Ambrosia Stitches

Well! Even I am surprised that I have managed to do as I promised by returning here to share my latest project. It has certainly been a “get things done” kind of a day.

So, last weekend my parents celebrated their Ruby Wedding. Forty years of marriage is  some achievement and we all wanted to mark the occasion in some way. My sisters arranged a huge party, but living abroad, I wasn’t able to add much to the event (apart from turning up, that is). So I thought would make a special embroidery. It had to be something really special that would encapsulate our family.

For a while, I toyed with the idea of a sort of love tree with lots of little objects in the boughs that would represent individual members of the family. I discarded this idea because I didn’t feel it would allow me the space to fit everything I wanted in.

So so this is what I came up with.  I sketched out a large G (our family initial) and then traced it onto some antique linen. I then sketched out each of the individual objects I wanted to include.  Instead of tracing or transferring these, I drew them directly onto the fabric using my original sketches for reference. I have never been terribly confident about drawing so this project was a bit of a turning point for me. Although they are all relatively simple shapes, I found a lot of confidence from beng able to realise the images I wanted.

Once I had embroidered a few key objects I then shared the work in progress with my brothers and sisters.  That was when the fun really started and the “G” began to fill up.  They reminded me of so many memories I had forgotten about.

I had thought in terms of objects but many of their memories related to silly family catch phrases and lyrics from songs or films. I had a few misgivings about adding text, but working in a tiny (minuscule) back stitch, I was actually happy with the result.

If I had to pick out my favourite part of this project, I think it would be the camera.  It was very much made up as I stitched but I think it looks quite effective.

I filled in the little space that remained with flowers and egg cup shapes (my mum collects egg cups) to create a sort of confetti effect. I finished off the piece by embroidering little flowers in a pewter metallic floss to create a a nice full effect without overwhelming the other objects with too much colour. All of these pictures were taken before the piece was properly mounted. I will try and share a picture of the whole thing in it’s frame in the near future.

This project came together so quickly and very easily and my parents loved it. I liked that it included everyone in the family.  Hopefully it is nice for anyone to look at but I like that it has some extra meaning just for us.

The only problem with projects like this are all of the things you leave out. After I’d finished, I kept remembering things I should have included.  In fact, the title of this post relates to a song my brother and I used to sing that I cannot believe I forgot to add.  So, Mum and Dad, I hope you enjoyed your “fam’ly occasion” and…… I’ve just remember something else I should have added.  Tea! How can I make a piece that represents our Irish family and forget tea! This will never end…..😉