Just looking

The definition of good morning: a cup of hot black coffee, a cloth in progress, and a little collection of fabrics ready for their auditions.

Traveller’s blanket in progress

These are non-competitive auditions because they will all win in the end. I really like just looking at fabrics – although it’s never just looking, is it, because I have to pick them all up and touch them as well. It’s just seeing with hands, I suppose.

Fabrics that say Winter

The Traveller’s Blanket is turning into a short story collection. I’ve found it quite challenging to adopt someone else’s technique while making it look like my own work. Dijanne makes these cloths so beautifully and I didn’t want to produce an imitation. I imagine it’s a bit like doing a cover version of a very well-known song.

It’s a good opportunity to include some treasure, like this silk velvet, eco-dyed by Arlee

Eco-dyed silk velvet with couched silk bourette yarn on tea-dyed silk noil

And this beautiful eco-print from Jane Hunter

Fine silk, eco-printed, with hand stitch.
No straight/square edges happening here.

And then a few vignettes are happening here and there:

Traveller’s blanket, centre. Antique fine lawn cutwork embroidered panel
Hand-dyed vintage cutwork, more eco-prints by Jane Hunter

Now that a few fabrics have been applied, the cloth is stable enough to work on without support from the table. Eventually there will be some kind of quilting or seeding in between the motifs, but I think that point is still some way off. In the meantime it can carry on keeping my knees warm while I stitch in the evenings.

Author: Karen

Textile and mixed media artist

12 thoughts on “Just looking”

  1. oh my, what an absolute beauty! it’s like an art gallery in stitch with each ‘painting’ artfully ‘hung’ – simply stunning!

    1. that’s very kind, thank you 😊 I haven’t really got to grips with where it’s all going yet but I hope it will all come together in the end.

  2. Sounds bout how I like my downstairs morning to start. That’s after a bit of a lie in with the dogs and the only cup of tea of the day. Contemplative farbicy thought is definitely of black coffee level.

  3. Yes, working out how to learn from doing something without producing a poor copy of the tutor’s piece is a whole adventure in itself, isn’t it. You are producing something delightful, though.

  4. Finally!! I’ve figured out how to get in and leave comments! Your work is so inspiring. Your detail is exquisite.

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: