Meet Jane Curtis a new Knotty!

Knotty Ladies are gearing up for another wonderful year of stitching, getting together this month - January the 31st at 7.3-pm at the House of Cloth.

Meet one of our newest Knotty Lady Jane Curtis.  She has been working on creating a linen patch work from reclaimed embroideries.

TM: Who was behind getting you started in hand stitching?

JC: No one showed me how to hand stitch, which the reason 'running stitch' is my favourite! The things that motivated me to handstitch are the meditative nature of it, its simplicity (especially with running stitch) and that there is no fooling with hand stitching - the end result looks 'handmade' with all its imperfections and that's what I love about it.

Even if someone's work looks perfect on one side, you can turn it over and see the loose bits of cotton tied off and their underside knots. The embroiderer's time and work is all there, in front of you - in other forms of craft you can try to imagine and appreciate the artist's labour, but not necessarily see it.

Finally, I like that this form of craft has a low entry level - perfect for people like me who pick up and put down types of craft and craft projects over time.


TM: You are also a online goddess with ABC Open - what fantastic projects do you have happening at the moment?

ABC Open, if you haven't heard of it, is a new(ish) project of the ABC that teaches people skills in digital media (photography, audio, video, blogging, social media) and broadcasts the stories you make on the website http://abc.net.au/open , on ABC Local Radio and on TV News 24 (Monday - Thursday 9:50am and 8:55pm).

I run free workshops all around Central Victoria. There's 'Summer School' workshops in January and February about managing your digital photos, social media and using a smartphone. Workshops are listed on the Central Vic page on ABC Open

TM: What piece of linen are you in love with at the moment?  And where do you find these beauties?

I'm in love with an unfinished piece of embroidery that I picked up in an op shop. It has beautiful little geometric shapes on it in pastel colours. And because it's unfinished, I've been filling in the pencilled lines with, what else, running stitch!

I find all the pieces of embroidery in op shops, in Bendigo and in smaller towns. Since I do workshops in many small towns, I can pop into op shops in my lunch break and see what's there. Heaven!