My husband celebrated his 40th birthday recently and I was keen to sew something for him but was at pains to find something that would really appeal. So many of the things I do are not always suitable for men. It also had to be unique and ideally not cost too much money. Many years ago we had seen a cross stitch at a museum in Witney, Oxfordshire done by a little girl at the Foundling Hospital in London using her own hair. She had sewn a 'sampler' into her underskirt the result was astounding. We were struck by the poignance of this beautiful piece of work. So I decided to undertake my own cross stitch using my hair for him.
After choosing a poem I started to chart out the script onto grid paper. I used a piece of linen with quite a small cube to work in the tiny stitches were very hard to execute and I almost went blind in the process, however it does look very effective. I used four strands of my hair, anything else appeared too washed out. I have to be honest with you this was a labour of love which I have worked on for the past eight months. Hair is quite tricky to work with as it can slip around a bit and the more tired you are (I only work at night) the harder it becomes!
The effect is amazing though, and needless to say he was suitably impressed. I hope you enjoy it too and anyone out there interested in trying it themselves please feel free to contact me for any words of wisdom and encouragement.
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7 comments:
I remember you doing it at Taralga and being in awe. Now I am, doubly.
It is so beautiful!
Dear Hen,
Needless to say your hair sampler looks absolutely beautiful, as do all your amazing original creations. And what a labour of love - I feel certain I would have ended up bald had I attempted such a feat! You are so clever Hen, love Nic
I cannot believe Meg never told me about this project, it is AMAZING. How on earth could you keep it a secret for so long? Wow, I might have to come back for another look tomorrow after I have thought about it for a while.
Love Kate (Meg's big sister)
this is a perfect example of 'slow text'. i'd like to see one of your own poems rendered now. perhaps next winter? beautiful work hen.
Thanks for your gorgeous comments. Whilst I would love to 'render' my own poem, poetry has never been my strong suit maybe you could assist in providing one of yours? It would be a fabulous collaboration.
Hen
aha, just saw this. wld love to hen. i have one just finished which is 500 words, though that might be a bit of a strain. i'd love you do this little poem in slow text.
PJ, would love to do this little poem, it is prefect for the medium. The 500 word poem might be a little more than my scalp can cope with! h
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