Judith Baines

One of the projects I was given to do for my City and Guilds course in embroidery and design was to make a diary wherein I responded to things that interested me in a variety of different ways – with written descriptions, drawings, paintings, pieces of textile work, photographs, etc.
This suited me down to the ground and when, some years later I decided to record the wild flowers that grew on a favourite dog walk throughout a year I used the same format. 

Because I enjoyed calligraphy I decided to start each month with a loved poem and decorate them with appropriate border designs.

Later I photographed two very different thistle rosettes and interpreted them in embroidery by stretching old tights in a ring and machining the leaves.  When the fabric was released the tights sprang back so the rosettes scrunched up satisfactorily when cut out. I mounted them on a sponged silk background.

The little piece of textile work depicting the mist is three layers of crystal nylon machined then cut away to reveal the different colours.

Click on the pictures above to see larger versions.