June 9, 2010

Orange Category Winner - Rainbow of Stitches Contest

Little Tiger's Orangey Celebration embroidery



I think (hope!) that you realise how difficult it was to pick a winner - I'd really like to have picked a few!

Well, without further ado, here is the winner of the Orange category. I picked it because Joey has used a very limited number of colours to great effect. And the use of several different stitches gives great texture to the piece. A job very well done!

What inspired your entry?
My love of the colour orange! For me, it's the best colour because it's warm and makes me feel relaxed. It's one of the colours of a beautiful sunset and the colour of my favourite flower, the California poppy. It ranges from deep, rich rust, through the brightest, juiciest oranges, to pale pinky peach. It's a happy, bouncy colour!

What is your favourite stitch?
The french knot, partly because when I finally learnt it after years of not getting it, I felt a real sense of achievement! It was like discovering one of the deep mysteries of the universe... I love it because it's so versatile, you can use it to fill areas with one colour for a great texture, to achieve an effect like Seurat's pointillism or just add a few little dots on a tiny embroidery.

Who or what inspires you to stitch?
I love embroidery as a means to create pictures; I'm attracted to the beauty of threads of different colours skillfully worked into amazing stitches. Embroidery can be done by just about anyone; plenty of us have done embroidery at primary school. It's such a versatile art form and I love to see how far it can be pushed. I myself have a long way to go!

How long have you been stitching and how did you get started?
My mum taught me a few basic stitches like backstitch and chain stitch, when I was about 7 years old (which was partly to get me to help her darn socks) but it's only just in the last two years that I've come back to embroidery and started to extend my repertoire of stitches. I find online video libraries of stitches, like Mary Corbet's Needle N' Thread how-to videos really useful, because not only can you see the stitches being made, you can learn at your own pace.

Are there any stitchers in the Feeling Stitchy Flickr pool you have noticed?
Yes! But I'll just talk briefly about three... I love how Palewildwoodflwr's Happy Little Tree shows beautifully what you can do with one stitch (chain stitch) and one colour, to create texture and the illusion of depth. I also really like Kajin's Hommage à Blossfeldt because it reflects the beauty of simple plant shapes which Karl Blossfeldt captured in his botanical photographs. What I like about Alli Coate's Transparency are the holes in the fabric, to show another layer behind. The embroidery is so simple, but it has so much potential for artistic experimentation.

20 comments:

  1. absolutely wonderful!

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  2. a very well deserved win, this is FANTASTIC stitchery :o)

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  3. Brilliant! And very well deserved. Great job, Joey!

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  4. Hiya! Thank you so much for choosing my embroidery for the orange category! I'm thrilled! And Little Tiger is pleased as punch! :D

    Best wishes
    Joey x

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  5. I love little Joey! Cute and fun.

    Warm hugs,
    Pam

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  6. Congratulations! This is so well-deserved...LOVE this piece so much! I'm really hoping you get the grand prize, Joey!

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  7. Congratulations! Your little tiger is so sweet and cheerful and so skillfully done!
    Hugs,
    Kerry

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  8. Congratulations! This piece deserved to win, for sure. I love seeing home much work and thought went into this little tiger. Absolutely beautiful!

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  9. Well done Joey! Gorgeous piece of embroidery and a well deserved winner! Regards Julia

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  10. Just to be clear: I featured this embroidery on FS last week, not knowing Carina would choose the same embroidery as winner. While I'm not a big fan of the colour, the use of different shades and the variety of stitches are amazing. Congrats to you Joey!

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  11. Fantastic win Joey - Smiley and happy embroidery!
    I love your cute characters and I'm sure lots more adults and children will too :)

    The expression on Little Tiger' face is great!! He looks like he knew he would win!!

    Louise
    xxx

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  12. Oh well done Joey, so well deserved for you fatastic imagination & talent :D:D:D

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  13. what a wonderful little guy! congrats!

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  14. Congratulations Joey! Your work is beautiful!

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  15. I LOVE all the different stitches, this is super beautiful!

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  16. I love this embroidery so much! So much hard work has gone into it... every single stitch has been thought out and carefully planned, to create this amazing masterpiece. Well done Joey, you totally deserve this win!!!! x

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  17. well-deserved! This tiger is so adorable, I just want to kiss its face! And the stitching, of course, is beautiful!

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  18. I love this little tiger, Joey -- your stitching is perfection.
    Congratulations!

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  19. this is as technically wonderful as it is whimsically adorable - I can't help but smile when I look at it :)

    congratulations!

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  20. Im my humble opinion, if there had to be an overall winner, it should be this delectable little orange tiger.... soooo cute :-)

    Sarah
    http://borninthewrongage.blogspot.com/

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