An Anniversary of Sorts

Yesterday Facebook reminded me that it was exactly 8 years ago that I first tried free motion embroidery.  I celebrated by cutting up lots of little scraps of Liberty fabric for some new kits I will be listing in my Etsy shop hopefully later this week.

Whilst doing so I got thinking about all the different things I've created with free motion embroidery since that workshop and the different opportunities it's given me. 

I don't think I imagined then that I'd still be doing as much free motion embroidery as I am, or still loving it as much as I did that very first time.  If possible, I love it even more now, getting the seed of an idea for a new piece, searching out exactly the right fabrics to use, cutting and preparing everything, then finally sitting down to stitch.  There isn't a part of the process I don't enjoy, I even love cutting out the sometimes very fiddly bits of fabric I use. 

The two pieces below were the very first ones I created during the workshop.  Piles or stacks of things seemed to catch my eye!



You can see in both these images I've used watercolour paint to add shading; something I tend not to do in my work now, although I have recently added acrylic paint to create backgrounds in a couple of pieces. 

Since then I've experimented with all kinds of images, from bicycles and motorbikes to robins and Christmas wreaths through to a selection of portraits. 








I've also taught lots of classes and workshops, including one at the Knitting and Stitching Show last year.  



I designed and stitched the cover of a book and was interviewed by it's author for her blog, and have given a talk to an Embroiderers Guild group, all things I could never have imagined doing.  The photo above shows the book on sale in my local Waterstones. (No, I didn't tell anyone in there I was responsible for the cover). 

Here's to the next 8 years!

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