Old Roots - New Shoots

At the end of August the Irish Patchwork Society is hoping to an exhibition of 6”x4” postcards as part of the celebrations for its 40th anniversary. The theme is Old Roots – New Shoots. I think this is a fantastic theme – evocative and thought provoking. I love to work on a small scale, so a 6”x4” postcard is a challenge that appeals to me and I couldn't wait to get started.

For my design I decided to create a triskele/triskelion using hand stitched French knots in a variety of colours, weights and types of threads, to represent buds and flowers. The triskele, an ancient symbol, closely associated with Celtic culture = Old Roots. French knot buds = New Shoots. The background is my favourite green silk. It’s just gorgeous, and what could be more appropriate?

You can see from the first photograph how I began to fill in the triskele shape.

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 I just worked away stitching the knots in cotton pearl, stranded cotton, rayon and silk threads until the shape was positively encrusted with colour.

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I felt when it was completed that there was a lot of negative space, so I decided to scatter a few more silk flowers on the back ground. I actually think that this was probably a mistake but once done there was no going back!

The piece took me over 8 hours of stitching to complete and I had to rest my hand for a day or so afterwards! I love the colour and the texture of this little card….and after all that work I didn’t want to send it in to the exhibition, so I’ve sent it to a special loved one instead…..guess I’ll just have to make another post card for the exhibition! Maybe not so much hand work this time?


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