Long time no blog! Here is a sample of satin stitch from a Japanese embroidery piece I made.
I am behind on everything - TAST, Bead Journal project, house-cleaning, etc. I have been busy working on a challenge for Quilting Arts magazine ("Doorway to Creativity"). I have never worked on one of these challenges before, so this was all new to me. My first attempt, which was ripped and re-stitched several times took a long time and had to be tossed aside. I was very reluctant to give up on it because of all the work I had put into it, but finally realized it wasn't going to work out design-wise. Once I tossed it, I was disgusted and didn't really know how to proceed, so I decided to get out the Lumiere paints and play. That was the best thing I could have done! I didn't know I was still working on the challenge - I thought I was stalling. Working with those colors was what inspired me to go a whole new (and faster) direction with the challenge. But then I had to play catch-up and almost didn't get it in the mail in time!
Working on a project like this was very valuable in many ways. At first I had trouble being inspired by the theme. But I guess sometimes you have to work at it, think about it, discuss it, toss it around. I thought what was behind the door (creativity) was much more interesting than the door itself. But my husband suggested I think of the door as the "wrapping paper" on my creativity. That fit right into some slot in my brain.
One night I was tossing and turning in bed, mulling over an upsetting problem with a friend; you know how it is, you go over every detail and just can't get over it. So instead, I just decided to think about "the door". What would be my next step? What new technique could I try? What should I do for the background? And on and on.... But it was great therapy and a more hopeful line of thinking before falling asleep....
I come from an embroidery background, not a quilting one. It was a new thing for me to make a hanging casing on the back of the "quilt" (it only had to be 8 1/2 by 11) per their exact requirements. Even though it wasn't really difficult, it forced me to think in a different way - that's not really the creative part. But I think it is good experience.
So I'm very interested in how this theme will be interpreted by others - we will see some results in the November issue of Quilting Arts. I can't wait!
Happy Stitching!
~Lin Moon
8 comments:
This is beautiful needle work. I thought for sure it must have been done by machine.
Very impressive!
That is gorgeous, Lynne! Congrats on getting your challenge piece out on time... I'll be watching for it. Missed ya'!
Amazing stitching ... is what dreams are made of! Beautiful!
How beautiful!
Beautiful work. Yes, letting a new idea "stew" for a while really lets the subconscious come up with the right thing for you to do rather than the logical thing. Sometimes our husbands say the right thing - amazing!
This stitching is gorgeous! I'll be looking for your challenge piece too. :-)
How beautiful your satin stitching is! It is so perfect, I had to look twice to really be sure it was hand done. That's quite a compliment. I'm lucky to get the stitches to come out even!
Your description of your creative process was great. Especially when you spoke of thinking you were delaying, and then realizing you were still working on the challenge - that sounded familiar. Our minds to strange things!
Thanks for all your nice compliments. It really helps the look of satin stitch if you use an untwisted thread so that you can't tell where one straight stitch ends and the one next to it begins.
Post a Comment