Friday 8 July 2016

Artistic Endeavours 'By Numbers'.

Cross stitch with
silk, beads and
metalliscthread


The advent of colouring books takes me back to my childhood. I loved colouring books and in those days we could let our imaginations run wild - we chose which colours we wanted to use.

Later came painting by numbers and now we have the less messy pencils. I understand that fans of these new magazines find it soothing to sit and colour a picture. Me? I wish I could paint as my late father did but I can't.


My artistic bent is more along the lines of embroidery. Nowadays - and it has been for a very long time - counted cross stitch is the 'fashion'. More doing it by numbers!


The great pity for me is that I love doing 'proper' embroidery using a host of varying stitches. Unfortunately it is very difficult to find pre-printed fabric or even stencils and fabric. The last time I managed to purchase pre-printed fabric - in the early 1990s - the material was dreadful. I think is something that my mother's generation called crush. It was difficult to get the needle through this cheap fabric.

My favourite type
of embroidery



It was also some time in the 1990s that I managed to buy a 'repeater' stencil. (You damp ironed it onto the fabric as many times as you need). Fabric? None to be found so I resorted to a white sheet and made a table cloth and napkins.

I find doing embroidery both restful and a help when I am at the creative stage of writing a novel. Doing two jobs at the same time!

Take up colouring books? No, not possible. I have repetitive stress injuries in my right wrist, elbow and shoulder. Writing? I use a fountain pen - in short spurts.


Table Cloth made from
a sheet. 






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