marking time

When I started this textile artwork I had no idea how it would turn out. I just wanted to do some slow stitching!

I also thought it would be good to use up some of my less interesting pieces of eco dyed fabric, and the many scraps left over from other projects. After years of making textile art I know that even the most boring materials can be transformed with embroidery, layering and so on.

Just looking at them isn’t enough. I have to ‘play’, arranging and rearranging until I’m happy. With no preconceived ideas, the unexpected happens!

After I’d organised the layers to my satisfaction (no trimming) I pinned them down and started stitching. I added appliqué, quilting, couching, seed and cross stitching over the next several days, mostly at my gallery in between customers.

Since I wasn’t sure what to do next I hung it up and left it alone for 24 hours. And the ideas came!

I stitched some letters. I thought about journeys (a recurring theme in my work), the passing of time, the milestones in my life.

To express these thoughts visually I stitched tally marks in red. I left a thread hanging after I reached 100, to signify the future, the unknown, the unfinished.

Next, I quilted some diagonal lines to represent pathways. Masking tape keeps me straight - removable and reusable.

It was then I knew I had finished!