I have put several needleworked/embroidered pins up on my Etsy shop. The original intention was to get them up early enough to be available for the holidays. Unfortunately, life really intervened! I thought you might like a few details of my thought process on these –
The first three are embroidered beadwork. The purple ones were created a couple years ago as I bean playing with found objects. The main purple focal point cabochons are rescued from a vintage pair of earrings. For earrings (posts, no less!!) they are huge. but re-purposed into a brooch for someone’s jacket they work beautifully.
The cameo at the center of the white piece was a gift from an artist friend years ago that has been looking for a home ever since. I like how it fits here. The surrounding beadwork on all three of these grew organically, which is a very different method from the very structured way I usually work embroidery. Mostly I just added beads until encrusted. With the asymmetric purple pin I spent a lot of time forcing myself to keep it asymmetric, because my personality always leans me toward perfect symmetrical balance; something that can become boring over the long run. I’m working on it!
The off-white and green triangle I’ve decided to keep. It’s more symmetrical, less organic, and more my typical style, and I’ve fallen in love with it.
As a bonus, here are photos of a work in progress – it’s a commission for a local tribal-style dancer and drummer who loves copper and can’t have anything up near her throat – it will sit at the collarbone when I get the band on it. It still needs assembly and then drops or fringe added. I’m inordinately proud of it.
