Anti Valentine's Day

Have been experimenting a lot with the technique of whitework. Now, back at the Royal School of Needlework, we had a whole module in it. Which was a brilliant technical grounding that I now consider absolutely essential to have done.

But I don't particularly find white thread on white fabric very inspiring. The techniques, yes: broderie anglaise, cut and oversewn eyelets, trailing lines .... But producing traditional tablecloths and suchlike? Not so.

I've been compiling a whole book of samples entitled 'Whitework Gone Wierd'. In this I'm using all the traditional techniques but on things like latex (I do love my latex) and transparent PVC. Partly for the simple reason of whether or not it's technically feasible, and partly because it's something new I've not really seen before. Text still features a large amount in my current practice, alongside the corporate logos I'm still completing in goldwork, and seeing that it's currently Feb 14th..... happy Anti-Valentine's Day:

Worked on cotton organdie in the technique of trailing - a form of couching where the entire of the base thread is covered with the oversewing one on top. The black letters are about half a cm tall and the red ones about 2cms tall.