Chapter 8. The nurses and fun portraying their uniforms through stitch

 This was going to be fun and I have looked forward to working on these!

Again I used a photograph as reference. I took a sheet of tissue paper to trace the image. I then took firstly snippets of red dyed calico and traced the sleeves / lower skirt hems and then bits of an old white linen tablecloth to represent the aprons [ this was no longer fit for use and rotten in places! It felt good to give it a new lease of life in this way!].  These were traced onto fusible web and ironed in place carefully onto an antique napkin  ensuring that they all lined up

With the sleeves and aprons ironed into place the tissue tracing was laid over the top taking care to line the image in place and secured in an embroidery hoop ready for stitching into place. I used black thread and free machine stitching to complete the image using an embroidery foot. 

   

 Stitching complete:

I'm really pleased with this and excited about the scalloped edges of the napkin as these will reflect the shapes of the oak leaves as the composition takes shape:

 I tried another with plain sleeves and apron but feel they are all equally characterful:

I love the original photograph of these two nurses and feel the stitched versions capture their friendship and support for each other.

Inspiration for this technique originally came from a workshop I attended with textile artist Rosie James who produces fabulous images with the threads left uncut. This suggests a lot of atmospheric movement and I have experimented with this below with the nurses and examples worked from the family photos in the first chapter.

But for the purposes of this current piece of work I've decided to take the threads to the back of the work as this seems more appropriate on this occasion:

Chapter 7 The transfer of photographs onto fabric

 I knew I wanted to use some of the photos in the final textile piece but needed to find a way of transferring them onto fabric to facilitate resilience for stitching. 

I have experimented with freezer paper and have been delighted with the results.

Freezer paper is easy to come by on line, it's cheap and easy to use. 

The paper is plastic coated. I simply ironed the plastic coated side to a piece of fabric which has been cut slightly larger than A4. I keep an old iron specifically for such jobs and use baking parchment to protect it. I then trimmed the paper /fabric to A4 size to fit my Inkjet printer, selected the image to be printed from my computer files and taking care to place the fabric the right way up pressed print and looked on in wonder as my image emerged on fabric!

The results:

 The clinic for soldiers printed onto calico:

The autograph book inside cover with it's beautiful leaf patterns printed on calico:

An example of one the autograph book pages with a soldier's entry printed on calico:

One of my Grandmother's embroideries printed on scrim:

I'd like to develop ideas to incorporate these images within a fabric collage using stitch and textural effects.

I love the embroidered image on scrim and would like to experiment to hand stitch into this. This piece defined my red / green colour scheme, so beautiful.

Chapter 6. Surface decoration on fabric - monoprinting and solar printing. Reverse applique.

 Monoprinting seems to work really well to interpret the oak leaves and so I decided to work with this on fabric. I used acrylic paints with a fabric painting medium, the latter extends the drying time of the acrylics and offers a softer finish.

I used the same method as follows:

Monoprints on silk laid as a collage onto a calico backing, I've allowed the silk to fray when it overlaps for added texture and interest:

Detail:

Detail 2

Monoprints on calico over laid with monoprints on tissue paper:

Monoprints on calico and then flooded with silk paint:

Solar printing.

I used calico and silk both of which were washed to remove any dressing.

Early experiments [ not linked to this project]:

The fabric was painted with Setacolor paints and laid over surface which would take pins.

 Flowers pinned into place and then placed in a sunny spot for a couple of hours:

 

Until a negative image develops:

Now using oak leaves:

The result:

I have yet to stitch the above samples awaiting development.

Added information re solar printing taken from The Found Object by Cas Holmes. 

Below is a sample of reverse applique. I used a monoprinted piece of calico with some free machine embroidery as a bottom layer. I had a piece of silk painted with Setacolor paints which had not responded to sunlight which I used as atop layer, I monoprinted oak leaves onto this before stitching oak leaf shapes at random on the back. I then cut away these shapes on the right side and free machine stitched around the cutaway shapes

I finished by adding stitching to the monoprinted oak leaf shapes on the upper side. to produce some interesting textural effects.

My monoprinting tile after a long printing session, much too beautiful to wash away!

Chapter 5. Decorated papers and surface decoration.

 Monoprints:

My favourite way of decorating papers is to monoprint. This works particularly with leaves and results in the most intricate detail.

Monoprint with acrylic paint on cartridge paper

Monoprint on tissue paper with acrylic paints:

Sketchbook page monoprints:

Sketchbook page - layers of monoprinted tissue paper:

Charcoal rubbing: 

Frottage:

Frottage is a way laying paper over textured surfaces to create interesting rubbings, I've used a cardboard leaf shape and a leaf shape fashioned out of string and set with PVA glue.

