Simple poppies

I'm preparing another project. I tend to do this when I see the end of one piece of work drawing near, and I am almost finished with my William Morris 'Orange Frieze'. That time between the end of one idea and the resurgence of another, if too long, can be a 'low' time for me; I fall into a bit of a dell and have a hard time climbing out.


This project will be a gift to a friend who has just built a new home. Her tastes are very contemporary so I needed to find something quite linear, simple but sophisticated at the same time. I had embroidered these stylized poppies quite a few years ago on white linen. For my friend, I have made two table runners which she will place across the width of the dining room table to make four place settings. The motif will be placed on the left of each setting... the colour scheme has been adapted to the honey colour of the linen and I have chosen Pearsall silks to give a lustre to the embroidery. These are a lightly twisted silk thread and a pleasure to work with. I just have to be careful to wash the darker colours prior to stitching since some of the dyes tend to bleed.

I'll keep you posted so stay tuned.