This fortnight we had a workshop with Richard McVetis in the Stitch Club 2020 by TextileArtist.org. The project was to make a hand-stitched abstract collage. 

Hand-stitched Mile of Gold

Here is my  finished piece. As you can see, it meets all of the criteria except for the abstract part. 😊

My interpretation of Toburn Mine
on the Mile of Gold

Here's how it started. I found this picture in my computer. This is what's left of the Toburn Mine in Kirkland Lake, Northern Ontario. It was once at one end of the Mile of Gold. Government Road runs through the town and the mine was at the eastern end while a few others were at the western end of the road.

Toburn Mine on the Mile of Gold

We had to simplify the photo and then make a collage of it. From this sketch, I created a copy on tracing paper. I then cut up the sketch in 8 pieces, cut squares of fusible web to fit each piece and attached these to the fabric that I wanted to use. 

Sketch

Copy of the sketch on tracing paper

I hand-dyed all of the fabric used in this piece. The background, rooves and ore cars are cotton while the pinks are linen. After assembling the puzzle, I started stitching. I wasn't going to add much stitching but it was going so well that I kept on going.

Stitching details

I outlined the rooves, the dark pink pieces and the cables with a stem stich while the rest was embroidered using a running stich.

Finished - for now

First piece of Glimpses of Childhood Places?

You might wonder why I picked this image to interpret, other than its simplicity. Five years ago I took a writing course, Memories into Story: Life Writing I,  through the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. It was a good course, although not one that I would have chosen myself (it's a long story). It took me way too long to realise that writing memoirs is as much about the facts and memories as it is pure fiction. You get an idea of some of the things that happened, do some research by talking to those who were around and then you recreate it, which is the fiction part. 

My final project was called Glimpses of Childhood Places. As a memoir, it wasn't great, but as a stepping stone to creating a whole visual textile series about the places in Kirkland Lake that shaped me, it was a real treasure. When I first wrote it, I envisioned a whole multi-media presentation with the written stories and the art. Five years later, most of my ideas and pictures are in a project box waiting to be explored. I think that this might be the first piece.

What I learned

• I don't have many pictures of buildings in my photos, at least not the ones that I take for making art. I didn't think about looking in our travel pictures - there would have been a lot more there!
• I don't usually work with a fusible web but it did make the fabric more stable to stitch on. 
• I put the fusible web on the right side of the low roof but it turned out fine.
• It feels weird to leave the piece unfinished but I think that it would be best since I have no idea what the other pieces will look like....when they are eventually made. This way, if I want to, I could add more background or even foreground, although I sort of like the minimalist grey.

Related links

• Richard McVetis, Instagram
• Richard McVetis Meticulous Slow Stitch on TextileArtist.org
• Kirkland Lake and the Mile of Gold - this is a real cool mining heritage tour of the town
• Charlotte Gray wrote a book recently about Sir Harry Oakes: Murdered Midas: The Millionaire, His Gold Mine and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise. You can read an article about it here.

Linking parties

I will be linking up to many fun linking parties. Let's see what's happening out there! Patchwork & Quilts, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2020, Put Your Foot Down,  Colour & Inspiration Tuesday To-Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off The Wall Friday, Peacock Party