I stumbled across half a dozen videos the other day, and they're what's sparking this blog post. Erica Wilson was someone whose work I first came across in a small way in Cathy Callahan's 'Vintage Craft Workshop' book. In it she gets different crafters to recreate seventies designs but with a modern slant. There're projects involving raffia, hessian, papier-mache, macrame and lots more, including embroidery. The chapter on 'Stitching: Crewelwork, Craft Kits, and Applique' included a brief note about a lady called Erica Wilson. The chair's shown in this photograph, and I can see why the stitching captivated Cathy Callahan so much. It's fabulous. Erica Wilson's name stayed in my mind, so when I was snapping up a few secondhand embroidery books, wanting to learn more about the craft, I happily bought one of hers. (It's a great book, by the way. Dated, obviously, but very comprehensive.) All of which led me in the meandering dire
Sunday afternoon, another week about to roll into view. I've been for a brisk autumnal walk around a local RSPB nature reserve, coming back with a pocketful of pretty brown feathers and a handful of dried grasses and seed heads, the vague aim being to either sketch them or to make a little stitched piece with them as a reference and starting point. This tea-dyed white cotton that I just dyed might come in handy for something stitchy, but I might over-dye it as the colour's not especially strong. Some interesting lines from where I folded & tied the material though. I also dyed this piece, using blackberries, and getting a good combination of pale and darker purples. I've been trying a few odds & ends of crafty projects this week. I'd a small bag of kilt pins, ordered in error when I should've chosen large safety pins instead, and was wondering what to do with them. Thought I'd make something beaded that might be a bag charm or dangle off the