Monday 16 March 2015

When Deadlines Are Upon Us


Some of you might recall
A couple of pieces giving me carpel tunnel.
It is oh, so tough stitching through the tight weave
of my dyed Egyptian cotton.
Every time I do it
I tell myself "this is the last time".
So instead of stitching I procrastinate....
....and now of course a deadline is here.


So this last week
with pliers in hand
I stitched and stitched and stitched.


Tried to keep the stitching minimal
but simply had to add little dots of additional colour.
Those dots took me three days.
If a piece speaks to you, you just have to listen
even if your fingers are numbed from grabbing the needle
and your wrist aches from tugging needle and thread with pliers.
To me the dots really make this piece.
Love them must do that again through gentle pliable cloth.


And of course couldn't just do one piece.
No dots here but circles instead.


Now I have to christen them
and write some wise words about them and my process!

So you won't see my scratchings today
I have to play catchup with them.

12 comments:

  1. no pain no gain
    this is a nasty expression because i feel your urge and your pain
    take care!

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  2. This is gorgeous! love the patterns and textures. hate deadlines...uuugh! one of the advantages of the less expensive cottons is that they are a bit easier to stitch through.

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  3. OH i hope your hand and wrist will be better with rest Penny. What type of material do you usually use for your daily scratchings??

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  4. Oh Penny, they are beautiful ! It's like the sap flow in plants and trees !

    (Yuk ! like Yvette said : no pain no gain, but it hurts !!! I know ...)

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  5. Oh YIKES - sewing with pliers!! These are beautiful -- and knowing what you went through to create them makes them even more special.

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  6. Oh YIKES - sewing with pliers!! These are beautiful -- and knowing what you went through to create them makes them even more special.

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  7. I'm awestruck by this beauty...and even more so knowing about such bravery! A good rest for those fingers and wrist!

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  8. Fabulous work, as always! But please, take care of your hands! I've sewn with pliers, too. But now I can't do any hand stitching at all. Rest those hands!

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  9. I hope the pain isn't lasting. I know about wanting stitch and not being able to...

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  10. Oh my, the results certainly are stunning! Hope your hands are ok though.

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  11. how painful! they are lovely, there must be a poem there about love, work and pain

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  12. Yes, the circles really complete your piece. It's absolutely beautiful and you have such diligence and patience! Be sure to take good care of those hands...

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Thank you for taking the time to comment, your thoughts are most welcome.