The Stitch and Bitch project

Again. Thank you for all your kind words of support and advice. I do listen to them and I do think about them and they're all greatly appreciated. I really don't want this blog to become all about my moanings though so if I seem to move on to other things with remarkable speed it's not that I'm cold-hearted, more that I'm trying to look on the brightside!

When Stitch & Bitch first started back in September 2009 the word ‘exhibition’ was mentioned. One of the founding members of S&B had done an art degree and was very enamoured with the idea of us all creating something to display for others.

I was not so keen. I have a desperate need to be liked, which means that I don’t handle criticism very well – the thought of putting my work up for strangers to see makes me feel a little queasy. What if they don’t like it and think it’s stupid? My fragile little ego couldn’t cope with it all.

My policy was just to ignore any suggestion of an exhibition and hope the problem would go away but she persisted and last month it was decided. Exhibit we would.

And actually it was a very cool idea so I willingly hopped onboard.

We would be cross-stitching/embroidering/whatevering quotes that we overheard on our travels.

Basically, we would eavesdrop on peoples’ conversations and take little snippets and turn them into a finished article.

And the exhibition would be called...

Embroidering the Truth.

See what we did there?

It’s been hilarious. At first I was worried that I would never overhear any conversations but I have developed a knack of listening in without making it too obvious that I’m listening in.

Unfortunately this has meant there have been a couple of occasions when the boyfriend has been sat there, chatting away to me only to realise I’m not listening even slightly and am instead earwigging in on the conversation the two people on the table next to us are having.

But I explained to him that sometimes art has its casualties.

We now have an official exhibition date for the end of June so we are furiously stitching away in an attempt to build up our portfolio.

So far I have....

Which was overheard in a rather seedy pub near to where I live – I think he was trying to impress the woman he was with. Or the rest of the pub seeing as he practically shouted it.

And....

Which was overheard on my way to a particularly unsavoury part of Hull and was made by a particularly stoned person on the back of a bus. I’m very proud of this one because I designed my bar table all by myself. For someone who has to always follow patterns this was a big step into creativity.

And also...

Which is the first snippet of conversation I overheard which was taking place between a rather drunk girlfriend and boyfriend who were waiting for a table in an Indian restaurant just down the road.

And I’m currently working on this bad boy, which I overheard at the boyfriend’s Grandma’s funeral of all places.

It’s been great to do something as a little group. We’ve all become firm friends now but it’s been nice to all be working on something together and I’m actually very excited to see all our stuff up on the walls somewhere.

So if you’re in Hull and you see someone leaning in uncomfortably close to your conversation...speak up a bit will you?

(Apologies for the crappy photos - they will look much better when they are ironed and

framed and generally prettified)