Sunday, January 02, 2011

a small cloth for a new year

mind of winter

at work on thursday morning, the idea for this piece popped into my head. it stitched away in the back of my mind all day, and when i arrived home i was more than ready to play with real cloth. i started with a 10.5" x 17.5" rectangle from an old sheet, wonderfully soft, torn so the edges had a soft fray. i'm noticing an increasing trend toward raw edges in my work. i wove together strips of denim, linen and cotton for the sky, and then began to overlay a soft blanket of snow. snow snowy trees rounded out the tiny landscape.

mind of winter - detail

along with the blue and white thread i used, i stitched in some gold and silver for a bit of sparkle, as any winter night should have. there are many layers of stitches everywhere, a meditation of sorts for me as i sit in the dark evenings.

mind of winter - detail

there are four words stitched on the snow - calm, still, pure and new. i may add a few more, but i like it like this as well. these words led to the title of the cloth - "mind of winter", as i contemplated the cold days, an old year coming to a close, and the new year coming in.

embroidered back label

above is the label on the back - my first piece of 2011! i was happy with how quickly this piece came together, and think i might try some other small pieces soon. i'm not aiming for fast work when i hand stitch, but i do like how much easier it is to keep focus on smaller cloths. with this shot of the label you can also see all the stitching on the back - there is no batting in between the layers, so it is a thin, delicate piece. it was also a bit of practice to keep my stitching on the "wrong" side as tidy as possible.

mind of winter - detail

i have hung it on a piece of found driftwood from one of the beaches nearby, just as with my other hangings. while this piece seems a bit of departure from what i've been working on so far, i liked branching out a bit. i owe much inspiration to the stitching of jude hill and ger, two lovely ladies who constantly wow me with their stitches. here's to continuing to stretch myself this year.

5 comments:

lynda Howells said...

oh my goodness this is SO beautiful. Isn't it great when a piece comes together so easily and almost painless!xx Love your work..happy New yearxlynda

Terri said...

very nice, you have captured a cold, winter night, the kind where the snow sparkles

Lovely World said...

Such quiet beauty. I love how you wove the fabric strips. I also enjoyed your previous post about bird watching. I love to spy on the birds that come to my yard. They are always so busy, and provide great entertainment. Hope you are settling nicely into 2011.

Tara said...

So pretty and calming. I especially love the woven denim sky and the words you have chosen. A beautiful start to the new year.

eliza said...

i love the textures created by the woven fabric! so lovely. what a great piece to kick off the new year!