Inspiration

Hi! I meant to post early this week but it has been horrendous here, dust, builders, boxes, rubbish and to cap it off I have been unwell. Some kind of gastric thing the doc says so although I have been off work for three whole days almost nothing pleasurable has taken place at all. One good thing did come from this health hiccup though, plenty of time to browse online and look what I got off ebay! The most beautiful vinatge cloths, I put my bids in and waited and waited. I got beaten to it on another two but I am not very good at this auction thing, I don't have the patience or the inclination to watch the clock go down and pounce, credit card in hand to out bid some stranger who obviously wants something more than I do.
I couldn't believe how opening these packages and handling these pieces of cloth inspired me. I felt a compelling urge to stitch, honestly, I was so excited. ( does that sound like I need to get out more?? Maybe to some people but I know there are others who will totally understand what I am talking about) These pieces reminded me of how much pleasure I got from making 'wrapping cloth eight'. I had truly enjoyed the use of colour in that, colours like those our grandmothers would have used.

Then I found this, in amongst all the debris, a sample from about two years ago, very simple stitching on cotton fabric using similar colours to those in my vintage cloth.

Then I came across these, samples I had made to use in my teaching practice when I was doing my PGCE. Heavy 'proper' hand embroidery, time consuming and extremely satisfying to create.

This one has to be my favourite, it's probably the placement of the flowers, I like order and precision although you wouldn't believe me if you could see my house at the moment!! In a funny kind of way I also love the spaces, the white emptiness.

So here I am, a highly excited, inspired embroiderer with a very sore stomach itching to stitch! I am on it, new work has begun. I don't know what it will be yet, it may turn into an edge for swaddling band two, a new swaddling band, a component of a totally different piece I have been ruminating on, who knows, definitely not me yet. Enjoy what is left of the week, holidays next week (yipee) and hopefully more embroidery and lots of blogging.

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