In honor of Father's Day, I thread-sketched fish to make greeting cards for all the Father's in our family. King Sailfish Mounts allows use of their images of mounted fish. There are so many beautiful images, I spent a lot of time perusing their site trying to decide which fish to use. I stayed true to my normal materials and process, adding color to the fabric before stitching, then using machine free-motion to stitch the images. The cards are posted here with very little explanation. I hope you enjoy.
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| Peacock Bass Anyone familiar with free-motion quilting will recognize the pebble stitch used here to give the illusion of scales. Several layers of very small pebble stitches and running stitches allow colors to blend. Stabilizer is key with so many stitches. |
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| King Salmon The hardest part to stitch on the King Salmon was the small black spots. Each spot was stitched separately and the thread was cut between each spot. It is important to ensure the threads are secure so they do not pull loose. |
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| Mutton Snapper Many, many tiny shell and pebble stitches. |
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| Bluegill I selected this bluegill because it reminds me of the little bluegill and perch we caught as kids fishing with Mom and Dad in Arizona. Free-motion shell stitches create the illusion of scales. |
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| Striped Bass This is the only fish not found on King Sailfish Mounts. It was inspired by the artwork of Duane Raver Jr. |
Beautiful Portland summer months lure me away from my sewing machine. Armed with my trusty iPhone camera, I plan to take advantage of the dry weather to capture stitchable pictures of our neighborhood. I may sneak a project in here and there, so check back occasionally for updates. Pictures of most all my projects are posted on my Urban Stitcher Facebook page. Thank you for visiting. Please come back!
