2022 and all that

I missed doing my blog last week, because Colin and later I had Covid. I felt better by Christmas morning, having spent two days in bed, but still tested positive. Colin had tested negative, but was still feeling very tired and washed out; thankfully, we’d both managed to avoid it until now.

So, lots of the Christmas things that we usually do just haven’t happened. However, rather than focus on the things we’ve not done, I thought I’d have a quick look back at some of the things I have done this year.

I started the year off with finally braving cutting the Sari fabric for a dress for my friend Alicia. It took ages as I rarely had chance to fit it on her, since she lives more than two hours away. There are several posts about it, including More and Dress and eventually Finished dress. It still needs a good press here.

I also did some work for a couple of exhibitions. The first was for Grasby which included Altered images – part one and Altered images – part two.

We all also did a little coaster-size canvas work and French knot pieces on a garden theme. My first one was based on roses, which was just a starting point for colours……

…….and my second one on daffodils and narcissi.

The other exhibition was at the Chapter House at Lincoln Cathedral, over the August Bank Holiday weekend. I was supposed to act as steward on the Tuesday morning, but unfortunately didn’t make it as Colin had been hospitalised the night before with a nose bleed that wouldn’t stop. I had done work on two collaborative pieces “Shard” and a Banner for the exhibition.

My “Shard” was Stitching in thin air, More stitching in thin air and Finished stitching in thin air. The photo right at the very top is the finished right side, and the one below the back before it was attached.

The group also wanted to change the name on the banner to Lincolnshire Textiles and add some more 6 inch squares. I did one with Lincolnshire Poacher on it.

We also all did a fabric origami butterfly to be hung en masse. We’d been given a pack of fabric in a range of colours and patterns, with notions and instructions. This was mine.

I’ve also done several workshops: stitching, felting, printing and a copper-wire wren. Alongside my usual classes in stitching and painting, I’ve gone to Scunthorpe Embroidery and Textiles Association (travelling book pages until the last couple of months), Lincolnshire Textiles monthly meetings, and various other creative projects.

Yes, I have several WIPs (works in progress), things to pick up and continue. But all in all, I’ve been pretty productive throughout the year one way and another. I’ve learnt lots of new techniques and stitches, and new ways of using familiar stitches…… and lots of ideas for future work.

Finished stitching in thin air

The above photo shows the finished needle lace. It looks rather messy, with all the loose ends, knots of the cords and fraying edges, and it needs cutting down to the pattern shape. But before I dared to cut it, I re-machined with a small machine stitch over the existing pale blue machine stitch outline, that I’d used to hold the cords in place, with a thread that matched the background fabric. The fabric frays fairly badly.

I checked the original piece with perlé threads. This really was the stitching in thin (mid) air, between the sides of my improvised plastic-coated wire frame work the size of the finished piece.

I offered them up to check the two matched size-wise. The photo just shows them together.

I used my rotary cutter, quilting ruler and a cutting board to cut as close to the machine stitching as possible. I then went all round the edge with watered-down PVA, left it to dry, and just to make sure I’d not missed anywhere put on a second coat. I also did two coats on the back piece, making sure it was all covered but not too gluey, which might have left dried bits of glue visible. It all seems fairly secure and shouldn’t fray either.

I used blue pony beads to raise the stitched-in thin air piece on the back of the shard.

I made a twisted cord (much too long, so lots of spare) to stitch around the two long sides. The stitching was a bit tricky with the glued edge. I resorted to a thimble in the end, as I was making holes in the end of my middle finger trying to push it through. This meant I didn’t get it finished last week in time to hand in. The assembly team want the bottom to be left as it is, so they can make any adjustments as they put the whole lot together on the framework.

A close-up of the finished point, it worked better than I expected.

On the back I’ve left the extra threads at the bottom. I think it must have stretched a little with the glue, but it can be cut off or not as they see fit. It’s already to hand in next month.

More stitching in thin air

I’ve stayed focused on my shard piece this week, and apart from a Schwam workshop at Lincolnshire Textiles last Saturday, I’ve continued with it each chance I’ve had to stitch.

The first thing was to find some more threads, to vary the shades, texture, gloss and add a bit of sparkle. The “Bella Donna” viscose ones above may look beautiful and glossy, but they are horrendous to stitch with, very quickly untwisting, separating and becoming fluffy. I usually try only to couch with them, but thought the blue was such a good colour that I’d have a go (bottom right). It’s slightly better stitching in thin air with them, at least the fabric isn’t abraiding it, and it does glide against itself ok. It would have been easier to do Corded Brussels, and if I use it for another section it certainly will be the corded stitch.

I also used two of these trusty Madeira threads. I bought them years and years ago in a tiny little shop in Alnwick when we touring in the camper-van. Over the years I’ve used them a lot at some time or other, only for hand stitching, and often with another thread of some sort.

The difficulty with these was using two strands, the first time the blue with a fine perlé, not too bad (middle bottom), and it catches the light more than the photo shows. Then I started using it for the section that went down to the point.

The cord was less anchored, and going into the machine stitch down one side, it pulled it across, and I ran out of thread. While finishing off the end, I realised I could pull it over a little more and leave myself a new section. So I used a strand of the blue and the silver together, both very fine and inclined to tangle, especially as they were rather long with wanting to make sure I didn’t run out of thread again. Again the photo doesn’t show the sparkle.

It’s certainly a slow process. I’d done eight sections by last week and have now done seventeen, and started the eighteenth. I’m not sure how many more I’ll do as I’m assessing where to go next as I go, but I’m enjoying the process. The Corded Brussels Stitch is not only much better to do, it is also significantly quicker than the Brussels Stitch.

The coasters in the photo, showing the piece as is, are from Barcelona; Gaudí’s work is so stimulating and inspiring.

A couple of people have asked me about the piece in the last week or so, and thought it might be based on a stained glass window when I’d told them it was for a piece for Lincolnshire Textiles Exhibition to be held in the Chapter House at Lincoln Cathedral in August. Certainly rose windows and stained glass generally do inspire me.

Looking through photos a couple of days ago I found this, which we came across by accident when we were walking in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter in April 2013, in the Plaça de Sant Miquel. It reminded me of some of my degree work “Informed by the organic”, that I was working on for the degree show in May.

New work is often influenced by earlier work and input, even when it is subconsciously. Looking through photos is often a good starting point, and although I didn’t find many pictures of the people and dog that I was looking for, I did find lots and lots of things that are ideas for my art and textile work.