The results using oil paint sticks, Aquarelle and water colour pencils on cartridge paper:

Resist methods:

Resist methods are achieved by using water resistant wax crayons, oil paint sticks, oil pastels or candles which are then washed over with inks or water colour paints, in this case inks and Brusho paints

 

Chapter 4. My Grandmother's embroideries. Colour scheme and verbal prompts for design.

 My Grandmother's embroideries are scattered around my mother's cottage in Somerset, these are made up of tablecloths which were fashionable in her day plus beautiful tapestries either framed as pictures or made into dining room chair covers. Obviously these are not available for me to use but they photographed well:

I really admire the floral arrangement in the top left hand corner but particularly love the one below it.In fact I decided to base my choice of colour scheme on this embroidery picking out the red and green as I felt they would reflect the colours of the Red Cross, nurses uniforms and the oak leaves. 

Red and green are opposites on the colour wheel and will, therefore create  a beautiful vibrancy. Red is also, of course, the colour of the poppy, such a powerful symbol of the battlefield. Red is also the colour associated with love and passion, strength and hatred whilst green is the colour of nature, peace, tranquility and hope. Many contrasts and paradoxical meanings which give way to powerful emotions.

Looking at colour symbolism led me onto considering verbal prompts associated with the project:

Chapter 3. The autograph book.

 This little book is now 105 years old and is one of my most treasured possessions. /even though autographs books were popular I know we are a family who love journaling. My Aunt left us her memoirs and it is from here that I have been able to resource the photos of my Grandmother. I always keep a holiday sketchbook / journal on our holidays and they are a source of precious moments and memories which may otherwise be forgotten. 

The autograph book is worse for wear : 

I am particularly inspired by the lining of the covers which has a beautiful leaf pattern. I can't help but link this up with the seasonal autumnal changes my Grandmother would have experienced especially the oak leaves. These have become an important element in the design components of the fabric collages.  

Chapter 2. My Grandmother's enrollment and The Red Cross.

 My Grandmother enrolled with the Red Cross on 13th October, 1915 and I find it very poignant that I am writing this at the same time of year, she would almost certainly have experienced similar seasonal autumnal changes. 

Members of the Red Cross were organised into Voluntary Aid Detachments and a primary role was to help the Naval and Military Services treat sick and wounded soldiers and sailors. A total of 90,000 volunteers worked at home and abroad taking part in nursing duties plus air raid duties, searching for missing persons and transporting the wounded.

I found her date of registration on the www.vad.redcross.org.uk a discovery which her really brought her to life. 

We are fortunate to have this photo of a clinic for the soldiers in Exeter [I think]. It's interesting to see the nurses in the background.

I don't have a photo of my Grandmother in her uniform but I founded some beautiful examples on google images, I feel they convey the camaraderie these young women almost certainly experienced in what most have been a very challenging time: 

Chapter 1. Telling a story. Setting the scene. My Grandmother's war - an introduction using vintage photographs

This is my first major project since completing my City and Guilds Certificate in Embroidery with Distant Stitch. I've decided to record my work as it's good practice and helps to keep me organised! It also means I can refer back to experimental methods in the future.I'm looking forward to creating a textile piece to honour my Grandmother's achievements. At the moment my idea is to create a fabric collage and to translate images and photographs onto fabric with added textural techniques to bring interest and intrigue. I'm constantly fascinated by how fabric and thread can interpret and convey so beautifully experiences and memories of past events especially those which are emotive. I have uploaded my sketchbook pages plus added photos for extra detail or a close up view.

This weekend would have been spent at the Ammerdown Centre in Somerset with The Stitched Textile Group for a  Master Class with textile artist Sian Martin and I had decided to take aspects of this project with me to develop my ideas but Covid 19 has  landed us with a month in Lockdown starting today. We will enjoy a zoom week end instead and I felt it would help to record my work thus far on my blog should Sian need to take a look.

Introduction

This project has been bubbling under the surface for sometime and has been inspired by a little autograph book kept by my Grandmother who volunteered as a nurse with the Red Cross in 1915 to help care for wounded soldiers in Exeter. This little book is full of wonderful comments entered by the soldiers as she went about her nursing duties. Their comments give graphic detail of their war time experiences along with expressions of their heartfelt thanks for my Grandmother's care, attention and patience. I now have the privilege of taking care of this little book of treasured memories.

Firstly to set the scene I have a collection of photographs which I feel bring my Grandmother to life. I have such fond memories of her and she was very dear to me. These photos include those of her wedding in 1922 and her life as a farmer's wife and mother in rural Somerset. I find it fascinating to think of these as moments in time and glimpses of my family history:

To look closer:

A country wedding:

With my Grandfather [his bucket would suggest he'd just fed the pigs!], her 3 children [my mother is standing in the front centre] and an elderly aunt:

My mother and her siblings playing in the farmyard - I'd love to know who took this wonderful photo:

In later life and as I remember her: