Browsing

Unable (unwilling?) to leap straight to the sewing machine, I started the day by browsing through a few books. This densely embroidered piece was designed and executed by William Morris, and it's from "Embroidered Gardens" by Thomasina Beck, which was published in 1979.

Amid all the needlepoint and stumpwork from earlier times was this wool embroidery from the second quarter of the 18th century, still bright and fresh -

On the same shelf I found Embroidery Studio, published in 1993. Embroiders took an item from the Guild's collection and reinterpreted it. These little pieces by Jenny Bullen are probably my favourites in the book -- they're based on a quilted fragment from a 17th century garment.

Not having looked at this book for a few (!) years, I now find the contemporary work overly fussy. But the historical notes are interesting, as are the artists' working processes. My current favourite historical example is this 1927 "firescreen" by Madeleine Clifton - densely stitched, but with an airy feel -

Another book I haven't looked at for years is Fiberarts Design Book Four, published in 1991 (and costing £15.99 at the time!) Sue Benner's "Three times of sky" still looks fresh to me, even though her work has changed considerably --

And just to pick one of the dozen other things I photographed from the book (the tapestries and baskets seem the most timeless categories), this felt piece by Maria Stachowska measures 78 x 113 cm -

It probably influenced today's journal quilt.