Blue poppies - finished

This was such an enjoyable piece to embroider.  The threads just lead me on quickly to the end.   I am now ready to pick up something more complex having had the rest that this project afforded me all the while keeping the fingers moving.

Blue poppies - a rest

As a contrast and as a rest, I have started the poppy motif again but this time I am working with cotton floss and with a palette of grey-blues.  It is very restful, thanks to the ease with which cotton floss can be worked and the colour scheme.


I also do not anticipate any difficulties with the colour running so I feel quite at ease using the darker blues and greys for petals and stems.


I can also work on the 4 inch hoop in my hands, which also means that I can work sitting in an armchair and move from room to room with greater ease depending on whether I need to huddle by a warm fire (the temperatures have been around - 25 degrees Celsius) or quietly downstairs in the studio with the radio or the news.  


This was the progress of just one evening.  It'll be finished, barring any unforeseen problems, within the week,  I'm sure.

Poppies - finished with sadness

I put the final touches on the poppies this morning and went through my usual cleaning exercise conscious of the fact that the deep colours might bleed.


I took great care to blot the wet fabric to take away any excess dye that might want to spread into the surrounding background fabric.  I left the work to air dry for an hour.


When I returned from a brisk walk and some snow clearing (15 cms of snow fell in the night), I saw that some of the reds had seeped as well as one area of black.  I quickly threw it into cold water again, but to no avail.  In a certain light, these flaws are not so evident.  It is a dynamic piece and I was happy with it both technically and aesthetically.  However, I know the flaws are there.  The piece does not have that pristine quality I try always to attain and I am really disappointed.


However, I post the final picture alongside the watercolour study with the intent of explaining that sometimes there are things that fall outside of one's control and the consequences can be very saddening.   This is one such time.

Poppies - progress (2)

Poppies- progress

In listening to the news last night, while I was continuing my work on this piece, I realized that the poppies as a theme has returned at the same time that the conversation around the earthquake in Haïti of January 2010 has returned.


This has been purely coincidental but it did beg the question whether on some subliminal level, I have held on to the idea of remembering or more specifically, of  'not forgetting' the impact of those tragic events  so that the efforts to rebuild, to help, may continue.


I had been embroidering my first 'poppy' subject in January 2010 as the devastation of the earthquake was being felt.   Now I take up a new project, same theme, different interpretation, same time of the year and it is imbibed with all the same desires for hope, and that this country may reclaim a certain normalcy in its daily life.

The work table

It was a busy afternoon and this is the result on my work table around 5 p.m.










I made good progress on the poppies which I began last night.  It was an afternoon of experimenting with colour and how to render the light on the petals and the movement of each of the blooms.  Thus the reason for all the spools of thread around the frame.

Poppies

This watercolor has been looking at me for a while.


I began this tonight while watching 'The King's Speech' for the umpteenth time.










It will be an adventure in reds and blacks.  Already I have completed a couple of petals.  I have a good feeling and I am optimistic, not just about the piece but about life in general.

In full bloom

I stitched this small project quickly.  It was a rush of movement, of fine thread and delicate colour on the fabric.  I see the fury with which I sewed a little like the poet who is compelled to put her words on paper before they elude her.


There is something obsessional about how I worked this. Something to do with the downtime after the busyness of Christmas festivities and the departure of the children leaving the house quiet, maybe too quiet.  


But the silence was a motivator and while I marshall my thoughts to attempt an original work,  I was happy to find this design all ready to go, a place to put the immediate energy, to not waste time, to remain productive while cogitating the next creative burst.

Silk leaves - finished

I had set myself a target of Christmas to finish both the Phoenix and this piece.  I had started this one so many months ago, set it aside, came back to it, set it aside again and then finally completed it last week.


There was so much detail and I had chosen to work with Piper's 90 denier silk floss, a thread so fine that to cover a square inch takes at least 50 or 60 movements of the needle.  Most of my work takes an inordinate amount of patience, but this project called on everything I had.  Now that I look on the overall effect, I am happy I persisted.


With this now off my work table, I can start another design that has been calling for my attention.  I had drawn it at the same time as the Phoenix, another design from the 2005 catalogue from the Japanese Embroidery Centre in Dunwoody, Georgia  (www.japaneseembroidery.com).







I plan to work on white linen this time, once again with Piper's silks, but in apricot hues and bronze golds.  This piece is entitled 'In Full Bloom'.  It will be an exercise in precision since the dimensions are small and the interpretation intricate.