The Reluctant Embroiderer

Over the last few days I have been working on a large piece of embroidery. The fabric was bought as unknown composition, but I had a good feeling it was wool. Having washed it I know it must be mainly wool, as it shrunk as I expected. So I decided to play with doing some embroidery directly onto the cloth, without doing a drawing or marking out a pattern. This was a liberating process, working directly from my memories and feelings about Hirst Wood, and I am very happy with the results.

Working in natural fibre threads in mainly natural colours, the effect is quite subtle. The idea is to over-dye the piece, but I'm now feeling a bit precious about it.

It might surprise people that know me, to discover that I don't often do a lot of embroidery. I love embroidery, I enjoy doing it and I love the results and yet I seldom use it extensively as a creative process in my own work. I think I have a similar approach to drawing. Maybe now I have done this large piece of stitch it will unlock something.