Fred
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fredatron.bsky.social
Fred
@fredatron.bsky.social
460 followers 150 following 480 posts
Writer, curator, crafter, costumier, patchworker, hermit. Historical textile obsessive. I enjoy bad robots, Yog-Sothoth, and all flavours of undead. A lot older than 21. She/they.
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fredatron.bsky.social
A friend kindly gave me a book on crewelwork and some lovely natural linen. So I'm making a cover for a retractable tape measure, because I don't enjoy looking at the fabric it's currently covered in.

#embroidery
Embroidery work in progress in a round plastic Clover brand embroidery frame. The WIP is a seventeenth-century style pomegranate in a small circle, drawn freehand in pink chalk and light blue Frixion pen, on a natural linen ground fabric. So far the leaves have been worked with a light green bokara couching infill and mid green stem stitch outlines, and the stem has been worked in dark green in rows of heavy chain stitch. The fruit itself is coming on. It looks kind of yonic in segments with the central portion outlined in deep red chain stitch. Two of the outer segments have been begun in the same colour in long and short stitch.
December 30, 2024 at 9:59 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Here's a pic - those are 3mm sequins. Others may manage it, but that's too tiny for me to do more than once!
Photograph of an embroidery I worked last year, showing the lower edge of the design, worked in blue, purple, green and teal with sequins. Below the design is the beginning of a cross stitched letter in teal.
November 14, 2024 at 6:48 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
The pears and snails coif is coming on. Much stabbing, very gold.

#sewing #embroidery
Photograph of an embroidery work in progress. The design of scrolling vines, plants, bugs, birds, fruit and squirrels is worked in black silk. The blackwork is finished, and looks a bit like the lines have been inked. Some of the scrolling vines are being filled with gold thread. This photo is a close-up showing the needle passing through a few loops of gold thread to continue making the Elizabethan plaited braid stitch. Another view of the same embroidery, this time showing more of the goldwork curving along the looping vines.
September 22, 2024 at 6:55 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
Made my first length of nettle cordage. So cool taking this from plant to usable length of cord, using techniques which may have been used in prehistory (as described and demonstrated by Sally Pointer over on Youtube). I harvested 20 nettles and have tons left to make more soon.
Photograph of my first length of nettle cordage, wrapped around two fingers of my left hand (it's a very pink hand). The cordage is two shades of green forming a slender twisted thread between 0.5 and 1.5mm in diameter and is about 40cm long in total so far. Photograph of my remaining nettles, dried, somewhat scraped, and rubbed. They're still green after a few weeks spent dying, and are on a lilac metal tray.
May 28, 2024 at 2:25 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
Historical reproduction stabbing update.

Much stabbing has occurred. Progress is slow, but at least it's progress.

#embroidery #sewing
Photograph of an embroidery work in progress. The embroidery is worked in black silk on white linen and part of it is currently held in a round bamboo hoop. The designs I've been working on lately are birds, a moth or butterfly, flowers, a few isolated strawberries, and some tiny adorable bugs. The design is a copy of T.32-1936 from the V&A museum, copied by me. Close up photograph of the same embroidery from an angle, showing the tiny stitches and how they look a little raised from the surface of the linen.
May 23, 2024 at 8:36 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
Happily, turns out they were deliberate free shoes! And now I feel stupid for having no arse points to deal. Here's the bag they came in, and the shoe itself. They're comfy, and now I've tried them on I kinda like them.
Photograph of the bag my surprise second pair of shoes came in, which has the word 'gift' written on in black marker with a little heart. It's nearly rubbed off, but is just about legible. The toe of a sparkly lime green rainbow shoe can be seen in the background. Photograph of free shoe on my foot. It's got a white and lime green marbled and textured sole unit with a sparkly lime green woven elastic upper with rainbow stripes. It's super comfy.
May 23, 2024 at 6:48 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Made some more progress on my current ridiculously time-consuming embroidery project.

The linework with silk isn't as crisp as with the cotton thread I used for the #UnstitchedCoif, but I'm still pretty pleased with the effect.

After the squirrel, gonna shade those butt-pears.

#embroidery
Photograph of an embroidery work in progress in a hoop. It's a copy of T.32-1936 from the V&A museum, copied by me. It's worked in black silk on white linen. The pears that look a bit like butts are now outlined, and I've been using speckling to shade flowers, leaves and a snail. The coif (cap) is maybe one fifth outlined, though this section is nowhere near fully speckled. The speckling is intended to give the effect of shading in a woodblock print.
February 17, 2024 at 7:49 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Happy Boxing Day! Here's what I made @rhube.bsky.social for Christmas - an embroidery of the famous nun picking penises from a tree, originally marginalia from a manuscript illuminated in the C14th by Jeanne de Montbaston.

