Looking back.

 After my blog of yesterday looking back at 1986, it seems like a good day to look back on work over the years to where I am now. So this is Winter textures from 1996.

This is from 2006- a stitch sampler of line stitches. This rectangle was a challenge to myself and my class to invent their own stitches. Difficult! I was playing with loop stitches. Which brings me up to date and my piece that I am working on now.

Sea urchin top for Mo.

 Little star top of a sea urchin - for Mo Crow - I love her sea urchin work.

This came from quite a large sea urchin from the Isles of Scilly ( Bryher) A diver gave me the tops because I was searching for shells with holes to stitch through. I stitched this piece a long time ago 1986! It is canvas work and is the island of Tresco in shells and stitch. I had a box frame made for it with a latch so you could open it.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree.

Time to tidy up the studio, prepare for visitors and enjoy the holidays. This is my machine embroidery partridge in a pear tree and our Christmas card. I shall snatch a little time to draw and stitch when I can but it's good to take a break - ideas can have time to flourish. Merry Christmas to all and thank you for reading my blog and taking time to make comments.

Winter field - more stitches.

A little more progress, slow and steady down the furrows, an antidote to Christmas shopping, cleaning and list making.

Winter Sketchbook.

I am working on a Winter concertina sketchbook. Birds and footpaths, fog and frost. These birds come to the bird cafe everyday outside my studio window and keep me company while I stitch.

Winter field.

 A busy time of year so lovely to sit and quietly sew my way along this winter field.

 trying to keep the stitches uneven and random within the lines.

Short days so a little splash of colour and light at a dark time of year- chinese lanterns by the gate at Newark Park, Gloucestershire.

Winter field.

I remember a friend telling me that some small art pieces call out to be bigger pieces. This then is the sequel to that smaller piece posted last week. With new thoughts. It is a corner of the enormous field that I walk round often in all seasons - so this is Winter field. The running stitches are my or our footsteps. The herringbone is the ragged weed edge. All wildlife lives on the edges of the field. When you walk around you can find silence. I was listening yesterday to the radio about the project- one square inch of silence - I hope it has imprinted onto the silk and felt so I will remember. Yesterday it was foggy and I put grey chiffon over the field to take down the shininess of the silk.

Winter footpath.

A little piece of a frosty Winter footpath - 9x6cm. My signature technique- machine embroidery on felt.