Strolling through the streets just outside Brighton, I came across a skip filled – at least in part – by a deluge of discarded books. Now, the concept of books being unwanted is one I consider with a certain amount of unease. Perhaps it’s their potential to inspire and educate from something as simple as a […]
‘The healing power of stitch’ is a concept widely acknowledged within our community as one generally held to be of great importance. I’m sure many of us can relate to the theraputic, calming qualities stitch imbibes into our frequently chaotic lives: a sense of creativity, of connection, of mindfulness and meaning. It’s also a phrase […]
LADY’S MAGAZINE PROJECT. I was first introduced to the ‘Lady’s magazine project’ – aka the ‘Stitch-Off’ – via Twitter, of all places. A far less eloquent version of the correspondence so prevalent between ladies of the Regency era, this social media platform nevertheless informed me of an exciting new embroidery venture underway. Chawton House Library, […]
Smashing pottery and working detailed, delicate embroidery may not seem like the most obvious combination for a new body of work to be born from. However, these two unlikely process have merged in my latest creation: ‘kintsugi vases’. ‘Kintsugi’ is the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Rather than discard a cracked […]
Contemporary needlework, as Mr X Stitch readily reminds us all, needn’t stay synonymous with the outdated imagery of cute country cottages or faded florals: of female family members sewing traditional, twee, or even – dare I use the word – ‘nice’ designs. This is perhaps especially relevant within the medium of cross-stitch, many people’s ‘go-to’ genre […]
(Finally, I’m finding the time to sit and catch up with an ongoing barrage of blog posts that are well overdue writing!) In January I was approached by an emerging start-up company called ‘Volpe d’Oro‘ (translated: ‘Golden Fox’) to produce a hand-embroidered sample for their London Fashion Week menswear collection. Volpe d’Oro are not your […]
Chaos has ensued over this last month or so. I have moved house, started a new freelance job and moved studio. The last one is where complications arise: I thought I’d give it a lick of paint and be in there within the week. Chipping away at a damp patch of paint revealed crumbling plaster, […]
I thought I’d share with you my musings on a visit to the best ‘art experience’ I’ve ever encountered. Where else can you see Death whirling around on a dodgem to the tune of ‘Staying Alive’, witness a woman engulfed in a seagull attack and brandish a balloon emblazoned ‘I am an imbecile’ all in […]
Life is somewhat chaotic at the moment. The end of the academic year (Masters degrees run for a complete year until September) brings with it successes but also its own set of challenges: a move into the unknown and a move out of uni. Hence I’ve temporarily downed needles and swapped stitch for DIY as […]
Beautiful, ‘hands-free’ blackwork video HERE: (click link to watch my minute’s worth of madness) There are a lot of efforts undertaken to docuement the embroidery process. For example, when I was working at Hand and Lock, we made a video of the Mary Katrantzou London Fashion Week piece under construction – we set up a camera […]
Hanging By A Thread 