For centuries women have used cloth as a tool of comfort and as an expression of beauty within their homes. Creating cloth for warmth, cloth for shelter, our female predecessors embellished these linens with hand stitch using laborious and time consuming techniques thereby enhancing the functional beauty of objects which enveloped and protected their families. Inspired by these women I hope my creations pay tribute to and recognise the devotion expressed in cloth by our female ancestors .







''the use of traditional often time consuming process alludes to the devotion of a mother''. c K. A. Ruane 2007







Tuesday, August 19, 2008

I have made some progress with the second panel for my crazy patchwork cloth. A heavily pleated panel of silk is going to be fastened down with cotton tape that I have embroidered with text. When I put the edge on the finished piece (remember the little text stitched loops?) this should hopefully all come together and be really effective.


This is how the second panel looks next to the crazy piece. You wouldn't believe how long the crazy piece is taking, the different panels are really time consuming to complete, they then have to be stretched before being cut up. On top of that I have ordered some more of the thread I am using to join it all together and it seems to have gone walkabout. Time consuming doesn't really bother me normally, but as I start work next week I would love to have this finished before my embroidery time disappears.




In the meantime, whilst I wait for my thread, I am going to do a little bit more sampling. I am not promising anything amazing or wonderful, I can't bear the possibility of letting you down or disappointing you, but I will put 150% into having something else to show you soon.

3 comments:

Jane said...

I love the way the pleats are held with the stitched tape and open up. I am sure it will look great with the loops

Threadspider said...

often time consuming..what a sentiment. But labours of love, in whatever form, frequently are.
There is magic in the way silk folds and pleats and tucks and just generally behaves. It's the most glorious fabric to work with, especially in your hands.

Victoria said...

I would love to see one of your cloths up close and in person. I could blissfully get lost in its meditative wonderment for days on end.