So, what's a Biscornu? How do you do it? According to Wikipedia, it is pronounced "bee-ss-corn-uh)". I thought that it would be like "bis" as in biscuit, "corn" as in corn, and the "u" as in you like biscuits and corn. Good enough. It comes from the French word that means "skewed, quirky or irregular." So it's sort of like me.

It's a pincushion, basically, an eight-sided figure that is stitched so that it has eight sides, stuffed,usually with a button or two in the middle to make it puffy, and big enough to fit in the palm of your hand. It could be decorated with tassels and beads, so I imagine, with the shape it takes, it could also be used as an ornament. I will have to experiment more with these.

But until then, this is how you make a biscornu. Enjoy!

Beginning:

First are the embroidered sides. You need two. Mostly these are seen as identical to each other. I used three or four shades of green and two shades of brown. I did the work, based on Elizabethan Blackwork stitching, on 18 count Aida cloth. This was a scrap left over from some other larger project. It's amazing what you can do with scraps!

The square is about 3 1/4" across, or 8 cm.

This is the front and back. I added a running stitch border around both sides to use as a guide and also to become part of the joining stitch.

I pinned down the sides of the top half. This made it easier to match up the sides and bring the running stitches together.

I matched up the corner of one side to the center of the other half. This is what gives it the eight sides and that shape for which it is known.

Construction:

This is the first side sewn. So far his has been a flat piece. But now each successive side will soon help to give  it that round shape.  

Going around the first corner:

You just keep going around, matching the corners of one side to the center of the other. This piece traveled around with me. It is a small project so it is easy to carry around.

When you are down to the last side, then it's almost ready for stuffing.

Stuffing:

These are the tools for stuffing. I used the 100% Polyester Stuffing that you can get just about anywhere, and a stick from a roasted ear of corn that I sanded  down to make sure it was smooth. I've also used chop sticks that I sanded. You just want to make sure that the pointed end is rounded enough so that it doesn't poke through your fabric. This point helps to direct the batting into corners. 

You want the corners to be filled in a little tightly to help hold the shape but don't push in so much that it gets hard. You don't want to pack it in so much that your biscornu isn't soft and squeezable.

     Stitching up the last side.

Finishing:

Now that the whole thing is all stitched up - wasn't that fun? - just add a button on top, or one at the top and one at the bottom. They are  1/4" buttons, one dark brown, one light brown, to match with the acorn colors. 

The design takes on new perspective as the edges and corners turn back upon themselves.

See? Just about big enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Yep. Reminds me of a biscuit!

Embroidery  Hack 1

In order to keep from having a bunch of floss pieces that I can't match up, I do this: 

I pull out as much thread as I want then cut only as many strands as I need, where the thread comes out from the skein.

I make the cut end near the skein and pull that thread straight out from the rest of the threads. That thread will come out straight and hardly needs to untwist at all. 

The rest of the threads will bunch at at my fingertips, but a gentle pull once the cut thread is free, and the remaining uncut threads all straighten out.

It works best to cut and pull just one thread at a time. If I try to pullout two threads, it just tangles.

What's New at the Orange County Fair?

After years of thinking about it, Rob finally nudged me to submit a few things. Good idea! Here are a few pictures, with some positive results.

They covered it over with a large sheet of clear plastic to help keep it clean...or to discourage people from touching it. I'll admit, I am a very tactile person and this is one quilt with lots of texture, especially with the extra puffiness and fluffiness of the lamb.

The last time I was at the OC Fair, maybe about 3 or 4 year ago, I remember that there were 4 pieces of some nice calligraphy there. So I decided to do a piece for this year. Rob suggested this selection from "The 13th Warrior".

My son Andrew took this photograph which is what I sent in to the Fair committee to see if it would be accepted for display. This was a juried show this year. I submitted 4 items and all 4 were accepted.

This is after it was properly matted, framed, and displayed. :) I'm already planning on something even bigger for next year. Once this is picked up after the Fair closes, I plan to take it out of the frame and have some good copies made that I will put up for sale. Size of just the calligraphy is 15" x 20".

I also included two hand-made books. One is a log book, meaning that the cover is wood. This means I have wood burning on it. 

That's an Honorable

Here are some of the photos that I sent in that show it in better lighting. These are what I sent in to the committee.

The next book is on display, near the calligraphy, but did not take a prize. Still, I'm delighted that it got into the show. The disc in the front is a woodburned piece.

Again, I would like to give credit to Andrew Garig-Meyer who helped immensely with the photo shoot so I could have good pictures to submit to the committee. Many thanks, Andrew!

The Orange County Fair runs from July 11th to August 10, 2014. 

You can check out their website at http://ocfair.com/2014/index.asp

The Cross Country Clearprint Project: Roasting Marshmallows

This is how I participated in the Cross Country Clearprint project! This is a project by the makers of the Clearprint Vellum sketchbooks where you decorate one page from one on the 10 books that they have going across the United States. I found this project posted on Facebook. All I did was to go on the site, http://www.clearprintpaperco.com/#!cross-country/c1oyi and follow the directions. They just need to know who you are and where to send the book. What you get is one of 10 books that travels across the country, collecting art, and you also get a free vellum sketchbook to keep just for participating. It's a pretty good deal; one page of artwork gets you your own Clearprint Vellum Book. There are a few rules as to what they can accept for the subject matter but the rules make sense because the artwork is getting posted on line. The idea of the project is to reach out to artists and give them the experience of trying out the product. You can use any medium you like on one page, then send it back. The only catch is that you have one week to complete the work. So this is what I did and what I found out about the paper. I used a combination of inks, watercolors and colored pencils.

