, can't wait for next installment.