Having a Comeback

It's been a long time since my last post.  But I looked over the blog this morning and decided to continue, now that I am retired from teaching and otherwise am not committed to too much other.  Working on embroideries that I WANT to do is very satisfying.

My ground of choice is perforated paper.  Someone said to me that I chose that because it is easier to see.  I, on the other hand, will use a magnifier if I need one.  No, perf paper is my choice because it has constraints.  The piece may not be larger than 8.5" X 11.5 " that is 97.5 square inches, and, of course, it could be smaller.  At 14 holes X 14 holes to the inch, it is 196 stitches per square inch,  (Just a minute--I have to get my calculator out!)  So we are talking at a maximum of 19,159 holes.  (Please correct me if I am wrong.)  Now, since I almost always stitch in every hole twice in a project that is around 38,000 stitches.  Sometimes I stitch in the holes 4 times (counted cross-stitch, for instance) you can do the math on that.

Some of my work  is  counted cross-stitch, but back stitch comprises most of my stuff.  I very rarely do any other stitch.  It is the content/images and not the fancy stitches I know that I want to celebrate.

This work is called Papaver Rubens and is only partially covered with back stitch.  The background is a photograph of mine that I digitally manipulated for an appropriate look.

Above is a piece that is larger than 8.5 X 11.5, called Heartland. It's about 12" X 12".  I stitched together one full piece of the paper to another cut to the size I wanted.  It is impossible to tell where the one starts and the other ends.  I hoped it would turn out and it did.  I think it was helpful that the black disguised the attachment.  The gold paper hearts are appliqued on.  This was the first project that I used backstitch in various directions to show texture.

This last piece is called Cosmic Wind, one of my Moon Goddess series.  She is done in counted cross-stitch and is about 8" X 10".

I am glad to be back--I guess I really do have more to say!
SKW