I have recently returned to embroidery after an extended hiatus. I would like to document this journey as a way to discover what I am doing, how I can develop my work and keep a record of the process along the way.
As part of a course with Debbie Lyddon I am rediscovering the pleasure I get from textiles and the simple act of stitching and creating. For the past few years I have been painting abstract landscapes and have also sold some and displayed a few in a couple of galleries. I enjoyed the learning but always felt a bit lost. Like there was something missing. I regularly stitch on a patchwork blanket with tiny running stitches at night but didn’t connect the calm I felt while doing it with stitch. Crazy lady!!!
Anyway here are the tools and the process I have recently been going through.
We have a sweet box full of burnt rusted nails. We have a wood burner and my husband chops up old pallets. Very often the nails are embedded in the wood and when I clean out the grate I find these nails. Most people would probably bin them but the colours and texture have fascinated me so I’ve been collecting them. I had no idea what I would use them for but they felt like precious little spikes to me that would someday tell me what they wanted me to do with them.
I also had some small pieces of canvas in my stash from somewhere? No idea where from but I like it. The crochet cotton either belonged to my Gran or I bought from a vintage shop somewhere because I love it. I’ve a box full of it.
I laid them out, sampled them, stitched in different ways, wrapped them and examined them.
They have tiny slivers of metal running down them, apparently this is to stop them from slipping in the wood.
Then I stitched them into pleats with a blanket stitch. I love a blanket stitch. It reminds me of my childhood blankets. These tiny stitches are quite satisfying to create and I love the neat size of them and the way they secure the nails into place.
While stitching them the word brutal was in my mind. I wasn’t sure if I was using the word correctly. I checked it I. The dictionary definition was ‘cruel, cold blooded, ruthless, unpleasant. I didn’t get any of these words in my mind then I considered it in terms of nature. Many animals have sharp claws and teeth and some plants have thorns, spikes and prickles. All of these are to increase their chance of survival or are for protection.
In fact it was this cactus that inspired my use of the nails. So often if we wait until the right time the ideas will come to us instead of trying to force it
More samples before I created the pocket.
My plan moving forward is to continue to experiment with the nails and fabric. I would also like to experiment with different ways of colouring the fabric and also protecting the fabric.
I would like to make a large hanging and perhaps create a pot for my cactus plant. We will see.
I can’t delete or cut this image below so it will be here for eternity.
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