We had a lovely group attend our embroidery workshop and clothing swap, with many returning friends who we met at textile printing. Embroidery is a relaxing and satisfying activity, and it was heart warming to have our hands busy while we chatted and sipped tea around the table. Like our textile printing workshop, we began with an introduction of the project and invited participants to choose from a table of garments which we had collected from local thrift stores to embroider on. Our intention is to donate these beautifully altered clothes back to the thrift stores with a meaningful handcrafted touch for it's next owner (and a little tag telling about the project). In this way, the intentions of sharing creativity and generosity will ripple gently outwards into the larger community. We had embroiderers of all experience levels and ages, so we worked on lots of different skills and stitches from threading a needle to tackling the elusive french knot stitch. I wore my shirt with a subtle sashiko inspired embroidered detail to illustrate that even a small and simple touch of embroidery can add so much interest, beauty, and uniqueness to a garment. Beauty, creativity, and experimentation ensued! Some participants chose to stick with a simple running stitch, using it to create diverse and effective designs, while others practiced new stitches they had never tried before, like the satisfying lazy daisy. We were all blown away by this mother/daughter team who worked collaboratively to create a "dessert and night time" themed cardigan, featuring a doughnut, cherry cupcake, and moon and stars! Our clothing swap continued, and we finished the day with a sense of support, warmth, and many beautiful garments to pass forward.
-Keely Comments are closed.
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