Tag: craft

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Arts and Crafty Medieval Style Greyhound Tapestry

I’m starting my blog, which has been rumbling around in my brain for a while. 🤪

Have a look at my current sewing obsession, The Greyhound and The Bee Tapestry Wall-hanging. 

Arts and Crafty medieval style Tapestry Kit
Beautiful Greyhound and Bee Tapestry Kit

The link for kit details are here 

Greyhound and Bee Tapestry Kit to Sew Yourself in Easy Counted Cross-stitch, Make a Needlepoint Cushion Or Picture

A lovely Arts and Crafty medieval style design, inspired by a wonderful relief stone carving in The Natural History Museum, London. 

Arts and crafts relief stone carving from the Natural History Museum. Inspiration for the Greyhound and The Bee Tapestry Wall-hanging Kit

It’s an image which has been on my to-create list for years, along with several thousand others.  

I’ve taken the idea of strawberries from the background, mixed in bees (always lovely) and used a blue on blue tiled idea for the background. Also a little nod to the Delft tiles which I love. 

Have a look at the photos to give an idea of my process.

Greyhound is sewn using Victorian Cross-stitch, a really rhythmic stitch which results in a fantastic, hardwearing tapestry textile when you have finished. 

Here you can see the part I’m sewing this afternoon. I added the eye on Friday evening, and with that, my Greyhound lives! 

I always roll the canvas and hold in my left hand, I started at the bottom right hand side of the border, with this stylised flower. 

Remember, Victorian Cross-stitch doesn’t require a frame, unless you prefer to use one!

All the way up to the top! 

 All this time, I’ve been itching to start sewing my greyhound. Ive resisted temptation as i know that its harder to stitch, holding stitched work!🤪 

So this is my Sunday afternoon, it’s warm enough to sit in the garden and sew for a while.  😊 

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Useful … and beautiful

Have you ever come across the quote “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”? It is a quote that I have on the front page of my British Craft House shop because I feel it sums up where I am coming from as a maker.

(I would perhaps include the word ‘garden’ as well as ‘house’ to be true to the range of things I make.)

The quote is from William Morris, the most famous 19th century designer and key figure in the Arts & Crafts movement. He developed an interest in his childhood for wildlife, flowers and the natural world which would have an influence on his work in later life. Contrary to the Victorian ideal of mass production & industrial processes William Morris championed artisan production of handmade items in textiles, wallpaper, carpets, embroidery, tiles & books.

He brought the natural world indoors by using patterns from the countryside, hedgerow plants and old-fashioned garden flowers to create his designs. 

This spirit of unique, handmade design inspired by nature I hope is reflected in my ceramics – nothing mass produced, nothing copied, hopefully beautiful or useful, or both!