Sassy-bonneted Pruventures with Audrey
written by Dana L. Costa
Getting to know Audrey Emmett-Delamere is like getting to know her creation, Prudence Kitch. Both are women seemingly straddling two worlds: The traditional and the modern. For example, Seattle, Washington (USA)-based Audrey enjoys cooking, painting, knitting, and gardening but at the same time, she is drawn to modern stitching patterns that juxtapose gorgeous florals with the word fuck. Prudence has many of the same interests...and definitely the same love of surprising people who think they know what to expect from her. Before learning more about Prudence, you need to know more about Audrey. A married mother of two little ones, Audrey says that as long as she’s making something, she’s happy. She enjoys cooking nice dinners for her husband, raising her children, tending her roses, “and shit.” But she’s also a self-described feminist Gen X-er. “Our version of feminism came with certain expectations,” Audrey explains. “Think flannels, Doc Martens, and an absolute hard-line stance against the domestic norms our mothers and grandmothers experienced.” “I’ve always been a feminist,” Audrey says, “because, as Maya Angelou said, it would be stupid not to be on my own side.” But she still has admired and respected friends 14
StitchLife Magazine
who Audrey says think of her as a sell-out because she chose raising her children over her career. But Audrey takes their opinions in stride. “I don’t fault them for [their opinions],” Audrey says, “but my concept of feminism is about choosing one’s own path. This is mine and I’m fucking killing it. So, to me, Prudence is a feminine feminist. No one told her she had to wear the bonnet, and she will speak her mind. The path to creating Prudence started when Audrey began after the 2016 election, when she began cross stitching, with Prudence’s emergence coming a few weeks into quarantine, which started in Seattle much earlier than in other parts of the United States. She was inspired, according to Audrey, by quilting staple and folk image Sunbonnet Sue, who gained popularity in the early 1900s. “A dear friend of mine was going through something and I was thinking of her and her incredible strength in taking back her life,” Audrey says, “when I came across a quote: ‘Stop breaking yourself down into bite-sized pieces to serve others. Stay whole and let them choke.’ I had to stitch it.” Taking a cue from her own interest in blending flowers and swear words, she liked the idea of a “proper young lady” taking a stance. Voila! Prudence was born. But Prudence’s world doesn’t start and end with her. Also in her circle: the Unsolicited Sir Richard Pickering (aka Dick). “Richard is a creation I’m hav-
