Embroidering a Tangle

On Sunday, about a dozen of us from our embroidery guild attended an all-day workshop led by Kim Mather of Kimat Designs. In the morning we had an introduction to Zentangle - a meditative type of guided doodling, and in the afternoon we embroidered one of our morning designs.

We were each given a couple of Zentangle 'tiles' - good quality 3 1/2" heavy paper squares, a 01 Micron pen, a little pencil, and a paper smudging tool. We drew a line around the edge, creating a border then a 'Z'. This created 4 different design areas. Kim then showed us several different basics and suggested designs for each area. We also did some shading to give the piece dimension.

This was my 'tangle'.

And everyone's.

We then drew a second one with different areas and techniques.

And everybody's tangles.

In the afternoon, we transferred the outlines onto water soluble, printable/draw-able stabilizer. The stabilizer has a sticky back and was stuck on our fabric. Most folks stitched right onto a tote bag. I chose to just stitch onto a piece of fabric that I could either frame or attach to something else.

We could use the Micron pens because all the stabilizer will wash away when we're done leaving only the stitching.

This was Kim's sample

We learned several different embroidery stitches and tackled each section. This is a great beginning piece because the different areas are quite small and manageable and can be completed in only 1/2 an hour or so. There was not enough time to finish, but most of us got all but one or two areas stitched.

Back at home, I finished the triangle at the bottom. I still need to attach the beads, add more to the 'leaf' in the middle, and figure out what I'll add to the crosses on the left. Then I'll make a cord with one of the threads and outline the 'leaf', with couching.

We all enjoyed the synthesis of Zentangle and embroidery. As I was stitching last night, I had visions of many colours of threads and embroidering other designs - paisley, leaves, etc. and making pillows.