Elizabeth II : coronation: Windsor Castle commercial tapestry

A commercially-woven tapestry to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, featuring a distant view of Windsor Castle.  This example is framed under glass.  Measures about 24inches x 24inches.  As a commercially-woven rather than hand-stitched it's outside the 'collection development' parameters of this blog, but I thought I'd document it here.

If you know more about this design, please do leave a comment.

Coronation portrait tapestries : Elizabeth II & Philip

This pair of portrait tapestries were apparently made to commemorate the coronation, but not finished until 1960 by a maker who only left the initials JMN on them.  The seller guessed that they might have been made for a town hall or other public building.  Unframed size: Height 41" (104cm), Width 29" (74cm).

I wonder if these were a commercial design?  They're a lot of design work to have been done by an individual, long before the time of photo-to-chart software.  The Queen's image is apparently based on the portrait on the front of the coronation programme.  The faces are stitched in petit point.

The last picture is of the back of the work, rather than Philip as vampire...!!

The seller set a starting price of GBP400.00 and a buy it now price of GBP560.00

If you know any more about these - designer, source, whatever - please leave a comment.

Union Jack needlework kits

Several designers have jumped on the bandwagon of the Union Jack's popularity as a design icon and created kits for tapestry, needlepoint and cross-stitch.

 This tapestry / needlepoint design by Candace Bahouth for Ehrman is not in the current range (she was ahead of the trend) but turns up on eBay from time to time.  It's called Albion.  The pictures show the printed canvas and a completed cushion.  It has the subtle colour variation that makes Ehrman tapestries have a pleasing depth.

I wouldn't be surprised if it reappeared in their range.

Jacqui Pearce of Granny Knits has several Union Jack  (and other British-themed) designs using cross stitch and tapestry / needlepoint, such as those below.

A beginner's cross stitch kit (link)

This is a detailed kit, the filigree work is all tapestry stitching, red aqua and white.  Find it here.

Jan Constantine has used the Union Jack in a multitude of her designs - click here to see her British collection (made designs, not kits).  She also has some kits, including this one.

It is sold as a tapestry kit here, and also as a downloadable pdf.

There was also a Jan Constantine Union Jack cross stitch design in Cross Stitcher magazine, issue 226:

This issue turns up for sale on eBay from time to time.

This Anchor brand tapestry kit can be regularly found on eBay.  I don't like it as much, as it's hardly subtle: (it doesn't, to me, stand up against the designs I've shown you above.  But I'll include it here to record its existence).

I've also seen a number of patchwork quilt designs employing the distinctive geometry of the Union Jack in quite a variety of fabrics and colours.

The 2012 London Olympics will no doubt be inspiring more designers to create patriotic works.  If you know more links, please leave a comment with them - especially for kits/patterns, not finished works, as the focus of this blog is handwork done by individuals rather than mass-produced patriotic items.

Elizabeth II : diamond jubilee (VI) : more designs

With the year begun, more diamond jubilee designs for stitchers to make are emerging.

Riverdrift House has added Windsor Castle to its charming, bright range of jubilee samplers (Happy and Glorious and Buckingham Palace have featured in earlier entries on this blog.  Sandringham and Balmoral to come).

Description from the eBay.co.uk listing:

Brand new modern square sampler design for Windsor Castle, to celebrate our Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 by Riverdrift House.  Quick and fun to stitch, our design includes the castle flying the Royal Standard - with St George's Chapel, the Order of the Garter with motto 'Honi Soi Qui Mal Y Pense' and Garter Stars, a Royal gondola with the queen's swans upon the Thames, deer from the Great Park, arms of Eton College, a Union Jack, the Royal Standard, Castle Guards, crowns, 'all the Queen's horses' (Windsor Greys) ...and some Royal Corgis..

  Being sold as a brand new kit and shown in a border to give the look when framed as a picture (or made up into a cushion).  

Best quality materials include white 14 count Zweigart Aida fabric, Anchor 6-stranded embroidery threads, clear chart, instructions and a gold-plated needle.

Size of finished embroidery approx 25 cm / 10 inches square.

Free postage to UK addresses - kits are send in a board envelope by Royal Mail, First Class Large Letter post, either same or next day (following payment).  £3.00 to post via Air Mail abroad

Riverdrift House website is here, Riverdrift House on ebay.co.uk is here. 

