Playful Free-Form Embroidery – Stitch Stories with Texture, Pattern and Color by Laura Wasilowski teaches you how to create bold and colourful narrative embroideries. Christine Cunningham reviews it and says the book “demonstrates how to build texture and colour in easy steps which is effective and achievable over a period of time.” Find out more at Mr X Stitch!
For this Stitchgasm we want to focus on the painterly textiles based work of Linda Friedman Schmidt. She is a German born artist who is currently based in America. Her work is textiles based with a real fine art painterly vibe. It also reminds us of traditional crafts like rag rug making. She uses her own personal clothing in each piece so it is personal and fills in other areas of her works with mixed media substances.
Hand Embroidery: Timeless Techniques for Beginners and Beyond is an expert guide to popular surface-stitching techniques, suitable for stitchers of all abilities!
The Sewing Room Sampler Quilt combines two of Yoko Saito’s favourites: blocks featuring traditional quilting motifs, such as stars and houses, plus one-of-a-kind sewing-themed applique designs. You can use the block and applique designs individually, or combine them to create this quilting masterpiece. Step-by-step colour instructions illustrate how to piece the 16 blocks together and assemble the quilt. Full-size templates of the 8 applique motifs are included on pattern sheets.
Gizem Konyar is a textile artist from Ankara, Turkey, whose hand embroideries explore the conscious and subconscious perils of modern femininity.
Book Review – Hisako Nishisu invites you to try her new collection of Cross Stitch Wildflowers and Grasses, designs inspired by beauty and simplicity. There are over 30 stunning motifs to choose from, so whether you admire the lily of the valley or the violet, or prefer to stitch the Japanese silverleaf, there is sure to be a project that will catch your eye. After a gallery of beautifully photographed embroideries, a cross stitch overview is provided outlining the tools, materials and techniques needed for completing these charming samplers. This is followed by a clear, full-page chart for each design. Once your floral sampler is finished, frame it and hang it for a beautiful addition to any room, or use the designs to add pretty motifs to your linens, clothing and accessories.
TxP (Textiel Plus) are an organisation who work online and through a magazine which is printed in Dutch. The magazine is printed four times a year and the website is updated regularly, with a focus on current content. Daphne’s Diary is another craft based magazine we will review here.
In this Stitchgasm we take a look at the mixed media sculpture work by Hélène Caperna. She is a French artist and one who looks at serious themes in a colourful way, using felt and fabric together.
Our stitchgasm focuses on Mary Carson a textile artist. She focuses on portraits and has been inspired by the artist Sue Stone. She likes to tell a story through her work and often uses her own family as inspiration as well as the history of the local area of America where she lives. Her work is hand stitched and painted.
Today I am interviewing contemporary textile artist Valeria Faundez who’s embroidery canvases are microwave food trays, domestic plastic bottles and kitchen utensils. Her still life exhibitions elevate everyday objects from mass consumerism to a sculptural platform, challenging traditional concepts of what is ‘ART’? Let us explore her beautiful collection of traditional embroidery and stitch set against a backdrop of disposable product.
Ian Berry is a UK based textile artist who coerces denim fabric to create mind blowing portraits and landscape studies that are incredibly realistic, exploring themes like American nostalgia and contemporary intimacy.
The Textile Artist: Expressive Stitches delves into the creative process of collecting and storing natural items, exploring pattern, texture, media and markings to cultivate the final design. Dyeing, embellishing and stamping transform fabrics into vibrant, textured artworks using a combination of traditional hand stitching, machine stitching, and other media. A step-by step guide of techniques explores Jan’s stitched landscape, memory cloths and bird sculptures. Each project includes a break down of materials, tools and techniques used providing inspiration for your own textile artwork.