You are not alone
The text says “You are not alone”. Sounds comforting, right?
Well, look closer…
At long last – a new pattern!
It’s been a long time between drinks. I’ve been so busy doing work for some upcoming exhibitions that I haven’t had time to design many new patterns, let alone stitch them up! But when people started hassling me for some fresh stuff I got my A into G!! I ended up asking around for people to help stitch some patterns up for me and the lovely Belinda stepped up the the plate with this one.
And she did a wonderful job!!
You can buy the pattern in the Radical Rags etsy store. And it’s only $5!
It’s one of my favourite quotes, especially as an ex Wellington resident!
This pattern is perfect if you’ve never cross stitched before and want something easy to start with. Or if you’re a pro stitcher and want a quick project!
All proceeds from sales of this pattern between now and the end of the month will go to my awesome mate Alex and her outback fundraising adventure! Go Alex!
QRack c.1893: Votes For Women
A little while back I was chatting to the Ninja and she told me about making stop animation clips to show WiP progressions of cross stitch projects. I thought this was a most excellent idea for a few reasons. Firstly, I’m a nerd and I like making films that are a bit different. My absolute favourite film maker of all time is Len Lye who pioneered the idea of directly manipulating the film itself to create wonderful visual effects.
This is my favourite piece:
Free Radicals: 1958. It’s one of his later films. But all the earlier ones are just as cool. I often used to pay a visit to the uni library and sit down for a watch when I needed a bit of time out and some inspiration. And while they’re cool to watch on youtube, watching on actual film is of course, very cool!
Secondly, I’m interested in ways to communicate to people just how slow cross stitch is as a craft. I am constantly explaining to people that my work usually takes months to complete and people are almost always surprised. And I suspect they wonder why I keep doing it… Without going into a big explanation – I’m saving that for another time – what I really enjoy about the slowness of cross stitch is the time it gives me to meditate on the subject I’m stitching about.
So anyway here’s my first animation attempt!
While this piece isn’t a very big one, I thought it leant itself well to the idea. I used iMovie to produce it and it was pretty easy to make. Although the software has changed since I last used it and I couldn’t figure out how to do a couple of things and just gave up trying..
Here’s two imbeds. First from Facebook cause I think it compressed nicer but that doesn’t work for a few people so the second is the youtube version.
Music of the Compuriddims EP on the most wonderful JaHtari Net Label.
This piece is part of a QR Code sequence I’ve been making for an upcoming show, and it’s next in the QRack series. More on that later.
I’d love to hear what people think!
X Stitch Awe
It’s been a bloody long time since I’ve seen a cross stitch that’s made me go WOW. I’m not sure why, I think it’s my intense jealousy of anyone that can start and finish a large photo based stitch (yes I’m looking at YOU ninja 
). I know I’ve designed a ton of patterns of this form of stitch, started a couple, but never finished!
So when I saw this piece by Noelle Mason I was literally awestruck.
This piece is called ‘Nothing Much Happened Today (for Eric and Dylan)’ and yes, it is a security camera image of the Columbine High School shooting. It was completed this year and measures 50×66 inches.
It’s astounding, both in subject matter and in production. Noelle offers no explanation on her site as to why she did this piece. And I think this is probably a wise move. But it is quite obviously a respectful acknowledgement of what was clearly a very difficult time for all directly involved, as well as the wider community.
This piece is just one part of an extensive body of work and I urge you to check out Noelle’s website and look through the incredibly thought-provoking work.
Props: Mr X Stitch