Demonstrating the first stage of Freestyle Machine Embroidered cows.
Freestyle Machine Embroidery wasn’t on my radar until I embarked on an Art evening course. The textile tutor introduced me to the basics and I loved the quality of the line when drawing with the thread. The colour mixing for me, is a great time to play and if I can justify using metallic threads, I will find a way. Sometimes, I experiment with wax resist, fabric crayons and acrylic paints for background colour and texture. Doing commissions can be a bit nerve wracking because I want to produce a quality piece of work. It always thrills me when feedback is positive and I’m told their friends thought it was a painting until they looked closely and saw the stitches.
Needle felting figures seems a ridiculous pursuit, considering how allergic to wool I am! Originally, I wanted figures completely made from fabric. However, wool gave me the facial definition and expressive details I wanted.
After my first solo embroidery exhibition in 2019, I wanted to create characters from folktales. Constructing the wire armature was the first thing to work out. Then, I applied the core wool and finer surface wools. Many broken felting needles later, I had my second solo exhibition in 2021, consisting of sixteen figures.
Needle felted figure collection and demonstrating finishing stage of facial details.
Now, my Freestyle/Free Motion Machine Embroidery and Needle Felting figures are linked to my enjoyment of storytelling. This can be simply watching people interacting together, buildings or places which have memories and well told tales which have been passed through the generations.