Gathering pleat

I think this pleats are so magic. I made them with an old sewing machine I found here in the tower. I went  up a few stairs into a little room where one of the maids used to live long a go. I think that the machine have been standing there all this time and nobody cared, and nobody asked for it. And now it works for me and make this small pleats in a beautiful way.

 I have not decided what to use it for yet but I think of it as something like snow on a field, like drift of snow, when the wind have made lines.  And in clothes like swirling edges, flounce coming out of the sleeves or around the collar. Pleates and waves.

New flower whith a little bud

I started with a new embroidery. This flower is also inspired of a part of Gustav II Adolfs bride groom costume. At the time, the fabric was embroidered in Germany on wool and tailored in Sweden. The fabric was deep violette but I wanted something brighter and here I made it on linen. I choose a goldish green color.

Time fly....

I have had so many duties during the last month so there have been no time to spend here in my embroidery retreat.

The small embroidery on velvet i worked on the last time i was blogging is almost completed. Its just a small sample but I like to do something out of it. I love the way the light come through the glass beads och how the grey velvet absore all light,

Embellish my embroidery with more beads

I like this and it is not soooo time consuming that i thought at first... its more like  - only one more... and then - just one more. You know,  like the hand goes down in a bowl full of sweets... only one more

Embroidery with more darns and glass beads

 As you can see I have made more holes in the fabric and after that I made darns (is that the right word for the repair?) to make the surface look used. I found out that when Gustavus Adolphus was killed his men could not find him at once. The battle continued and the night came. Cold and frosty. During the night his body was found by plunderer. They cut the golden buttons loose from his costume. They left him in the mud plundered  and covered with frost. Now I started to put on the frosty beads .

Beads of glass for my frosty embroidery

I wanted crystal, real crystal, but at the same time I wanted to start directly so I have to take what my page could find. I think this beads of clear glass look like drops of water and ice.

He brought me two different beads, one is entirely clear and the other one have a thin gold surface inside.  I think I try both of them. I hope they join well with the embroidery.

Found a beautyful dress!

Early this morning I went up all the stairs in my tower and came to the attic. There I made an exciting discovery. I found this old silk dress embroidered with beads. The moment I saw it I knew that I wanted to do something like that on my Lützen embroidery. 

Everything on this old dress is done by hand. Can you see the small stitches that join the two pieces together ? And all those beads sew on - one at a time.

I think that if I could get som beads from real crystal it would look exactly like the frost on the leaves. I once heard that long ago, in ancient time, people thought that crystal was frozen water. Frozen so hard that it never melt away again. You can click on the leaf and see a close up of the crystals.
I wonder if someone could bring me som crystal for my embroiery?

Embrodery before frost

This is what I done for the moment. I wonder if I shall add some black stiches? Black and gold was his Royal colors. The clothes he wore when he died had embroidered flowers on. I do´nt know what they looked like. The inspiration for this flower is from his wedding costume made in gold on deep violette fabric in wool. The fabric was embroidered in Germany and tailored in Sweden

Frosty nights

The last nights have been cold and in the mornings the frost spring out from all leaves  that cover the ground in my garden. I start thinking of Gustavus Adolphus, his body laid down on the battelfield and when the night came with frost all over... I like to have som frost in my embroidery.  White lace perhaps? Or embellished with a slender white thread?

Embroidery with a stitched darn

I started to make holes in the fabric. And then repairing it with a piece of linen at the back. I want it to look used. As if he wore it in battels and he himself or his page did darn it.

Work in progress

Started with my embroidery. Golden flowers on grey velvet. Grey for the mudd. Grey for the mist. Grey for the gunpowder

Remembering Lützen

I thinking about to do an embroidery with inspiration  from the death day of one of my ancestors. Gustavus Adolphus became a King in the year 1611  (almost 400 years ago!) and died at this day 1632 in Lützen.

He was often dressed in lace, silk, linen, wool and - armour. And on top of that an arrowlike beard. The King Gustav II Adolf spent almost all his life in war. He was killed in Lützen and that day was misty. With all the weapons fired  it became a heavy fog from all the gunpowder.

I can see the mist flowing through the lace. The red blood over the silk. The armours metallic lustre digging deep down in the mudd after he was falling. Shoot in his breast.  Gunpowdergrey,  bloodred, gold, white lace, iron and the thin and light grey mist. His Royal colors was black and yellow. On the detail above there is also celestial blue.
On his wedding he wear a beautiful costume made of wool and silk with embroideries in gold from Hamburg