Stitch Bloom – Windows on Bridge

Stitch Bloom is part of the Windows on Bridge series of art installation in empty shops, most to be viewed from the footpath. We’ll be rolling out Windows on Bridge over the next six months or so.

Fleur Woods
Stitch Bloom
1300 x 1000 mm
A collaborative stitched work on a vintage blanket (NFS)

The Stitch Bloom Project aims to create community and generate well-being through the art of slow stitching. Many hands from around the world have stitched blooms to contribute to the project. These blooms are now collaged onto a vintage woollen blanket base and added to by many people in the Nelson, Tasman & Golden Bay region. Our youngest stitcher was 6 and our oldest was around 90 years of age.

Motueka Library, with facilitation by Kim Lawrence and support from Janine Gilleons, have significantly supported the project’s continuation over the past couple of years. Fleur Woods resourced the project.

The Stitch Bloom Project was created with: 1 vintage woollen blanket; 200+ hand stitched blooms; over 150 stitchers; 100,000’s of stitches; acres of thread; many, many cups of tea; and lots of laughs, community connection and love.

The Stitch Bloom Project was started in 2018 by local artist Fleur Woods. “Initially the project was a textile chain letter, starting with a large piece of linen onto which participants could stitch a bloom and then post it to the next person. Unfortunately in 2019 the project went missing while outside Melbourne, Australia. This was a huge blow as many people around Aotearoa and Australia had already stitched blooms onto the piece. Many attempts were made to find it. Eventually, feeling heartbroken, I had to let that one go. Meanwhile, luckily another project had started in Bosnia, travelled briefly in Europe and paused in the UK”.

“Unsure of how to continue, the project stalled. Then, during the nationwide lockdown of 2020 I realised the project could continue in a new format. This time asking willing participants to stitch a bloom and send them to me. Over a year many blooms arrived from all over NZ and the world. This was wonderful but also a little overwhelming for me working full-time as an artist and trying to work out how to continue the project. It suddenly dawned on me that many hands were the answer and with the support of fellow creative Kim Lawrence and the team at Motueka Library stitch bloom resumed as a community art project”.

You can see more of Fleur’s work on Instagram.