#embroidery #MedievalArt #sewing
Circular embroidery mounted in a hoop of the famous nun picking penises off a tree. She has a little wicker basket with two dicks sitting snugly within, and reaches her hand up to pick another from the branches of a very fecund looking tree. The tree has green grass at the base and is only a little taller than her. She's giving the dick tree an assessing look. The back of the same embroidery before I mounted it, showing a high density of stitches. The image is recognisable, but only just. Close-up of the basket of dicks. The stitches are very tiny, but show two dicks nestled in a wicker basket. Close up of the nun's face. Black outlines are used to emphasise shape, and the eyes are enormous. She's giving the dicks an assessing look.
December 26, 2023 at 8:43 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Buttons! Finally finished them this morning, really glad to have got them done. They're for a friend's birthday.

Sewn using fabric and thread from the stash, and stiffened with some card from the crafting stash.
A set of six embroidered buttons, decorated with snowdrops. The buttons are made of green shot silk dupion with green white and silver embroidery, and iridescent sequins. They are pictured on a dark red background. A photograph of two of the buttons in my hand. One of the buttons shows the back of, which has a loop of thick green embroidery thread as a shank. The other button shows the front, with a twisted border of white silk and silver thread.
December 9, 2023 at 12:49 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
Amazon, I have questions.
Amazon ad showing a pic of a cat photoshopped into a green jumper decorated with daisies. The jumper is also shown flat with top and bottom views. The view of the bottom looks like a face that's either horrified or horrifically hungry, or both. The advert is labelled Dog jumpers.
December 2, 2023 at 7:44 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Finally a project I can share. This will be a set of C18th style buttons for a friend who isn't online, for her birthday.

Very tiny stabbing.
A work in progress set of four small round embroideries of tiny snowdrops worked in green, white and silver with iridescent 2mm sequins on a mint green silk dupion ground. The work is in a round bamboo embroidery hoop, with a pair of embroidery scissors for scale.
November 30, 2023 at 8:17 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Put an appropriate amount of mushrooms in and had to give the slow cooker a new hat because the lid wouldn't close.

I'll take it off in a few hours when the level goes down. Super looking forward to mushroom curry later.
Photograph of a slow cooker full of button mushrooms and potato, red onion, garlic, aubergine and coconut milk with spices, some of which is just about visible through the glass lid. It's very full and has a marble mortar turned upside down on top, to keep the lid on. The slow cooker is on low and promises a lovely mushroom curry in about 8 hours.
November 21, 2023 at 8:08 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
I'm sorry you're feeling shite. Here's an orange cat for you 💜
Barney the handsome ginger and white cat having a snooze looking cute. He's laying croissant style and has three of his feet stacked up near his chin.
November 19, 2023 at 2:25 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Cat cam is a success! Barney snoozed the entire time I was away at the shops. Bought him a super soft new blanket, because the self-warming petbeds were not as warm or snuggly as a regular winter throw. He spent a good while making biscuits on it before settling down 💜
Barney the handsome senior ginger and white cat laying curled up on a very soft and thick grey throw on a sofa. His head is raised alertly and his amber eyes are open.
November 17, 2023 at 10:15 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
search drinks in your camera roll
A white cat with black splotches and a black tail sits primly on a windowil in front of a rainbow glass ornament and a candle in a glass jar. There are no drinks visible whatsoever. The cat doesn't belong to me, I was cat-sitting for friends while they moved house. The cats came to us so they wouldn't be stressed by the move.
October 7, 2023 at 6:43 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
The product of yesterday's zoomies. One skirt, for wearing in Autumn. Highly adjustable with alterations because it's just rectangles hanging off a rectangle.
Skirt hanging from a coat hanger against a door. Skirt is knee length, with a chunky waistband and deep side pockets. The pockets have a little green facing at the opening. The skirt is cut in rectangles on the straight of grain, and pleated to the waistband. The fabric has lots of pumpkins in shades of orange against a dark green background. Detail of the pumpkin fabric, showing that they have subtle shading and cute little light green leaves scattered between them.
September 24, 2023 at 5:49 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Nice.
Screencap of my profile page showing 69 followers.
September 17, 2023 at 6:20 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Just put a border on the excellent spoopy nonsense I bought the other week. The black fabric comes from the stash and is from a sheet I got ages ago in a charity shop.

