“Harlequin Ink”

“Harlequin Ink”  16"x19.5"  Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2014

This piece, which I’ve named “Harlequin Ink,” has been in progress for at least two years. Maybe three. I just finished it this weekend. I started with a piece of clamp-dyed Shibori fabric I made in a dyeing workshop years ago. Then I embroidered it, using different weights of hand-dyed perle cotton and other threads. Much of the texture can be attributed to the couched-down threads, many torn from fabrics after they came out of the dryer. After I finished the hand embroidery, I free-motion quilted it.