British designer Emma Bridgewater whose designs have featured on crockery and textiles and Agas-with-dots has a design coming out in Cross Stitcher magazine.

It will be in issue no 250, due to be published in the UK on 22nd February 2012.  I rather like this one.  It feels vintage and fresh.  I read this magazine via Zinio as a digital magazine, so it will land on my device on that day in February.  You can buy single issues or subscriptions via Zinio; or if you're not in the UK, wait a couple of months till it lands in the newsagencies.

Tempest Tapestry, designs by Catherine Gedny, have a small and a large diamond jubilee tapestry cushion in their range.

Both are available as kits or charts: the tapestry is not printed with the design, so it's like counted cross stitch to do (ie you have to concentrate rather than relax and colour in as you can with printed tapestries/needlepoint!). It's an interesting use of the Union Jack, with subtle diamonds/stars on it.   I've seen that curlywurly font overused in school projects (it's a girls' fave) so I must say that for me, it's not one I especially like.  I think my taste in patriotic samplers leans a bit more towards the classic, at least in font styles.  But this may well hit the mark with younger stitchers.

Description of the smaller cushion:

JUBILEE 2012 Mini Cushion
* Finished size approx 7.00" x 7.00" (18 x 18cm)
* White Zweigart Canvas 12 hpi
* Anchor Tapisserie Wools (5 colours)
* Black and white symbol chart (canvas is not printed)
* Tapestry needle and full instructions
This project is a delightful way to celebrate Her Majesty's
Diamond Jubilee.  Wools include a shimmering silver yarn for working the highlights.
This pattern is worked in half-cross stitch.
KIT                                                                       CHART ONLY
£18.00  (+ p & p)                                                  £9.00

Description of the larger cushion:

JUBILEE 2012
* Finished size approx 14.1" x 10.8" (35.8 x 27.4cm)
* White Zweigart Canvas 10 hpi
* Anchor Tapisserie Wools (7 colours)
* Black and white symbol chart (canvas is not printed)
* Tapestry needle and full instructions
This project is a delightful way to celebrate Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee.  Wools include a shimmering silver yarn for working the highlights.
This pattern is worked in half-cross stitch.
KIT                                                                       CHART ONLY
£35.00  (+ p & p)                                                  £15.00

If you want something hand-embroidered without doing it yourself, in the British patriotic sphere, Jan Constantine will usually offer something.  She has a number of items for the Diamond Jubilee including cushions, lavender bags, a banner/bunting and tea/coffee cosies:

Find all Jan Constantine Diamond Jubilee items here.

Cushions, found here.  Prices range from  £66.50 up to £108.00 .

This is the next (and not the last, I suspect) of my blog entries about diamond jubilee designs.  You can use the jubilee tag below to find the other entries.

If you come across other diamond jubilee designs not yet blogged here, please let me know (eg. via the comments - just sign up to Blogger, it's free and I've had no  hassles, and then you can comment).

21st June, 1982

Does 21st June, 1982 ring any particular bells for you? (Bells were rung on the day, I have no doubt).

Another clue:

Somebody thought it important enough to design quite a detailed work.  Someone thought it significant enough to make this tapestry.

Have the crown and the date and the stylised English roses given it away? (extra clue: Charles and Diana were married in 1981... did you spot their initials at the top of the design?)

I think the red/white/blue item at the bottom of the design is intended to be a cradle.  There's a lot of fecund/flourishing greenery.

You must be close to guessing, or have already guessed, that this records the birth date of Prince William.

It's done in wool on tapestry canvas - as a tapestry or needlepoint, depending on your terminology.  The cream areas are unstitched, so you can see through them to the backing board.

If you know any more about this design - where/if it was published, who designed it, if it was available as a kit - please do leave a comment.  It could have been a charted design (thus able to be used for cross stitch or canvas tapestry stitching) or a kit.  I incline towards the charted design (maybe in a magazine) because most tapestry kits of this vintage and up to the present day generally include enough tapestry wool to stitch the background, whereas counted cross stitch on Aida cloth/linen/evenweave doesn't usually involve stitching the background.  This stitcher chose to interpret the chart using wool and tapestry canvas, rather than as counted cross stich.   There are earlier designs from the 1930s and 1950s employing tapestry canvas with the background left unfilled/holey, but it's rare for more recent work, in my opinion.