Single layer, took about 90 minutes. And no, I have not yet bothered to iron it.
A single layer throw hanging over a book case. The throw is mostly made of a pre-printed quilting panel with a spooky scene of black cats playing with skeletons, jack-o'-lanterns, spiders, a haunted house, and a goth lass shooting orange lightning from her hand, presumably to better see the kitties playing. The main colours are black, blue, orange and white. To the left of the throw is another bookcase with some glass and plush pumpkins on.
September 13, 2023 at 9:04 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
It's fucking done. I'm very tired.
Photo of an embroidery that's finally finished. Early C17th coif pattern copied from an object in the collection of the V&A. Plants, birds, insects and a squirrel are sewn in stem and speckling stitch worked in purple, blue, green and teal, in very thin thread. The whole of the background is covered in 3mm gold coloured sequins. It's very shimmery. Close up of the same embroidery showing a tiny bug and the arse end of the squirrel. Another close up, this time showing the middle of the design. There are a few surprised looking insects.
September 5, 2023 at 10:17 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
Being stressed to my eyeballs and unable to write, I just bought this piece of Halloween quilting nonsense. i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bSk...

There are three seasons in our home: Halloween, Christmas and Pride. It's time for the Pride stuff to make way for the spoopy shit.
Cotton pre-printed quilting panel. An utterly batshit spooky scene with a load of skeletons emerging from a graveyard to play with some very cute black cats while a spooky ghost witch person sets up some jack-o-lanterns and there's a trio of spooky gonks just sitting there and a presumably-haunted house in the background. A spider spins a web at the top, but like politely.
September 5, 2023 at 6:53 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
189 hours 20 minutes so far, including 11 hours on the sequins. Getting there.

Very fucking slowly, but still. Good job this is as much about the journey as the destination.

#embroidery #sewing #UnstitchedCoif
Progress pic of an embroidery that I'm adding sequins to. The pattern is from 1600-1620 and is embroidered in ridiculously tiny stitches in stem stitch and speckling stitch, in purple, blue, green and teal. The sequins measure 3mm in diameter, and cover between a half and two thirds of the background of the design so far. There's a cute pastel goth skull needle keeper sitting on the linen to the right of the embroidery.
September 3, 2023 at 4:40 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
Oh yes, this is definitely The Shit. Love it.

I also love how it gives a hint at how stunning these were in domestic settings in the C17th. When I've finished the one I'm making up (not this one, this is staying flat) I'll film it in candlelight.
The embroidery with a few dozen 3mm sequins sewn to the lower left corner. The sequins are only between the design motifs, making a sparkly background.
September 2, 2023 at 10:18 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
Having had a look at how they applied sequins in the seventeenth century, I'm ready to start applying them to the project coif. I've bought a ton of flat 3mm sequins because they're the closest I could get to the sequins used at the time.

#embroidery #sewing
An embroidery worked on white linen in blue, green, purple and teal, stretched in a wooden frame. The shape is a coif, a type of cap, as a flat pattern. The design has plants, birds, bugs and a squirrel, and is worked in stem and speckling stitch. It's not at all sparkly. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.
September 2, 2023 at 7:38 AM
fredatron.bsky.social
A little treat has arrived. Bought myself a needle minder.
Needle minder sitting happily on an embroidery work in progress stretched taut in a frame. The needle minder is shaped like a pastel blue human skull wearing a horned skull with pastel pink flowers around.
August 31, 2023 at 5:15 PM
fredatron.bsky.social
Repost with one of your favourite hobbies (or more than one, whatever)
My contribution to the Unstitched Coif project. An embroidered early seventeenth century coif shown flat. The pattern is a joyfully chaotic mix of flowers, bugs, a squirrel and birds. The embroidery is worked in speckling and slip stitch, stitches used at the time, in colours of my own choice - a mix of green, teal, purple and blue. This thing took me nearly 180 hours so far and I still need to sew on the sequins. Close up of a bird from the same design. The bird is yelling excitedly about something and ruffling its wings. The speckling stitch is used to give shading and suggest form, and mixes the colours together. Close up of a skirt I'm working on right now. This is a purple corduroy skirt I'm making to wear for work, based on the coquelicot skirt pattern by Wildflower Designs. The close up shows one of the truly enormous eighteenth-century inspired pockets. A shirt I'm currently making. It's in self dyed dark purple cotton, and it's made like a shirt from the eighteenth century. It's a big old floofy shirt with plenty of billow to it and huge sleeves. This one's also for wearing to work, as soon as I get around to putting the buttons on the cuffs.
August 31, 2023 at 5:29 AM