Black Embroidery

I like to be in a positive frame of mind, heart and soul when I quilt. It just seems to make sense so the energy I put into what I do is clear as well. Lately, there have been an number of personal issues pulling me off center, so I've had to work harder to stay on my path. I do a variety of things that help, including the Chinese Medical Massages, using stone and crystal energy, essential oils, drinking a lot of water and getting good sleep.

I finished another block of the black floss embroidery. I have been calling it 'blackwork' and technically, that is correct. It is a form of embroidery that uses black floss and can be a counted stitch pattern. The primary stitches are the back stitch (which is what I use). A lot of times, when you see blackwork, it is more geometric. Mine is not geometric, and so I wondered if it qualified to call it blackwork and for what I am doing, it is indeed.

My choices for the blocks I am doing is to make a Hallows quilt, and so the theme presents 12 blocks with various images in black on an off-white muslin. I love this little haunted mansion and am going to see if I can collect enough of them to do another quilt. 

Each block takes me about a week to complete. I've got them all in a storage container with the orange/black/white squares that will coordinate and make this an exceptional quilt. This one has no deadline nor am I completely sure which one of my family members will receive it. Time will tell.

I laugh at myself to think that even now I am trying to fit in standard definitions for what I do rather than to just do what I love and call it what I want. I love embroidery work for quilting. I know that quilters get to choose. They get to choose fabrics, colors, patterns and processes. They get to do what they love. I love embroidery work. Simple as that.