Thread painting with free motion embroidery
Sketches of Dartmoor
The moors are never very far away. I can see the tops of the soft Dartmoor hills from my bedroom when the weather allows with it's muted greens and browns. I try to sketch them in thread and fabric paints then overstitch them with free motion machine embroidery. They are a moody moor, a solitary place under an expansive sky that is quite often full of rain and wind, with hardy ponies and ranging sheep.
Deep Valley
Painting with thread in this way has a wonderful atmospheric effect. Depth and colour can be built up by constant overstitching, adding remnants of cloth or wool and defining outlines with yarn. It's a fascinating technique that I get completely lost in for hours. It is a very time consuming way of working but I feel the results are so satisfying.