Embroidered brooches

I have been trying out some motifs and brooches, using various sheer fabrics, beads, and embroidery.  This little hat started out as a piece of beading on several layers of fine and sheer fabrics, which I manipulated into a little bunch with beads, then held the outsides down with french knots.  After I had frayed out the edges carefully, I realised it looked like a hat!

©Christine Linton

My hat brooch

Beaded Paisley

I have been working on a new interpretation of one of my paisleys.  Working on lilac satin, I used knotted thread which I couched for the outlines.  I tried to double-knot, that is, tie one knot on top of the other to make a larger knot, along the thread but could not always tee-up the knots so some are only singles.  This thread is a full 6-strand DMC embroidery cotton thread in pink.  I couched with a darkish mauve, single strand.  Then I infilled the centre with a variety of sequins to give a good pattern effect.  I echoed one of the sequins by adding five of the same to another area, then a leader sequin at the beginning of the outline at the top.

Beaded Paisley with couched outline 

©Christine Linton

While I was looking online for some like-minded paisley fans, I found this page, which is quite a different style to mine above, but lovely and interesting in its own right.

Two-eyed needle - more experiments

I started thinking what else I could do with a a two-eyed needle, so I started to use a Twisted Chain Stitch on canvas, using two complementary colours - purple and yellow.  After stitching a very boring straight line downwards, I went back up it making loops with the threads, securing after each pair of loops so that they wouldn't unravel.  As I reached the top, I realised this reminded me of the effect of the Cootamundra Wattle blooms, which are the tiniest little spherical stamens; together a tree in bloom looks like a curtain of golden yellow threads.  The leaves are a blueish-green, with tiny leaflets radiating in lines of pairs from the stem.

Cootamundra Wattle tree - sadly this beautiful specimen has been cut down

©Christine Linton

The blooms of a Cootamundra Wattle

©Christine Linton

I have previously embroidered one:

Embroidered Cootamundra Wattle bloom (turkey stitch/Giordes knot) and leaflets (detached chains) with stem stitch for the actual stems.

©Christine Linton

This is the two-needle experiment that has given me the idea of a different way to embroider this, my favourite tree.

To find out more about this lovely tree, try this page.

Hand embroidery - couching

After I couldn't find a picture of a two-eyed needle like my last post showed, I started to think - could I get good use from it with couching?  I found this page and could imagine using two threads - one thick and one thin in the two-eyed needle ...... I'm about to start and will post the result here soon.  I thought I would use this tree bark couching sample I made as inspiration.

Tree bark texture with hand couching yarns and threads

©Christine Linton

Embroidery - hand or machine?

I think the answer is both, because each has it's own beauty and use.  For instance, I bought a home-made cushion cover in a local charity shop purely because I think it is lovely; it is hand-embroidered with little shisha mirrors and satin stitch, back stitch, buttonhole stitch.   The dye from the thread had run when it was washed which I expect is why it was given away because it is so lovely, and the running dye adds to it's charm, making the person who washed it human (or the person who dyed the threads).

Then you've got machine embroidery like these leaves I made last year:

Machine lace leaves 

©Christine Linton

I've always loved hand embroidery and I have found I love it even more now because I can use it as embellishment in new ways; I also learnt to control machcine embroidery much better.  Another textile artist with some very useful information on machine embroidery is Linda Matthews - see this link for using the decorative stitches on your sewing machine and how to get the best effects with them.

Making texture in hand embroidery

My latest obsession is texture, in particular texture in trees, on the bark, the visual texture of groups of tree tops, the way the closer leaves can be seen in detail and the further ones merge into blobs of flat greens of various shades.  Texture on tree bark is a whole subject in itself, and I've been taking far too many photos of tree bark texture in the last few days; I'll have to do some heavy editing if I want to still have space on my hard drive.  I'm definitely looking at doing some hand embroidered texture around a tree theme, so I looked out my Hand Embroidery Unit Folder from 2011 and found this tree trunk texture piece that I worked in various threads and yarns, mostly couched.  It is one of my favourite pieces from that Unit.  It gives me a good start on thinking what I want to do with this theme.
 

