Our last Embroiderers’ Guild meeting was a whole day to look at and get inspiration from some folios we had received from Headquarters. There was one on plants and one insects and other creatures. All kinds of embroidery styles and techniques were represented and it was lovely just to mooch through these pieces and enjoy their skill and beauty.
This sort of very open-ended session doesn’t suit everyone but it’s right up my street and I soon found a little piece that I loved. Apologies for my phone camera which just doesn’t do even slightly close-up.
Knowing the limitations of my phone, I also went for a watercolour annotated sketch in my sketchbook. The note top right is a copy of the label on the back.
I liked the idea of layered scraps of fabric and also the limited stitch palette and as I always have plenty of scraps to hand, I was soon layering up frayed rectangles of various heavier weights of hand-dyed fabric and hunting out single strands of silks and cottons to create my scene in lazy daisy stitches with long stalks and wheatear stitch.
There are some Krenik gold stitches in there too, but it wasn’t the brightest of days when I took the pictures, so they’re difficult to spot.
One of the delights of this was how quickly it stitched up and it was well and truly finished by the end of the day, which for me, is almost unheard of! It occurred to me that the technique would lend itself to another similar picture, but instead of the grasses, a wildflower meadow with bright pops of colour for poppies, cornflowers, campion, ox-eye daisies etc. I even had time to piece the base for it, using very similar pieces to the first one…
…but that’s as far as it’s got. Back to the reports for me…
Under A Topaz Sky 
Nice stitching. We have just formed a new group in Grantham – we talked the guild into letting us call ourselves ‘layers of stitch, (EGG). We are not going to be anything but quirky, different and definitely not boring. I am looking forward to borrowing a folio to examine, it sounds fascinating. Our first challange
will be “EGGS” what else 🙂
That’s brilliant! Really made me giggle!! :o)
Wonderful folio & what a brilliant idea to do a watercolor sketch, I love it. The piece you made is just lovely.
I love this interpretation and can see the technique being one to explore more.
Wheatear stitch is a such a good one for this sort of piece, isn’t it – your piece looks good and I’m going to enjoy seeing your wildflower meadow develop too!
I see my friend wendy got here first, I love the piece- its delicate and wistfull, just been catching up on your blog, slate shishas- great idea, and the scissor case, I am also looking forward to borrowing some folios,do come down to grantham one of these days and visit our new group,I taught cuff books to the guild ladies recently and they were so enthusiastic, I showed them how to paint white lace with inktense blocks and then they printed the cloth pages with the lace,when they bring them back at the next meeting I will photograph them.
keep up the good work tina
A lively diversion from reports — I’m surprised you could put your stitching down to get back to them. They are lovely!!
wow what gorgeous embroidery 🙂
your sketch is so appealing Alex and the sample, beautifully put together and perfectly delicate….
A lovely project…..and a soothing diversion from reports I should imagine. Sending sympathy (from someone who wrote them for 33 years …so I KNOW 😀 )