Color, Free Motion, and Dyeing

"When all is said and done, artists need to struggle on their own." Robert Genn
It really seems like summer is over here in north Seattle, today is so gray and rainy looking, cool, breezy, same as yesterday, this mid-August. So I needed a blast of color - and here it is.

These colorful pieces were created last May in my machine embroidery group. So much fun and experimenting. We did spray dyeing of the specialty papers with procion dyes, then zigged, zagged and looped some free motion machine embroidery, and added puff paints for texture... I love the brilliance of the colors and how they wash together like watercolors.
I really like the loopy flowers below, they seem so painterly, amazing what can be done with thread. I am only a beginner at painting with thread, there are those who do very precise beautiful work including words which I find difficult. That will take lots of practice. Here is the reverse side of my loopy flowers which I like just as well, you can see the stitching better. And speaking of stitching, if you look very closely you may see where I stitched these photos together because these pieces were bigger than my scanner. Easily done, but not perfect, in Photoshop.
I'm not sure what I'll do with these or future pieces, they could be book covers or part of another art piece or book. Somehow I'm thinking some of these techniques will find their way into my journey into acrylics and mixed media paintings... Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to our machine embroidery group reconvening in the fall which is only a whisper away.