Forever Plaid

Hi Friends,

It’s been really hot here lately, which isn’t conducive to painting in the studio. And I’m waiting for a new roll of canvas to arrive, anyway. So I decided to switch to a different project for the time being.

I’ve had a hankering to work on something fiber related, and an idea has been brewing about making pieces using vintage plaid flannel shirts.

We have lots of used clothing stores in Ventura, so the first thing I did was to go shopping. I found a great selection of plaids. The shirts I was looking at were really inexpensive, because they have holes or tears in them, and some have stains. I feel like I’m rescuing them from the landfill and elevating them to the status of art!

I did one plaid piece about a year ago that I really like, and I’m modelling the new pieces on this.

“Forever Plaid,” 20 x 20 inches, flannel plaids and hand stitching

It’s a collage of different plaids, and then the entire piece is covered in contemplative stitching. The hand stitching is a lot of work, but I enjoy doing it at night while watching videos.

The trick here is finding plaids that complement each other well. I have a pretty good assortment, but I might need to add in a couple of accent colors. Here are the first three pieces I’m planning to do.

This should keep me busy for a while, like through the winter!

How are you spending these last days of summer? Or winter, if you’re in the southern hemisphere. I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts. You can share them with us in the comments section below.

With love and appreciation,
Cassandra