embroidered effects

a few years ago my mom gave me some tea towels that she purchased at her church's holiday bazaar. they were expertly embroidered by an elderly lady in what i recall to be a very 1940s style in a "dish ran away with the spoon" motif.  they were super cute but not really my style so i brought them to my friend's annual "white elephant" party. well they ended up being the most popular item of the evening. the hostess really wanted them but lost out on in the last round. she was really bummed out.

i felt really bad because they would have gone perfectly with her kitchen. i wanted to get her another set but was too embarrassed to ask my mom to get me some more. so i did an internet search to see what i could find. i ran across an amazing website from a girl in austin who sold patterns but also did embroidery that was shown in galleries - portraits of people like iggy pop and marianne faithful. i was blown away.

at the time i was working full time in retail and was feeling unhappy and stuck in my situation but not sure of what else i could do. there was something that kept resonating with me about this girl's work. someone was making a go at it by making cool things.  i found her and the work she was doing to be quite inspiring. jenny hart was my first exposure to the possibility that there were other directions that i might be able to take.

of course jenny's business has grown and she has achieved more or less rock star status in the craft world. she continues to inspire. jenny has a new book - embroidered effects: projects and patterns to inspire your stitching  - that covers a variety of techniques - even a sashiko project (pictured). it's just fabulous - you should put it on your wish list.

who knew that a tea towel would be something that would help me discover that there were other possibilites out there.

Comments

[lu]

Thank Goodness for Tea Towels!

[kat clark]

love your work. Teaching embroidery to kids on Fri., will miss taking your flower pin class. Am a big fan!