January: And so it begins

Happy New Year! I hope you had a fun and safe New Year's Eve and you made smart life choices. I instituted a no hard pants rule for sitting in my living room watching the Lizzo concert on HBOMax and eating various cheeses. Keely played with the holiday tunnel my parents got him and tried to scam cheese off of me. Don't say we don't know how to party. 

Today marks the beginning of the 2023 stitch journal project. When I started the 2021 project, one of my goals was to have a daily embroidery practice. I didn't want embroidery to be a thing I did occasionally when I wanted to make something for someone. I felt strongly that a daily art practice, even if it was only for 10 minutes a day, was what I needed. I was 100% correct and now I can't imagine a day going by without stitching something. The 2021 project was a novel; the 2022 project was more like an actual journal. I spent 10 minutes on most pieces (there are some that took longer and others that were much shorter), but it showed me that stitching a journal can be just like writing in one. I liked that the structure gave me time to work on other things, but I was still working on a larger piece for the year. It was a nice balance.

For 2023, I'm trying to be somewhere in the middle of the previous projects. I want to work on larger pieces, but only do so for small amounts of time each day. When I was flying to New Mexico back in October, the idea for this year's project started to take shape. As I shared a few posts ago, I'm using clothing for this year's journal. I go through my clothes a few times a year and always find things I don't wear, but I have a hard time parting with or are too worn to donate. I decided that I want to use those items to create a stitch journal I'm tentatively calling Stitch Wear. 

There are a few influences for this project:

• Louise Bourgeois - one of my favorite artists and one who used fabric, textiles, sewing, and weaving in her art. I talked about her in several other posts and will be thinking about her a lot during this project. 
• The practice of visible mending. I have a fair number of friends who do this and follow others on Instagram who post about visible mending. It's about slowing down and adding more to clothing for the wearer and honoring the maker. It can add meaning and help reduce waste. I've never done visible mending and this isn't specifically a visible mending project, but it's definitely an influence. Some of the items will be very wearable when I'm done, but my intention isn't necessarily visible mending.
• My love of fashion - I love fashion. There was a time in life where I wanted to be a costume designer and did more clothing construction than I do today. I love what fashion and clothes can do for a person and I've spent a lot of time thinking about my own clothes and evolving my own style. All of the items being used in this project reflect that journey in some way. 
• Andrea Higgins - another favorite artist. She's a painter who uses fabric and clothing as the inspiration for her paintings. I use a few of her works that focus on the First Ladies as examples of abstract portraits when I lead tours focused on portraits and figurative works. There's one piece later in the year that is specifically inspired by her painting.

So what does this all mean for this year's project? Each month I'll take on a different article of clothing. Some months, like January, will focus on a large pattern or theme. Other months, like February and March, will focus on small additions to the clothing. I'll share why I selected the item and what inspired the motif, pattern, or stitch selection. I'm going to keep to the weekly recap post (posted on Saturdays) and a monthly summary post (posted on the last day of the month) to showcase the finished piece. I'll share daily photos on my IG account if you want to follow along there as well. 

Here are the items/general themes for the year. Some are more defined and others are still in progress.

• January - Winter (blue cardigan) - more on this in a moment
• February - Cats in Hats and Other Things (t-shirt)
• March - 31 Words (t-shirt)
• April - Knots (floral sweatshirt)
• May - Blue Pants (not sure on the theme yet)
• June - Visible Mending, Sort Of (gray tank top)
• July - Dots (polka dot dress, Andrea Higgins inspired)
• August - Scar (black linen shorts)
• September - Pineapple Sweater (not sure on the theme yet)
• October - Stripes (orange striped swimming cover up)
• November - Working 9 to 5 (gray pencil skirt)
• December - Denim (two pairs of jeans)

For some of the months, I'll be able to stitch a specific thing each day (February, March, and November are good examples). For the other months, I'm going to institute a time limit for each day's entry (5-15 minutes). This will allow me to keep my daily practice in place, but not rush the project. I think this will balance out nicely throughout the year. 

So let's talk about January. For the first piece of the year, I selected a blue cardigan I bought at Target probably 10 years ago. It's definitely showing its age and somewhere along the way, I got small bleach stains on it. I love cardigans and this one was a favorite for a very long time. Other than telling people to make smart life choices, the other piece of advice I often give is to always have a cardigan with you. You never know when you'll need it. I decided to focus this piece on a large design. I have the space (the back of the cardigan) and I want to do a larger piece. It's called Winter. It will be done in all white and will feature a tree (original version here), snow, stars, and possibly a moon. I loved this tree when I originally drew it and decided it needed to be included and expanded. It's a weird tree, which if my favorite sort of tree.

It's hard to see the tree in this image, but I promise it's there. I'll add the other elements after the tree is completed.

I'm using several "shades" of white: DMC Blanc, Blanc Etoile, B5200, Perle (12), and Sublime Stitching White. I'm considering whether I'll use DMC E940. That's the glow in the dark thread and is technically white. It might be a nice addition for the stars and/or moon I plan to add later on.

Here's the first stitch of 2023:

This took 10 minutes. I'm not currently using stabilizer, but may add some to the back of the fabric. The tree outline will be completed using whipped back stitch. 

I started with DMC B5200 thread (3 strands) for the outline. I'll use the other threads to fill in the tree (yes, it's going to be filled in) and add the other elements (snow, stars, and the moon). 

Sneak Peek at February and March

I selected two t-shirts to round out the first part of the year.

February: Cats in Hats and Other Things. I'll be adding an embroidered element to 28 of the cats on this shirt (back and front).

March: 31 Words. I've been called a lot of things in my life, so I'm using March to share those things. 

Other 2023 Projects

I hope to get started on another series called Iconic. It was something I wanted to work on in 2022 but never was able to get started. I have a few kits, including one from Wattle & Loop, that I'd like to finish in 2023. I'm planning to finally frame (or whatever) the 2021 pieces and I'm hoping to create a full set of the Screams. I have a really cool idea for a way to display them that I want to try to do. I'm sure other projects will come up, but those are the big ones for this year. 

Thanks for following along over the last two years and continuing with me in 2023. If you're new to An Embroidery a Day - Welcome! I hope you enjoy this place as much as I do.