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







Sunday, May 15, 2011

eyelets....

Phew, what a few days....everything seems as if it has been upside down and back to front. I have been so busy on the ''domestic'' front which is quite hard when the last thing you are is a goddess in that department. I have had a wobble with my work...doubt, uncertainty, desire to pack it all in and throw it in the bin....and on top of it all a massive collapse of blogger which has driven me almost to distraction. A result of that is that there are lots of comments missing from here. First of all if you commented on my give away it may not be there any more, have a look and if it's gone and you care...that's quite important, whether you care or not!! and if it's not there leave another one. Also, I have lost every comment that I had on friday from my magazine post, again, you don't get anything from this I know but if you could maybe leave it again. I know some people may think oh it's only a comment, what does it matter. Well I can honestly say that when you work in isolation as I do, then every single comment is a blessing, a source of encouragement and is read again and again.



Now for my work...and I apologise for these pictures, a little dreary. They have been altered to try and lighten them up but I am battling grey skies and rain so it's an almost impossible job. The white cutwork and applique has had eyelets added. I can't seem to get excited about this piece for some reason, to me it says ordinary and lacks something. What that something is I don't know. I added a swathe of muslin to one area to break up the plain surface. I do like the result but I'm still ''not feeling'' the piece as a whole so it is going to be put to one side for a while and that means I am about to start a new piece......today.

15 comments:

Jane said...

I only hope my attempt at cutwork is half as good as yours. I might come crying on your shoulder if it doesn't work out.
Enjoy working on your new piece today

Carol Q said...

OMG - you are so clever at this Karen. so delicate and beautiful.

letrecivette said...

Delicate ,elegant and so ..beautiful!
Great!
Monica

Lois Evensen said...

Hi, Blogger was driving us all a little nutty this week, wasn't he!

Lovely work you have there again, lady.

Sunday hugs from way over here to way over there,
Lois :))

Anonymous said...

I have the 'should I pack it all in' wobble almost every week, so I was in fact quite pleased to see that you have it too. I'll carry on if you will. I hope we have a deal :-)
Beautiful work, as always.

Yvonne Moxon said...

Your cutwork is beautiful! and I totally understand about every comment matters :)

Anonymous said...

You made me laugh about every comment matters because I totally understand. When I do some sewing (I don't blog) I am hoping someone will say something about it!! - my husband usually says "What are you going to do with it?" but it doesn't really worry me - I just continue on with the next piece!
I prefer your white work to the colour so carry on!
Dianne F
Sydney

Suztats said...

Oh, I love it Karen! But,hey, if you're not happy with it, you can send it over to me: I'll be happy with it, I can tell ya!
Blogger drove me crazy, too.

Linda Carole Bloom said...

NO NO NO
No "packing it in" talk! Your things are wonderful, creative, artistic! Love the magazine article - I was able to read some of it. If the skies are gray and rainy, maybe you need a white and lemon yellow piece. Then when the sun comes out, you can go back to the pure white. I like the white pieces the best because nothing detracts from the artistry of the stitches, but I do like working with color myself. My new onsies with skirts are very bright and it was raining all week while I worked on them. I'm in a motel on the way to Michigan to visit my father - luckily they have wireless. It rained all the way across PA, fun with the big trucks spraying water all over me! Hang in there, the sun has to come out sometime, right?? Love, Linda

meandering pearl said...

im so happy to be here today!!! i have had no time lately!!! but you soothe my turmoil-filled days with peace & beauty, & for that, i thank you so!!!

loveliness always
{& CONGRATULATIONS for the magazine article!!! im sure theres more to come too you are so much of an inspiration for us!!! warm smiles :) }

dandelion said...

I will have to get a copy of uppercase but can you buy it in England? I've always loved the look of it and your spread looks beautiful. Don't pack it in! who would I have to talk to?! Now I'm going to check that my giveaway comment is still there!!!

Anonymous said...

The weather has been miserable, hasn't it! That may be contributing to your not "feeling" the piece, because from what I can see it looks charming!

Tammie Lee said...

dreary photos or not, gorgeous. yes we all lost posts and comments... so nice that we did not loose our entire blogs!

Helena said...

Pure and delicated white, I love it.
Nice week.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Must admit cutwork scares the beejeebers out of me - I`m always so afraid I`ll cut something vital and have to toss the whole project because of it. You have it mastered!!