Stitcherydoodaa & the Studio

Now in a new county, I decided to revamp the 2 earlier blogs below (Stitcherydoodaa & Stitcherdoodaa's Studio) & bring them somewhat up-to-date with what I am now doing. Here they both are (click on the images if you want to visit them):

Remnants of a Past Life ... !

I have always stitched (& knitted .. & embroidered .. & created .. & ... etc etc) & generally been fascinated with STITCHES & several years ago made a STITCHED BOOK (cover for it above) to display ‘some WWII research’ on this diverse subject (if you want to flip through the book, click here).

However, I also found other aspects of the research interesting but discovered there was little information to be found. The reading of records, talks & conversations with a cross-section of people, visits to museums & other similar institutions constantly resulted in answers that were the same. Usually that ... “only things in mint condition were of value ... and ... only things of value by named designers had been retained”. And I found this extremely frustrating especially as it could be the key to what I was trying to find out!

But it then started me thinking ... I had been involved in textile crafts for many years & I'm basically self-taught from a very young age.  I’ve been a student … a teacher … demonstrated textile skills to various craft groups … have been a dressmaker … a designer ... a practicing textile artist … & also a ‘textile researcher’. And on many occasions, I have witnessed a seemingly 'unnoticeable talent’ that when many individuals are provided with a needle & thread … they often create ‘stitches’ that produce a ‘treasure’ of considerable personal importance. And in most instances, that individual is ‘an ordinary person’ - someone who usually has no formal qualification but for some strange reason, has an inner desire or need to just stitch! (In fact I too have felt this inner inexplicable  ‘force’ on several occasions – I am still questioning what it is & where it comes from!)

And so I began to add various stitched textile ‘odds & ends’ with no ‘apparent value’ to a ‘seemingly meaningless’ collection begun a few years earlier. With underlying personal thoughts on the subject, it wasn’t long before I began to view my stitching collection a little differently & start to recognise similarities to my earlier research findings. It appeared that ‘insignificant everyday stitched’ items have often more hidden meaning than originally thought … the small gift made by a relative who had sought out personal fabric scraps or odd balls of knitting yarn to use … the love token given to a soldier by an admirer who had no previous experience of stitching keepsakes … the young servant by candlelight who laboriously stitched repairs to worn sheets to make some underwear, … these items of no significance? Hours of work … stitched with love … earning a meager living … in recognition of a special event ... passed down to other generations… of no importance? Indeed, at the time it was stitched, I’m positive that IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT to the worker who made it. And especially to the receiver of a ‘personalised gift’, I’m sure IT’S VALUE WAS EXTREMELY HIGH! As any stitcher or crafts person recognises, it is indeed a labour of love & no price can ever be put on it!

A Stitch Sanctuary ...

Recently, I came across some scribblings in one of my earlier notebooks:

Seek to understand the tradition, and the techniques

will regenerate within your imagination

& this helped me start to create this stitch reference library of 'stitches of importance & value'. And as I begin, I recall that when people have seen my actual samples, they often mention words like 'what lovely stitching ... what a pity it wasn't looked after better'. So because many of the samples are incomplete, partially worn, have stitching missing or other related evidence of having 'seen better days',  I've decided its appropriate to title this digital reference record as:

"THE STITCH SANCTUARY"

which if you click on the above image, you'll be able to see for yourself
REMNANTS OF A PAST LIFE!

The Owl & the Pussycat ...

Being involved in textile crafts for many years (below a mat made when young after reading the story of "The Owl & the Pussycat") & while researching for a specific project, found this written in one of my books:

Seek to understand the tradition, and the techniques

will regenerate within your imagination

With the mat in mind, another idea is beginning for something related to stitches!