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







Wednesday, June 1, 2011

pink....

a gift... a  pink gift. I have it on reliable authority that the recipient likes pink...let's hope so! This is the final result of my not so secret pink hexagons. Teamed with a little ruched muslin they look at home to me...I like it.
I want to say thanks for all contributions to my personal aversion towards products rant the other day. You all expressed beautifully how I feel about what I do, thankyou. I think it's inevitable that unless I am asked for something specific my fingers will just continue to stitch and the end results will be whatever they will be...




I have listed a couple of things this week including something today. The cost of these reflects the hours and hours of work that was invested in them. That I think is another thing I perhaps need to be aware of. I just stitch and stitch and before I know it something has taken me days. So at the moment I am consciously creating other pieces that won't take as long...if I can learn to stop that is. At the end of the day a piece still needs to feel ''right'' to me, otherwise it wouldn't be my work, it wouldn't be me. It's all good though, learning every day and with every piece, nothing lost. I also think it will do me some good to have this short break from the mammoth task that is my collection....time will tell.
Incase you missed it I did the button post yesterday...check it out and leave a comment there too if you feel the need to own some one off buttons!

16 comments:

Jacky said...

Ooohhh.... love the soft pink. Beautiful as always Karen, always that attention to details which I love.

Jacky xox

deanna7trees said...

always love pink and white. so soft looking and delicate.

connie said...

So soft and sweet! I love this piece! Looks like you are having fun too.

Jane said...

oooh, I love this, could look at it all evening

Anonymous said...

The balance and the way the piece moves from pink to white is perfect. The shade of pink is just right - doesn't overwhelm.

Anonymous said...

That pink is delightful.

Most of us underestimate the time and effort we put into our work...

Joanna said...

Love the texture of the pink hexagons on the ruched muslin, very nice.

Carol Q said...

ooh just scrummy Karen. I just love the texture of the ruched muslin mixed in with the lace and French knots.

Montreat Designs said...

I like how you moved from pink to white and the stitches that connect the two!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I still think (and will continue to think) that you need to write a real live book - I know, beyond any doubt, that it would sell...and I'm in line for the first copy!! Even just a picture book with all your beautiful work and photography would be sublime.

Gina said...

Beautiful and such a lovely balance of texture!

Iceni UK said...

Gorgeous work as always, love the introduction of pink hexi's into the frothy white smocking and French knots, like foam lapping on the sea shore..

Me being all poetical again :)

Gayle said...

Love the beautiful soft pink. Gayle:-)

Linda Carole Bloom said...

Karen, I LOVE the pink hexagons with the white - pink and white, and the pink with the little white flowers. Thank you for the kind wishes about my father - it IS hard being far away. And one more thing . . . WHY would you want to shake a stick at french knots??? :)
Love, Linda

Tammie Lee said...

so we are both in a pink mood....

Elizabeth said...

Oh how I know to get lost in needling!!!! Small pieces are fun to make, one can learn a lot but for me I just love large project despite the lack of marketability (is that a word).

Hope you have a lovely sunday evening.