Mum was an embroidery teacher and produced many accomplished pieces like this canvaswork photoframe for her City and Guilds. She was always being asked 'Does your Margaret Sew?' to which the answer was
" No, but she loves fabric and is good with colour" ( I made batik as well as adding to Mum's stash by scouring jumble sales )
When I did eventually start sewing it was patchwork (that love of fabrics) and Mum taught me to hand quilt. I loved that - a simple stitch which altered the texture of the cloth and the gentle rhythm so soothing.
Which is why I've gone back to working on my '
travel project', to lose myself in some
hand stitching while I brood on compositions and solutions to other projects on the go.
Kathy Loomis has a thought-provoking post on the continual chase after new techniques to the detriment of sustained work which chimes with me. I would also add needless embellishment to that list- the quote
“No technique before need.” is one to treasure. Back to some plain sewing!
3 comments:
Thanks for the link to Kathy. It's something I have been pondering myself over the last few days and judging by comments and emails, opinion is very divided.
I think you mum's stitching is beautiful....and so is yours!
hear hear! i love plain stitching and am increasingly finding it more satisfying to stick to what i know and play with that rather than chasing the newest technique... and that doesn't mean not challenging yourself but seeing how far you can go with what you know.
Enjoying your blog, as usual!
The link to Kathy's piece was good. I remember even as early as art A-level having it drummed into us that being technique led wasn't the way to go. Unfortunately it seems to be somewhat prevalent in the quilt world, or at least a few years ago it seemed to be the case that a lot of quilters who told me they were doing C & G then went on to talk about wanting to learn how to use this product, that gadget etc. a bit too enthusiastically.
Yep, inspiration first, then the technique should come second. Otherwise work just ends up being a showcase for what can be done with one product or another...
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