The Tower Of Babel

12.5 x 5

This is a thread painting on muslin. I had a hard time getting the design transfered on this one. I kept getting it backwards and of course it matters because of the letters. I finally realized, that on my printer, if you check T-shirt transfer in the options box, it automatically reverses the image. So, if you reverse it yourself before printing, it will reverse again and you are back to where you started. Naturally, I thought all would be well and printed straight on to the transfer paper. Consequently, I have several transfers featuring backwards letters to use some day!

Fortress

Fortress

6.5 x 12

Machine Embroidery

Beacon--Show Me The Way To Go Home

Beacon-- Show Me The Way To Go Home

9 x 9

A thread painting that started out as a bird and somewhere along the way, changed into into a lighthouse sort of thing. Go figure................

Thread Painting

I started a new Thread Painting a couple of days ago. I transferred one of my "zentangles" to a piece of muslin, backed it and started stitching. It was all right, but not really fun until I started to change things--sew over shapes in a different color etc. It made me think. I get bored with "coloring things in". I have to have the flexibility to change the piece. Otherwise, it is just a coloring book exercise in a different medium, no matter how skilled you need to be to do it. Developing my Thread Painting skills, is great, but, for me, it is not an end in itself. Personally, I need to be able to make decisions at every step in the process. The hand-stitched pieces are interesting for that very reason. I make decisions constantly about what color to use, how many different colors to strand together, what direction to stitch etc. Quilts are the same way. I don't want to make a bunch of the same blocks and sew them together. The results may be wonderful, but I find the process mind numbing. I want blocks I can arrange in an infinite number of ways--like a kaleidoscope quilt. Arranging those blocks on a design wall is like making a painting. I want the whole process to be flexible and interesting right up to completion, as the process is what I enjoy.