The Stitch Book: Week 9 (February 25-March 2)

Back in 2020, I got into art journaling. I had a subscription through an art company called Let's Make Art. Every month, I'd get a box in the mail with a new theme, prompts, a mixed media journal, and all the supplies to use for the month. The art journal artist, Jesse Petersen, is a big reason I started my 2021 stitch journal. I gained a lot of confidence in drawing and painting and jumped right into my first large scale stitch journal. 

This week's stitch journal piece is based on a prompt from one of the art journal kits on abstract art. I love abstract art. I haven't always, but I got really into abstraction and abstract artists when I first started volunteering as a docent. I had never really thought of embroidery in an abstract way, and it was this particular prompt that got me into making abstract embroidery. I created the inspiration for this piece after I did the art journal version.

This was the first abstract embroidery I made. It's part of a small series I did that is one of my favorite things I made in 2020.

When I made this piece, I considered filling in some of the space with different colors of thread, but ultimately decided not to. It looks great the way it is. When I was deciding what to make this week, I decided to do a similar design and use watercolor paint to fill in the space. I also used DMC Etoile thread for more sparkle. It turned out well. I love how these designs come together and all the shapes that emerge. 

I decided to only paint the closed shapes. I picked three colors: metallic cobalt blue, metallic turquoise, and metallic violet. I picked the colors I thought would pop most on the gray fabric. The first round I did five shapes per color, then three shapes, then two, and then whatever was left for the last round. I did add more paint to some shapes and left others with just one layer. The paint adds another layer to the piece and I'm pleased with the end result. I'll definitely do this technique again.

Here's this week's piece:

February 25

February 26

February 27

February 28

February 29

March 1

March 2 - I did five shapes in each color.

March 2 - then I added three more in each color

March 2 - then I added two more in each color

March 2 - finished piece. I only painted the closed shapes. Could I have all of the spaces? Sure, but I like the idea of only focusing on the closed shapes this time around.

Weeks 1-9

With Week 10's color - cement

Sourdough Adventures and Other Fun Things

Last Sunday I made my fourth loaf of sourdough bread and it was amazing. It was the best one I've made so far. The crust was great and the texture was exactly what I like in a sourdough bread. It was sour, but not overwhelmingly so. I'm going to try again with the same recipe and process this weekend as well. I'm also planning on making sourdough discard crackers. I'm very excited to try them. 

I'm almost done with the St. Patrick's Day ornaments for my mom's party. I have three left to stitch and finish. I hope to get the stitching done tomorrow and the finishing done this week. 

Keely has had a busy week of checking on the ghost in our house and being a weird, little guy. 

I also got the most aggressive fortune I've ever gotten in a fortune cookie. I don't know, y'all.