Orts is newsletter collecting small snippets of creativity: embroiderers, textile artists, illustrators, DIY projects, and how we can make time for our creative endeavors. Published on Fridays.
Needlepoint purses and 'King of the Hill' crochet
Published about 22 hours ago • 2 min read
Sharing threads of creativity 🧵 Written by Sara Barnes
Hi again! Welcome to this week's 5/5 link pack: 5 creatively inspiring projects (and/or people) and 5 ways for you to DIY.
If you like link recommendation newsletters (I'm guessing you do since you're reading this!), I've got a suggestion for you: The High Low. It's a free weekly newsletter with curated culture for the chronically online. Each edition features links to highbrow content (think art exhibition openings) alongside lowbrow (like the latest on Love Island USA). It's the best of both worlds! Bonus: I know the folks who started it, and they have impeccable taste and are great writers to boot.
1️⃣ Quilts are a proverbial canvas in which to display stories. Mary K. Borokowski began her practice making traditional quilts—the kind you’d likely see on a bed—before developing a “thread painting” technique of intricate compositions featuring portrayals of the trauma and challenges she and others faced in their lives. “These pictures are not embroidery," she said, "but more like low relief sculpture, and require hundreds of hours to create.”
2️⃣ Interested in learning the history behind handmade things? The relatively new podcast titled Handmade History is hosted by Sonia and Alicia, two sisters, who “dig up stories and bust myths about people, materials, and practices related to your favorite handcrafts.”
3️⃣ The TV show King of the Hill is a favorite of mine (and I’m excited about the reboot!), so of course I love this King of the Hill crocheted blanket featuring all of the characters—including Lady Bird.
4️⃣ I have a new craft obsession: needlepoint purses. I recently came across Anna Sui’s needpoint pursesthat appeared in her 2001 Ready-to-Wear runway show. They are delightfully illustrative, adding the “fun” in function.
5️⃣ Many moths have amazing patterns on their wings. Two textile artists pay homage to them in slightly different ways: Yumi Okita creates intricate thread-painted sculptures, while Larysa Bernhardt has a more fantastical approach. Larysa assembles the creatures in velvet and then stitches symbols like flowers, hearts, and more on their wings.
🪡 5 ways to DIY
1️⃣ Have you ever wished you had a more stylish clear bag for concerts or large stadium sporting events? I have! Yoonie handcrafted a clear bag based on a vintage Coach purse, and it turned out great! She shows the step-by-step process in this video.
3️⃣ Did you know the U.S. National Park Service has free crochet patterns? Rangers in the Park Service came up with them, and they feature creatures that are indigenous to the parks. The links are on various pages, but this Reddit post from a year ago has collected the links in one convenient spot. (Thanks to Melissa for this tip!)
Like these links? Buy me a coffee to fuel my scrolling and clicking!
Talk to you next week,
Sara Barnes
Embroidery illustrator and writer
This newsletter may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of my links and buy something, I get a very small percentage of that sale. Thank you for your support!
Orts is newsletter collecting small snippets of creativity: embroiderers, textile artists, illustrators, DIY projects, and how we can make time for our creative endeavors. Published on Fridays.
