14" x 18"
> 2005 ANG Seminar, Nashville. Awards
Third Place, Professional, Painted Canvas without Stitchguide

The story of "Serendipity"

The story of "Serendipity" could as well have been named 'Surprise!'.

My friend Lucinda Hathaway of "Serendipity Tours", hosting "Sewjourn" needlework trips for small groups of stitchers, surprised me with an announcement that she was planning a Canadian Stitching Tour, and she hoped that if it went ahead then I would teach this piece. Surprise! How fabulous!

After much searching at the Needlepoint shop, I found my teaching canvas. It was a kimono painted by Lee. This was the perfect choice for teaching Canvas Collage because the piece had large distinct flowers without shading and the canvas size was small (by my standards at least).

I discovered some beautiful Batik fabrics at the Quilt shop, perfect for the collage embellishment.

Surprises continued . . . I had difficulty trying to keep accurate notes of my designing. The design kept moving in it's own direction, as is my style, becoming increasingly complex. When I finish a thread colour, I'm very likely to change the colour in the same sequence. How does one do a stitch guide with so much variation? The class would then evolve into a design course and would the students want that! I still have pages of notes that I can't attempt to decipher.

And . . .

The enrolment for the trip happened slowly and then slowly declined! The trip was not to be and I had another canvas to complete!

Once my restrictions were removed (having to stitch to teach a new technique), I became very creative. I added phototransfer flowers from photos of a beautiful bouquet from my daughter Debbie and family. I mixed threads, used beads and even slightly changed the format of the painted design.

The colours, shapes and textures of flowers and their leaves fascinate me. The connections of friendship and family thread their way though the canvas.

Wanting to continue my self created tradition of exhibiting a Canvas Collage on a painted canvas at ANG Seminar, 'Serendipity' was finished and framed just in time to meet the ANG deadline for submission.

My final Surprise! Serendipity was returned to me after Seminar with a 3rd place Ribbon, in the category of Painted Design Without Stitch Guide, Professional.

Many thanks to my friend Lucinda who inspired Serendipity and for allowing me to share it's name.

>Click within the stitchings to see the detail images: