Bagatelles and gewgaws

Finally, my end of November challenge piece!

The lettering challenge was quite a mental block, even though I have used lettering in the past. The more I was looking for something meaningful, inspirational or deep, the more I felt that words can be meaningless as well as an important method of communication.

With Christmas fast approaching, I longed for something tasteful, subtle and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. Even though I am an atheist, it still seems like the most important thing would be to respect Jesus and the reason for our festival. When I have been in Catholic countries for Christmas, occasionally, Rome, Germany (parts) or Santiago, there is definitely more of an emphasis on church services and less on the trashy flashing lights.

I found a Christmas card that really appealed to me, and then I saw a poster in a store that I wanted to use for inspiration. The poster must have been made with drips of paint over a mask for the letters. I couldn't see how that could be neatly done with stitch, so I combined both ideas. The fabric was spray painted with acrylic car paint, over a mask. Then I used the same plate that had given me the circle to mark arcs for the stitching. That worked well, because the curves are all related and harmonious.

Then I fused the smaller circles of random fabrics to be the lines which seem to be like Chinese lanterns in my imagination. Finally I finished the edge with a fancy ladder stitch, and hand appliqued the ribbon.

So this is my take on the meaningless (but decorative) side of Christmas.

Julia