Katie Tume, aka Mother Eagle, is an embroidery artist from the UK who specialises in hand embroidered jewellery.
“I’ve been creating for Mother Eagle since 2007. There’s been several incarnations of the Eagle along the way, but my true heart’s love is fine, hand embroidery. I am a fifth-generation needleworker and have learned my craft at my mother’s knee since I was a little child.
”I design and create my own patterns by hand, and my embroideries are painstakingly stitched in miniature, taking many, many hours of meticulous work. I use magnifying lamps to help me make the tiny stitches, most no more than a millimetre long. I use an array of fine English needles to ensure the finish is neat and tidy. My intention with every piece is that they become ‘instant heirlooms’.
”Mother Eagle Embroidered Art and Jewellery comes from a collective mass of handed-down rainbow threads, and beautiful hand-dyed silks and cottons from small artisan producers. Fabric is, currently, antique lace doilies and vintage bed linens from the ’50s that I dye in organic black tea to give some colour.”
I’m a bit of a sucker for these kinds of things. I’ve been watching Katie’s work get smaller and more intricate and been amazed at her prolific output. Add some skulls and foxes and I’m hooked. Take a moment to visit Katie’s blog and I’m sure you’ll be equally enchanted.