Embroidery

One Year of Life is Chronicled in “One Year of Stitches”

November 7, 2016
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1 Year of Stitches by Hannah Claire Somerville

What would a year of stitches look like? Hannah Claire Somerville is currently in the midst of exploration with her project aptly-called 1 Year of Stitches. The premise is simple—each day, she adds at least a stitch (often many more) to the same embroidery hoop. Day by day, the design grows, and with 2016 nearly complete, Hannah has a lot to show for it. Nestled throughout the sprawling threads are the likes of small abstract shapes and colorful characters, each with their own story to tell.

Hannah has chronicled 1 Year of Stitches through Instagram. It’s both a documentation of process as well as a diary—each post is accompanied by what she did that day.

The first stitches have been made. ——————————————– I am interested in the impact, or mark, that an individual makes on a daily basis. Big or small, our daily activities are often times unquantifiable and intangible. I am approaching this project as a personal map making; the fabric ground represents each day of 2016, with the needle and thread representing my actions throughout the day. I will embroider— maybe one stitch, maybe more, (hopefully) every day and photograph the result. The embroidery I create will become a tangible, visual account of the decisions, movements, conversations and sometimes lack there of, that I make each day. I hope to use this project as a means of creating mindfulness and deeper reflection upon the choices we make as a society. Rules and Stipulations: 1. My fabric ground consists of a 12’’ x 12’’ swatch of unbleached Osnaburg. The thread I use may change daily and I may adhere additional types of media to my swatch with thread. 2. I will embroider something on my fabric ground each day and post a photograph of the result each day. 3. It is not required that I make a stitch— some days you definitely do not contribute anything to society. I still must post a photograph of the current state of my fabric ground. 4. I am allowed to remove stitches, because mistakes can sometimes be undone. 5. I am allowed to begin additional fabric grounds should I choose to do so. Ideally, I hope to work on the same fabric ground continuously, but sometimes life takes you to a different place than you expect. 6. More rules and stipulations may be added as the project evolves and lessons are learned. #1yearofstitches #stitch #embroidery #embroideryart #art #2016

A photo posted by 1 year of stitches. (@1yearofstitches) on

1 Year of Stitches by Hannah Claire Somerville

1 Year of Stitches by Hannah Claire Somerville