Domestic Archaeology, (part 4) Sieves and Tablet

Starting the new year with technical difficulties: the usual Monday notice did not go out, so I can't imagine that a lot of people at reading this. Many thanks to any of you who Googled through to get here! I hope to have everything fixed soon. May your new year be glitch-free!

Sieves, approx 4" to 6" each . When I go to garage sales, I love finding old sewing baskets - yes, they have thread and pincushions, but even better, they have the tiny scraps from everyday life: a stray earring, a child's toy, a subway token. I made these sieves to exemplify that accumulation of the ordinary, to show sewing as an act of gathering. I once read that in medieval Russia, people thought embroiders could ensnare people's souls in their stitches.

I wrapped threads around the inner ring of each embroidery hoop to create nets, then used slightly off-center outer rings to hold them together. The bits and pieces are attached to various layers of netting.

 Tablet   Size: 47”H x 17”W   This is meant to be an inscribed slab, a stitched Rosetta Stone. The lack of composition or contrasting elements is intentional here - it's meant to be viewed  as a solid block.......so.. maybe I should have wrapped the fabric around the frame, huh? Yeah, I was so caught up in my framing devices that I didn't really think this one through. Rats. I just realized that as I'm writing this, and I want to go upstairs and grab it and re-do it. Same shape, just without the frame showing. Damn it, I need another lifetime! Anyhow, here's a detail:

It is cool how instructions, printed on silk organza, can be finely layered over crochet and lace...but you have to stop focusing on the details, Diane, and think about the work as a whole! I should stamp that on the back of my hands...

More Domestic Archaeology coming on Wednesday...