Stitching Through the Smoke - September SAL

 We don't have any wildfires near us at the moment - thank Goodness - but we have been privileged to be blanketed by the smoke from the fires south of us in Oregon and California. I have never seen higher numbers for our air quality index. Officially we are in the Very Unhealthy category as I write this. Needless to say, I'm staying strictly indoors with all the windows closed tight. And praying for rain to come as soon as possible. In spite of our precautions we're feeling the effects of the heavy smoke cover: headaches, lethargy, itchy eyes and throats, a general feeling of malaise. Two of us are predisposed to asthma. I've had a constricted feeling in my chest off and on. The light outside (and inside, actually) is eerie. Like fog, but brown with an orange cast instead of the gray we're accustomed to. At least the blanket has kept the sun from warming us up to uncomfortably high temperatures like we had recently. If it's not one thing it's another! 

I've been playing with tiny bits of fabric and a variety of size 12 perle cotton threads on my stitch wrap. I think you saw this bit in our last SAL check in although I added a few more straight stitches around the word 'HOT!'. 

This is the next section, with some kantha stitching. 

I added some embroidery to the strip of tea-dyed cotton batting most recently.

I've also added another section or panel since the last SAL check in...

Which is where most of the work has been done this time around.   

It's not done yet but I'm not sure just what else will happen to it. I used a few clear seed beads to secure the lace to the wool felt on the left in the picture. Not that you can see them! That's a button with a hand painted bird on it in the upper right corner. Technically the bird is sitting on a twig painted on the button and I tried to place it such that the twig could be coming off the branch I've outlined with backstitches. In addition to the back stitches I've used feather stitches, blanket stitches, French knots, and straight stitches. Fly stitches secure the 'Hope' label in place.

Avis is the organizer for this Stitch Along. Participants span the globe so our posts go up at different times of the day every three weeks. There's a variety of needlework to be seen, all of it inspiring. 😊

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, 

Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, MaryMargaret, Renee, 

Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen