Got back to the piece after a bit of a break. Lightly attached some more stabilizer to the back and then after mulling over Val CH’s Stitch Techniques book I chose whip stitch. Whip stitch allowed the colour of the piece underneath to still be evident. Also I haven’t used that stitch before, having favoured cable over it. So again another reason for choosing the stitch is that it pushed my own practice to explore those areas previously ignored. So to begin with a little practice…
I used a clear synthetic thread on top and a varigated rayon underneath on the bobbin. I was really pleased with the result so I got to looking at colours for the piece.
Blues, pinks and greens appeared to be the order of the day and the stitching confirmed it! I decided to echo the shape of the silk rod as it was the dominate part.
As I stitched I checked how the piece was coming along using the two right angle pieces of card. At this stage I’m concentrating on making the piece about postcard size. A detail of the stitching…
I choose to alternate the colour of the whip stitch lines to provide a bit more interest.
Lastly I then looked at the orientation and what part of the piece would make up the final postcard for January.
I like the one on the left the most but the more I looked at the piece the more a rectangular shape just didn’t seem right. I had an empty frame sitting on the table – square, and it was begging for a piece of its own to frame so I relooked at the piece picking out a square from it instead (there goes that postcard idea!).
So this is my piece for January’s take it further challenge. I can see clearly how to develop this piece into a major work. It is so reminiscent of a landscape from the air. The silk rod are the hills and the whip stitch potentially a river or the contours of the land. In all I’m happy with this little experimentation that was inspired by Valerie Campbell-Harding’s attitude to textiles – take it further!
TextileXplorations 
January 23, 2008 at 2:10 pm |
That’s a beauty! The embroidery has really transformed it and the square frame has allowed the piece to blossom, beautiful
January 23, 2008 at 2:44 pm |
Beautiful and to me, it looks lava flowing from a volocano.
January 23, 2008 at 3:10 pm |
What fabulous colours. This is really lovely. Well done.
January 23, 2008 at 4:05 pm |
It is lovely the way the silk rod is raised from the surface of the piece adding visual and textural interest. I love the colours. Wonderful piece.
January 23, 2008 at 4:24 pm |
This is gorgeous. Great texture and lovely rich colours. Nice work.
January 23, 2008 at 7:12 pm |
It’s beautiful with wonderful colors and the stitch has added so much. Thanks for sharing the process.
January 23, 2008 at 10:34 pm |
Thanks for everyone’s kind comments. Doing this kind of thing publicly can be nerve wracking. When a piece leads you to an unexpected and wonderful place then that’s great but its always nicer to have disasters in private! I’m looking forward to the next one. Now to go see what everyone else is doing…
January 24, 2008 at 9:35 am |
A real piece of art!
January 24, 2008 at 11:40 pm |
I love the colors in your piece, and the texture is wonderful.
January 25, 2008 at 5:00 am |
Thanks Corina & Meg,
I’ve been inspired by looking at everyone else’s work too. I think this process is great because we all work so differently, seeing other’s work can sometimes push one out of the square one stitches in.
March 7, 2008 at 2:10 pm |
Hi, I love this piece. I’ve never tried embellishing rods etc before, but it’s on my to do list of today now!-I love the texture, and the colours are beautiful. Anyway I hope you read this message soon because the reason I originally found your blog was because I googled ‘inspired by Valerie Campbell-Harding’. I’m currently doing my GSCE’s and I’m doing a talk about ‘the inspiration that is Valerie Campbell-Harding’. What is it that inspired you? What quality of hers do you admire? I would love any feedback. Thanks a lot. Becki x