Embroidery: monogram handkerchief

It was my beautiful older sister, Stacey’s, 29th birthday last week.  With a combination of lacking finances and newly-acquired embroidery skills, I decided to make her a small keepsake and put my rudimentary skills to use to make a monogrammed handkerchief.  I transferred the lettering in washable pencil, then backstitched the outline and finished by filling in with satin stitch.

I know it’s not really ‘done’ these days, but I’d like to think she likes it and perhaps tucks it away somewhere safe.  Or else uses it to wipe up her baby’s sick, or lets the kids tear it up beyond use – I don’t mind either way!

Wednesday craft: embroidery!

I’ve been feeling a little unwell of late and, as such, decided to cancel my intern shift at the Art Gallery of South Australia on Wednesday.  Rather than moping about I walked down to the local community library to find a good book to read.  And, boy, did I find good books!  One in particular that I happened to stumble upon was a step-by-step guide to creative (contemporary) embroidery.  So I went and stocked up on hoops, sharps and crewels, and got to teaching myself this new craft.

As you can see I’m still just teaching myself the rudimentary stitches and getting a feel for things.  But I’m excited as to what I might be able to achieve if I set my mind to it for long enough.

I’ve come to realise in the last few weeks that I am just not a fine artist.  For a long time this confused me and I tried desperately to maintain a fine art rigeur.  But I think I have come to accept and rejoice in the fact that I just work better as a craftsperson.  For me, being a fine artist means making work for the outcome of someone else (ie. gallery audiences).  Craft, on the other hand, is incredibly self absorbed.  I want a dress that looks and falls in a particular way, so I get my tools out and I make it.  For me.  For my needs.  For my own satisfaction.  I love being able to indulge myself in my own little creative world where, if I’m happy with the outcome, then everything is good!

So, with knowing that, I’ve decided to push myself to refine more of these skills and get more creative and more active – not for galleries or exhibitions, but for me.  Fortunately, there are so many people out there that have come to realise this for themselves and, in doing so, have created some of the most stunning websites I have seen.

On the other side of things, one of my most respected South Australian artists and art writers, Sera Waters, has formed her own path in recreating embroidery as fine art.  Her work is just spectacular!  See it here:

craft culture review: Sera Waters

Artroom 5: Sera Waters

Sunday craft: stationery pouch

I decided to combat my craft hunger yesterday by making a simple stationery pouch based on a roll up pencil case found on Cut Out + Keep. Unfortunately my toy sewing machine wasn’t working (I haven’t had a ‘real’ one since moving out of home 4 years ago) so I just tacked it all with a running stitch and figured it would have to do.

It was the first grey day we’ve had and I got so excited by the cooling weather (as it rarely rains here in Adelaide, the slightest possibility of wet weather is as good as Christmas!) I set up a perch near the front door so I could feel the cool wind blowing in. I’m also excited to have a pencil case as I haven’t had one since primary school, and I’m sick of rummaging through the bottom of my bag feeling for a loose pen (and always, always ending up borrowing someone elses).

This morning I found a strip of brown floral fabric one of our bridesmaids had used to decorate her wedding gift to us (amazing hand-made, personalised matching aprons!), and decided I might reuse it to make a nice ribbon tie. At the moment I’ve just laid it over to show the intent.

Lastly, I’ve included an image of the pouch sitting on my new, most favourite bag. I’m not a ‘bag’ person, but when I saw this in a local designer’s store in Seminyak, Bali, Seb bought it for me for Valentines Day and I’ve carried it with me everyday since!