I don't know about you, but I always take a bit of embroidery with me when I go away from home for a few days or more. Mainly it's a work in progress, which I pick up and put down over many years. I think the longest I have been stitching a particular project must be something like 25 years! Yes, I know, I should be ashamed of myself. But I have a low boredom threshold, and that is the excuse I am sticking with.
Now that I have got that particular confession out of the way, I shall tell you how I choose what I am going to take with me. The first criteria is size. Now unless I'm planning on going on a world cruise (would I go on one now, with pandemics now a feature of our lives - not sure), my choice would be for something that would fit in a ring frame. It's just easier to pack and whip out, and mostly I can use a desk clamp to hold it steady. A big floor frame would take up a lot of luggage space.
The next thing to consider is lighting. For those of us over forty (well over, in my case), the quality of light is crucial to how much detail you can see without giving yourself a headache. Bearing in mind that you often don't know what the lighting is going to be till you get there, I usually opt for something that is fairly large scale, with an easy pattern to follow.
Recently I went on a long weekend to London to see my daughter and her family. I decided to take my three sheep surface embroidery. The original design was from an Inspirations magazine from many years ago. I transposed the pattern onto some spare linen, picked out some wools from my stash and got going. I'm pretty sure that I'm not following the instructions from the magazine, but that's what embroidery is for me - taking an idea and making it your own. Most of the bodies of the sheep are worked in French knots.
Now French Knots en masse are very handy as you don't have to be particularly fussy about placement (except at the edges). This means that you can happily motor along putting in random knots, filling up any spaces as they appear. It makes for satisfyingly steady progress.
Other types of stitching which I find useful to take away with me are needlepoint pieces. I particularly like Sue Hawkins' kits for this purpose. Her heart patterns always attract attention if I am working them in a public space. Prairie Schooler Santa samplers (cross stitch), worked on a bigger thread count, (e.g. 25 count over two threads) are always a satisfying project to take with you, and can be rolled out every Christmas for the admiration of your friends!
Finally I have the sampler that I have been working on for all those years. One of these days it will get finished. Again, people always come to have a look if I am out and about working on it. Though embroidery is nowhere near as popular as it was in the 90's, people are still interested in seeing it worked. So, don't be afraid to get out your work when you have a few minutes or hours to fill. Be proud of your work! It may be just the inspiration someone needs to have a go!
If you do leave your embroideries for any length of time, remember to:
- Remove the needle from the fabric (we don't want any nasty rust marks)
- Remove from the ring frame, if you are using one
- Fold the linen carefully (use tissue paper?)
- Store in a dry place away from light (a drawer perhaps?)