Bandage

Shears for hair

My obsession with shears is ongoing.

For a while there, I was without a printer. Since the printer is a vital tool in my pattern-making process, this seemed like it might slow me down quite a bit. Instead, I turned to the images I've been working with so intently for a while now. I began stitching this one pair of little shears over and over again, packing them tightly on the cloth in alternating rows. As my collection grew, I wondered what to do with them. They weren't artfully arranged as a solid piece, but as individual pieces, and needed to come apart- but how, and afterward, for what?

I pinned them to the wall, imagining changing concentric circles and patterns as the collection grew. I stitched one to a pin and wore it as a brooch. For a friend fond of hair accessories, I attached one to a bobby pin, as seen above. What I'm finding in these potential uses is a great sense of satisfaction. Finding an actual function for these little pieces, beyond fixed, decorative, wall adornment, being able to place the bits on my body and wear them unobtrusively, seeing that they are not limited the way a much larger piece may be, is great. I plan to explore this further.

A peek for you

A peek at the first of the completed trio, and a statement about the making of them:


Not only have I formed a callus on my thumb from all the quilting these pieces have involved, I have formed a crater within said callus from the repetitive prodding of the needle eye. Ah, craft, such an elegant occupation!