Lindisfarne Stones: second long side

The final side is finished, which means I'm approximately half way through the sewing:

The top section next; I think this should be quite fun to do, as I watch the shape building up.

Lindisfarne Stones: first long side

Happy St Cuthbert's Day for tomorrow!  For anyone in the Durham area, St Cuthbert's Banner will be paraded through the streets tomorrow from the Town Hall to the Cathedral, starting at 2.30pm.  This happened last year when it was dedicated, but it looks as though it's going to become an annual event, which is wonderful.

Back to business and another short update on progress - I've finished the first of the two long sides.  And here it is:

That's a slightly better photo than normal, which gives you a bit more of an idea of how the red looks against the gold.  Very shiny!

Lindisfarne Stones: the second side

A very short post to show how I'm getting on - I've now done the second of the shorter sides:

The photo isn't marvellous, I'm afraid, but at least you can see that I'm making progress!  The first long side next.

Lindisfarne Stones: the first side

The 'box' that will surround the stone will have goldwork stitching on all four sides and the top, though not the base.  Working my way in gently, I'm doing the sides first, and the shorter ones at that.

All pieces will be solidly worked, entirely covered in couched gold thread.  I'm using imitation Japanese gold no. 8, couched with Au Ver a Soie soie d'Alger no. 0936 - a strong red - to form the pattern.  As there are longer gaps between the stitches forming the pattern than I might like, I'm also using another thread to couch in between them: the machine embroidery thread Gutermann Sulky no. 8007.  This is a metallic gold, and almost exactly the same colour as the couched thread, making it difficult to see in use. This is exactly what I want, as I don't want it forming part of the pattern, just quietly keeping the couched thread straight and flat.

Here, you can see all three threads in action:

I'm making two small couching stitches next to each other in the red, to emphasise the design, but just the one with the Sulky as it doesn't need to be seen.  I'm also using one long length of the Jap gold, straight from the reel, and going backwards and forwards with it, to cover the entire felt shape:

You get a bit of an idea of how it catches the light here, though in real life it's really quite shiny!