Texture tree, threads and yarns, couching

©Christine Linton

While I was looking around for other textured embroidered art, I found this blog post from Alex Hall which has the most fascinating textural interpretation of pebbles - when I clicked on the image for a close up look, I was delighted to find rows of chain stitch, one of my favourite stitches, as well as bullions and french knots - worth the time to study it.
http://underatopazsky.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/embroidered-pebbles-2/

Experimental art as a way of life

Having realised that Connotations is not just about a Recycle Cloth but is about experimenting too, I've started some fabric manipulation on it, and then adding beading to that, to nestle in the folds of the gathers.  The lilac strip I stitched along the length but going from one side to the other, that made it twist naturally.  Then the green organza square, I stitched a rough circle, pulled it up and attached with a few stitches, then sewed the beads in to the folds.  I also keep trying different embroidery stitches but keep coming back to the running stitch - it seems to give my wanted effect better. I'm also leaving all the loose ends on top which gives it a very relaxed look.  I stitch in a naive style (varying the length of the stitches) because it sits with my style of frayed edges and roughly cut and torn shapes.  Yes there is a circle there but it was a leftover from a workshop and needed recycling.  Now that I have started to use Connotations as a piece of experimental art, I don't have to think about a use for it.

Connotations - experimental art with recycling

More on Connotations

Worked on my 3rd piece for "Connotations".    This one I stitched a lot more, mainly running but a bit of chain stitch; also used dyed string couched on top.  This is strong I used when pole-wrapping shibori last year, which of course retained the dyes used so I couldn't chuck it.  So pleased to find a use for it.

I'm wondering if this piece has too little contrast - any ideas?

This is a detail - I actually like it better close up than from a distance, I just don't think it grabs any attention because the tonal values are all the same except for the string.  What can I do?

Connotations

I can’t bring myself to buy any more new fabrics while I have so much already.  My intention is to use up all my stash (4 big drawers full) and now I have a channel for it.

I have been fascinated with Jude Hill and Spirit Cloth lately; her blog has fired my imagination to start my recycle cloth.  My underlying concept is that every piece of cloth I use has a value to me – the significance of its background – why I bought it, the purpose, was it for experimental, for college, for a quilt  – where did I buy it  - charity shop, big fabric store on a day out  – did someone give it to me – is it a recycled piece from family – do I like it, what are my feelings surrounding it and its previous use – affection for it, association with circumstances.

All this leads to the name I have for it “Connotations”, the definition of this word is a meaning in addition to the primary meaning – in other words, for example, my daughter’s old blouse is highly textured fabric that delights me, and that also reminds me of her.

I have thrown out so many scraps of fabric over the years, and in a way this is reclaiming that waste – not literally but symbolically.  Here are photo details of the first two pieces:

Detail of Piece 1, in which I layered my only sheer with text, over the other layers - not really enough stitching on it.

As you see I am using layers of scraps from dye projects in any lightweight fabric, bits of sheers, bits of silk -  I was going to call it Layers of Meaning.  Every piece reminds me of that part of my life, which overlays another part of life ...

In this detail of Piece 2 you can see I have more stitching - and there is a piece of dyed silk with my name on from a college project.

I am finding this stitching is bringing me peaceful feelings that put troubling considerations into perspective.  Is this why so many work with hand-stitching?

I wonder how big is the recycling fabric movement?  Can’t just be me and a few others that I know ...

Slowing down

Jude Hill's blog always inspires me to sit and stitch, just quietly, making a point to calm the mind.  Have a look at it here and see what I mean. It is somehow restful.  I think it's essential to sometimes just sit quietly and let our brain have a rest; it takes conscious thought to do that, whereas it is all too easy to let our brains run on and on so that we get fed up with the constant stream of slush going through our head.
Now here is a peaceful scene, on a blog from Grace Forrest.


Time to get back to some stitching.