Beaded Fringe and Silk Ribbon Flowers, Oh My!

In 1995 I made a couple of silk ribbon embroidered pillows. One of them is done on black fabric with a leaf design in it...very subtle. The fabric came from a bag of "fancy fabrics" I purchased from the flea market. I just had to use it as I thought it would make a very dramatic embroidered pillow.

I wanted to do it in silk ribbon embroidery. It had to have roses, at least some of them had to be a very soft variegated pink, and I wanted to use lots of beads. While designing the embroidery, I decided that the pillow had to have a beaded fringe, for two reasons - #1 I like making it and #2 with a lot of fringe around the pillow, just holding it would make me feel good. I am a very tactile person...aren't you?

So, I made the pillow that you see here. It's approximately seven inches square. The fringe is two and a half inches long. And, yes, you DO have to count each bead when making this type of fringe. Had I chosen to make the fringe in random lengths, I would not have had to count the beads....but since I wanted every bit of the fringe to match...well, I had to count. I have been asked how long it took to make this pillow. What an awful question! If I knew (in advance) how long it took - I probably would never do this kind of thing. Well, now, that's not true. I've got a pretty good idea, at this stage in life, just how long this kind of work takes and I'm going to keep doing it anyway!! Let's see - til all hell freezes over, til the cows come home, til pigs fly, til my eyes fail me, til my fingers no longer work and the spirit is no longer willing...and even then, it will be hard to give it up!!!

I've also been asked why I do this kind of tedious work....I guess some people just think it's silly to sit and work on one little thing for so long. Especially something that isn't necessary to life. The only thing I can say is it's not tedious to me and it is necessary to MY life! I love it, am passionate about it and for me, making it, then sharing it with other people is vital. Ever since I saw my first bit of embroidery, crochet and quilting I knew that is what I wanted to do. And, then later, when beading came along, I knew I wanted to do it too....all of those things....all the time. And, here I am.

When I was three, I kept trying to sweep my grandmother's front porch with her big broom. The next thing you know, I was given a child's little broom and I was in heaven. (Imagine that!!) Shortly thereafter, I told my Mother and Grandparents that "I was born to sweep!!" I loved sweeping that front porch. I still rather enjoy using a broom. And, since I first saw all that needlework, I knew I was born to do it also.

Tedious? Not to me. Silly or a waste of time...never! It's a complete joy. I think it shows in the work. What do you think? Take care out there! Pat