Moving house means lots of organising, sorting and finding forgotten treasures. My Grandma often gives me thing she doesn't know what to go with- in a bag of bits and pieces and a note to tell me about it I found this....
The embroidery is not done in fine materials, a rough loose woven manmade background fabric, the embroidery threads too are thick, stitchs large and feel synthetic. The stiches are large and in some places you can see pencil lines the the emboiderer was following. I wonder if the blocks were labelled for colours or if the soldier worked intuitivly to blend and mix the colours.
For many years, this piece was used as a panel in a cushion cover , the fabric has worn away and disintergrated - I'm left at a los with what to do with it, I love the vibrancy of the colours, and the flamboyant nature of the bird, but its delicate state, means that for now I'll leave it as it is, until I can display it in a way that does the heritage of such an unusual sample some justice.
Click here to see more on some military quilts in the V&A, and here for some information about some patterns available in military and civilian hospitals.
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ReplyDeleteI came across your blog in September via the OCA student site, and ever since then I have been thinking about this meticulous beautiful embroidery done by an invalided soldier. I had a great-uncle who did some tapestry after the great war too, and I hadn't thought of it as something that was intentionally given to him and others to help them with the emotional side/ boredom of being injured. It has really made me think about all sorts of things - the way we think about men who fight, and about embroidery as womens' work, and male vs. female sensitivities to detail. Thank you for starting me off!
ReplyDeleteArtemsia
PS I am on the Textiles a creative approach course, and my blog is www.mytexturedworld.blogspot.uk