Stitch22 project - Video links and examples

This series of stitch workshops was started at the beginning of 2022 - hence the title - 

Stitch22 Project 

A different type of stitch was presented at 22 weekly intervals. It was suggested that each sample was attached to a  piece of card as a luggage label. Recycled card from Christmas cards were suggested to make small card backing for each sample. You could have fun working out ways of displaying them.

If you'd like to share individual stitched samples of your own collection, please share them with me on Facebook or send by email to sian @  distantstitch . co . uk (please close the gaps).

Enjoy them all again here.

 WEEK 1 - RUNNING STITCH - https://youtu.be/Fi9zcfsWdFE

  

  

WEEK 2 - CHAIN STITCH - https://youtu.be/GeEoqqQqyy4

   

WEEK 3 - BLANKET STITCH - https://youtu.be/ywmYTAjj4fI

    

WEEK 4 - CROSS STITCH - https://youtu.be/JbOR67Y0EJk

 

WEEK 5 - SATIN STITCH - https://youtu.be/qmJMhp7iH9E

  

WEEK 6 - CRETAN STITCH - https://youtu.be/hbKEinc88nM

  

 

WEEK 7 - STEM STITCH - https://youtu.be/ZyZWuVlXWlE

  

      

WEEK 8 - FLY STITCH - https://youtu.be/Lx4ooBHFK_A

 

 

WEEK 9 - COUCHING - https://youtu.be/d0rOgg_7pQU

 

   

WEEK 10 - KNOTS - https://youtu.be/2gZMUXJyNNk

 

 

WEEK 11 - EYELETS - https://youtu.be/sDcx0B3q-eE

 

 

WEEK 12 - RINGS  -  https://youtu.be/OktuiXbVMDo

   

 

 

 

WEEK 13 - HERRINGBONE - https://youtu.be/POkgTScMIF8 

  

 

 

WEEK 14 - DARNING - https://youtu.be/BYgHOcA9sWU   

 

  

  

WEEK 15 - WOVEN WHEELS - https://youtu.be/2HloCNIqBto 

 

 WEEK 16 - RAISED SHAPES - https://youtu.be/kD4enJj9lPE

 

 

 

WEEK 17 - LOOPS - https://youtu.be/966v1f0xEVM

 

 

 

 

WEEK 18 - APPLIED SHAPES - https://youtu.be/a3hnLzooaNg

 

 

 

 

WEEK 19 - STITCHED TUCKS - https://youtu.be/GqdPvEKBDb8 

 

 

WEEK 20 - SEEDING - https://youtu.be/8eOW9Dd1_JY

 

 

WEEK 21 - LACING - https://youtu.be/s4dzNo5iXrg 

  

 

 

 

 

 

WEEK 22 - FRONT + REVERSE LAYERS - https://youtu.be/3J0N4ZJydJ8

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Cocoons

My magical environment at Avalon Marshes is a small area that is tucked away from the bird watchers paradise of hides and watery viewing platforms.  My hidden path is a raised walkway over still waters covered with a floating carpet of soft velvet. 

  

The pathway takes you through a tangle of growth, fallen trees, fascinating algae and fine threads of insect webs with a sense of being wrapped within a cocoon.

 

Printed explorations

 Braving the rather cold temperatures in December and January, and finding inspiration in the wonderful wetland area at Avalon Marshes, Somerset. 

Reeds, trees and water: rhythm and reflections. An atmospheric sense of history as you walk along the rebuilt Sweet Way of laid wooden planks to keep your feet above the water level. Imagining the ancient foot steps of people walking along the paths connecting villages in the wetlands areas of Somerset.

A collagraph printing workshop with Sue Brown (suebrownprintmaker.blogspot.com) was the opportunity to explore the drawn marks in a different way. Scoring, layering and ripping back mounting card created a printing 'block'. Using a combination of two delicious colours of oil printing inks, produced some wonderful results on the  fabric surface as well as the printing block itself.

Printing onto translucent surfaces such a organdie, organza and previously coloured fabrics, it was possible to overlay and produce the ethereal effects I am trying to capture in my marshland drawings.

 

A collage of different fabrics made an interesting 'bed' for printing showing a combination of actual stitches and printed stitches.

Resolved pieces relating to the buttercup study

 

Pulling of buttercup stems after they'd flowered, showed a different side to this plant; the amazing tangle of their root system. These shadows show this off beautifully and suggested how the root could be considered a positive feature. So, thinking of how the world often appeared quite 'upsidedown' during the pandemic lockdown, I allowed the roots to be the positive feature and not the flowers. 

So I had fun playing around with different permutations and using the text 'upsidedown world'.

...and using naturalistic formations and more formal composition as below.

Long grasses were also entrancing as they swayed in the wind. Here the grasses are couched down with stitches the different angles denoting the rhythms of the movement.

Returning to work done during the 2020 'lockdown' period.

 This posting continues the story of the investigation I did when only walking around my garden and along a few close country lanes during the Covid lockdown. A previous posting shows how I used the inks created from buttercup and dandelion flowers to make marks on paper, describing the circular repetition of my daily walks enjoying the numerous plants and flowers starting to blossom. The bright yellow of the buttercups and dandelion flowers were especially vibrant and joyful. See October 2020 posting.

By boiling and sieving the fibres from these plants, I made a warm, soft, yellowish stain or ink. The residue pulp also looked useable so I tried pressing it against garden stone shapes to see if they would dry and hold a shape. This pulp made rather a fragile 'paper' when dried as it had no 'body' so I added pieces of scrim to strengthen and make a firmed moulded shape.

The pulp is used here to partially cover the garden stones, displayed on a drawing.

I also tried making paper shapes - and added spots of bright yellow ink when dried. 

Whispering messages

A series of concertina book structures in folded vellum.

'Covers' of acrylic squares, painted with marks to echo the swaying rhythms of the grasses.

 Velum pages covered with lines of small punctures and threaded with fine yarns and narrow fabric strips.