I've enjoyed seeing this swap theme come in. It's had a nice little element of variety, from green lush woodland, to turning autumnal woodland, to mushrooms (which you know I love), to bird boxes, pink Cyclamen, leaves and a gorgeous fox. We've even got a very topical Queen Elizabeth I wandering through the woods with her good pal Paddington and a little Corgi.
I love that these things can be incorporated. The idea behind the swap themes initially was for them to mirror what was happening with the seasons so that there was a lot of inspiration around to draw from and I love that this has actually proved true. Not only are the seasons being mirrored in these cards, but events that happen during the months in which they are made sneak in as well which is so lovely.
I see a lot of light in these, through the use of colours and light and dark shades. It really mirrors and reflects the dappling you have on a walk through a woodland landscape, the light pouring through the canopy in some places and just trickling in in others.
We are still having new members join the swap group, although sadly we've also had several leave for various reasons. A lot can happen in a year as I know all too well! So far this year I've had a baby, welcomed several friends' babies as well, got a mortgage and moved into my first home with my gorgeous partner, been offered many opportunities, put on a few extra pounds, definitely grown some more grey hairs, lost a family member, seen the end of one royal reign and the tentative beginnings of a new one. The year is not even finished!
It has kept things fresh for my spreadsheet though I suppose and has made it slightly easier to make sure that everyone gets work from someone new each month. Those who have been with me from the start are starting to pose a slight difficulty as they have nearly gone through the whole list of other members. It's a good difficulty to have! I like having new members join and, for next year, have reached out to all of the embroidery and stitching groups that I have recently given talks or workshops to, in the hope that more people will join in. I am also teaching a workshop specifically on ATCs to a group in Brighton in July next year. If you are in a group, please feel free to share this swap with them and see if any would like to jump in.
It's interesting, some people's work has developed and changed over the course of the year as they've tried new things (these little cards are easy to try a new technique on because they are so little), and others have made their favourite techniques fit in with the themes which is really great to see. There are several restrictions for these cards so it can be hard to get too experimental, they need to be fairly flat so as to fit into a standard letter size, and they have to be the set size of an ATC. Composition can be tough in a small space as, often in my case, I want to add more and more and sometimes you have to remember that less is actually more for these tiny things. (I still don't really remember that in the heat of the embroidery moment though.)
As always, I have updated the ATC section on my blog with close up images of each of these cards for you to have a look at, along with all of the other themes which are there for you to see - plus the proposed themes for next year. If you have been uhmming and aahhing about joining, definitely do! Even if you just try one month to see if you like it. Pop me an email at sales@dottytextiles.com and I'll send you the info on how to join in.
No comments:
Post a Comment