Hand Stitching in the Car

Above is the "masterpiece" painting for Elements of Architecture XXXVIII. I used heat-activated paints on regular typing paper. I'm not much of a painter...OBVIOUSLY! I even accidentally stepped on the painting before it was dry (and figured sales tax in the upper corner!). Still, I used the result. Once dry, I turned it face down onto 100% polyester and ironed with a very, very hot iron. The chemical reaction between the dried paint and the polyester occurred....setting my "masterpiece" on the polyester...ready for hand stitching.



Above is the "masterpiece" ironed onto the polyester. I always staple such pieces to wooden stretcher bars. I stitch with ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, fairly randomly...sometimes following the color I used for the painting...sometimes changing the color...I stitch quickly and rarely remove even a single thread. I like big, bulky yarns, decorative fibers, metallics, and cheap DMC floss. I try to keep my thread in plastic Ziplock bags...but they never stay organized. I generally have one, large bag full of an enormous "tangle". I love that bag.



Above is the stitched result. While in the car over the past few days, I stitched. I stitched during the ride to Charleston and Edisto Island. I stitched to West Virginia and back. This afternoon, a piece of a purple chiffon scarf (www.thethreadstudio.com) went over the hand-work. I free-motion machined stitching into the piece and zig-zigged the edge.



A few weeks ago...I seriously can't remember if it were last week, the week before, or even 10 days ago...I painted yards upon yard of paper with the remaining heat-activated paints that were in my studio. There is suppose to be a "shelf life". They were well surpassed it, but a test revealed that the product was still "good". So, I painted and painted and painted. I even tried to use a brush but that didn't last very long. I used a piece of wadding plastic, the side of piece of corrugated board, and my hands. It was so much fun. I did, however, have a plan...a rough idea...a hope.

I thought that I could use the heat-activated crayons on top of this haphazard painting. I hoped that a simple line drawing would fix my design without the need to actually PAINT a PICTURE. It worked! I lightly drew a "building" on top of the dried paint...using the heat-active crayons. The result is a colored background...perfect for big, bulky hand stitching...with a guideline for stitching.

Above is the "painting" with the crayon design...ironed into place on 100% polyester. Below is the stitched piece...hand work with free motion machine embroidery done on top of a sheer, chiffon overlay. This is an easier approach...especially since I'm much better at line drawing than trying the paint an area with full color.