Talking & listening to threads

Welcome to my blog.  I will be posting about the progress of new works and generally letting you know what I'm up to.

Pictures of completed pieces and extra photos of new work can be found in the Image Gallery.

I am posting less on here these days but on-going progress is being shared via Instagram, use the QR code below for my page.

 

Kusano San Design - part 3

Kusano San Design - part 3

New blog post - When I give talks and presentations this technique fascinates my audiences. As I mostly do talks for embroiderers they are always interesting in learning new techniques

Written on 18th June 2013

Read more

Kusano San Design - part 2

Kusano San Design - part 2

Part 2 of the flower circle. I've broken these posts up to cover similar techniques I used within the same post, it means they are slightly out of sequence but I think it makes more sense this way. In this post, sumi-e and sagara nui.

Written on 12th June 2013

Read more

Kusano San Design

Kusano San Design

New blog post - In a post over on the Japanese Embroidery blog I spoke of a visit to Edinburgh for the exhibition of Shizuka Kusano San's work. What I didn't mention was that we came away with one of her designs very similar to the flower circle below.

Written on 9th June 2013

Read more

To boldly stitch where no one has stitched before

To boldly stitch where no one has stitched before

New blog post - Embroidery Master Kikuaki Ueda says - Thread is a creature. It is breathing. Therefore, it is possible to make something by talking to threads.

Written on 2nd June 2013

Read more

Inspiration - chrysanthemum obi

Inspiration - chrysanthemum obi

Most readers of this blog will know of Ichiroya who sell beautiful kimono, obi, fabric, and other things Japanese textile related. I often just visit their site to check out colour schemes, embroidery techniques, or design ideas.

Written on 23rd May 2013

Read more

How to embroider a harebell ...

How to embroider a harebell ...

... or how many times can one person embroider the same flower!

Written on 9th May 2013

Read more

Shizuka Kusano Exhibiton - June 2013

Shizuka Kusano Exhibiton - June 2013

I am very pleased to be able to share this news with you. This exhibition has been long in the planning and now that details have been confirmed I can share the details. The exhibition is free to attend, hope we will see you there.

Written on 30th April 2013

Read more

Class and a ride in an ambulance

Class and a ride in an ambulance

Well, that was a hectic couple of weeks! We had class last week, a ride in an ambulance, a hospital admittance, and almost no sleep on the first night before class!

Written on 28th April 2013

Read more

Lilacs - completed

Lilacs - completed

I thought people might be interested in seeing more about shell powder so when I was finishing the leaves today I took some extra pictures. This is shell powder before any water is added. I got this little dish when I did my phase one back in 2004.

Written on 13th April 2013

Read more

Lilacs - nearly done

Lilacs - nearly done

Progress on Lilacs has been flying along and it's nearly finished, just a few veins and then the knots to do. Lots of pictures in this post for a quick update.

Written on 11th April 2013

Read more

Lilacs - first stitches

Lilacs - first stitches

Following on from a previous discussion I was planning to focus more on design decisions in the posts about this design, as it turns out this piece is growing so fast and so well that very few decisions are having to be made. This is a good thing, but whether it means I'm getting better at interp

Written on 23rd March 2013

Read more

Lilacs - new and interesting silks - choosing the colour

Lilacs - new and interesting silks - choosing the colour

The challenge of this embroidery is translating something from a simple black and white line drawing into a thing of beauty. I'm going to try and concentrate on the design aspects of this one, we'll see how things go

Written on 15th March 2013

Read more