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







Showing posts with label vintage lace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vintage lace. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

lace.....








As promised, some detailed pictures of Helen's white cloth. More specifically, images of the beautiful vintage lace that has been used in different areas. I am so busy today, Helen is coming home for the weekend and she will be taking this back with her. Aside from my excitement at seeing her I have to clean, wash bedding, tidy up and get ready for my class on Saturday (note to self, best buy more food too). The I am taking her off on Monday to visit her Grandparents before they forget what she looks like. We have a new baby to meet too and other assorted relatives to pop in on. No rest for the wicked then.....

Saturday, December 18, 2010

shades of white, inside and out...

Awoke this morning to a blanket of the white stuff. Appropriate really whichever way you look at it as next to my bed is my glass ''precious'' cabinet where I keep all my cherished cloth, old lace, found lace, gifted lace, along with Marimekko fabric, floral fabrics, embroidered pieces, samples, inspiration in general. I had a kind of revelatory moment as I was lying there trying to force myself from under the duvet. What is it about this piece I am working on that doesn't ''get'' me where it should?? It's obvious.....It's too soon, I hadn't reached ''that'' point yet. It is not the finished article or any real semblance of the finished article. It is a working sample, a sample that will inform what I finally come up with, a sample that will feed the next sample and on and on until my final piece is ready for the first week in february.
So, after a battle throught the snow and a VERY slow trip in the car to get essential supplies I emptied my ''precious''cabinet and laid some of it next to my work, another means to inform and inspire. Later today I will start another piece. It may become part of the finished article , it may not but it will definitely be there in spirit as a tool that has got me there. I feel so much calmer about this now. I feel as if I am working the responsible way, the organised way.

I had to show you these little glimpses of my snowbound abode. I am not a gardener in any sense, loose or otherwise. I am delighted if I can manage to maintain a pretty hanging basket at my front door and a little greenery with berries so the birds don't starve. My hanging basket is now anything but pretty but the good news...berries are still reachable and I have witnessed two very cold and shivery little birds feeding today so all is not lost even if the bush does look a little bedraggled.

Have a lovely weekend, stay warm, stay dry and stay safe....