TAST Week Nine Couching

This was a great opportunity to make something I've had in mind for years. I used variegated chenille yarn (did you know chenille is French for caterpillar? very graphic when you study the yarn!) along with unplied embroidery flosses, using all six strands; the couching thread is a metallic thread which I plied out so I worked with a single ply. This bit into the heavier threads enough to keep them in place.

I worked this in a three part piece with a kind of Josquin (early music composer) feeling, on heavy handmade paper I'd created ages ago, too. this time the top section was on finer paper, easier to penetrate with a needle, to give a light feeling to the top panel. But the other two panels, much heavier, needed a hammer and nail to create the holes before I could work them. I never realized embroidery could involve hammering and a lot of noise. Since I love hitting, this was in fact a bonus experience.

The designs follow down (or across, haven't decided whether this is a vertical or horizontal piece yet) and the empty space between them makes the eye complete the pattern. This is very early music-like, where emptiness is important.

Anyway, here's the finished stitching. Complete work seen here vertically (I'd be interested in feedback on whether horizontal or vertical is better, by the way)



Here's the top, or left panel seen horizontally



Panel two, the middle, either way, horizontally



Panel Three bottom or right, depending! seen her vertically





The actual backing and presentation, which won't show at the front at all, is yet to be done. But I couldn't wait to show you anyway.