My Japanese Embroidery Phase I: Flower Bouquet posted on November 19 2014 in Japanese Embroidery 5 Comments

As some of you know, I've been studying Japanese Embroidery for several years.  I recently finished this piece, and it just came back from the framer, so I thought I would share the images with you! 

As you can see, the subject of the piece is a bouquet of flowers in a wrapper.  This was stitched under the instruction of my Japanese Embroidery teacher, Deb Bowers of Hyde Park, New York.  I've been studying with her for several years and her class is very informative and a lot of fun!  The design is from the Japanese Embroidery Center from Atlanta.  I kept everything the same except I switched out a few stronger colors for more muted versions.

Here's the embroidery when it was still on the frame.  

And here is another shot of the piece in my dining room/library.

Detail of Iris

Detail of Pinks 

Detail of Valerian

Detail of Chrysanthemums

 For the flax leaf metallic lattice on top of the silk foundation of the bouquet wrapper, I struggled a bit because my originally planned gold or silver didn't have the effect I was imagining.  Luckily, I found this metal thread in Deb's collection and she graciously let me have some.  I would describe it as a nutty gold color with some flecks of metallic dark brown.  

A word about the frame. The framer suggested this red oak frame finished with silver mica powder paint.  I think the medium tone of the finish works really well with the lavender of the iris and the medium toned greens used throughout the piece.  

I love how the grain of the wood still shows on the frame and I think it kind of complements the nature theme in the embroidery.