Stitching Pomegranates
I posted about this piece on my personal blog a while ago. I have added a bit more hand stitching since then but it is certainly going slowly. Mainly because I haven’t worked on it much. I have gotten out of the habit of hand stitching in my spare moments. I would like to get back to it so this is an effort to get started again.
This is an old wool blanket that I used a halved pomegranate to stamp the wool with thickened red dye. I made this eons ago!
This is the first area where I added stitching. I am using seed stitches to emphasize the seeds in the pomegranate. I also added some stem stitch to several of the pomegranate edges. The thread I am using is lace weight wool that I dyed.
Here’s the second pomegranate that I have started on. It still needs more seed stitching.
Here’s a closer view. The stitches are pretty small. I haven’t decided what to do with this piece but I have some other parts of this wool blanket that coordinate with this one. I thought I might make a book cover but maybe I’ll combine the pieces to make a larger piece. Who knows. Right now I’m just trying to get in the stitching habit again. Do you have a hard time getting back into a technique you haven’t used for a while?
Oh and Happy April Fool’s Day! Hope you don’t have too many pranks played on you 🙂
16 thoughts on “Stitching Pomegranates”
I really like it Ruth! It looks fantastic!
Thanks! I will keep plugging along 🙂
The stitching is great – and isn’t hand sewing wonderfully relaxing?
Thanks Lyn – it is relaxing and I wonder why I resist doing it sometimes when I have a spare moment.
The pomegranate piece is coming along nicely. I very much like “slow stitching,” but if it’s been awhile since using more intricate stitches, I forget how and need to consult a book.
Thanks Cathy – you certainly don’t need a book for “seed” stitches. They are just small straight stitches placed in all different directions without a certain pattern. They are easy. And I always go to stem stitch for a straight line so that one is easier for me to remember. But other stitches I always have to look up to get started again.
It looks great, Ruth 🙂 I usually do things in phases because it’s easier having limited space, so I often have times where I just do stitching for a couple of weeks or so. Which is easier now I have new glasses!
Thanks Zed – my work kind of goes in phases too, not really a space issue but I guess I get more interested in doing something for a while and then on to something else. I understand about the glasses thing. If I can, I usually stitch without any glasses or contacts. That works best for me.
Looks like a great start Ruth. I am hoping to have a comfortable chair in my new studio space.
Thanks Ann – I wish I had a clean, new studio space that was bigger than what I have now. 🙂
Ruth it looks really nice, I like the colors and patterns. You’re so creative! I’ve only stitched a little on wool and love the way it feels; I hope to do more in the future. I’ve just moved (from NY to England!) so I definitely know what it’s like to stop and start…having a hard time getting back to doing anything creative right now.
Thanks Mary! I have found that you just have to do something even if it is just taking a few stitches on a sample piece. The act of doing something creative gets you over that hump.
I also find it tricky going back to previous techniques. When I’m doing it constantly I think I’ll never forget it, but coming back to it even after only a couple of months can lead to a “How the hell did I do this?” moment. I now try to remember to keep detailed notes, though I don’t always succeed. 🙂
Yes, it is sad that what we think we’ll remember easily doesn’t always work that way. Even if I have notes sometimes it is hard 🙂