Waving Line Sampler (s)

First is the Doodle Cloth, where the fun thinking and splashy experimenting was going on:

Then, the results moved to the canvas of what was the "real" sampler.  These next shots are of sections of that second, more thoughtful stitched sampler, up close and personal.

I included the funky edge because it is meant to be a fun, playful sampler.

The returning curve below, on right, is a Herringbone Stitch taken to extreme angles, but kept small.  It reminds me of prickly thorn vines.

The variegated Satin Stitch surprised me at how much fun it was to stitch.  Tedious, yes, but the precision it required was rewarding.  The coil is Double Knots in a tapestry-weight cotton.

And the needleweaving over the shisha mirror was right out of the 1960s and 70s.  Old doesn't mean "not good!"

Stitching lines that travel in other than straight paths was a good thinking exercise for me.  In the process, I began to make notes about ideas I had that came from all that twining and dancing-line stitchery, and I filled an entire sketchbook!  I carried the little book with me everywhere and wrote, drew, colored, and pasted frenetically, collecting possibilities that might morph into other stitched pieces along the way.  The experience was so fruitful that I'm not sure I ever want to stitch a straight line again!