Stitching Slowly

 It's that time of the year when the air quality is dangerous for me. We are not currently suffering from wild fire smoke in our area, thank goodness, but we have neighbors nearby who enjoy cooking in their back yards. And, in spite of the brief burn ban we were under, someone has been burning tree limbs or something. I don't go outside much at all. When I do go out to get the mail or deadhead the roses I wear an N95 mask. Sadly, that has not always been adequate of late. 

Aside from the immediate consequences of toxic smoke/fumes I am usually left with an inability to think constructively for a day or two. So, quilt making has pretty much come to a halt for the time being. On the other hand, the slow stitch movement has been a godsend. In my eyes slow stitching is simply hand quilting or even intuitive embroidery. The originators of the movement, as I understand it, were inspired by the stitching done by a variety of indigenous people around the world. The Japanese have boro stitching, the Indians have kantha stitching, Africans do kawandi. It's all rows and rows of running stitches, the simplest of straight stitches. Same stitch that's used for quilting the layers together to make a quilt. 

I've never been a particular fan of running stitch. I prefer the solid line you get with back stitch. Hand quilting held no appeal for me. (To do; I totally appreciate the hand quilting others do and have done.) Like most others, I began my needlework career by following the lines printed or transferred onto a piece of plain fabric. Eventually I moved on to printed or painted canvases for needlepoint. I've learned the basic embroidery stitches along the way. I was never one to get into the more complex forms of needlework. There are those who enjoy that level of effort, it's not for me. 

My take on slow stitching is more like freestyle or intuitive embroidery. It has been very helpful on days when I didn't have the brain power to build a quilt but needed something to do with my hands. A couple of the little stitcheries I showed in this post came out of a mindless start with scraps and thread. The world of art/junk journaling is also having an influence on me. All this is in explanation of the following. 

I'm not even sure what to call it actually. I began with a strip of muslin about 2" high and 36" or so long. My only thought was to strive for a boho vibe. I used scrap pieces of sari fabric and silks on top of the muslin and then embellished with bits of bling that seemed appropriate.

It has not been an easy thing to photograph. Hopefully, if you click on the pictures you can get a larger image to see the details.

Oh, that multicolor piece with the buttonhole covered ring is a bit of a woven material. There are scraps of quilter's cottons on here too.

The butterfly is a sequin.

At the end is a fiber wrapped bead I bought in one of the Disabled Artists Foundation's auctions. I want to include it with the scroll/wrap but haven't quite figured out how yet. I need a spool or something to wind this around. My hope is that the bead could be used as a closure. The right spool has yet to turn up.

In the interest of full disclosure, here's the back of my work. I make every effort to be neat and hide the ends of my threads. Someone else might go to the trouble of putting a lining on something like this to protect the threads from snagging or other abuse but I can't be bothered. I've learned that sometimes folks like to see the back of the work. That's good enough for me!