I am so fortunate to be collaborating with a local craftsperson – Maria Nunes. Her hand made crochet jewellery is beautifully designed and crafted. Maria learned to crochet as a child, growing up in Portugal at a time when there was still no television, not even electricity! In school they were taught to knit and would make simple scarves and hats. At home, Maria’s mother taught her to crochet to make doilies, table scarves and trim for her ‘enxoval’ or trousseau.
Fuchsia Ombre and Blue to Green Variegated Hand Dyed Crochet Cotton
Maria has continued to crochet and over the years has made many household items using traditional patterns. Recently, she has changed her style to reflect modern tastes, creating handcrafted pillows, wallhangings and of course jewellery!
Indigo Hoop Earrings with Blue Glass Beads
Variegated, ombre, and with colour changes over very short areas have been a challenge for me. I have had to rethink my process as well as the amount of dye used! But it has been so much fun! I will also be indigo dyeing this spring and I can’t wait to see the jewellery she makes. I gave Maria all the indigo dyed cotton thread left from one of my projects. All of the pieces she made have been sold! It shows that blue and white is a much loved combination.
Beige Cotton Circle Drop Earrings with Glass Beads
Magazines, and books are still places Maria finds inspiration, but more often she finds herself turning to Pinterest. Inspiration for her designs also come from working with the materials. A bead, the colour of the hand dyed cotton thread can start her on a new design. More and more often her jewellery includes beads, they really excite her with opportunities!
Fuchsia Hand Dyed Round Earrings by Maria Nunes Designs on Snow Dyed Wool Scarf by Doris Lovadina-Lee
Maria believes that crochet is a dyeing art. She has tried to teach the next generation but with the competition for TV watching, and the internet with its so many social media outlets, it is a hard sell. Maria finds that crocheting is a relaxing and imaginative art. It has a calming effect allowing room for imagination.
Maria Nunes of @maria.n.designs crocheting
I am collaborating with Maria on dyeing some new crochet cotton. More experimentation with colours, ombre effects, indigo and more. Follow Maria on Instagram @maria.n.designs to see what she is creating.
Commercial cotton, hand dyed silk, hand dyed perle cotton
Very little time being spent on the stitch meditations. I have been working on a minimal modern quilted art piece. That project has been progressing well. It is a combination of machine stitching on my hand dyed cotton and hand stitching too. I am excited to be working on a larger artwork.
Repurposed silk, hand dyed silks, hand dyed cotton, hand dyed perle cotton
Stitch Resources
Article: Art and Craft as Meditation by Renee Bes in Wellbeing blog
Falling into the rhythm of hand stitching, using the stitches that are most comfortable … automatic. The running stitch — my fallback.
Hand dyed cotton, hand dyed linen, cotton thread
That is how the meditations were begun. But, both pieces called for the addition of more, a fly stich and cross stitch emphasizing the beauty of the cloth.
Repurposed silk, hand dyed silk, perle cotton
Stitch Resources
Book chapter: “Industries: Silk-weaving.” A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2, General; Ashford, East Bedfont With Hatton, Feltham, Hampton With Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton. Ed. William Page. London: Victoria County History, 1911. 132-137. British History Online.
Gwen Hedley is an embroiderer, teacher and author from the UK. She has written two books on stitch and embroidery. In her first book: Surfaces for Stitch: Plastics, Films and Fabrics, Gwen used unconventional materials such as plastics and foam, in combination with textiles to create new surfaces. These new surfaces were then used as a basis to embroider and embellish with stitches.
Drawn to Stitch: Line, Drawing and Mark-Making in Textile Art by Gwen Hedley
With Gwen’s second book: Drawn to Stitch: Line, Drawing and Mark-Making in Textile Art, she focused on one of the elements of design – line. By observing lines in the world around her and drawing from theses observations, Gwen begins making her artwork. Her first step is sketching, and recording notes on her thoughts and observations before she begins her pieces. “For me, stitching is drawing with thread – my mantra being ‘stitch is mark’.“
Enfolded by Gwen Hedley
Gwen’s pieces were primarily machine stitched but there has slowly been a transition to hand work. She uses basic stitches, using them to make marks in her work. Roumanian/Bokhara couching is the stitch she uses most frequently. It allows her to her to blend colours and create texture as seen in the detail of Enfolded above.
“The enjoyment of my somewhat speedy and energetic free machining, with its relentless noise and repetitive sounds, began to wane, as did the comfort limitations of constantly sitting at a table. In contrast, I relished the relaxing rhythmic processes of hand stitching, sitting comfortably, and able to listen to radio or TV, and to have conversations – so much more sociable. It is also very portable, and can easily travel unobtrusively with me!”