Elizabeth II : Diamond Jubilee (III)

Found on The Making Spot blog:

"

Ten years ago Needlecraft magazine celebrated the 50th anniversary of HM Queen Elizabeth II's reign with this stitchy project.

Stitching is golden with this vintage pattern from the the 2002 Golden Jubilee.

For the best result, stitch the foreground first but don't carry dark colours from one area to another otherwise they could show through when you stitch the background.

“The long legged cross stitch gives a pretty plaited effect and gives an instant edging. It's the perfect finish for a project that's fit for a queen!”

PS. Why not adapt it for the 2012 HM Queen Elizabeth's II Diamond Jubilee in 2012!
"

I am amused by 2002 being 'vintage' already...

It's a simple combination of rose, leek, thistle and shamrock. The original has a tapestry/woolwork look to me, but a counted chart can of course be done in cross stitch or tapestry, as you prefer.

The pattern is a free download - go to the blog page here for the download link.

Hmmm.  I don't think I've yet seen the 'category-killer' Diamond Jubilee pattern yet....

George VI: coronation sampler with cross-stitched background, 1937

Listed on eBay earlier this year was this George VI coronation sampler from 1937.  In comparison to some other designs - for example the George V jubilee sampler with coaches from an earlier blog entry here - this looks distinctly chunky.  It seems to be due to at least two elements: the design itself (not a lot of grace about that coach, it looks semi-motor-car-like) and the size in which it has been worked (it's on tapestry canvas rather than evenweave linen or cotton).  Interesting to note the military figures: there were rumblings in Europe at the time.  The 1953 coronation samplers were much more likely to have jolly Beefeaters than the soldier and sailor featured here.

The background is also interesting.  The brown is cross-stitches - the entire background has been filled in.  One of the advantages of cross-stitch or embroidery samplers is that generally you don't have to fill in the background (unlike pictorial cross-stitch such as some of the photo-style William and Catherine designs illustrated in an earlier entry on this blog; or unlikehand-stitched needlepoint/tapestry with continental or ten stitch where every square of the design on canvas is generally filled).  Perhaps the stitcher stitched the design, saw how the canvas looked and chose to cover it up.

If you know where this design was published, please do leave a comment.

Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Emblem: Free Counted Cross-Stitch Pattern Chart

I've created a free counted cross stitch pattern chart of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee emblem using http://myphotostitch.com/ and an image file of the diamond jubilee emblem found here: http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Symbols/DiamondJubileeemblem.aspx.

(Link to the chart is at the end of this post.)

(And yes, there's a chart for the Welsh language version too.)

I chose to specify a maximum of 100 stitches in any one direction and to use only 10 thread colours, as the original is simple in its colour scheme. I tried a few different versions with different sizes and more thread colours but found this version worked out well, as a design at least. The wording seems likely to stitch up with readable clarity, which at smaller numbers of stitches was not the case. If you want to make your own, use the two links above and you've got the tools you need to play around to meet your own specifications (eg. if you want fewer or more stitches in your design, and fewer or more thread colours).

At the time of putting this online, I haven't yet decided on the background colour I'll use, whether a light/medium blue or a darker linen. On a light background such as white or cream Aida cloth or linen, it's likely to 'float' as some of the edges of the design are light cream/white. The royal.gov.uk site has guidelines for use that suggest a particular Pantone shade of blue or red for a background. Click here to read the full guidelines pdf and see examples of the emblem in use (and what they don't want done with it). Remember to calculate enough fabric for a border and turnover (if you're framing it), not just the amount actually occupied by the design.

Note: I am not a cross stitch expert and cannot offer advice on your cross stitch version of this. There are bajillions of ways to learn about cross stitch - internet sites, books, magazines, shops. Likewise tapestry, knitting (you would be extremely unwise to anticipate that I could give useful advice on knitting) &tc. I can't tell you how much thread to buy. There are just too many variations people can choose - type of thread, number of strands, thread count of background fabric etc. I am not responsible for the success of your version (isn't it sad I have to put in a disclaimer like that?). I used the images at a size that myphotostitch could wrangle (which is smaller than the pixel size of the downloaded originals). You're welcome, as said above, to do your own versions using these tools. That said, I'll add info to the blog/this entry as I try stitching my own version.

