Feeling a little lost in the post-New Year Lockdown, I was unable to open my sketchbook at first. I was getting lots of emails offering me all sorts of uninteresting goods and services, so began to incorporate some of the subtitles into some lace sketches and photocopying collages.

For lace inspiration, I used a sample book of embroidered lace from my personal archive. Definitely not as beautiful as the lace made in Nottingham a hundred years ago, it has some interesting design elements and shapes that I wanted to explore.

Using my printer as a photocopier, I enlarged the lace, and distorted it, sketching over tracing paper to create new patterns. I then wrote some of the more annoying ‘calls to action’ from my email inbox, using the words as picot edging or as brides (joins) between the motifs.

I wanted to get away from flowers and hearts, and I’ve certainly done that… but now I need to see how to translate this into stitch. I’ll update my Instagram when I begin the second stage of this project.