We are having a Contemporary Hand Embroidery workshop here in my studio on August 25, 2018, so I have been exploring lots of new ideas utilizing my hand stitching.
I have this marvelous friend, Kate, who is one of the most remarkable people I have ever known. Although technically she is not old enough to be my mother, I look on her as a mother figure because she is such a wise person and I so respect her life experience and her opinion on pretty much everything.
Kate has a marvelous sense of humor, a remarkable sense of adventure, and she is uber talented to boot.
She recently celebrated a very significant birthday, and I could think of nothing better to give her than a special hand embroidered "Kate Pillow".
Of course, I thought I wold have plenty of time to have it finished and shipped to her by her birthday, but I was definitely mistaken. If I have learned one thing in all the years I ave been a maker, it is that things take as long as they take. Regardless to say, I think the package finally arrived a couple of weeks late. But, I was happy with the results.
I enjoy working in both neutral and very colorful palettes, and I find they each have their own charm. The neutrals allow me to explore the subtle value variations from white to black, and the vivid color just makes me happy!
I have this marvelous friend, Kate, who is one of the most remarkable people I have ever known. Although technically she is not old enough to be my mother, I look on her as a mother figure because she is such a wise person and I so respect her life experience and her opinion on pretty much everything.
Kate has a marvelous sense of humor, a remarkable sense of adventure, and she is uber talented to boot.
She recently celebrated a very significant birthday, and I could think of nothing better to give her than a special hand embroidered "Kate Pillow".
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To make this piece, I roughly sketched out the lettering on a piece of paper, pinned my linen to the paper, and marked the lettering design with a water-soluble blue fabric marker.
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| I began the embroidery by outlining the letters in a three strands of dark purple floss in the stem stitch. |
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| I added in a few horizontal and vertical lines to break up all the organic shapes of the flowers a bit. |
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| I am happy with the way this project turned out. I wanted the name to "pop" visually by being plain white and by having all the design in the background. The pillow measures approximately 10" x 18". I like seeing the hand work on a dimensional shape like a pillow as it really shows off the textural quality of the stitching. |
1 comment:
I am the very grateful and stunned owner of Kate’s pillow. There is abundant joy in my heart every time I look at my pillow.
It is a beautiful treasure that will become a family heirloom. Everyone should have a friend like April, but I’m the lucky one!
Thank you from my heart April.
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