Monday, September 19, 2011

Embroidery

Stitches In Time.... Time In Stitches

Warning! If you do NOT Absolutely LOVE embroidery you must stop now... this post will only Bore you! That said, I will admit to a passion for decorative stitchery...... known as embroidery. I learned to sew when I was seven or eight years old.... but didn't learn about embroidery until I was a teenager. The little pouch you see here is perhaps the Second thing I ever embroidered. I found an old kid-skin glove that was stained and I cut it up to make a little bag and then I started to decorate it with whatever idea came to mind until it was all filled up. I probably worked at it over a period of two or three years... not steadily... but just adding here and there when I had time.

Yes, it betrays my early Hippie years... a hookah smoking hedgehog........!

Amongst the dragon flies and flowers note the tiny bees.......

And even the bottom was covered in designs.......

All my projects were little things.......
like embroidering this butterfly and rose on the velvet lining for a needle box.........

Here, you can see the Rose.....

My biggest project was embroidering an Alphabet quilt for my first son...... a project that started out as just applique letters.... but quickly evolved into embroidered AND appliqued letters.... which took a WHOLE lot LONGER! I started when I was pregnant...... was stitching "L" when I went into labor..... and didn't complete it 'til my son was four and I was nursing my Second Son!

Here you can see the FIRST piece of embroidery I ever did..... on a scrap of torn bed linen..... which I saved and incorporated into the Quilt.... which is what got me going with the embroidery part....... this is a portrait of our black cat "Puss"........

And more details from my Son's quilt..... a pair of pink pigs in a puddle.....

And this letter I remember stitching when I was VERY pregnant with my Second Son......

And I DID START the quilt for my Second Son....
Honest, I did! This is one of the squares of his Still Unfinished Quilt...
(hanging head in shame)....

And Another one......

I got all the way to the letter "J" ..... for my Son Jake.......
and still have the squares all stacked up in the sewing basket.......
but somehow the Time got away from me........

This letter "Z" is the one from my older son's quilt......

There just never seemed to be any Time for embroidery...... I used to carry my basket with me and sew a few stitches even at the Boy's soccer games....... but they outgrew that and the quilt still wasn't done...... perhaps Someday I will finish it.......

So it can be no Surprise to you that when I discovered a local store that sold embroidered Saris from India I was hooked! One by one I acquired them..... they weren't Cheap...... a WHOLE Rainbow of Incredibly ornamented AMAZINGLY Beautiful lengths of cloth! I hung them on my Bed frame...... a four poster with a canopy frame just Made for displaying these wonders...... They made my tiny attempts and embroidery look Primitive by comparison........
Here you can see a photo from my FORMER Home...... my new Home bedroom is too small and dark so they are packed away.... But the Former home I had painted the walls in a deep Moroccan Blue and ornamented it with painted trees and flowers and birds........
This is the view from ON the bed........ Messy bed..........

And another view from the end looking towards the wall.....
but you can see some of the embroidery...
sequins and gilt thread on that saffron sari........

And the view from the door to the room....... I Told you it was a Rainbow!

So, to celebrate my Downsized Home .... where there isn't room for a dozen draped saris on the bed.... I purchased a small Quilt..... or Door hanging...... made from scraps from an AMAZING assortment of former Saris...... I hung it on my bedroom door where I see it EVERY Day and can admire the Unbelievable Variety of Design, Pattern, Image, Technique, Material.........

Here, You MUST have a closer look........
(I Apologize for the blurry shots.....
it was quite difficult to hold still enough and close enough to get uniformly clear shots....)

The Wonder of the beauty of just a Fragment of the original.....

And the Variety of Form and stitches......

And Complexity of Materials......

Makes me Wonder WHO stitched this...... and HOW Long did they work at it.....

And Who taught them HOW......

Or Created the Designs.....

The Patterns know no ending of Variety....

Some more Glittery than others......

Some Encrusted with Beads and Mirrors......

Some more Delicate......

Stitches I Still don't have a Name for..... techniques I would LOVE to learn......

Fine and Subtle.....

Bold and Tribal......

Brilliant and Flashy.....

Pieces that had a Life I will never know a thing about.......

And can only Wonder and Gaze at in AWE.......

Adorning my Doorway........

Reminding me Every Day how MUCH I LOVE
Embroidery

5 comments:

  1. You will always amaze me, Bets. Perhaps you have no time to stitch because you just have too many gifts in so many ways and we only have 24 hours a day. Even though I suspect that with 48 hours,you will still not have enough time to do all the things you do so well.

    I think your embroidery is stupendous. I love every single pattern that you have made for that quilt. Whether it is M for moon,E for eagle or F for firemen. Especially F for firemen :).

    And the Indian saris in your enchanting room. I have seen some pictures of that room before but I am still fascinated. Maybe next year, I will go to India to learn embroidery from the tribal ladies. Maybe you should come with me :)

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  2. I am absolutely fascinated by your former rainbow bedroom,Betsy! Splendid it was.:)
    I am always amazed seeing saris and still wonder who has got THAT much of patience to adorn it all. Now I know, you are one of these persons!;) The bag and the quilts - finished or not - are stunning. I am definately too lazy to embroider something that big or complicated, LOL!

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  3. Betsy, I love this post, your embroidery, your banner and I don't know why I never came here sooner. You are so eclectic and you do well so many things! Thank you for showing, Rosanna

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  4. Oh oh oh! Betsy, you were right! Of course this post would drive me mad from the beauty of it! First of all, your own work. Do you have an idea of how wonderful a needle worker you are, besides being an artist? I love embroidery with all my soul, not being much of needleworker myself, maybe because of it. Your work is not just beautiful, but funny and joyous and full of life, and so true to your own life, as the best pieces are. For me, needlework is a diary, a living journal, and I love the pieces that tell the artist's story, through her materials, especially the ones that come from fabric so much a part of her life as to be like her own skin. Even when it's not directly about a life it is.

    And your collection! You've seen my little embroidered runner, but that's about all I have, except for a quilted square from Gujurat, that I too have packed away. I miss it so much, like you miss your beautiful textiles. What I always think about is that each hand stitch accompanied the maker's breath, each stitch a thought, each stitch a companion to a laugh, her end of a conversation, a daydream, maybe a line of a song. Is there anything more alive, anything that maps a human life better than that?

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  5. what a beautiful blog this is.
    What can you paint beautifully.
    Best regards, Alexandra

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