I’ve been spending a little time doing some hand work. I was inspired to go back to a project I started 2 years ago after reading: Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art by Claire Wellesley-Smith.
This book is beautifully illustrated with projects by Claire Wellesley-Smith, a textile artist working in Yorkshire, England. She blogs about her work at: http://www.clairewellesleysmith.co.uk/blog/
Slow Stitch discusses how the Slow Movement, originally the Slow Food Movement started by Carlo Petrini in Italy, relates to textiles. Examples of Claire’s work and those of :
- Judy Martin, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada
- Tim Ingold, UK
- Christine Mauersberger, Cleveland Ohio, USA
- Roz Hawker, Brisbane, Australia
- Roanna Wells, Sheffield, UK
- Hannah Lamb, Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
- Abigail Doan, New York City, USA
- Lotta Helleberg, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Alice Fox, West Yorkshire, UK
- Mandy Pattullo, Northumberland, UK
- Pat Fuller, UK
- Celia Pym, UK
- Kate Bowles, UK
are included in this beautifully photographed book. There is a lot of inspiration and also a few ideas for starting your own slow stitching projects.
The piece I am working on shown above started with an embroidery I began when I was a member of the Canadian Embroiderers’ Guild Guelph. I made a few small pieces incorporating all the fun techniques we were taught. But, the samples languished in a cupboard until my mother suggested that I incorporate them into my quilting.
This embroidered and beaded quilt really is a slow project! I see that I blogged about this project first in December 2014 and then in 2015!
The piece I am currently working is a companion piece to Island Sands which was completed a few years ago.
I especially like the texture created on the silk noile – ripples left behind in the sand when the tide goes out.
I’ve collected up the threads, fabrics, and beads I may use and placed them all together in a plastic box. Hopefully this will keep me organized and on track to finally finish this very slow but satisfying stitching.