The advantage of working with this kind of paper, which is basically a sturdy tracing paper, is that you don't need to line it for the calligraphy. You can do all your preliminary work on another sheet of paper, deciding on which size nib or pen point that you want to use, and which style of calligraphic hand you want, and figure out which works best. Then just slip the lined paper beneath the vellum and calligraph. No guidelines to erase! This also helps with placement of the components. Slipping rough sketches behind the vellum helps with composition. I decided on a smaller dragon in flight, a motif that I though would look better than a large dragon character that would be place behind the monk who is writing about the method of roasting marshmallows. (He has a little "Press" card tucked into his headband.)

The fun of this paper is that you can do artwork on both sides of the page. It is sturdy enough that neither the inks or the watercolor I used bled through. However, imaged painted would show through from one side to the next. The bird and tiny beasties hiding among the interlaced vines at the bottom are seen as something hiding in the mist, or the distance.

This is the finished piece. You can click on it at the link below to see it on the Clearprint website.

Roasting Marshmallows

Along with your page within the book, each participant gets to add to the cover. The cover of the book is of a heavier weight vellum that is smooth and takes ink well. I added my griffin and positioned him to relate to the decorative motif that the previous artist drew. I used a fine point Rapidograph pen over a rough draft that I drew to place the character next to the first figure so that they would relate. I hope that once the book is filled, the front and back covers will also be displayed on the Clearprint site so we can all see how they turned out. I'm sure it will be a big surprise! 

This is the cover with a plain piece of paper behind it. It blocks the first picture in the book. Below you can see the inner cover that is detachable cardstock. This is what you place between the inner pages since they are thin and drawing on one page can leave indentations that show up on the next page. You can see just how thin here.

I hope you enjoyed my contribution to the Cross Country Clearprint project! I had a good time doing it and got to experiment with a new type of paper for me. I found that this paper holds up to a moderate amount of water, erases well and has a nice plate finish that is not too slippery. It does have a habit of the corners curling up slightly while working on it. If you don't use a heavier piece of paper beneath the page on which you are working, it will leave impressions on the page beneath it. But knowing what to expect from the paper allows you to prepare for it. Clearprint Vellum products are made by Chartpak, Inc.

What will I be doing? Taking part in the Cross Country Clearprint national project! I have one week to complete an original piece of artwork on an 6x8 book of vellum paper. Once I complete my art, which will include calligraphy, it goes back to Clearprint where it will be photographed and the image put up on their gallery page. Then it will be sent to another artist elsewhere in the country. There are several books being circulated. Here is the website to check to see what artwork has been placed into these books. You can also check into signing up to contribute your own artwork in the books. - www.clearprintpaperco.com

There is a really nifty way to work on pyrography if you do not want that hand-made  look but want a really professional finish and be able to duplicate it as many times as you want. This is by using  the laser engraving machine. Even if you are not an artist but just have a creative urge and you can use your computer to format your design.

Here’s just an example:

Type it out, change the font to what you want, then pick the size.

Pirate’s Treasure inside!

Pirate’s Treasure inside!

Next, add a picture:

                                               

           

Put them together, then as a unit it can be imported to the laser cutter.

Pirate’s Treasure inside!

Put them together, then as a unit they can be imported to the laser cutter. Here's a video that shows how the laser cutter, used as a wood burner, prints out the design:


CO2 Laser Engraving Machine


Alas, this is a machine that I do not yet own. I am still doing it by hand, one piece at a time. This in itself is not a bad thing. There is a lot of satisfaction for making each piece a unique work of art. However, it does take time and a good deal of it. But in the world of art, you can approach a project in a variety of ways and each way can be perfectly acceptable and pleasing.

East Indian Adventure...almost!

 Tonight I am going to share a bit of adventure with you! I love to travel, even if it is just to some place where I can capture a bit of a different culture. This last Saturday Rob and I went to the Ethnic Fashion Fest which was being held in La Mirada. A friend of ours, Faizah Cooper, had invited us, via facebook, to come. None of us knew what to expect outside of that this was featuring clothing from India and Bangladesh. Faizah is from Bangladesh so she was already familiar with the clothing styles. She grew up with it! I've had East Indian neighbors in the past and love the gorgeous saris that the women wear. So this is some of what we found  - Enjoy!

We found a veritable jewel box of colors and designs! Interestingly enough, they had long shirts and dresses that were very reminiscent of Medieval tunic styles, complete to the triangular gores on the side that fall to longer points on the sides. They boast a lot of great machine embroidery! This is the type of embroidery that I would like to be able to do on  a very nice Brothers Quattro 2 6700D machine. I could scan in my original artwork and designs and do pieces this large.

Some tunics were very simple like this blue one and looked very much like the tunics we used to wear in the SCA.

   
Some tunics took a very modern approach like this yellow Georgette tunic.

I could do this by hand, but the time it would take would me months!

This one is a red Georgette which was unfortunately a couple sizes too small. Their sizing, by the way, is very different. Too bad we didn't get a view of the sleeve. They were slit up almost to the shoulder and the edges were trimmed with fancy trim buttons to hold them closed.

For more information, check  them out at www.utsavfashion.com

                                                                    They will have different items on their website because those items they stock all the time. When they have a road show, they will have one-of-a-kind selections. Alas, we didn't take pictures of the truly beautiful gowns, the long saris that were richly beaded and cost up into the $300 and $400 range. Next time I will!