Melitastitches4fun's Blog

My third class, also 2 days, is Blue Hills with Dawn Donnelly. It is another type of applique of a different sort – applying paper to a canvas. This is also referred to as Mixed Media. Dawn makes her own paper. We didn’t have to do that but she explained the process and has a Zoom lecture on that topic which I was fortunate enough to be an invited guest earlier this year. She gave an abbreviated talk about the process today.

Her advertised description of class is: The hills in Michigan may not be big or blue, but they are beautiful.  We are surrounded by water and a wide range of terrain.  Blue Hills is my attempt at bringing that beauty to life.  After a short lecture on handmade paper, the student will spend time exploring the paper by painting, wetting, tearing and cutting it into shapes.  It will be attached to the canvas and surrounded with stitches including Corset, French Knots, Branscombe Edge, Criss Cross Hungarian, Butterfly Chain, Oriental, Rhodes and a fake Bullion.

We cut and ripped paper in the am and then painted some of the pieces.

In the afternoon, we started attaching one of the pieces. We also did 2 of the toughest stitches, Corset (top stitch) and Branscombe Edge 2nd from the top stitch). Corset comes up under stitches and Branscombe Edge builds 3 buttonhole stitches next to each other. Dawn said that we could make the backstitches over 2 or 3 canvas threads. I did over 2 and they got crunched together.

This is over 3 canvas threads so you can see the difference. I kind of like mine better because it is not as uniform.

Day 1 progress. I will be finishing the 4th band tonight so that the paper is completely attached.