I Haven't Forgotten

I haven't forgotten how to post to my blog.  I've just been off playing.  I went to Hawaii with kids and grandkids and came home with a sore throat which later became "sick in bed for 5 days."  You can't spend two weeks with grandkids and not catch something vile.

So now I'm feeling better and back to business.  I had to send some entries off to SPIN for their show this fall and as I was going through things I came across this silk painting I had done several months ago.  It was from a photo I'd taken while in Cuba and now I really like it.  Why do things look better a few months (or years) after you have given up on them and put them away?

 Another silk painting done last Spring, but revisited and now I love it.  Surely I can do something more with the techniques I tried in this one.

 I have been using silk painting as the base and then free motion machine embroidery over the painting just in little touches.  Notice the fine lines drawing of leaves in the background, that is free motion stitching with varigated thread.  The challenge was keeping the fabric to stay flat after I took it out of the embroidery hoop.  I tried several kinds of stabilizer and have finally found the system that works.  

You can see the embroidery in the painting on these details.

I'm loving this technique.  All I need is more time to dedicate to it's possibilities.
By the way I will be the speaker and workshop presenter for WAC on August 20 and 21.  I'll be doing a trunk show on Sat the 20th and embellishing techniques workshop on Sunday 21.  Come and join me.
I will post more about it in a few days.