I love teaching. Especially teaching people who are ready to experiment. I learn something from each person in the class. I love to see the variations that people come up with. We have so much fun comparing notes, trying new things and letting ourselves travel unknown pathways. My Miami class had some really skilled and creative folks in it. They were a joy to watch.

The At Play in the Garden of Stitch workshop presented by Partners for Art + Design in Miami

The Miami workshop organized by Abbey Chase of Partners for Art + Design was in an exquisite historic church. The light was fantastic, the stitchers enthusiastic.

Here are some of the things I learned from my students.

When filling a square with stitch, play with different patterns that repeat. Let your imagination go wild.

Let your stress be released. Nancy called this her divorce.

If your tension isn’t working right, go with it. We all loved this bearded back.

Consider fringe. Use fabric that already has texture.

If your pig needs wings, find some and add them to your composition.

Celebrate color and pattern. Let your edges be active.

Your work does not need to fit into a rectangle. It doesn’t even have to be a rectangle.

A beach can become a vase. (Turn this one 90 degrees clockwise and you can see what I mean.)

I am thankful for all the time I spend with my students. Each session brings delight and discovery.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May your turkey be moist and your potatoes buttery.

I stitch a lot. And I have a lot of raw materials that can be stitched.

So I do.

I stitch.

I collect scraps of my quilts that have been chopped up to create new work. Most of them already have stitching and batting and backing so the work is chunkier, more detailed and textural when I use the scraps.

These are some of the quilts that went under the knife this past year. They live on in new work.

A number of the scraps looked like leaves. The toothy quality of those scraps gave me a starting point. I had an idea of creating a jungle of objects.

After assembling the scraps I started stitching to make them more consistently textured. The details add action to the piece and connect disparate elements. When I connect the scrap pieces I usually butt the pieces together and over-stitch with a decorative stitch or free motion stitching.

I do love how this section has face, a leaf that could be a feather and a dragon.

So about this time I have to ask myself when is enough enough? I admit that this texture looks wacko. I mean it to be disturbing and frantic. I think my stitching is taking a journey through chaos these days. Does extra detail bring coherence? Am I channeling this confusion to release tension? It just feels right to me.