Cross stitch is a gateway craft, I'm certain of it. It seduces you with how easy it is and what a simple pleasure it provides. But it’s not long before you start wanting more…I started cross stitching over six years ago, and for a long time I was content to merely follow prescribed patterns and really enjoyed the meditative state of stitching and create lovely pieces of stitched art. But after a couple of years I began realising that just wasn’t enough for me.
And so I began exploring ways of making my own patterns, seeking out alphabets and border patterns that could be combined in new and interesting ways to better reflect my world view.
The pleasure in creating a snarky phrase, juxtaposing it with a floral border was immense.
Much enthusiasm and merriment was had in finding new ways to deliver subtle sarcastic stitcheries that would immediately offend people’s sensibilities.
There has been a rise in the number of people doing snarky stitching. Subversive cross-stitchers all over the world are stitching phrases that you wouldn’t necessarily show your grandma but it’s been a great way of introducing the craft to a new range of people who may have ignored it otherwise.
For me, the stitching of swearwords and obvious insults doesn’t tickle my fancy – it’s a bit obvious and although I do possess some pretty rude pieces of embroidery, I don’t tend to stitch that kind of thing any more. I’m more interested in that fine line between insult and humour; that backhanded complement that you only work out five minutes after the fact, by which time it’s too late to do anything about it.
One of my best friends, Beefranck, is a very talented stitcher who is perfecting the art of snarky stitching and combining it with traditional colour palettes to create pieces that look like antique phrases, but have an extremely contemporary dose of sarcasm. I love ‘em. But you know what, even that’s not enough any more.
So, now I’m broadening my horizons. Among my Christmas gifts this year was an Embroidery Stitch Bible, with over 100 new types of embroidery and needlepoint for me to try... and you know what, I’m going for it!
Don’t get me wrong, I will always love cross stitch. It’s where I began and it’s something I will always come back to (partly due to the vast number of WIPs I’ve got on the go) but the thought of being able to use split stitch, Norfolk stitch or Siberian sheep shank stitch * is quite thrilling.
Who knows where I’ll end up after that...
* This is not a real stitch, but it sounds like it should be!
PS: You'll find Mr X Stitch online at www.mrxstitch.com and www.etsy.com/mxstitch
Thank you so much for posting the link of Beefranck in your blog! My boyfriend and I are huge fans of Whedon's work - and Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog is one of our favourites. I am enormously happy with the Dr. Horrible cross stitch chart, which I'm definitely going to order! Thank you for pointing it out!
Posted by Roos van der Poel (127.0.0.1) on January 20, 2010 at 08:28 PM GMT #