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







Monday, January 30, 2012

small....



Sunday was very relaxing working on these tiny sections of my cloth. I extended the padded areas and added buttonhole lace, they look like little cups...the three cutwork motifs will have added embellishment before that piece is complete. Hopefully that will happen today sometime and be damp stretched overnight.
The weekend also involved some admin for me . I have had a few latecomers to embroider, embellish create, they are signed up and stitching now but I have placed that class on ''sold out'' mode this morning. We are in week four and although access to resources is indefinite I feel with that particular course interaction within the working group is essential and a huge part of the whole experience. I will be running it again later in the year but for now I am concentrating on creating the new class, 'extending embellishment', hopefully there will be more news about that later this week.
With regard to the button class...I have now listed that as a ''learning package''. Three month access to all resources, blog etc along with printable PDF documents. I felt it best to deliver that in timetabled format...e mail with weekly headings enabling you to work to a three week timetable if you wish or alternatively enabling you to dip in and out over the three months if you prefer. This is a comprehensive package and excellent value in my opinion....after all you get me forever!!! I am so cheap...in many ways....
There is a link to that top right on this blog or you can go here and browse.
Now I must clean, my work room/dining room/computer room really needs to be acquainted with a duster!!!
(and I cleaned the oven yesterday!! yikes...domesticity...)

12 comments:

Jane said...

I did mine last week, just need to finish the rest of the kitchen!
I do like how the cutouts are developing

Diane Cransac said...

Small is good...and so beautiful!

Peggy Holt said...

I love those little padded areas; they are one of the details that first intrigued me about your work. I'm thinking they would be cool with a bar of delicate needle weaving across the top. hmmmm.

Domesticity surely does get in the way of creativity, doesn't it? I had to break down and clean bathroom sinks and tub the other day. Not very creative, but they do look better.

deanna7trees said...

I damp stretched some knitting last night on my large cork bathmat and thought of you. small is lovely.

Anonymous said...

Love the delicacy of this - it's going well.

I have learnt that when the weather provides good light for embroidery, domesticity must go hang, lest I fail to set a stitch for weeks at a time.
How my Grandmama got anything done if she did her chores first I will never understand!

Carol Q said...

lovely barnacle shapes Karen. nice to hear the classes are so popular!

Flaming Nora said...

The cut work circles look like little lady bugs going for a wander on a cool spring morning. Either that or a hairy caterpillar taking a stroll round an apple.

Suztats said...

The best things come in small!

stitchinglife said...

I like what Nora said :-)

Bunty said...

I have only just found out about your fabulous class through a link from another blog and rushed across,only to find that it is now sold out. I am so disappointed! I love embroidery and needlework,and although I haven't done a great deal of late (due to illness), thought this might be the kick start I need to get going again. What a pity - I will just have to drool over the Flickr group photos!

Barbara

Tatkis said...

It look so sweet! Some of them are like white ladybugs :)

Hugs,
Tatyana

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I was thinking ladybugs too, and then read the comments and discovered that great minds are obviously thinking alike!