Commissions

Just before Christmas I was asked by two different people to do two separate special commissions, a cornflower and a bluebell. I had actually photographed a cornflower the previous summer that I found in the car park on the school run but had shied away from trying to sew it. There are some flowers that are difficult to scale down and I had always looked at the cornflower and thought it was just too complicated. Still, I like a challenge so I tried a few sketches and actually it was really enjoyable to draw.

 I transferred the sketch onto the silk and hooped it up, I have tried using wooden hoops but just can't get on with them. As the fabric is cut close to the image I find using a rubber hoop keeps the tension I need, working on such a small scale can sometimes mean you really need to be a bit rough with the work. I know this may be frowned upon by other embroiderers but it works for me.

I started with the bulb, I love the definition of the diamonds but they were very difficult to work, I started over three times before I was happy. Once I was happy with this I started on the petals, this was great fun, I worked in tiny stem stitch and graded pink, black and three different shades of blue.

 This is some of the smallest stitching I have done and I am really pleased with the result.

I can't show you as many images of the process of the bluebell, the run up to Christmas, my daughter's birthday and the spread of the noro virus around our house meant that I wasn't thinking so much about photographing as I went. To start with I hadn't managed to take any decent photos of bluebells throughout the year so I had to rely on my library of wild flower books. I decided that to try and sew the entire flower would be unrealistic so I concentrated on a single bell. Again, I had to start the piece several times, I found the angle of the long stitches difficult, but eventually I got it. 

 I work with a magnifying lamp and sometimes can't appreciate if the piece is working or not until I put it away, give it a break, then look back on it. Every time look back at this work I love it a little bit more, it is so simple but affective.