Jo Avery – the Blog

Hoop Inspiration

I mentioned a few weeks back that I have signed up for way too many swaps on Flickr.
In fact I am so busy making stuff for them that I haven’t had a chance to tell you about them! I am going to try and do a few quick mini posts about 3 of them before I go away to Birmingham for a big trade fair at the weekend.
I must re-iterate the word ‘TRY’ in that last sentence…

So first up is the ‘Hoop Up! Stitch and Send Swap’ embroidery swap. In this swap you are grouped with 2 other sewers and we each make a piece for the other 2. We first have to make an inspiration piece so that they understand the ‘theme’ we are going for. The idea is that you will have 3 matching embroidered pieces at the end.

This is my first time with this swap and I am relatively new to embroidery, so I had to spend a lot of time researching before I found the direction I wanted to go with. This is my inspiration mosaic. I am hoping for  a ‘magical forest’ vibe. With trees, flowers and woodland animals – but with a magical, surreal, slightly disturbing atmosphere.

I love the illustrations of Aya Kakeda. They are cute and disturbing in equal measures and a lot of them are set in forests. So this was my starting point. And along with lots of other inspiring illustrations and embroideries I found on Flickr, I drew this design.

I then started embroidering it. This is really like VERY slow colouring in, but SO much fun! I mentioned in this post how much I loved making an embroidery hoop for a class, and how it was going to be a new passion. Well I feel this even more now.

I loved making this little picture and am so pleased with how it turned out.
I also can’t wait to see what my partners will come up with! I was very lucky to have been paired with Dolores and Leila, both such talented stitchers!

Now what do you think, is the bear type creature gazing lovingly at his chicken pet? Or is he about to tear him limb from limb and eat him?

20 comments

  1. Hummm – I thought it was lovingly gazing at the chicken until you mentioned eating him so now I am not so sure! It is beautiful however you look at it 🙂 I especially love the pink blossoms.

  2. LOVE your hoop! Your stitching is so lovely and I know exactly what you mean about slow colouring in.
    Oh and that bear is about to scoff that poor chook!!!!!!!

  3. Thanks for the nasty imagery at the end! The mean version hadn't entered my mind. If it is the later why would you want to stitch that? There was me thinking what a lovely design it was. One version is pretty and the other is ugly. Why create ugliness unnecessarily, when it is all around us. Why create in your mind and then for posterity when you don't have to? Isn't there enough real nastiness in the world?

  4. Love your embroidered bear in the woods hoop Jo! He looks very pleased with himself but who knows what's going on in his head:-) Sounds like a great challenging swap.

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