Yes, I've been stitching!

I'll bet there are some people wondering if I've actually done any embroidery of late. I haven't posted such a photo for over two weeks, but I have been stitching. In fact, I stitched on the drive to Pennsylvania and on the plane to England. I can't imagine a time when a needle and thread won't be part of my daily activities. The weather and the holidays, however, have interfered with my photography. I take pictures of my work outdoors...in the afternoon when the sun isn't hitting the front of the garage. Recently, we had a spot of rain and most often I've waited too long. It gets dark much earlier now. Today, I got some pictures!

Above is an older embroidery. It used to be matted and framed. I've recycled it into a small wall hanging...actually, it qualifies as a quilt. There's batting and a back and everything. The back used to be a canvas tote bag. I was given it by our local museum. As an artist, I agreed to decorate/paint/reconstruct/deconstruct/reconstruct or do "whatever" to the tote bag. There are about thirty others doing the same. The resulting art work will be sold at a charity event coordinating with an upcoming exhibition, Excavating Egypt as well as the tenth anniversary of the museum in its current, modern location. The museum's website has all sorts of information about this gala.

Here's the back...a former canvas tote bag. I used painted Wonder Under (Bond-a-Web), copper metallic foil, and a sheer chiffon scarf with a rainbow of metallic threads running through it. The museum's logo was already on the bag. The piece measures 20 1/4" x 16 1/2". It is "quilted" together with beading. All these pictures are "clickable".

Okay, the quilt is sort of a "cheat". I did the Egyptian inspired embroidery about five years ago. These three piece I finished in the last few weeks. There are all headed to Pickens County Museum for my solo exhibition next summer. Above is Elements in Blue: Anchor. Below is Elements in Blue: IHS.

Below is Elements in Blue: Chi Rho Variation. All these are approximately 10" x 8". I use heat transfer paints and crayons to set the pattern on 100% polyester. They are stitched using big, bulky yarns and any other blue related thread I can get my hands on. Finally, I put a piece of felt underneath each one and a piece of chiffon scarfing over the front for free-motion machine embroidery. The edges are free-motion zigzagged.