hapazome stitchery becomes project5-embellished fabric book

My embroidery on the hapazome sample has become a stitch sampler, so I have decided to treat it as another project for my fabric book (when I eventually put it together). Also, the size is just right. I have enjoyed this little embroidery and I look forward to do something like this again later in summer, when plants with stronger colours will be around.
While I was taking pictures around the garden, I managed to catch this lovely bee on the phlox.

hapazome stitchery

Last night I started doing some embroidery on one of the hapazome samples. This is my favourite one, young Japanese maple leaves and flowers. But I don't think I will be doing any more this weekend, as our son will be home first time since his holiday in Australia and unfortunate delay in Hong Kong, so lots to talk about!

hapazome obsession

Some more experiments today, I am slowly learning which plants are good for this and which are not. I found that the colours don't always come out the way you expect. The best result so far are with leaves. Geranium petals have come out quite well. The little blue flowers are lilac and pink phlox. Dark hellebores flowers have also made an interesting picture. I wonder about poppy petals, but it will a while yet before they come out. I am looking forward to trying this with more flowers and leaves, as they come out. I have tried to wash one of the less successful samples and found that the colour is holding quite well, so at the moment I don't see a need for any other fixative.
But I better leave this for now and get on with something else.

hapazome experiment-result

This is the final result of my hapazome experiment today. Considering that this was my first attempt and I was doing it while my grandson was asleep and I was aware of the fact that I would have to pack it all up if he woke, the result is not bad at all. Actually, I am very pleased with it.
The best pictures came from leaves or flowers with thin petals, so I will keep experimenting with various plants. I will definitely try to do some embroidery on one of the samples.

hapazome experiment

I watched this technique on BBC2 last night, programme called The Edible Garden. I have since downloaded it onto iPlayer, so I can watch it again, in case this goes horribly wrong.
Basically the idea is to transfer images of leaves or flowers onto a natural fabric, in this case I have used calico. They have to be fresh, not dried. You lay the object between two sheets of fabric and beat the hell out of it (they called it pummeling), I used the smooth end of a meat tenderizer. When you peel of the mess left behind, you should be left with a print.
Use a hot iron to set the picture.
So, this is me having a go at hapazome printing.
I started with a lot of ambition as you can see. As it was rather wet in the garden, I started with what I could find indoors.
This didn't go well....










So I did start bringing stuff from the garden...











Some thing worked better the others, I realized that it is no good using anything too fleshy, the thin leaves worked best.

hapazome

Our son is back in UK, hurrah.


And so are our house martins, after a long winter away in South Africa. It is just so incredible, that such a small bird can make a just a long journey. At the moment there are 4 pairs, busily repairing their nests below our roof.



Watching the television last night I learned about hapazome, a Japanese technique of transferring flowers and leaves directly into a fabric, amazing and so simple. I can't wait to try it out. So much inspiration for embroidery.
At the moment I can't find any reference to a book on the subject.