How it began ...

I started out doing cross stitch when I was just 11-years-old, inspired by my parents. At the time we were living in Cyprus and my father had to work quite a few night shifts. He had a tiny little 3” picture of a design that he decided to do in cross stitch. I watched as he, in minute detail, coloured in tiny square after tiny square on graph paper to make his design. 

The entire cross stitch

This was back in the 70s, a long time before computers were in general use. The result is shown above, not very well photographed I am afraid, but you can get the idea. He even placed his moniker in the top right-hand corner as you can see (below).

Detail showing the signature in the top right corner

I recently wrested the work off my parents to hang in my stairwell. I just love its simplicity and clean lines. He assures me that every cross stitch is meticulously worked the same way: I haven’t checked, but knowing my father I believe him! It is a real family treasure. 

 

Centre medallions

While he was stitching his piece I started work on mine (see below, bottom). It was originally used as a lampshade but it started getting a bit frayed so I ended up having it framed. At the same time my mother, and even my brother (although he may not admit it now), were all working on something.

On that point about the men in my family all doing some stitching: my father was ex-navy and he tells me that many men would do their own sewing. Often they were doing long shifts where nothing much happened, which could give way to ten minutes of frenetic activity before lapsing into quietude again. Embroidery or knitting helped while away the long hours. And of course men are often tailors and upholsterers, so I wonder why it has become unfashionable for men to pick up their needles. Maybe they could learn a thing or two about the peaceful contemplation and sense of achievement that many women get from creating their own pieces.

I created the other cross stitch (below) from the left over yarn and fabric when I was about 14.

  

I started my first needlepoint back in 1986 designing it on graph paper: it was about 22 cm by 35cm and was based on an oriental rug design. It is framed and on the wall in my spare room, but unfortunately the moths have claimed it as their own and parts of it are beyond repair. I look at it now and really don't like it that much. The colours are all wrong, the design is lacking. But what this piece did achieve was to encourage me to have a go at creating my own designs. The cheesy offerings of Constable paintings converted to needlepoint and printed badly on canvas didn’t excite me, nor did the abundance of overblown cabbage roses.

Kaffe Fassett was just getting going and he and Candace Bahouth were an inspiration. I don’t pretend to be in their league by any stretch of the imagination. I just get a kick out of doing my own designs for me.

The experience of doing a design on graph paper convinced me that there had to be an easier and better way. I bought one of the first Apple Powerbooks in the early 90s: it was colour and at the time, together with the printer, set me back about $9000!

Now I needed some software. I had to wait a couple more years before I found what I wanted, and from there I was off and running, producing my own designs and then sewing them up.

I will use this page to show case some of my designs.