The Exemplary 2024
2nd Place, Non-Professional Non-Original with Instruction

I was inspired to stitch this piece since it had a Japanese feel and was different from my others. I used silks, metallics, floss and also beads. Meredith Willett helped choose stitches and threads. A vertical stitch for the lanterns was used that required slanting the stitches in and increasing slant to get the curved effect. This was a challenge. Meredith convinced me to try beading the flowers. I was resistant at first but after I got into it, I loved it. The beading was a way to define the flower petal shapes precisely. Shay Pendray taught me how to make the final tassel. The background is an open octagonal pattern. Stitching black on black was not easy but the end result was worth it. I love how the frame goes so well with the background.