I'm not selling kits or anything. It's not hard to find stranded embroidery cotton and linen/Aida/counted cloth (or tapestry wool and canvas, if you'd rather use that). I'm not making money from this - I figured I'd share it in case others would like to stitch it up themselves. Sometimes it's great to just put a freebie out there for others to discover and use if they wish.

If you do make your own version, it would be great if you'd add a comment on the blog and a link to a picture/photo of your version, to inspire others and to add to this blog's documentation of British patriotic samplers.

I really like the uneven charm of Katherine Dewar's design (read more here) and hope that, stitched, this chart will replicate that. The Blue Peter children's television program contest to design Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee emblem which she won had 35,000 entries. So she's inspired this pattern. Hurrah for Katherine! Here she is (with her dad) meeting the Queen:

And here she is with a Blue Peter presenter:

Cheers!

Ruth

ENGLISH: Here's the link to the pdf file with the chart, including DMC thread colours

WELSH: Here's the link to the pdf file with the Welsh language chart, including DMC colours

The file can be printed in black on white, in which case you can use the symbols to know which colours to use where; or in colour, in which case you have the colours to help you.

NOTE: Each file is seven A4 pages when printed.

Update:

NOTE RE THREAD COLOURS: A couple of the thread colours selected automatically at myphotostitch.com are, to my eye, not quite right, or so I thought when I assembled them to stitch this emblem chart. I'll provide more information as I try out options, but for now, here are my changes (reference is to DMC colours):

3844 is an almost luminous turquoise. I am going to try substituting this with 803 or 3842, or may try one strand of 3844 and one of either of those or perhaps the other blue specified in the pattern, 517. The blue in the emblem isn't luminous turquoise, at least to my eyes. (I'm using 14 count Aida cloth, so I'm working with two strands)

3078 is the yellow specified for behind the lettering etc. It's a very lemony yellow. The emblem's colour looks more like a sand yellow to me. I'm going to try 676.

I also have a couple of thread colours with which I plan to try replicating the outline/lines you see in the original emblem, and maybe to use here and there outlining to add clarity. 310 is black, but I also have 645, which is a dark grey. I'm going to try both and see which I prefer.

Here is a page with a link to let you see DMC colours online; but remember your monitor can skew tones/shades/colours, so always check with real threads.
http://yarntree.com/075dmc.htm

Elizabeth II: Diamond Jubilee (I)

With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, designers and crafters and others are already gearing up with ideas.  Here's a roundup of some designs, news, exhibitions and ideas I've found recently.  I'm sure there will be more to document as the jubilee draws closer, which is why this blog entry is labelled as Diamond Jubilee (I).  You can also navigate to entries of interest by using the tags on each entry.

From Katiemae Designs you can obtain the chart for this blackwork embroidery:

Read more and order the chart here:
http://katiemaedesigns.info/Samplers.html
It costs  £5 (check on the site re postage costs to your location).

This is the same designer who made a detailed blackwork chart of Westminster Abbey for the royal wedding of William and Kate (as shown in my blog entry about W&K royal wedding samplers). 
See it and buy the chart here: http://katiemaedesigns.info/Buildings_and_Landmarks.html

***

Embroidery teacher Jacqui McDonald, who teaches at the Royal School of Needlework, blogs that she is working on a Diamond Jubilee design involving stumpwork, blackwork and goldwork.  No image of the design as yet. 
Read the blog entry here:
http://www.hand-embroidered.co.uk/blog/read_34020/jubilee-celebrations.html
Read about the three classes in January 2012 which will teach the design:
http://www.hand-embroidered.co.uk/events_71565.html
Later in 2012 there will be a class showing how to mount your embroidery in a Jubilee Casket.
[Is is just me, or does 'casket' just have too much funereal association???  what with the Queen not being precisely young and all, even if her mother did live to be over 100 years old...]

***

Glimpses of Blighty is a competition being run by Madeira Threads and ICHF in the UK.   Here is their description:

‘Blighty’ is a slang term for Britain, first used in the latter days of the British Raj. It is now more commonly used as a term of endearment by the expat British community or those on holiday to refer to home.

With the world’s eyes focused on Great Britain, firstly with the Royal Wedding last April, and with the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year – let your imagination run wild and embroider all that is ‘Best of British’ both past and present, and you could WIN one of our fabulous prizes! There’s a prize for each Category winner and a superb prize for the overall winner!

