SHANNAN
GRIERSON
Where do you live a work? I live in a quiet
little village near the coast and surrounded
by fields in the south west of England. When
I’m not sewing, I enjoy tending to my lovely
garden, where I grow apple, pear, plum and
medlar trees along with a riot of flowers,
including pansies, sunflowers, dahlias,
hyacinths and roses. I love to tinker in the
greenhouse and raise flowers up from seeds
for the garden. Robins, blackbirds, blue tits,
finches, tree pipits and woodpeckers all come
to scour the garden for treats to eat and
serenade me with their song when the sun
shines ... some like it here so much they even
nest in the bushes and trees. My studio space
is my bed! I do all of my designing, prep and
hand sewing tucked up underneath crochet
blankets with steaming cups of herbal tea,
surrounded by imagery and trinkets that
inspire me. I have a small desk in the corner
with my sewing machine on it and a little set
of shelves next to it stuf ed full of needles
and threads and ribbons and things.
What are the prerequisites for your
designing and sewing space – and the
absolute ‘no-nos’? I like my space to be tidy
and my supportive pillows have to be just so
before I begin. If I’m designing, I like to have
shade charts and inspiration to hand. If I’m
sewing, I gather all the threads I’ll need
along with scissors, needles, the chart and
a highlighter to cross of where I’ve stitched
so I have them all right where I need them.
Excellent lighting is also imperative; it makes
such a dif erence. Absolute no-nos include:
no food allowed – hands must be cleaned
regularly throughout sewing time to avoid
staining the threads – and no phone (I put
mine on silent when I’m sewing). Also, thread
scissors must only be used for thread and
fabric scissors for fabric, or else!
When you started stitching, did you work
on cross stitch or did you start on another
stitch craft? I started with embroidery. I made
a few small cross-stitched pieces for friends,
so I knew a bit about it, but then I caught the
cross-stitch fever and found myself fascinated
by producing motifs in squares – that I can make
a curve from squares excites me beyond reason.
When I’m designing tiny cross-stitch motifs,
I’m often amazed at how much just moving one
square can alter the effect of the design.
Do you fall in love with each of the projects
you work on? Yes, absolutely! But like all
great love af airs, there are highs and lows:
we argue, shed tears and rekindle our fondness
for each other along the way. I liken designing
sewing projects to how I imagine birthing a
child: there’s always a time of pain during a
project when I feel like I can’t carry on with it,
like it’ll never materialise and that I can’t bear
to cross another stitch. I really have to grit my
teeth and push through it. Once I’m out on the
other side, I’m flooded with pure joy; the painis almost entirely forgotten, and I simply
can’t wait to get started on another!
What do you think are the elements of your
designs that unmistakably identify them as
yours? All my projects involve a lot of
stitching. I enjoy covering entire surfaces
in stitches and don’t like to leave much cloth
showing. Stitch for me is a celebration of the
process, and what better way to celebrate than
by adding more stitches? All my designs have
vivid colours, unexpected colour combinations
and a sense of combining traditional with
contemporary to create something fearless and
new. Flowers are predominant, but I’ve been
experimenting with geometrics and some fun
motifs to shake things up a bit.
Is this your full-time occupation or is it a
hobby? It’s a hobby that I’d like to become
a full-time occupation. I’d love to share more
of my designs with the world and hopefully
find my tribe of stitchers who enjoy the way
I look at the world of hand stitch and want
to join me in my embroidered adventures.
Are you someone who needs to work on
several projects at once or do you prefer
to see one project through before starting
another? I much prefer to work on one project
at a time before starting another, for fear of
never finishing. However, I know right now
I can count at least four WIPs (works in
progress), so although I like sewing one at a
time, my creative spirit often leads me astray!
If you had three crafting wishes, what
would you want them to be?- To go on a creative holiday: Squam looks
amazing! As do the sewing cruises I’ve seen
advertised. One that got me salivating
recently was needlepoint on the Danube. - To work in Kaf e Fassett’s or Gucci’s studio.
The embroidery and textiles these two
designers produce are stunning, and I’d give
almost anything to learn from the masters. - To design my own collection of homewares
and fashion accessories.
Get ing to know ...
SHANNAN’S VIDEO TIP If you’ve not made
a lampshade before, I strongly recommend that you watch the
YouTube video that 3Chooks has made. It demonstrates how
to roll the edges of the shade over the rings. See it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB7b9x9orhQ.BEFORE ASSEMBLY When the stitching is complete,
wash the fabric to remove any dirty marks and skin oils. Use
lukewarm water and pure soap or mild detergent and swish the fabric
through the sudsy water without rubbing it. Rinse it thoroughly in
cold water and roll it up gently in a clean towel to remove most of
the water. Place the work wrong side down on a fluf y white towel.
Place another towel over the top of the embroidery and, with the
iron switched to a warm setting, press the embroidery lightly so
as not to flatten the stitches. Allow it to finish drying naturally.SHANNAN’S TAPE WINDING TIP
The kits from 3Chooks include suf icient tape to wind around each
ring of your shade. If you run out of tape before you’ve wound it
around an entire ring, you haven’t been using a wide enough angle
as you wind. Unwrap what you’ve done and start again, trying to
maintain the angle set from the diagonal cut that 3Chooks made
at the beginning of the cotton tape.SHANNAN’S THREAD ENDING TIP
Because your cross stitch will be backlit when the lamp is on, you
need to keep the wrong side of your work very neat. Don’t end
a dark-coloured thread by weaving it under the stitches worked
in a light thread, as the dark thread will show through when the
lamp is lit. Only weave the threads through the back of stitches
that are worked in the same colour and trim the ends neatly.