The Lake House: A Personal Project

I actually started this piece back in the Spring as an anniversary present for my husband.  Then, however, finals came quicker than expected and I got distracted.  It still has some work to go on it- more stitching of course!  I'm not going to stitch the whole thing solid, so the trick will be in deciding when there is "enough" stitching.  

The image is of my husbands' grandparents' lake house.  It is truly one of our favorite places in this world.  Until recently, there was no wifi, cable or cell phone service there.  We all just hung out, cooked, ate, sat by the fire, played in the water, hiked, read books, worked on puzzles, you get the picture-- pure bliss!  The lake backs up to the Appalachian Trail and has some beautiful hiking spots.  We have many, many wonderful family and personal memories at the Lake House.  It was where I first met his whole family all at once.  My favorite memory was when he proposed to me on the dock at sunrise.  

I wanted this piece to feel like a memory.  I was also inspired by the work of my colleague, Susan Brandeis, and how she utilizes layers, printing, and stitching in her work.  I printed (digitally) a photograph I had taken of the Lake House on both cotton sateen and silk organza.  I layered them with 1 layer of 1/8" cotton batting and a backing of cotton muslin.  I added the batting because I did not want the stitching to be flat and I thought the loft that the batting would give to the stitching would be nice. 

The threads I am using are the Valdani cotton sewing and quilting spools.  I love the colors and the soft transitions from color to color on the variegated spools.  The stitches I am using are just basic straight stitches and chain stitches so far.  I'm going to add in some metals into the water but I want that to be my last step.  More leaves on the trees first!