Gwen Hedley
Ferrous Spool 5cms x 60cms Paper and Cloth, marked, pieced and hand stitched by Gwen Hedley
Gwen uses different mediums such as paint, charcoal and dye on paper and textiles. Since each material absorbs the medium differently, there are subtle differences in the finished pieces. Ripping and weaving back together different materials also gives unique textures to the work. In her piece Restoring, she references antique Swedish braids that were traditionally cross stitched. By using the familiar blue and white colour combination on paper and cloth, using satin stitch and a change in scale she gives the piece a contemporary spin.
Restoring 7.5cms x 80cms Based on antique disintegrating Swedish braid. Paper and cloth with cross stitch and satin stitch by Gwen Hedley
Contained Sticks and Stones uses the basic technique of wrapping found items. Gwen finds small items like rocks, shells, and sticks on her walks that she wraps with threads and fabrics. This piece is her most recent in this series and the smallest one.
Contained Sticks and Stones 5.25cms x 11.5cms Found items and Cloth, wrapped and assembled by Gwen Hedley
Gwen doesn’t consider herself a full time artist, tending to work in spurts of activity rather than daily. She uses her sketchbook to draw, write down ideas, observations, and drawings. Her sketchbook is a place where she writes critiques of her work, has samples she has made and ideas she has tried. It’s important for her to analyze what has gone wrong in a piece as well as what was successful to avoid repeating mistakes. She lectures on her working processes and teaches a variety of workshops. She also enjoys her roles as Wife, Mother and Granny!
Gwen is a member of the Textile Study Group: artists and tutors sharing ideas imagination and skills. They are are “group of nationally and internationally recognized textile artists and tutors, well known for innovative and challenging approaches to art practice and contemporary teaching.” (website) Gwen is an active member and is involved in an exciting project with the group. Over the next year the members of the Textile Study Group are participating in a new book called Insights. It is aptly named as this book will give insights into the way each individual member works.
There is always something to improve in each piece and taking the time to analyze is invaluable when planning a new piece. Some things that give Gwen great personal satisfaction are:
developing pleasing designs using observational drawings
abstracting visual ideas
creating stitch trials
Creating stitch trials in particular, are spontaneous and freeing, giving Gwen immense joy!
Have you ever purchased an item before you knew what to do with it? I was drawn to some beautiful sari silk ribbon at the Creativ Festival a few years ago. The variety of colours were amazing and I went back to the booth a few times, drawn to the display, but being overwhelmed with deciding which colours to buy – I couldn’t bring them all home with me. I am using one of the colours below. So pretty!
Silk, repurposed sari silk, hand dyed perle cotton
The problem I had choosing silk sari ribbon is multiplied when it comes to Oakshott cotton. They have so many stunning colours to choose from! Luckily, I have been gifted some fat quarters and eighths and therefore did not have to make a decision. Oakshott cottons work well with my hand dyed fabrics and I’ve kept every little scrap from projects. This stitch meditation project is the perfect place to be using these.
Silk, hand dyed cotton, hand dyed perle cotton, rayon thread
There are so many stitches available, yet I keep coming back to the running stitch. It is a versatile stitch.
Snow dyed canvas, perle cotton, cotton thread
Spacing the stitches and rows closer or farther apart changes the look of the finished piece. Using different size thread such as in the example above creates bold, or delicate lines. Colour too will make an impact. Choose one that blends into the background or one that is bright and colourful! So many options with just one simple stitch!
Stitch Resources:
Tutorials: Hand embroidery tutorials by Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching: Contemporary Studio for Hand Embroidery blog
Searching for: What is the 100 Day Challenge returned a hit list of : 1,500,000,000 results 0.60 seconds! This is a wildly popular search. So I imagine that there are thousands, hundreds of thousands of people wanting to know about and then participating in 100 day challenges.
White linen and white thread
Searching for: 100 Day Challenges returned a hit list of: 522,000,000 results in 0.30 seconds. The list of examples are endless. It seems that we love participating in setting goals for ourselves. Groups that have set challenges include those that are: losing weight, overcoming gambling addictions, being happy, ending youth homelessness, and creating code.
Reasons to participate:
improve productivity
achieve business goals faster
fast track a goal
build positive habits
achieve a personal goal
create positive reinforcement
achieve consistent progress
create accountability
hone a skill
Oakshott cotton, hand dyed perle cotton
So many options in how you can participate in these challenges – listen to a podcast, post your progress on Facebook or Instagram, sign up and pay for a membership, download an app, join an online group, join an in person group! We have never had so many options to make a change in our lives.
Stitch Resources
Podcasts: Best 100 Day Challenge podcasts we could find (Updated March 2019)
Website: #The100DayProject is a *free*, global art project. The idea is simple: commit to 100 days of making and sharing your progress on Instagram.
