Friday 30 March 2012

In a War....

In A War 3


A while back I saw
this post on Mr X Stitch about Hanne Bang and her attempt to curate a collaborative piece around a quote she had heard. While slicking through the channels one night she caught sight of a news program where they were talking to an out of work African soldier who said when asked about death "In a war someone has to die". The quote resonated with Bang and she decided to get women all around the world to stitch the phrase one handkerchiefs and send them to her to create one huge piece.

I love the feelings and issues behind this idea. The combination on women stitching with hankies can mean so many things. Women loose their men to war, be it sons, brothers, husbands or lovers. Hankies are traditionally used to wave goodbye. I really like the juxtaposition between the harshness of the words and the softness of the materials used to convey it.

In A War 2


So here is my contribution to the piece. The hankie I used is from when I was a child so there is also a little bit of history with it.

In A War 1


I can't wait to see the whole thing which will be on display in Denmark later in the year.

Thursday 22 March 2012

Exhibition Report: Passing Reflections

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Today I wandered over to Rochester to see Rosie James' latest exhibition Passing Reflections.

As always, Rosie's work is beautiful in its simplicity and impressive in it's scale. I am always excited by the way she chooses which lines to stitch and how these lines really capture the figures. On her larger pieces I like the smaller details she includes that really adds to the character and personality of the people.

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Trafalgar Lunch


I particularly liked
Trafalgar Lunch in this exhibition and Indian Ladies at the Gurdwara. James' use of not only line figures but also silhouettes in brightly coloured fabrics add to the sense of place and culture in these pieces.

indian ladies at the gurdwara - passing reflections r james250
Detail - Indian Ladies at the Gurdwara


I was very glad that I got to see Rosie's installation of hanging stitched figures. I had not yet been able to see these pieces in the flesh and being able to view them in this intimate setting was a joy.

The exhibition is open in Rochester until April 13th. If you are in the area I urge you to go see it. You can find out
more info here:

Thursday 15 March 2012

Home...


Home 1

It's finished! Here is how my piece on rust dyed cotton came out!

Home 2


This piece is based on a map of Kent, my home county. I was on my way home from a ship contract and was watching the movie Country Strong on the plane. One song, Coming Home, really resonated with me and I wanted to use one line from the song in a piece. Here it is...

Home 3


This piece just reminds me where my home is while I travel wide and far. Kent will always be where I come back to eventually. I used stranded embroidery thread for the main outlines and then used perle cotton for the text and marker as I wanted it to stand out more and look like someone had written on the piece with a marker.

Home 4


This is exactly how the piece looked in my head, I'm pretty happy with it! What do you think?

Friday 9 March 2012

I don't think I've cross stitched for about 10-15 years...

Goodness! I've got very behind in blog posting! However, you will be pleased to know that I have been working on lots of projects so there are several things that need writing about!

Let's start with my new iPhone cover.... and my new iPhone! I had an HTC but didn't like it much so I've got myself an iPhone 3G now instead. I know it's not the newest one but I wanted one that uses regular sim cards, not the micro ones for when I am in the US. I LOVE it! I am definitely a Mac! Along with all the amazing things you can do with a iPhone, another draw were the cross stitch-able cases I had seen. I went looking for them online and found
this awesome tutorial on making your own on Wee Little Stitches blog. This blog is awesome and I encourage you to check it out. They also have an Etsy shop where they sell cross stitch patterns of Pixel People. They have a great range but they didn't quite have ones that I really wanted to use.... so I designed my own!

pixel people 1
Jareth the Goblin King


pixel people 2
Jem from Jem and the Hologram and She-Ra

I played around with some graph paper and, even though I haven't cross stitched in about 10-15 years or used a cross stitch pattern in that time, I came up with these. I quite like both so might have to stitch up both and rotate them!

Wish me luck!!