Biscornu – French for what?
My latest project is not jewellery but a skill based exercise for a related idea I have brewing. I enrolled in a 6 hr cross stitch course in my local hub at The Lazy Daisy (Heidelberg Nanasville). This was no cool innercity, retro craft driven stitch and bitch session held at a groovy pub this was the real deal. I was expecting to be given the task of cross stitching a bunch of flowers. Well I couldn’t have been more delighted with the task they set. A Biscornu! What the heck is a Biscornu?
A biscornu is a small, 8-sided, stuffed ornamental pincushion. They are typically able to fit in the palm of your hand. The name is derived from a French adjective, meaning skewed, quirky or irregular.(Wikipedia). To be making a quirky 3D object had me hooked.
The colour scheme incorporated my two favoutrite colours, green and orange (kitsch to match my kitchen) and pineapples too! I got more than I bargained for…not just cross stitch but rhodes stitch, eyelet, rice double, smyrna…..I could hardly keep up.
Rhodes Stitch – lovely in the variegated cotton – this shape forms the pineapple.
Eyelet stitch – also known in stitch and bitch circles as Cat’s bum stitch!
I finished the top within a week but ended up with a permanent headache and a stiff neck. I had recently been prescribed glasses and thought I must have overdone it. As it turned out I had a headache virus that seemed to last for weeks so I couldn’t consider getting back to the Biscornu………it was terribly frustrating. But alas weeks later I am back into it but taking it slowly. No more 4 hour stints.
The front complete……except for the edging…..
……and the back. Stitching the 2010 is an incentive to ensure I complete this labour of love by the end of the year. There is no possible way of speeding up the process (and I must say I took to the process rather instinctively). I must say I am enjoying not contemplating the cold studio but sitting in front of the heater watching iView. Shit it’s cold!
Sorry for random colour crap images – late night photography, crap inconsistent light. When complete I will take a better shot. Back to a cuppa tea, Collectors and my Biscornu…….I officially belong in Nanasville.
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