I heart textiles

In preparation for having to create an embroidered self-portrait for my textiles class, I've started a little side project/practice session. I can remember embroidering pillow cases and handkerchiefs with my mom when I was little; the time when I lived for baking cookies, napping in the garden and playing with the cat. It was a rough life.
Now I'm attempting to treat thread as I would treat paint or a pencil. Each stitch is like a brush stroke. I'm making up my own and reintroducing the classic stitches into my vocabulary. I did this piece in the Fall that ended up as part of a series that was in the Stillwell show:
I really enjoyed this and have wanted to explore it further. I like the idea of working with one continuous piece of thread, the thought that if one area is snipped, the whole thing falls apart. It speaks of fragility and impermanence, two things that I've been dealing with lately in my work.