Amber Kane: Throw Blanket: Laura

I was really looking forward to working on Laura, my week was busy, and the idea of spending the whole weekend in the studio sounded wonderful. I first planned to make her a lot of different colors, but as I began working with her she soon told me that she had different plans, so I decided to follow her lead, and as I took each piece of her off of the loom I was thrilled. Her bright and shiny colors brought a pleasant feeling of hope and calm over my life.

I had so much fun working with Lauren that once she was off of the loom I knew that it wasn’t quiet time for us to part ways, so I decided to play with surface design. I really love embroidery, but don’t do it a lot because it takes so much time.

If you want to try your hand at some emboridery, this is a great site: http://www.embroidery.rocksea.org/hand-embroidery/redwork/redwork-lessons/ , with instructions on a large variety of stitches.

Each knot that I tied was its’ own moment of meditation, and through that meditation I was reminded that each moment in life doesn’t have to be stressful, it doesn’t have to be scary, because it is just a small moment that will come and then it will go, and strung together the little moments create a life. Together Laura and I wrote and reflected on our life’s story. And meditated on what truly matters. And together we work to bring, peace, patience, kindness, and love into the world. Laura is finished working with me. But I think anyone that runs their hands over all of the little pink knots, will begin to receive the gifts of peace and patience from Laura.

“ Our prime purpose in life is help others.

And if you can’t help them at least don’t hurt them.”

-Dalai Lama

Some other examples of embroidery to inspire you:

Source: flickr.com via Amber on Pinterest

One thing that I love about making textiles by hand is the connection that the maker feels to the piece. I also enjoy the long history of the process. Below is a little bit of information about the history of embroidery. What I find so interesting is how little the technique of embroidery has changed over the years. With exception to the invention of the embroidery machine.

The origins of embroidery are unknown, but early examples survive from ancient Egypt, Iron Age Northern Europe and Zhou Dynasty China.

It is a striking fact that in the development of embroidery ... there are no changes of materials or techniques which can be felt or interpreted as advances from a primitive to a later, more refined stage. On the other hand, we often find in early works a technical accomplishment and high standard of craftsmanship rarely attained in later times.[4]

Embroidery was a very important art in the Medieval Islam World, one of the most interesting accounts of embroidery were given by the 17th century Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi called it the "craft of the two hands". Because embroidery was a sign of high social status in Muslim societies, it became a hugely popular art.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embroidery