Hello my crafty friends, boy have I got a treat in store for you all today! It’s time to get another stamp on our creative passports as we soar through the interweb to the wonders of Chile, some of which are most definitely created by todays featured seller Sara whose shop ‘Casatienda de Amelia B‘ is brimming with exquisite examples.
Working as a historian, undoubtedly Sara has come across many more wonders from all over Chile. Her particular research area is Chile in the first half of the 19th Century, especially anything related to the extinction of artisan trades. As both a history and arts lover I think this sounds like absolute bliss!
What is your earliest stitching memory?
My earliest stitching memory is a bad one, at the age of 14 a teacher was trying to teach me how to embroider and I hated it, the first thing I made was awful and full of wrinkles. Many years later, when about 29, I was going through a particularly sad family time and signed up to an embroidery class and I just loved it. At the time I was doing some accessories with beads but ever since taking the class I have started doing necklaces that use a lot of the things I like, especially embroidery.
What fires your imagination?
Old fashions and clothes. The textures, the colour palette people used during 1930-1960, I just love it. I love to see images from the 18th and 19th century too, I love the things that were sewn by hand, I just can’t believe that the seamstresses and tailors could do all those wonderful things with just their hands. That for me is maybe the biggest inspiration because all the things that I make take time. I make them very carefully, with patience, not thinking too much about how many pieces I make an hour, but more aware of the possibilities the threads give me. My imagination is always on fire, but the truth is that sometimes my hands can’t do the things I have in my head, so I just keep trying until I like what I see and feel happy with it.
There’s so much to love about Sara’s work, I for one am absolutely captivated by her bold use of colour and the sheer exuberance in all of her stitches. More and more beautiful things are being added to her shop each day, so hurry on over and make sure you don’t miss out!
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Jessica Taylor aka Loadofolbobbins is a Textile Artist and Illustrator based by the sea in Portsmouth. At her happiest with a needle and thread, with a passion for genealogy she often explores old photographs in her Textile art. With her fingers in many creative pies she loves to experiment with new techniques, creating illustrated and stitched goodies for her new Etsy shop.