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







Thursday, May 19, 2011

edges....



I have been having a bit of an edge fest for the past couple of days and you know how much I love my edges! First bit of excitement came with the arrival of my silk bias binding....it is gorgeous, so soft. It has been loosely applied, pinned and tacked to two of my finished pieces. It is actually quite hard to work with (or maybe that's just me) as it is honestly so very soft so it doesn't ''stay'' if you know what I mean and it is quite slippery so this process is taking me longer than I thought. It is so gorgeous to hold though that I fear I may never do anything else again!! 
The muslin piece...I know I said it would look different the next time you saw it...it doesn't...but!!!! It is different, it has been applied to a square of 100% cotton. One edge is just tacked down, the other edge, the one you can see here has been  secured with zillions of French knots and I can honestly say that in real life it is very highly textured and so very lovely...if I am allowed to say that, blow my own trumpet and everything. The other edge will be finished in the same way before I begin the process of adding more embroidery to the rest of the cotton square. Now I can't decide what to do first...binding with the gorgeous silk bias? French knots on the ''frothy'' muslin? oh heck....I am so indecisive....

17 comments:

Miriam Weaver said...

Karen thank you so much for your comments on my blog. I particularly love these pieces of work especially the muslin the texture is wonderful. So go on, blow your own trumpet why not?

letrecivette said...

Karen you made a wonderful pieces!
I love and everything is magic!
great and magic hands!
Monica

Jane said...

French knots always make me think of you, they compliment the muslin piece perfectly

deanna7trees said...

love the french knot cluster edge on the muslin.

Julie Shackson said...

It's fascinating to observe your processes, and again, I'm blown away by your patience! Bravo!

Helena said...

It's gorgeous the effect of the french knots!!! Go Karen, go, whatever you decided.

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

The bias-bound edges look beautiful, and the French-knot-encrusted muslin is stunning. Silk muslin I take it...? Silk Route...? It's gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

Silk can be a bit excitable to work with, but _so_ well worth it! It's looking lovely!

Flaming Nora said...

I am really really loving the muslin, can't wait to see it finished. Beautiful, delicate, seamless (all and no pun intended) join. Must have taken ages. How large is the piece?

jennyflowerblue said...

Binding is like magic isn't it? Hugely satisfying- and SILK? You are so darn Posh! xxx

Brenda T said...

The texture with the muslin and french notes is fabulous. I always love your work.

Tammie Lee said...

breathtaking~

Heartwideopen said...

I adore that frothing loveliness! It reminds me of the surf coming in at the ocean! I agree with a former comment. Whenever I see french knots I think of you. I wish I could touch these!!

;-) Debi

jill said...

Just had a look through your blog and am still impressed, your work is stunning and I shall see you this weekend hopefully unless you run away

Suztats said...

I love the ruched muslin, Karen! I love all your french knots.

Anonymous said...

Good heavens, silk bias binding! That was quite a find. As always, you make it look totally at home in your world. The effect of the stitched muslin is just lovely.

Anonymous said...

The texture of the french knots on the muslin is lovely and the way they crowd together at the edge and tumble down onto the smooth fabric makes me just want to run my fingers over them.

What about french knots encroaching onto the silk bias binding?!