In creating "Pathways" I was able to use and experiment with different levels of loops. I happily went from level 1 to 2 to 3 and even up to 4. I thought I was being quite adventurous going up to level 4 but as I look at my needle I see that there is the capacity of level 12! I'll have to do a test of that one just to see what it looks like.
As I worked this piece I was drawn back to all the stitching pathways my life has traveled. Sewing: my grandmother showing me how to use the sewing machine after my mother died. We made a cloth doll using old sheets. Embroidery: taught to me by my husband's grandmother. We embroidered tiny night shirts in preparation for my son's birth. Needlepoint: Stitching at lunch breaks in a room where smoking was allowed (yuck). Cross stitch: I did so much of this that I'm sure there were several relatives who groaned upon receiving a package from me ('not another one')! Primitive dolls and Santa's: For several years I made enough of these to sell at craft shows. One year I made over 60 Santa's while working full time. Bookart: I started out using paper but soon went back to my beloved fabric and stitching. Beading: encrusted beading which involved thousands of teeny, tiny seed beads. Punchneedle: my latest stitching passion. My hands have always been busy with some form of stitchery and for that I am so very grateful. What would it be like to not ever have picked up that first needle and thread?
Each path has brought me to where I am today and I hope that each day will bring new paths to forge. Isn't life wonderful!
"I dreamed a thousand new paths. . . I woke and walked my old one". - Chinese Proverb
This is such a cool piece. I love the texture that the different loop levels give it. The pathways is certainly an appropriate depiction of looking back on your life and how you arrived at where you are today.
ReplyDeletexx, Carol
Wonderful textures and colors. I also enjoyed reading about your stitching pathways with so many twists and turns.
ReplyDeleteOne thing leads to another. You are indeed forging new paths. The different loop levels are very effective. And looking back ... How many Santa's was that?!
ReplyDeleteOh my, this is lovely(!), and with so much meaning. I see the textures you have achieved with different sized loops, will watch for more of that in future pieces (#12, really?). I also love these colors, and the upper right corner meandering outward is the finishing touch! I can't imagine what life would be like either without sewing creativity being expressed in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteI could see lovely pathways through gardens of colourful flowers in the future. This is wonderful.
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