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







Friday, January 6, 2012

the back.....

I'm late today!! That's because I have been parting with money at the supermarket and taking down the Christmas decorations...not because I've had my feet up drinking Gin and watching daytime TV!
You wanted to see the back??? Be careful what you wish for is all I can say.....
Video...I did this in video form because it is darker than dark here today, rubbish for photographs and also because I'm starting to think it gives a better picture of the work. If I am wrong then please let me know.....
I'm not stopping long...just long enough to say that I will draw winners of the ancient give away TOMORROW...that's a promise......and I may find some old tat to give away too.....my junk is your junk...I am so good at sharing rubbish!!!

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13 comments:

deanna7trees said...

i think we all like to see the backs of our fellow embroiderer's work...just for comparison and for some hints to maybe doing it a better way. the only thing i do differently is that when i can, i run my ending thread through a few stitches on the back so i can cut closer and not leave the hanging thread. it doesn't really matter because nobody sees it anyway. thank you Peggy for asking.

Gayle said...

I really enjoy your videos! Thank you for sharing them.

Jane said...

I agree, it's great to see what others do. Must tell you, Shylock(one of my furry friends) was enthralled, he would have loved to be able to touch!

Elizabeth said...

This was fascinating to me. You have little tied knots on your back, somehow that surprised me greatly.

How did the frig-hunt go?

Enjoy your weekend.

Rachel said...

I have to admit that I prefer photos, but that is because I always prefer photos or text to videos. Just old-fashioned, I guess!

But seeing the back of someone's work is always fascinating!

Mosaic Magpie said...

Karen,
I for one enjoyed seeing the back of your work. You can learn just as much from seeing the back often times. You mentioned you will give the work in progress piece, a trim up. When you trim the back will you reinforce stitch it? Or is the stitching with the backing enough to hold the pieces together?
Deb

Lois Evensen said...

Fascinating. I do like to see the backs.

I, too, like to keep the back of my knitting, especially the patchwork pieces, neat. The finishing is so important.

Iceni UK said...

Karen, seeing the back of your work was so interesting and not boring at all.
I love the piece you have ready for your class on Monday.
Enjoy your weekend.

Tina said...

I love the new videos. I got it figured out and love the clarity. You backs look as good as the fronts! Amazing work and I loved seeing the older work. It is beautiful.

Els said...

Hey Karen you're very neat ! Also at your back !! OFCOURSE no one would have thought otherwise, knowing your work !!!
So nothing to be ashamed of ;-) and in fact quite interesting, thanks

Peggy Holt said...

Karen, Karen, you are a jewel. Thank you so much for sharing that. It looks like I am in the ball park.

I was taught that the inside should look as beautiful as the outside in garment construction, and learned to take great pride in achieving that. I feel the same about my quilts and hand work.

I cut my knots considerably shorter than you do; I sure hope they don't "unknot".

I haven't seen any alternatives to knotting, especially when a lot of the work is done on the surface. With some needlework, you can run the tails back into the carried threads, but not on wrapped stitches like the spiderweb.

I love the videos because I can hear you, and the pictures seem to be clearer somehow.

Thanks again, you brave woman, you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for showing the details; I found it enthralling. And I don't have a beard yet.

Wichcraft said...

Karen, thank you for sharing this very private view of your work. I found it fascinating. We so rarely get to see the backs of handwork done by others, so this was a real treat for me. In my opinion, your backs look as lovely as the fronts!