But still I persist

For the third year running, I have managed not to get my planned North Carolina State Fair project completed in time for the deadline, and while in the heat of the moment I had thought that I would finish it with duct tape and staples if it came to that, when push came to shove, I decided not to turn it into a mixed media piece after all, but still, I persist.

I had stayed up all night working on it trying to sort out which color to put where by artificial light that can most charitably be described as wholly inadequate.

For this particular project, it isn’t just the colors of the pieces that need to play nicely with each other, it is also the colors of the various embroidered designs– the crochet rick rack and other seam stitching — that all need to work together, and while I made substantive progress, including this embroidered cupcake:

a French knot and satin stitch cupcake that I worked on in an effort to persist through the night
Detail of a French knot and satin stitch cupcake that I got done

these four small French knot flowers and the slant stitch seam embroidery worked in Red Heart Super Saver grape fizz:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
Sideways French knot flowers

and this French knot/bullion stitch mash up decorating the teal crochet crazy quilt piece along with more slant stitches worked in the discontinued piñata colorway to add some interest:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
Additional tricking out and a crochet page

when morning came, there were still gaps to be filled and seams to be adorned, and no where near enough time to get them done by noon.

So today, after a long night of dreamless sleep, I was ready to again tackle this project that will not be finished.

I started be adding some Vanna’s Choice honey flourishes to this fan in the lower left corner:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
A fan in need of just a touch more tricking out

Then I moved over to the left and added a small, pink daisy chain flower with a French knot center to a small piece:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
A little pink embroidered flower

From there, I moved further to the left and made three small, purple French knot flowers:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
Three little French knot flowers all in a row

After taking a break, I then moved to the upper right hand corner.

In the middle of the night while I had been looking at various embroidery samplers and stitches for inspiration, I had gotten the idea to embroider a fan on a crochet piece that was right next to a fan I had crocheted.

After tracking down the blanket stitch tutorial I needed, I got to work, and after several missteps, the embroidered fan was done:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
The embroidered meta fan next to the crochet fan that inspired it

That particular corner also had a sizable gap that needed filling, and after sorting through the pieces I still had available, I added to a claret one so that it would fit:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
Filling in another gap

And as can be seen from this overview, there are still a few more gaps to be filled:

crochetbug, crazy quilt crochet, embroidery on crochet, narrative crochet, crochet panels, crochet rectangles, crochet squares, crochet blanket, crochet afghan, crochet throw
How it looked at the end of the day

I had hoped that I would have this project done in time for the 2017 state fair, but this project is, as yet, still successfully resisting my efforts to finish it, in the meantime, I will move forward, one stitch at a time.

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7 thoughts on “But still I persist

  1. This is amazing! New plan…it can now be your 2018 state fair project and look at the head start you already have!

  2. True artistry cannot be forced into a tight schedule! This may be your Proustian “A la recherche du temps perdu” grand opus.
    These little pieces are so lovely! Makes me want to try some yarn embroidery on yarny pieces…or on anything for that matter.
    Love how calm and collected you sound in spite of what must have been quite a night! 🙂

  3. I feel very special because as one of your readers I get to see this amazing piece. Work like this always resists a deadline – it can’t be rushed because it is the result of the artist’s creative process. I’m delighted you took the time to do it right. So beautiful! It certainly puts one in the mood for some colorful embroidery.

  4. I’m so glad you didn’t rush through it!

    Art runs on its own time. . . and this most definitely will be astounding when complete! WHENEVER that may be!!!

  5. So what would happen if you didn’t enter this inspiration from heaven in the 2017 fair? Absotively, posilutely nothing! Art refuses time constraints.

  6. when its time comes it will be ready for whatever year it gets entered!!!!
    the charm and major of this piece sin the details, and they simply can not be rushed!
    this piece along with your NCSF Virtual Team will be on hand again next year!
    xox

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