JEC Phase 1

By the time I began my second Midori piece, I was also starting to think about my phase 1 piece from the Japanese Embroidery Center (JEC), which would be the next project I tackled. Tonie had told me she always does the American Basket with her phase 1 students because it gives them the best opportunity to practice the most techniques. This is the American Basket (photo credit: © JEC):

It may be the best for learning on, but I just wasn't feeling this design, and the colors really ruined it for me. They just feel so discordant and outdated. It reminds me of my parents' decorating scheme in the late 1970s. (I wasn't actually alive at the time, but I've seen pictures, and all I can say is, the horror.) 

With the right colors, this piece would probably be okay, but I prefer to stitch a design that really inspires me to keep going if things get frustrating. And I don't feel that way about this one. And I am just not an orange and brown sort of person. In fact, I have a strong and instinctive aversion to the color orange. Alas, it seems to be a fairly prominent and popular color in JE designs and in Japan in general — possibly because it's supposed to denote love and happiness in their culture. 

Some people feel that changing the colors of their pieces to match their own culture causes a piece to lose its authenticity, which may be true. But I'm not Japanese, so I will never achieve 100% authenticity anyway, and I would prefer to give up a little authenticity if it means I can choose my own designs and colors and create a piece that I will love. 

During one of my meetings with Mary Alice, I also talked to her about choosing a phase 1 piece. Her approach was somewhat different. She encouraged me to choose my own design and even my own colors if I wanted to. I told her I really wanted to do the Mile High piece but in slightly different colors, and she was fine with that.

She gave me lots of options and advice but ultimately let me make my own decisions. I finally selected an ice blue Habutae silk for the fabric. And she helped me choose the colors of the silk threads, giving me good information about how well they would show up on the silk and whether they would go together so that I could make an informed decision. It really helped that I'd spent the $60 to buy the JEC's silk color card. That way I could see exactly what colors I'd be getting.

And finally, this last week, my Mile High phase 1 materials arrived:

Isn't it a beautiful design?! I love the bamboo stalk up the left with its bunches of leaves and flowers. And the delicate clouds and flowers stretching out to the right are just so serene and elegant. And I'm so pleased with the colors we chose — gold, greens, blue, ivory, pink, and plum. And nary a hint of orange! 😉

The Habutae silk is lovely, too, though it turned out much thicker than I had anticipated for what is typically a lining silk:

It's really quite thick and sturdy, almost like a gabardine, and very pale blue. But I think it's pretty, and best of all, the design is already printed on it. I think I've mentioned before that I hate transferring embroidery designs, so I'm thrilled that this one is already on there. Should make it much easier to stitch precisely. 

Mary Alice has already sewed on the cotton ends for me, so this is basically ready to frame up. But since I have only the one frame, it will have to wait till I find a matching green silk thread that will allow me to finish my second Midori piece. We're still working on that. But I'm hoping to start phase 1 by December.