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, February 15, 2011

fiddling about....

The daylight hours of yesterday were mostly spent cleaning...yes you read that right...cleaning. Giving me a couple of days clear run to not have to think about anything other than sewing...bliss. What did I do last night, started on hexagons, sketchbooks in mind. I was making good progress too until I decided it would be a good idea to tip a cup of coffee down myself!! One hour, one shower, more cleaning (getting the coffee up) and the ironing of clean clothes later I was back on the hexagons. So not much to show really for my well planned evening...Oh well, these things are sent to try us and all that.
This morning I had planned to put together another section for toe wrap two. Not to be sent off track I laid the pile of unstitched hexagons to one side....well away from the coffeee!! and another section is now pinned with more prairie points.

These three little hexagon flowers will find their way into my new sketchbooks, soon I hope but don't hold your breath. Each book has five stitched pieces in, I want to make six books, so that's thirty little pieces of embroidery required...three down twenty seven to go...
Now an invitation....do you have a hankering to dig, to rip up roads and pavements?? Come here, right outside my front door. Why not? everyone else has!! My other half is a nurse, on night shift, allegedly sleeping through today...ha!! We have the gas board digging the road up, we have the council digging the road up to renew tarmac so the gas board can dig it up. We have an unknown organisation pulling up paving slabs, the paving slab destruction company no doubt..
cave living tempting anyone else?

11 comments:

Jane said...

Having worked nights, I well remember what that is like.
I love the hexagons, so glad they didn't end up swimming in the coffee

Lois Evensen said...

Beautiful work once again. And, I can identify with noise when you or someone you love needs to sleep! I hope the work out in front of the house is finished SOON!

Anonymous said...

So glad you managed to create something lovely in the midst of all the chaos and noise!

deanna7trees said...

beautiful hexagon flowers with a touch of french knots.

Joanna said...

Not got the same noise level as you are experiencing but I have a neighbour who has a clothes dryer which can be on for three hour stretches most days, not loud but a fairly constant humm which stops and starts. Irritating and gets inside your head because our concrete apartment blocks resonate with it. It has been on less just lately thank goodness but does not help with my studying.

Hubby also used to do on call as a lab technician in a previous life, and he could be awful if woken, so you have my deep deep sympathy

jill said...

wow you were quick with this, get a baby cup to stop you spilling and Im glad I missed the workmen. The zine is great

Elizabeth said...

I feel very sorry for you hubby. Cave living isn't attractive to me since we have had a snowstorm today and sitting in a cave means cold and wet environment.
I do look forward to your new books.

Have fun tonight.

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Karen! I love your little hexagon flowers. And I have just read one of the posts below and found out about your little books, so I've just ordered one of those and look forward to having my very own little piece of your work, albeit in printed form rather than the stitched. Well, there's the spine, I suppose...!
Love,
Janice. x

Angela said...

Those little hexagin flowers are so dainty and lovely. Grrrr to all the roadworks I used to work nights and know exactly how frustrating it can be listening to the 'daywalkers' and all their inconsiderate noise.

Joei Rhode Island said...

Heavens!! I worked 11p to 7a shift too long not to remember all the naps that were suppose to "pass" for sleep. HA
Love the tiny red squares and the thin red stripes.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I hope you didn't burn yourself with the coffee!! I'm such a klutz and don't dare work with white because I KNOW where my coffee would end up. My sympathies over the demolition crew outside.