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After putting it to one side on many occasions, I managed to
finish the candle wall hanging just in time to give it to a friend for
Christmas. This particular friend can’t sew any more after a severe stroke so
it is nice to be able to present her with some of my work. She used to be a
wonderful needlewoman, sewing beautiful items in a very precise way; I didn’t
hold a candle to her in that respect (excuse the pun!). She can’t express it
now but I’m sure she mourns for what she has lost. I have tried on several occasions
to help her sew stitches onto Aida with large holes but after a few attempts
she puts her needle down in frustration! I think by picking up the needle in
the first place, she is just humouring me and, perhaps in trying to get her to
sew, I am only emphasising what she has really lost. I’m sure it saddens her;
it certainly saddens me.
As we free-fall towards Christmas once again, it’s just lovely
to take time out to breathe! I did just that last Monday by spending a day at
Suzette’s. Four of us were in attendance for our last session of the year. We have always got on so well and we just sit
and sew quietly (perhaps not!!) alongside one another. We each work on very
different projects but I have learned an awful lot about machine embroidery by just
observing what the others are doing. I love being there! This week Suzette had ordered
some acrylic inks and she got them out for me to try. I loved the intensity of
the colours and immediately wetted some calico and watched the colours run through
it and blend together. So far so good! And then I had to decide what I was going
to do with them. Inspiration came from a piece of work made by Suzette using a
recycled tray cloth and, as I had yet to make 2 cards for quilting friends, I
used that as a reference.
Inspiration
I drew my robin shape onto the calico and used small bits of
fabric to colour him in, holding the pieces down with a free-motion scribble
stitch. This is such a liberating way to work for me after years of
precision-cut patchwork shapes and ¼” seams!
Robin in progress
Robin 2 card
Pat’s robin
Suzette’s vase complete
And then I stood back and looked at his legs; they appeared much
too heavy! Suzette suggested throwing some more fabric over the top to make it
look as though he was grounded! It worked! I cut away the excess fabric with a
fluted rotary cutter and stuck it on to a piece of card (just in case the
recipient wanted to frame it!)
Robin 1 card
Having got the hang of the procedure, number 2 robin was
quicker to do and looked more natural.
Pat was also working on a robin but she was revitalising a
faded image on a calico bag. Her technique was totally different because she
used layers of sheers cut into tiny pieces and she stitched over the top with a
tiny stipple stitch to hold them down. I look forward to seeing this one
finished.
Peggy’s tree stump
Suzette had used the acrylic inks to paint a vivid turquoise
piece of fabric before we arrived and she started to cut out a section of it to
make a jug. You could almost see the heat waves rising above her head as she
got to grips with this new project and started to create in stitch the vision
that was in her head. She was obviously so pleased with her progress because
she continued sewing into the evening to complete it and share it with me. Her
background fabric was an old piece of table linen, parts of which remain
visible around the edges, and she cuts up and recycles her own textiles to
include in her most recent pieces. This is all about recycling! Google
Suzettesmart.com to see all her lovely work.
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