This is not the first time that I am writing about hand stitching. I will try not to repeat myself on the delights of using a needle and thread to transform a piece of plain fabric. This week’s excitement was the arrival of hanks of hand dyed no. 12 perlé thread from House of Embroidery.
My local quilt shop (LQS) kindly ordered a new hank for me. To make sure, she ordered the two shades that best matched the plum coloured hank acquired a year ago. They are both enticing and enchanting and I could not resist taking both of them. They arrived not a moment too soon, as I do not have enough thread to make my October kantha stitch sampler.
For the September sampler I intended to stitch a flower to celebrate the arrival of spring, and started stitching from the centre. This is where the needle and thread led me.
A while ago I posted a photograph of a piece that I named Fragmented Flower. I recently finished its companion, Full Lotus, and have renamed the first piece Half Lotus, with thanks to my good friend, The Artist, who suggested that I borrow the names of yoga poses for the titles of the works.
Half Lotus (69 x 23 cm) and (right) Full Lotus (69 x 69 cm)
The gold reproduction fabric that was so kindly sent to me by Laura Bruno Lilly has been used in both pieces and is now all but used up. The cherry coloured petals in Full Lotus are from an old silk blouse and where a pleasure to stitch down, using the stepped kantha stitch. Here follows a close up from Full Lotus.
A joy as ever to see work you accomplish. Kantha stitching and examples are/is (?) wonderful. I must learn.
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Thanks for your encouragement and for being inspired, Judith
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How pretty! About how long does it take you to complete each piece?
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The monthly samplers take a few weeks. The bigger works take months, but I don’t necessarily work on them consistently. Thanks for commenting, Wendy
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The threads look luscious! You create such beautiful pieces.
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Thanks so much Chela for your kind words
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Those thread colors are yummy and your stitching is beautiful 👏
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Thanks very much for your kind comments on my stitching. Looking forward to threading a needle with these yummy threads
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I am feeling a bit jealous you are heading into spring, the weather is truly autumnal wet and cold here. Lovely stitching again for this month!
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Never mind, spring will return to your part of the world! Thanks for reading and commenting Emmely
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What exquisite work. I am smiling as I view them.
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Oh thank you Claudia.
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I tried kantha stitching, as inspired by your work, but my eyesight makes it impossible (my damaged retina makes straight lines wavy and small things hard to see. You can imagine what that did to the lines of stitching. Very surprising to think you’ve made one shape and then to find your self veering off yet again!) So your work is extra interesting to me since I know I’ll never be able to try the technique, but I sure can enjoy it!
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I am sorry to hear about your eye troubles. Assume that any kind embroidery is therefore impossible for you? Thanks for taking vicarious pleasure in my work
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Yes, I am severely nearsighted and about 6 years ago, due to that and to side effects of medication, my right retina developed a hole and I lost my vision in that eye. It was repaired (thanks to the fact that we have a world class eye hospital here) but there are still defects in my vision and so close work is really impossible (as is drawing a straight line, thank goodness I never could do that anyway in my artwork so … no effect!). I am really grateful to have my sight repaired, no matter what, because even 20 years ago this surgery was not possible and I would have been blind in that eye. Anyway, it hasn’t stopped my appreciation for needlework, in fact, probably enhanced it.
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Clever Girl! Love the September Kantha piece, so full of organic movement!
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Thanks Karen. The stitching unfolded organically, so I appreciate your noticing that
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Oh Mariss, I am entranced by your unfolding Kantha 2020 collection…especially your use of ‘my’ fabric scrap. Who knew?
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Yes, life is full of surprises. For me there was magic in that gold fabric which, as I recall, you did not really like. Thank you for being entranced. Makes my heart glad
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You recall correctly. ***You*** pulled the magic out of it!
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The complexity in these pieces is amazing. The September sampler is most striking – in addition to being a flower, the design also reminds me of the structure of a dandelion seedhead.
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Thanks for your enthusiastic response. I am very pleased to know that you see a dandelion seedhead in the stitching. What a bonus!
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Your stitching is absolutely breathtaking! How much you love it really shows through in your work!
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Oh thank you Tierney !!
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