One of our assignments for Level 3 Stitch was to create a piece inspired by Rebecca Crompton. She was an embroidery teacher in Great Britain in the early 20th century. You can read more about her on the V&A site and see some of her work.
As I was thinking about what to create, I came across this old sample of nuno felting in my stash. I was thinking of gardens and flowers (Rebecca Crompton has several garden themed pieces.) I thought this would work for a background piece.
I decided to add some base stitching. I used hand dyed lace weight wool thread with running stitch.
The next step was finding different fabric for the flower elements. I cut out various flower shapes and tried them out in a variety of places on the background. I wanted the colors to move throughout the piece but for it to all feel cohesive. Now to stitch them in place. I could have fused them down but I don’t like the way fusing flattens everything. I prefer raw edges, a bit of fraying and texture.
Here is the final result. I added a few French knots and couched down a bit of yarn for the branch at the top left. This isn’t my usual style but I enjoy the movement and liveliness of the piece.
Ruth Lane Art 
Nice! It has movement!
Thanks Louise!
Sometimes it’s good to get out of our comfort zone and do something a bit different. You’ve definitely achieved movement and the stitching you started with has played a bit part in that.
I totally agree Karen, that’s it is good to push out of the comfortable areas and try a different style.
Definitely can see Rebecca’s influence (The Magic Garden) and your pink stitching has a movement reminiscent of the girl’s hair. Great colour combo. It’s a lively, pretty piece Ruth!
Thanks Ladies, The Magic Garden was definitely the inspiration for this piece. Thanks for your kind comments.
What a colourful, movement filled piece, totally transformed from the original nuno felt.
Your stitches, particularly stitching the fabric ‘au naturel’ has given depth & a liveliness to your work….I would not have picked this out as being yours….so definitely a new avenue to explore further.
Thanks Antje! There are always new avenues to explore, aren’t there?