Stitch diary 2018

Holiday stitching 2018.  A quick study of what was happening during my week in Pollenca.  Noisy swifts every morning and evening, juicy figs for lunch, starry halos for Santa Maria, rainbows of colours through stained glass windows and bougainvillea flowers falling on the patio.  All this interspersed with some fantastic reading, wonderful food and great company.  What more could I want?

And if you are interested, my basic stitch kit of 2 needles, 1 pair of scissors and a rats-nest of threads contained in the most perfect bag made for me by my friend Clare.

All packed and ready to go

As a child, I would practice a new technique by making something for one of my dolls or teddies.  I learned how to piece together a pattern, set sleeves, make buttonholes and worked out why trousers needed to be shaped and cut correctly.  Working on a small scale means that you need less material and it's generally a lot quicker, if a little fiddly.

One of my favourite artists and teachers is Serena Partridge, who also lives a life in miniature.  I've long admired her perfect shoes and gloves but did you know that she also started on her particular artistic path by making a set of miniature luggage?

Well as I was about to go on holiday, it seemed appropriate to make this little suitcase using faux leather but proper saddle-stitching to finish the exterior.  It's my first time using this two-needle, one-thread technique but it was remarkably satisfying.  Next time I think I would pierce the stitch holes before sewing to ensure that the line and stitches were even, but after all, that is the point of a practice piece isn't it?

Thank you to Serena for her inspiration!

Emotional Repair

My favourite mug, broken because I had too many things in the cupboard (and perhaps because I am a bit clumsy).  Repaired, not with vinegar and brown paper, but some plastic and stitch and a whole lot of love. 

It was a bit of an experiment and in my first trials, the plastic melted and curved naturally but it was a little more difficult to heat successfully.  I will have to continue my investigations.

Beach combing treasure

A family day out to the beach always results in some kind of found treasure!  Last week it was a small piece of drift wood, the spaces in between the annual rings, worn away by the action of the sea.  It reminded me of an Indian block print and so this is what I did with it.  Perhaps it needs some Kantha stitching......

Mapping Skipton

Skipton Embroiderers' Guild are mapping Skipton, one building at a time.  Our latest community art project called, Where's My Home? aims to make a large textile map of the town featuring key buildings and places where people meet or work.

Here's my version of the station buildings, Bondaweb applique and hand stitch measuring just 10x7cm.

Swan Song

Swan song: the final performance or act of someone's career.

For me, this refers to the latest community art project for Skipton Embroiderers' Guild.  It's a collaborative work to create a map of Skipton Town Centre showing some of it's wonderful buildings and most importantly, where people meet and work.  We've called it Where's My Home? because that's what everyone looks for when they see a map.  It has been generously funded by Craven Ward Member Budget and Craven Trust.

We will be working with different groups and some businesses to make representations of the place that they call home.  We've also asked our members to make a 4x4" square depicting their home or home town.  I was born in Buckinghamshire and most of my extended family still live there.  When I visited recently I noticed the fabulous golden swan on the top of town hall in Buckingham.  The swan is the emblem of the county which was famous for breeding these birds for the king, hence the crown around it's neck.  It has another meaning for my family because they lived at Swan Farm.

We hope the project will be completed in time to display it at Yarndale, 29-30th September 2018 and we are looking forward to a Summer of creativity.

I'm just about to enter my third and final year as Chairman of Skipton branch, so yes, this will probably be my swan song.

Heartfelt praise

This little heart (only 15cms) has been made for the Embroiderers' Guild 100 Hearts Project celebrating lives, lived and lost during the First World War.  My maternal family, the Leonards, were farmers in Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire and so I have chosen to reflect their contribution to the war effort. 

My design is based on corn dollies that were made as favours and talismans of good fortune.  Corn dollies are more usually woven from stalks of wheat, but this Oxfordshire Sweetheart is plaited.  I made mine from some gold braid, echoing the braid used on military uniforms.  I fashioned the ears of wheat using bullion knots in cotton perle yarn.  The poppies and cornflowers were common to both the fields of England and France and symbolise the loss for each country.

It will be donated to the Guild exhibition that will run later this year and will ultimately be sold to raise money for the Armed Forces charity SSAFA.