It will be interesting to see what works might come from this.

Read more here:

http://www.ichf.co.uk/fashion/glimpses_of_blighty.pdf

***
Jacksons of Hebden Bridge, who sell kits for church kneelers, have several designs in kneelers and cushions telated to the diamond jubilee:

Kneeler above, tent-stitch cushion below.

Kneeler above, cross-stitch cushion below.

The final one, shown below, disappoints me a tad.  The energy and verve of the diamond jubilee logo have, to my mind, lost a lot of their charm by being 'regularised' into straighter geometry.  Not necessary, to me.  Here's the original logo, followed by Jacksons of Hebden Bridge's kneeler and cros-stitch cushion designs.

The company sells kits of their designs.  Visit their selection of jubilee designs here:
http://churchkneelers.com/jubilee_shop.php
Prices range from £35.95 to  £59.95 for a cushion kit,  £42.25 to  £52.95 for a kneeler kit.  Check on the site for postage costs to your location.

***

A background briefing document from the Royal School of Needlework advises:

The RSN has an extensive collection and archive and to enable more people to see

some of its holdings, it offers themed tours. For 2012, in celebration of Her Majesty

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee the RSN’s theme will be Royal RSN

 

Read the document here:

http://www.royal-needlework.org.uk/images/uploaded/Documents/Events/rsn%2Bbackgound%2Binformation%2B29.04.pdf

Keep an eye on the site for more information on jubilee exhibitions/events.  The RSN may well produce a jubilee sampler design for sale - they did a whitework one for the recent royal wedding (see the royal wedding samplers blog entry I wrote in April 2011 for more info). 

***

This crown stencil from Stencil Library has embroidery/stitching potential, possibly with cotton thread/gold thread/beading/as a wool-stitched tapestry...




They suggest it could be stencilled over a Union Jack design too.

Pricing: The size of the crown is 21cms high by 20cms wide (that is roughly 8 inches) but you can have it made to other sizes. Just ask. The price of the new crown at 21cms high is £18.50. UK postage is free. Add £3 postage for EU countries and £5 for everywhere else in the world.  Packages are sent by Royal Mail.

Read more on the Design Inspiration blog here:
http://designinspiration.typepad.com/design_inspiration_planet/2011/04/an-exclusive-crown-stencil.html

In another blog entry, they show how to use a stencil to create a tapestry design on canvas:
http://designinspiration.typepad.com/design_inspiration_planet/2009/06/stencils-and-tapestry.html

Link for Union Jack stencil:
http://www.stencil-library.com/docs/exclusives05.html

***
Trend BIble sees "British Street Party" as a coming trend, influenced by the diamond jubilee and the London Olympics. 

See all their images here:
http://www.trendbible.co.uk/blog/news/news-top-drawer-autumn-trend-feature/

Question for self: what sorts of samplers/embroideries will be around for the London Olympics, and do they fall within or outside my collection development/blog scope policy??...)

***

Finally...

Not directly related to embroidery/samplers, but of interest if you are in the UK and able to visit is the touring exhibition The Queen: Art and Image.

This is a description of it:

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the National Portrait Gallery is staging an innovative touring exhibition bringing together sixty of the most remarkable and resonant images of Elizabeth II. This will be the first National Portrait Gallery exhibition to tour to British venues before being shown in London, opening in Edinburgh in June, Belfast in October and Cardiff and London in 2012.

The exhibition includes formal painted portraits, official photographs, press images and works by contemporary artists and explores the evolution of the way The Queen has been portrayed during the sixty years of her reign.  Artists and photographers include Pietro Annigoni, Cecil Beaton, Lord Lichfield, Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud and Gerhard Richter and their works are accompanied by archival material – from film footage to postage stamps.

The Queen: Art and Image celebrates and explores the startling range of artistic creativity and media-derived imagery that the Queen has inspired. It also probes the relation of this imagery to a world of changing values during a reign that has engaged the attention of millions.Read more here:
http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2012/the-queen-art-and-image.php
Catalogue book (harcover or paperback) is available - details here:
http://www.npg.org.uk/shop/shop-list.php?showProductDetails=4819
Or if you want postcard books, badges and more:
http://www.npg.org.uk/shop/shop-list.php?cat=royalty&inx=1

***

Please leave a comment to advise of any other useful related links, patterns, designs or kits related to the diamond jubilee.