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, January 25, 2026

Gingham, pom poms and applique.

 


I am still working on this collection, this paper based collection, creating a little notebook of design ideas.

Whilst working mostly on paper I do get a hankering for cloth, for the softness of cloth, hence my obsession with cloth sample books. 

The piece here is another page in progress for a new collection of embroidered samples. 

(does the dark blue gingham remind anyone else of school or is it just me) 

2 comments:

Jill Dian said...

Oh yes Karen - School Cookery Aprons!
However I'm loving all of this and the bright contrast of the colourful pom-poms too........ just so lovely :)

Liza said...

The gingham reminds me of my daughter’s summer school uniform, that exact colour and scale of pattern