First Forays

In the beginning

I’ve always dabbled in a few different crafts, trying new things for a short time – typically for presents, and rarely for myself – before losing inspiration and moving onto something new. I have dipped my fingers into sewing, doll making, jewelry making, sketching, pottery, book binding, creative writing, hand-drawn animation, print making, calligraphy – gosh, where does the list end?

Stumbling into Stumpwork

Stumpwork has fascinated me from the start. Stumpwork, if you don’t know, is a type of embroidery that creates a 3-dimensional effect. This can be done with everything from stitching over padded stuffing to wire-rimmed leaves and insect wings that sprout from the fabric – and so, so much more. I love the texture possibilities with stumpwork, and the fact that your embroidery can curl off of the background towards you. There’s also something appealingly realistic to a piece with literal dimension. I’ve wanted to play with this for a long time.

Polar Bear Wall Clock

This was another present that started as a birthday and ended up cycling through a few different present-giving holidays until it was finally finished in time for the following Christmas. My dad has always loved polar bears and somehow I go it into my head that I would make a clock with an embroidered polar bear design. I decided that the clock face would be an embroidery hoop, and that I would somehow attach the moving clock parts behind the hoop so that the armature of the clock poked through the center. I would also find a way to hang it. After a few internet searches I failed to find any tutorials telling me how to pull this off (though I later found out this was likely due to the search terms I used) and so decided to wing it. I would make the clock face first, buy the clock parts and figure out the rest later.

Drawstring Bags

Whenever I make an embroidered present I struggle with the decision of what I should put the embroidery on. I’ve always been adverse to giving people things to hang on their walls, so no framed pieces. I’m also not super experienced at sewing so I avoid as a general rule things like clothing. Boxes require the box, and can sometimes act as clutter (although they are something I would like to try in the near future).

In any case, so far I’ve only tried two types of things bigger than a sachet: pillows and bags. Pillows are fairly straightforward, even with a few additions. Bags sound easy, but actually they’re a bit trickier. I’m sure someone with more sewing experience would laugh, but for someone who hasn’t quite gotten the trick of sewing a straight line with a machine, it’s true!

Secret Pocket Pillow

I had a friend coming over from Oregon who I’d never met in person before (though we had known each other online for a few years) so of course I had to make her something. My friend loves perfumes and Victorian flower symbolism, and she’s generally a very private person so I decided to make her a sachet pillow with an embroidered front and a secret pocket for hiding personal treasures.

This was going to be fairly simple project so of course I put it off until last minute. I ended up spending the night before I needed to drive hours to where we’d be meeting for the Big E sewing instead of sleeping (and thus the photos do not have great light quality).

The First Pillow

In May I took a trip to Arizona and absolutely fell in love with the landscape. It’s been my dream to travel out to the western deserts for some time, and some part of me had expected that I had hyped the whole thing up to myself, and whatever I found there would be nothing compared my expectations. I was thankfully proven absolutely wrong.

While I was there, I saw a few different textile artists making landscapes from layered applique, using the pattern and colors of the fabric (often, I think , hand-dyed) to ‘paint’ desert scenes. I loved it so much, but I found that impressive as the bright, hand-dyed fabrics were, I tended to enjoy a simpler, more